Karl Viktor Müllenhoff (born September 8, 1818, in Marne,

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had hi ...

; died February 19, 1884, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

) was a German philologist who specialized in

Germanic studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary te ...

Biography

He was born in Marne,

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

as the second son of merchant Johann Anton Müllenhoff. In his youth, he received his education in the town of

Meldorf Meldorf (Holsatian: ''Meldörp'' or ''Möldörp'') is a town in western Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, that straddles the river Miele in the district of Dithmarschen. Overview Meldorf was first mentioned in writing before 1250 AD. In 1265 it rece ...

(1830–1837)."Statement(s) based on translated text from an equivalent article at the German Wikipedia". He later studied under

Gregor Wilhelm Nitzsch Gregor Wilhelm Nitzsch (22 November 1790 – 22 July 1861) was a German classical scholar known chiefly for his writings on Homeric epic. Brother of Karl Immanuel Nitzsch, he was born at Wittenberg. In 1827 he was appointed professor of ancient l ...

at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

, then continued his education at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

(1839, under

Gottfried Hermann Johann Gottfried Jakob Hermann (28 November 1772 – 31 December 1848) was a German classical scholar and philologist. He published his works under the name Gottfried Hermann or its Latin equivalent . Biography He was born in Leipzig. Entering ...

and Moriz Haupt) and then in

(1839-1841), where his instructors included

Karl Lachmann Karl Konrad Friedrich Wilhelm Lachmann (; 4 March 1793 – 13 March 1851) was a German philologist and critic. He is particularly noted for his foundational contributions to the field of textual criticism. Biography Lachmann was born in Brun ...

and

Wilhelm Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm (also Karl; 24 February 178616 December 1859) was a German author and anthropologist, and the younger brother of Jacob Grimm, of the literary duo the Brothers Grimm. Life and work Wilhelm was born in February 1786 in Hanau, ...

. In 1841 he received his PhD at Kiel with a dissertation on

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

.biography
@ NDB/ADB Deutsche Biographie He taught classes in

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

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 ...

and

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

at the University of Kiel, where in 1854 he became a full professor of German literature and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. Afterwards, he returned to Berlin as a professor of

German philology German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

(1858-1884). In 1861 he became a member of the Gesetzlose Gesellschaft zu Berlin. Two of his well-known students in Berlin were

Wilhelm Scherer Wilhelm Scherer (26 April 18416 August 1886) was a German philologist and historian of literature. He was known as a positivist because he based much of his work on "hypotheses on detailed historical research, and rooted every literary phenomeno ...

and Elias von Steinmeyer. In 1863 he introduced a theory involving the continuity of written language dating from the era of

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

. From around 1875, he resided at Schellingstraße 7 ( Berlin-Tiergarten), a few years later, moving to a house on Lützowufer in the same district. He was buried in the Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof in Berlin-Schöneberg. In 1896, a thoroughfare called '' Müllenhoffstraße'' (

Berlin-Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it has b ...

) was named in his honor.

Publications

* ''Sagen, Märchen und Lieder der herzogthümer Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg'', 1845 – Collection of sagas, fairy tales and songs from the Duchies of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

and

Lauenburg Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe ( en, Lauenberg on the Elbe), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein ...

. * ''De Antiquissima Germanorum Poesi Chorica'', a treatise; cited as one of his greatest works (1847). * ''Altdeutsche Sprachproben'', 1864 (4th edition, 1885. 5th edition, 1963). * ''Denkmäler deutscher Poesie und Prosa aus dem 8. bis 12. Jahrhundert'', with

(Berlin, 1864) – Monuments of German poetry and prose from the 8th-12th century. * ''Deutsche Alterthumskunde'', left unfinished; cited as one of his greatest works (1870–99); five volumes. ** Vol. 1. ''Die Phoenizier. Pytheas von Massalia''. ** Vol. 2. ''Die Nord- und Ostnachbaren der Germanen. Die Gallier und Germanen''. ** Vol. 3. ''Der Ursprung der Germanen''. ** Vol. 4. ''Die Germania des Tacitus''. ** Vol. 5. ''Über die Voluspa. Über die ältere Edda''.WorldCat Identities
Most widely held works by K.Müllenhoff

Notes

References

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External links

* * * 1818 births 1884 deaths People from Dithmarschen German philologists Germanic studies scholars People from the Duchy of Holstein University of Kiel alumni Leipzig University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Kiel faculty Humboldt University of Berlin faculty {{Germany-academic-bio-stub

Biography

Publications

Notes

References

Further reading

External links