Helmut de Boor
Encyclopedia
Helmut de Boor was a German
medievalist.
, Marburg and Leipzig
. He earned his doctorate from Leipzig in 1914 and following service in World War I, his Habilitation
from the University of Breslau in 1919, in German studies
, Old Norse
and Philology
. Both his dissertation and his Habilitationsschrift are on the Faroese ballads which relate to the Nibelungenlied
, which he was later to edit.
While working on his Habilitation, he was a tutor in Old Norse at Breslau. He then held academic positions in German Studies at the University of Gothenburg (1919–22), Old Norse at the University of Greifswald (1924–26), and Old Norse at Leipzig (1926–30). From 1930 to 1945, he was professor of German Language and Literature at the University of Bern.
After World War II, he became professor of German Language and Literature at Marburg (1945–49), and then held the chair in Older German Language and Literature and Old Norse at the Free University of Berlin
until 1958/59, when he retired.
De Boor was a very productive scholar. He revised Karl Bartsch's standard edition of the Nibelungenlied
and co-wrote a widely used grammar of Middle High German
, but throughout his career occupied himself with the philology of Old Norse as well as of German. He wrote above all about heroic literature. After leaving Switzerland he began work on a complete history of German literature, originally intended as a short handbook for student use; it became a multi-volume work of which he wrote only the first three volumes, dealing with the early Middle Ages and Middle High German poetry.
advocating a Germanic religion based on 'kinship and law'. Neighbours complained about his entertaining large numbers of young Germans at his home who were not all students, flying the swastika, and driving an ostentatious red and orange car paid for by the German embassy. In 1944 he was awarded the War Merit Cross
, apparently for his services racially vetting Germans invited to speak in Switzerland. A file containing his reports on the politics of his university colleagues was found in the furnace room at the embassy in 1945. In December 1945, effective early the following year, he was expelled from Switzerland despite protests from students, colleagues, and acquaintances.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
medievalist.
Life and career
Helmut de Boor was the third child of the Byzantine studies scholar Carl Gotthard de Boor. He was educated in Breslau and attended the Universities of FreiburgUniversity of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
, Marburg and Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
. He earned his doctorate from Leipzig in 1914 and following service in World War I, his Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
from the University of Breslau in 1919, in German studies
German studies
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 history, and German politics in addition to the...
, Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
and Philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
. Both his dissertation and his Habilitationsschrift are on the Faroese ballads which relate to the Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
, which he was later to edit.
While working on his Habilitation, he was a tutor in Old Norse at Breslau. He then held academic positions in German Studies at the University of Gothenburg (1919–22), Old Norse at the University of Greifswald (1924–26), and Old Norse at Leipzig (1926–30). From 1930 to 1945, he was professor of German Language and Literature at the University of Bern.
After World War II, he became professor of German Language and Literature at Marburg (1945–49), and then held the chair in Older German Language and Literature and Old Norse at the Free University of Berlin
Free University of Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...
until 1958/59, when he retired.
De Boor was a very productive scholar. He revised Karl Bartsch's standard edition of the Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
and co-wrote a widely used grammar of Middle High German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
, but throughout his career occupied himself with the philology of Old Norse as well as of German. He wrote above all about heroic literature. After leaving Switzerland he began work on a complete history of German literature, originally intended as a short handbook for student use; it became a multi-volume work of which he wrote only the first three volumes, dealing with the early Middle Ages and Middle High German poetry.
Under the Nazis
De Boor became a member of the Nazi Party in 1937. He regarded Nazism as a natural reaction of the younger generation in Germany which had been most heavily affected by the aftermath of World War I. He was collegial with Jewish faculty at Bern and initially his closest friend there was Fritz Strich, a Jewish scholar, who however cut off contact with him in 1934 on suspicion that de Boor had told his daughter to boycott Strich's lectures on anti-semitic grounds. He travelled frequently to Germany and after the Anschluß also to Austria to lecture on Germanentum. He sent a paper to Thomas MannThomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
advocating a Germanic religion based on 'kinship and law'. Neighbours complained about his entertaining large numbers of young Germans at his home who were not all students, flying the swastika, and driving an ostentatious red and orange car paid for by the German embassy. In 1944 he was awarded the War Merit Cross
War Merit Cross
The War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
, apparently for his services racially vetting Germans invited to speak in Switzerland. A file containing his reports on the politics of his university colleagues was found in the furnace room at the embassy in 1945. In December 1945, effective early the following year, he was expelled from Switzerland despite protests from students, colleagues, and acquaintances.
Selected publications
- Die färöischen Lieder des Nibelungenzyklus. (dissertation, 1914, published 1918)
- Die färöischen Dvörgamoylieder. (Habilitationsschrift, 1919)
- Schwedische Literatur. Breslau 1924.
- "Die religiöse Sprache der Vǫluspá und verwandter Denkmäler". (1930)
- Das Attilabild in Geschichte, Legende und heroischer Dichtung. Bern 1932.
- "Zum Althochdeutschen Wortschatz auf dem Gebiet der Weissagung". (1944)
- "Die nordischen, englischen und deutschen Darstellungen des Afpelschussmotivs". (1947)
- (with Roswitha Wisniewski) Mittelhochdeutsche Grammatik. Berlin 1956.
- Geschichte der deutschen Literatur von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. Volumes 1–3. Munich 1949–1962.
- (Ed.) Das Nibelungenlied. Ed. Karl Bartsch. 10th and 11th revised editions, 1940, 1949.
External links
- Works by Helmut de Boor at the German National LibraryGerman National LibraryThe German National Library is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany...