Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and Nordic Studies at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

. Simek specializes in Germanic studies, and is the author of several notable works on

Germanic religion Germanic religion may refer to: * Germanic paganism * Germanic Christianity * Heathenry (new religious movement) * Neopaganism in German-speaking Europe Since its emergence in the 1970s, Neopaganism (') in German-speaking Europe has diversifi ...

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 ...

(including Old Norse religion and

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

Old Norse literature Old Norse literature refers to the vernacular literature of the Scandinavian peoples up to c. 1350. It chiefly consists of Icelandic writings. In Britain From the 8th to the 15th centuries, Vikings and Norse settlers and their descendants colon ...

, and the culture of

Medieval Europe 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Biography

Since 1995, Simek has been Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the

. Simek was appointed Professor of Comparative Religion at the

University of Tromsø The University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway ( Norwegian: ''Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet''; Northern Sami: ''Romssa universitehta – Norgga árktalaš universitehta'') is a state university in Norway ...

in 1999, and Professor of Old Nordic Studies at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 2000. Simek has held a number of visiting professorships, having had long research stays at the universities of Reykjavik,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

, London,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. From 2000 to 2003, Simek was Chairman of the International Saga Society (German: Internationalen-Saga-Gesellschaft). Simek is a member of many additional learned societies, including the

International Arthurian Society ''Arthuriana'' is a quarterly journal published by the North American branch of the International Arthurian Society. Its focus is on the Arthurian legend. The four annual issues are published in February, May, October, and December. History The j ...

, the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Germanistik, the

Viking Society for Northern Research The Viking Society for Northern Research is a group dedicated to the study and promotion of the ancient culture of Scandinavia. Founded in London in 1892 as the Orkney, Shetland and Northern Society or the Viking Club, its name was changed in 190 ...

, the Society for Northern Studies, and the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy.

Research

Simek researches a wide variety of topics connected to the

Middle Ages 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. This includes

and

(including Old Norse religion and

and the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

, and medieval science (including

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

) and popular religion. Simek has published a number of notable works on these subjects, several of which have been translated into multiple languages.

Selected works

* ''Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie'', Stuttgart, Kröner, 1984 (translations to English, French and Icelandic) * ''Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur'' (with Hermann Pálsson), Stuttgart, Kröner, 1987
''Altnordische Kosmographie. Studien und Quellen zu Weltbild und Weltbeschreibung in Norwegen und Island vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert''
Berlin/New York, de Gruyter, 1990 (

Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde ''Germanische Altertumskunde Online'', formerly called ''Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde'', is a German encyclopedia of the study of Germanic history and cultures, as well as the cultures that were in close contact with them. The first ...

. Ergänzungsbände, Bd. 4) * ''Erde und Kosmos im Mittelalter''. München, C.H. Beck, 1992. * ''Die Wikinger'', München, C.H. Beck, 1998 (translation to Spanish) * ''Religion und Mythologie der Germanen'', Stuttgart, Theiss 2003 * ''Götter und Kulte der Germanen'', München, C.H. Beck, 2004 * ''Runes, Magic and Religion: A Sourcebook'' (with John McKinnell und Klaus Düwel), Wien, Fassbaender, 2004 * ''Mittelerde – Tolkien und die germanische Mythologie'', München, C.H. Beck, 2005 * ''Der Glaube der Germanen'', Limburg und Kevelaer, Lahn-Verlag, 2005 * ''Die Germanen'', Stuttgart, Reclam, 2006. * ''Die Edda.'' C. H. Beck, München 2007, (''C. H. Beck Wissen''). * ''Ewige Orte. Reliquien und heiligen Stätten in Wien.'' Metro, Wien 2007, . * ''Artus-Lexikon. Mythos und Geschichte, Werke und Personen der europäischen Artusdichtung.'' Reclam, Stuttgart 2012, . * ''Die Schiffe der Wikinger.'' Reclam, Stuttgart 2014, . * ''Monster im Mittelalter. Die phantastische Welt der Wundervölker und Fabelwesen''. Böhlau, Köln, Weimar, Wien 2015. . * ''Vinland! Wie die Wikinger Amerika entdeckten''. C. H. Beck, München 2016, . * ''Trolle. Ihre Geschichte von der Mythologie bis zum Internet.'' Böhlau, Köln/Weimar/Wien 2018, . * ''Die Geschichte der Normannen. Von Wikingerhäuptlingen zu Königen Siziliens.'' Reclam, Ditzingen 2018, . * ''Monster im Mittelalter''. Köln und Wien: Böhlau 2019,

References

External links

Page of Rudolf Simek at the Scandinavian studies chair of University of Bonn

Page of Rudolf Simek at the Institute for German studies of University of Bonn

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simek, Rudolf 1954 births 20th-century Austrian historians 21st-century Austrian historians academics of the University of Edinburgh Austrian librarians Austrian medievalists Austrian non-fiction writers Austrian philologists Germanic studies scholars Germanists living people members of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy Old Norse studies scholars people from Eisenstadt University of Bonn faculty University of Tromsø faculty University of Vienna alumni Academics of the University of Vienna writers on Germanic paganism

Biography

Research

Selected works

See also

References

External links