Johann Christoph Wilhelm Ludwig Döderlein (19 December 1791 – 9 November 1863) was a German

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 strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

Biography

Ludwig Döderlein was born at

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

. His father was Johann Christoph Döderlein, professor of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at Jena. After receiving his preliminary education at Windsheim and Schulpforta (

Pforta Schulpforta, otherwise known as Pforta, is a school located in Pforta monastery, a former Cistercian monastery (1137–1540). The school is located near Naumburg on the Saale River in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The site has been a sch ...

), he studied at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He devoted his chief attention to

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

under the instruction of such men as F. Thiersch, G. F. Creuzer, J. H. Voss, F. A. Wolf,

August Boeckh August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

and P. K. Buttmann. In 1815, soon after completing his studies at Berlin, he accepted the appointment of ordinary professor of philology in the academy of

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. In 1819 he was transferred to Erlangen, where he became second professor of philology in the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and rector of the gymnasium. In 1827 he became first professor of philology and

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

and director of the philological

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Works

Döderlein's most elaborate work as a philologist was marred by over-subtlety, and lacked method and clearness. He is best known by his ''Lateinische Synonymen und Etymologien'' (1826-1838), and his ''Homerisches Glossarium'' (1850-1858). To the same class belong his ''Lateinische Wortbildung'' (1838), ''Handbuch der lateinischen Synonymik'' (1839), and the ''Handbuch der lateinischen Etymologie'' (1841), besides various works of a more elementary kind intended for the use of schools and gymnasia. Most of the works named have been translated into English. To critical philology Döderlein contributed valuable editions of

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

(''Opera'', 1847; ''Germania'', with a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

translation) and

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

(''Epistolae'', with a German translation, 1856-1858; ''Satirae'', 1860). His ''Reden und Aufsätze'' (Erlangen, 1843-1847) and ''Öffentliche Reden'' (1860) consist chiefly of academic addresses dealing with various subjects in pedagogy and philology.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doderlein, Ludwig 1791 births 1863 deaths German philologists People from Erlangen Academic staff of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg