Curt Wittlin (13 April 1941 – 23 September 2019) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and an expert of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

language and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Biography

Wittlin studied romance philology in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

with Germà Colon, and later in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. He got his PhD in 1965 with a thesis about the Catalan translation of Brunetto Latini's ''Treasure'' by Guillem de Copons. He became Professor of Romance Philology and Historical Linguistics at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon ( Canada), where he arrived in 1967. He became a specialist in the edition of medieval translations in Europe of texts by Cicero, Saint Augustine and John of Wales, among others. He also worked on

Ramon Llull Ramon Llull (; c. 1232 – c. 1315/16) was a philosopher, theologian, poet, missionary, and Christian apologist from the Kingdom of Majorca. He invented a philosophical system known as the ''Art'', conceived as a type of universal logic to pro ...

and on the history of medieval Catalan libraries. The Catalan writer to which he devoted most of his life was Francesc Eiximenis. Wittlin published most of the modern editions of Francesc Eiximenis' works and wrote many studies and articles about Eiximenis. In 1997 he became a member of the Institute of Catalan Studies and from 1990 to 1993 he was president of the

North American Catalan Society The North American Catalan Society or NACS is a professional association that joins researchers, students and people in general, especially in the United States and Canada, that show or have interest in any aspect of culture from the Catalan Countr ...

. In 2000 he received the ''Creu de Sant Jordi'' (Saint George cross), a high distinction given by the regional Catalan government.

Works

* ''Lo llibre de les dones d' Eiximenis'' (1980) with F. Naccarato * ''Repertori d'expressions multinominals i de grups de sinònims en traduccions catalanes antigues'' (

Lluis Nicolau d'Olwer Lluis Nicolau d'Olwer (20 January 1888 - 24 December 1961) was a Catalan politician and writer who held office in the provisional government of the Second Spanish Republic, heading the Economics Ministry from April 1931. Biography The son of the n ...

price, 1989) * ''La geometria secreta del tapís de Girona'' in

Revista de Girona ''Revista de Girona'' (RdG) is a magazine that was created in 1955 in Girona. Its aim is to foster the cultural and scientific research works about the Girona territory. It has also the aim of furnishing the Girona culture of a tool that helps to r ...

, 1991 * ''De la traducció literal a la creació literària'' (

Serra d'Or ''Serra d'Or'' () is a Catalan magazine that appeared in October 1959. It was promoted by a group of university students, and was published by the Montserrat abbey press, with a monthly circulation of 8.000 copies. Origins The origins of the magaz ...

prize 1996) * ''Entorn de les edicions de textos medievals'' in

Estudis Romànics ''Estudis Romànics'' (''ER'') was a literary magazine founded in 1947 by Ramón Aramón Serra. It is based in Barcelona. Since 2000 and until 2014, it was directed by Antonio María Badía Margarit, emeritus member of the Philological Section ...

, 2004

References

External links

*
Biography in the University of Saskatchewan website
*
Wittlin's works
*
Article about Wittlin in the Great Catalan Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittlin, Curt 1941 births 2019 deaths Linguists from Catalonia Members of the Institute for Catalan Studies Philologists Swiss-German people Swiss expatriates in Spain University of Barcelona alumni Academic staff of the University of Saskatchewan People from Basel-Landschaft