Heinrich Rudolf Hildebrand (13 March 1824 – 28 October 1894) was a
Germanist
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 ...
, contributor to, and then, editor of the Grimm brothers' ''
Deutsches Wörterbuch
The ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'' (; "The German Dictionary"), abbreviated ''DWB'', is the largest and most comprehensive dictionary of the German language in existence.folksong
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
s, and on the teaching of the
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
in schools.
Rudolf Hildebrand was born in
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 wel ...
to
typesetter
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random Ho ...
Heinrich Hildebrand and Amalia, born Porges. He attended the
Thomasschule
St. Thomas School, Leipzig (german: Thomasschule zu Leipzig; la, Schola Thomana Lipsiensis) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools ...
in Leipzig from 1836 to 1843. He went on to study at
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...
, where he first studied theology as his father wished him to, but soon switched to classical and German
philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
. Among his teachers were
Moritz Haupt
Moriz or Moritz Haupt (27 July 1808 – 5 February 1874), was a German philologist.
Biography
He was born at Zittau, Lusatia, Saxony. His early education was mainly conducted by his father, Ernst Friedrich Haupt, burgomaster of Zittau, a man of ...
. He wrote his main thesis about
Walther von der Vogelweide
Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170c. 1230) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs (" Sprüche") in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hundr ...
, which was later published in 1900.Adalbert Elschenbroich Hildebrand, Rudolf ''
Neue Deutsche Biographie
''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...
'', retrieved 15 April 2013
In 1848, he worked for a time as reviewer and translator of the ''
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung
''Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung'' (often abbreviated to DAZ) was a German newspaper that appeared between 1861 and 1945.
Until 1918 the title of the paper was ''Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung''. Although Wilhelm Liebknecht, one of the founders ...
'' and was considering a career as a publisher. However, the same year, he started working as a teacher at the Thomasschule from 1848 and remained there to 1868.
He became professor of newer German language and literature at the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
in 1869 ("
außerordentlicher Professor
Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia.
Overview
Appointment grades
* (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'')
* (''W3'')
* (''W2'')
* (''W2'', ...
" from 1869, "
ordentlicher Professor
Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia.
Overview
Appointment grades
* (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'')
* (''W3'')
* (''W2'')
* (''W2'', ...
" from 1874).
Selected works
* ''
Deutsches Wörterbuch
The ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'' (; "The German Dictionary"), abbreviated ''DWB'', is the largest and most comprehensive dictionary of the German language in existence.Prof. Dr. phil. Rudolf Hildebrand Professorenkatalog der Universität Leipzig, retrieved 15 April 2013
* ''Vom deutschen Sprachunterricht in der Schule und von deutscher Erziehung und Bildung überhaupt'', Leipzig 1879.
* ''Gesammelte Aufsätze und Vorträge zur deutschen Philologie und zum deutschen Unterricht'', Leipzig 1890.
* ''Ueber Walter von der Vogelweide'', edited by Georg Berlit, Leipzig 1900.