Hermann Güntert

Hermann Güntert
Born	(1886-11-05)5 November 1886 Worms, Germany
Died	23 April 1948(1948-04-23)(aged 51) Heidelberg,Germany
Nationality	German
Spouse	Gisela Wachenfeld ​ (m.1923)​
Academic background
Alma mater	Heidelberg University
Academic advisors	Hermann Osthoff Christian Bartholomae
Academic work
Discipline	Linguistics
Sub-discipline	Germanic linguistics Indo-European linguistics
Institutions	University of Rostock Heidelberg University

Hermann Güntert(5 November 1886 – 23 April 1948) was a German linguist who specialized inGermanicandIndo-European linguistics.

Biography

Hermann Güntert was born inWorms, Germanyon 5 November 1886. His father was aRoman Catholicmerchant, and his mother was aHuguenot.Güntert became fluent inSanskritandHebrewas a high school student, graduating at the top of his class in 1905.

Güntert subsequently studiedclassical philologyandGerman philologyat theUniversity of Heidelberg.He studiedcomparative linguisticsunderHermann Osthoff,Indo-Iranian languagesunderChristian Bartholomae,andreligious studiesunderAlbrecht DieterichandFranz Boll.He received hisPhDwith the dissertationZur Geschichte der griechischen Gradationsbildungen,which was about theGreek language.It was published inIndogermanische Forschungenin 1909. Güntert subsequently studied for one semester at theUniversity of Leipzig.

In 1909, Güntert passed thestaatsexameninGerman,Greek andLatin,and subsequently worked as agymnasiumteacher inHeidelbergfrom 1909 to 1921. He completed hishabilitationin 1912/1913 inIndo-European linguisticsandclassicswith the thesisReimwortbildung im Arischen und Altgriechischen,which examined rhymes in Indo-Iranian andAncient Greek.He was appointed Associate Professor at the University of Heidelberg in 1918. In 1921, Güntert succeededGustav Herbigas Professor of Comparative Linguistics at theUniversity of Rostock.In 1926, he succeeded Bartholomae as Professor at the University of Heidelberg. He was elected Member of theHeidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanitiesin 1931. From 1933, Güntert was also a lecturer inGermanic studies.Since 1938, he was the editor ofWörter und Sachen.

Since the spring of 1938, Güntert suffered from declining health, which forced him to reduce his activity at the University. He retired in December 1945, and died in Heidelberg on 23 April 1948.

Research

Güntert's research centered on Indo-Iranian, Ancient Greek andGermanic.He was critical of theNorth European hypothesisofGustav Kossinna.Instead he supported thesteppe hypothesisofOtto Schraderand Guntërt's Heidelberg colleagueErnst Wahle.In hisDer Ursprung der Germanen(1934), Güntert suggested that theGermanic peoplesemerged through the conquest of theFunnelbeaker culturebyIndo-European invadersof theCorded Ware culture.

Güntert has been referred to as one of the most influentialmythographersof his era.HisDer arische Weltkönig und Heiland(1923) is widely regarded as the finest work ever published onIndo-European religion.Güntert's research on Indo-European religion has had a strong influence on the later work ofGeorges Dumézil,Mircea Eliade,Herman Lommeland other scholars.

Personal life

Güntert married Gisela Wachenfeld in 1923.

See also

• Jan de Vries (philologist)
• Edgar C. Polomé
• Otto Höfler
• Rudolf Much
• Georges Dumézil
• Stig Wikander
• Émile Benveniste
• Jaan Puhvel

Selected works

• Zur Geschichte der griechischen Gradationsbildungen,1909
• Über Reimwortbildungen im Arischen und Altgriechischen,1914
• Indogermanische Ablautprobleme. Untersuchungen über Schwa secundum, einen zweiten indogermanischen Murmelvokal,1916
• Kalypso. Bedeutungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen auf dem Gebiet der indogermanischen Sprachen,1919
• Von der Sprache der Götter und Geister. Bedeutungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zur homerischen und eddischen Göttersprache,1921
• Der arische Weltkönig und Heiland. Bedeutungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen zur indo-iranischen Religionsgeschichte und Altertumskunde,1923
• Grundfragen der Sprachwissenschaft,1925
• Zur Frage nach der Urheimat der Indogermanen,1930
• Labyrinth. Eine sprachwissenschaftliche Untersuchung,1932
• Am Nornenquell (Gedichte),1933
• Der Ursprung der Germanen,1934
• Das faustische Wesen des germanischen Menschen,1934
• Das germanische Erbe in der deutschen Seele,1934
• Runen, Runenbrauch und Runeninschriften der Germanen,1934
• Altgermanischer Glaube nach Wesen und Grundlage,1937
• Geschichte der germanischen Völkerschaften,1943

Sources

• Wolf H. Goegginger:Hermann Güntert als Religionsforscher.Numen1967, pp. 150–158.
• Lincoln, Bruce(2008). "Hermann Güntert in the 1930s. Heidelberg, Politics, and the Study of Germanic/Indogermanic Religion". In Junginger, Horst (ed.).The Study of Religion Under the Impact of Fascism.Studies in the History of Religions. Vol. 117.Brill.pp. 179–204.ISBN978-90-04-16326-3.ISSN0169-8834.
• Manfred Mayrhofer(ed.):Antiquitates Indogermanicae. Studien zur indogermanischen Altertumskunde und zur Sprach- und Kulturgeschichte der indogermanischen Völker. Gedenkschrift für Hermann Güntert zur 25. Wiederkehr seines Todestages am 23. April 1973,Innsbruck 1974 (pp. 523–528).