Klaus Düwel (10 December 1935 – 31 December 2020) was a German philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. A professor at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, he was recognized as one of the world's leading experts on Germanic Antiquity.

Biography

Klaus Düwel was born in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

on 10 December 1935. Since 1956 he studied history and the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

at the

with the aim of becoming a teacher. Düwel transferred to the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

in 1958, and to the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

in 1969. At Vienna, Düwel was strongly influenced by philologist Otto Höfler, who introduced him to the field of Germanic studies. Upon his return to Göttingen, Düwel studied Germanic philology under Wolfgang Lange and Hans Neumann, and medieval history under Percy Ernst Schramm and . He also studied Protestant theology. Düwel received his Ph.D. in 1965 under the supervision of Lange. With Lange, Düwel worked on the third revision of Rudolf Much's commentary on ''

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

''. He completed his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in 1972 with a thesis on

Germanic religion Germanic religion may refer to: * Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological dating, chronological range of at least one t ...

. The preparation for his habilitation was funded with a grant from the

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft The German Research Foundation ( ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2019, the DFG had a funding bu ...

, which enabled him to conduct research in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. Following his habilitation, Düwel returned to the University of Göttingen, where he was appointed a professor in 1974. From 1978 to 2001, Düwel was a professor at the Seminator for German Philology at the University of Göttingen. Düwel's research centered on Germanic Antiquity, particularly

runology Runology is the study of the runic alphabets, runic inscriptions, and their history. Runology forms a specialized branch of Germanic linguistics. History Runology was initiated by Johannes Bureus (1568–1652), who was interested in the ling ...

and the study of early Germanic literature. He was recognized as one of the world's leading authorities in this discipline. Düwel contributed a large number of articles to the second edition of ''

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 ...

''. Düwel was a member of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy, the

Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters The Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters (, DKNVS) is a Norway, Norwegian learned society based in Trondheim. It was founded in 1760 and is Norway's oldest scientific and scholarly institution. The society's Protector is King Harald V of ...

, the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

, and a corresponding member of the

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

. On 5 May 2014 he received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Selected works

* ''Werkbezeichnung der mittelhochdeutschen Erzähliteratur (1050-1250)'', 1965 * ''Runenkunde'', 1983 * ''Werkbezeichnungen der mittelhochdeutschen Erzählliteratur (1050 - 1250)'', 1983 * (Editor) ''Der Reinhart Fuchs des Elsässers Heinrich / Heinrich er Glîchezâre' 1985 * (Co-editor) ''Untersuchungen zu Handel und Verkehr der vor- und frühgeschichtlichen Zeit in Mittel- und Nordeuropa'', 1985-1989 * ''Das Opferfest von Lade: quellenkritische Untersuchungen zur germanischen Religionsgeschichte'', 1985 * (Editor) ''Runische Schriftkultur in kontinental-skandinavischer und -angelsächsischer Wechselbeziehung'', 1994 * ''Schmuck und Waffen mit Inschriften aus dem ersten Jahrtausend'', 1995 * (Editor) ''Runeninschriften als Quellen interdisziplinärer Forschung'', 1998 * (Co-editor) ''Von Thorsberg nach Schleswig'', 2001 * (With Rudolf Simek and John S. McKinnel) ''Runes, magic and religion'', 2004 * ''Runica minora'', 2015

Sources

* ** Ebenda: ''Schriftenverzeichnis Klaus Düwel'' (1964–2002), S. 1008–1024. * * 1935 births 2020 deaths Corresponding Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences German male non-fiction writers German philologists Germanic studies scholars German Germanists Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Members of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Old Norse studies scholars People from Hanover Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters Runologists University of Göttingen alumni Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Writers on Germanic paganism {{Philologist-stub

Biography

Selected works

See also

Sources