Christian Wilhelm Ahlwardt

Christian Wilhelm August Ahlwardt (born November 23, 1760 in Greifswald , † April 12, 1830 there ) was a German classical philologist . Initially active in the school service, he successively headed the Oldenburg grammar school and the Greifswald council school . Finally, in 1817, he became professor of ancient literature at the University of Greifswald . In 1827 he was elected rector of the University of Greifswald for one year .

Life

Christian Wilhelm Ahlwardt was the son of a Greifswald carpenter. He attended the council school in Greifswald from 1769 and was matriculated at Greifswald University at Easter 1778. Ahlwardt was initially enrolled in the medical faculty , then in the theological faculty, but did not take part in lectures. Instead, he concentrated on self-study on the ancient and new philological subjects and left the university in 1782 without having acquired an academic degree. Then he was employed as a private tutor in Greifswald and in 1783 went to Rostock University as a private lecturer in philology . From 1792 he was employed as a teacher at the school in Demmin and from 1795 he was a rector in Anklam .

On the recommendation of Johann Heinrich Voss , Ahlwardt became rector and first professor at the Oldenburg grammar school at the end of 1797 . His appointment was soon seen as a mistake, as Ahlwardt saw himself as a scholar and had taken up the teaching profession only for a living. Apparently unskilled from a pedagogical point of view, he limited his teaching to extensive reading of the Greek and Latin classics without the necessary introduction. In addition, he was described as choleric and self-absorbed and probably used very rough manners. This led to conflicts with colleagues and superiors as well as increasing indiscipline. Furthermore, he probably failed in organizational tasks of the school management and before the course system introduced in 1792. He did not participate in the social and cultural life of the city, but withdrew into the circle of his family and concentrated on his linguistic work.

During the French occupation of the Duchy of Oldenburg , he left Oldenburg in April 1811 and took over the position of Rector at his former school, the Ratsschule in Greifswald. In September 1817 he finally received a professorship for ancient literature at Greifswald University. He worked here until his death in 1830. In 1827 he was elected rector of the University of Greifswald for one year .

plant

Ahlwardt published numerous works on topics of classical philology as well as translations from Greek , Latin , Portuguese , Italian and Gaelic . His main work was the translation of the alleged chants of the legendary Irish bard Ossian , which came from James Macpherson and had a great influence on the beginning of Romanticism . Ahlwardt's translation is still considered to be one of the best of the existing complete translations into German.

Fonts (selection)

• To the explanation of the idylls Theocrits , Rostock, 1792.
• Callimachus' hymns and epigrams, from the Greek in the syllable measure of the original with annotations , Berlin, 1794.
• Ariosto's Satyren , translated from the Italian into iambs, Berlin, 1794.
• On the improvement of the lower schools , Greifswald 1797.
• Remarks on some passages by Greek poets , Oldenburg, 1798.
• Some remarks on the excessive number of students , Oldenburg, 1799.
• Ossian's Carthon, after Macpherson, in hexameters , Oldenburg, 1802.
• Comments on Homer's Iliad , Oldenburg, 1805.
• Poems, translated from Portuguese , Oldenburg, 1806.
• Sample of a new translation of Ossian's poems from the Gaelic original , Oldenburg, 1807.
• Portuguese Chrestomathy for Beginners , Leipzig, 1808.
• Remarks on the decrease in the diligence of students in schools and universities , Oldenburg, 1809.
• Ossian's Apostrophes to the Sun , Oldenburg, 1810.
• Via Ossian's Fionnghal , Oldenburg, 1811.
• Ossian's poems from Gaelic in the syllable measure of the original, 8 vols. , Leipzig, 1811
• Pindari Carmina , Leipzig, 1820.

family

Ahlwardt was married twice. His from the second marriage with the innkeeper daughter Dorothea geb. Hingst (1802-1837) son, Wilhelm Ahlwardt (1828-1909), became a well-known orientalist.

See also

• List of rectors at the University of Greifswald

literature

• Johann Friedrich Ludwig Theodor Merzdorf:  Ahlwardt, Christian Wilhelm . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 161 f.
• David donors: Christian Wilhelm Ahlwardt, Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher and Johann Heinrich August Ebrard in the context of Celtology of the 19th century. In: Hans Hablitzel and David Stifter (eds.): Johann Kaspar Zeuss in a cultural and linguistic context (19th to 21st century). Kronach July 21 - July 23, 2006. [= Keltische Forschungen 2], Vienna: Praesens Verlag 2007, pp. 209-253.
• Hans Friedl u. a. (Ed.): Biographical manual for the history of the state of Oldenburg . Edited on behalf of the Oldenburg landscape. Isensee, Oldenburg 1992, ISBN 3-89442-135-5 , pp. 22-23 ( PDF; 4.6 MB ).

Web links

• Christian Wilhelm Ahlwardt in the Rostock matriculation portal
• Literature by and about Christian Wilhelm Ahlwardt in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hans Friedl (Hrsg.): Biographisches Handbuch zur Geschichte des Landes Oldenburg . Oldenburg 1992, p. 23.

predecessor	Office	successor
Wilhelm Sprengel	Rector of the University of Greifswald 1827	Gustav Salomon Tillberg