Emil Wendling

This article explains the German philologist; for the German soccer player see Copé Wendling .

Emil Wendling (born July 24, 1869 in Kreuznach , † February 3, 1941 in Stuttgart ) was a German classical philologist .

life and work

Emil Wendling came from a family of craftsmen. His father was an art turner, merchant and vineyard owner, his mother the daughter of an ivory carver. Emil Wendling attended high school in Kreuznach and from 1887 studied Classical Philology and Classical Archeology at the University of Tübingen . Here he joined the Normannia fraternity . In autumn 1888 he switched to Johannes Vahlen at the Berlin University , and a year later to Strasbourg , where he was particularly influenced by Georg Kaibel , Adolph Kießling and Adolf Michaelis . In 1891 he was promoted to Dr. phil. doctorate and solved the award task of the philosophical faculty; he received the award in the spring of 1892. In November of the same year he passed the state examination for higher education with distinction.

As a high school teacher in Alsace-Lorraine (1892-1918)

With the qualification to teach Greek, Latin, German and philosophical propaedeutics, Wendling completed his probationary year at the Protestant grammar school in Strasbourg in 1892/1893. He also joined the local senior gymnastics club and the Strasbourg Academic Choral Society and remained connected to them until the end of his life. In 1893 he went to the Hagenau grammar school as a scientific assistant teacher . With the support of his Strasbourg teachers, he applied for the German Archaeological Institute's travel grant in early 1894 , but did not receive it. In the autumn of that year, Wendling went to Saarburg as a teacher, where he met his future wife Frieda Sohns. In the autumn of 1896, Wendling was transferred to Diedenhofen . At the grammar school there he was appointed senior teacher on May 16, 1900 and was able to marry on October 24, 1901. In autumn 1902 he moved to the grammar school in Zabern , where he was appointed grammar school professor on April 18, 1908.

In addition to his school service, Wendling always pursued his scientific interests. He made two study trips to Italy (1899 and 1903). A planned trip to Greece did not materialize because of the First World War . Wendling was particularly concerned with the creation of the New Testament . He put down his theses on the Gospels and the life of Jesus in essays and monographs that were positively received by experts. Wendling stood entirely in the tradition of historical-critical research and made a special effort to separate different layers of tradition. In later years there was also research in the field of German literature and Roman provincial archeology . He referred in particular to the holdings of the Zabern Museum and finds in the area.

As a high school teacher and retiree in Ludwigsburg (1918–1941)

After the end of the First World War, Wendling and his family left Zabern, where life under French occupation became increasingly difficult for him. On November 8, 1918, he first moved to Plieningen near Stuttgart and requested to be released from teaching in Alsace-Lorraine, which was granted to him on January 1, 1919. At the same time, Wendling tried to find a place in the Württemberg school service. In February 1919 he was commissioned to hold Latin courses for combatants in Stuttgart. Since he did not receive a permit to move into the city, he had to give the courses from Plieningen. In view of the large influx of refugees, his apartment was terminated on May 1, 1919. Wendling then lived with his family in several subleases. On July 24, 1919, he was released from this precarious situation by a decree by the school authorities, which gave him a professorship at the grammar school in Ludwigsburg . With this, Wendling also received the permit to move into the city and an emergency apartment for his family. On April 1, 1920, he bought a house in which he has lived with his family ever since.

In his scientific work, Wendling was now mainly concerned with the origin of the Homeric epics. He put his views, which were strongly committed to analytical approaches, in several essays and (unpublished) monographs. The extensive studies from the 20s and 30s in particular remained unpublished because Wendling could not find a publisher during the difficult economic times.

Wendling's hearing loss forced him to retire early on January 31, 1929. He now devoted himself entirely to his scientific work. After the death of his wife (April 15, 1938) he moved to live with his daughter in Nürtingen. He died after a long illness on February 3, 1941 in the Stuttgart hospital.

Fonts (selection)

• De peplo Aristotelico quaestiones selectae . Strasbourg 1891 (dissertation)
• Great-Marcus. Attempt to restore the oldest communications about the life of Jesus . Tubingen 1905
• Goethe's stage adaptation of Romeo and Juliet . Zabern 1907 (school program)
• The Origin of the Marcus Gospel . Tubingen 1908
• The Celtic-Roman stone monuments of the Zabern Museum . Zabern 1912 (school program)
• The Law of Intervention and the Layers of the Iliad . Tuebingen 1925
• Achilles: The Homeric original epic, restored and Germanized . Karlsruhe 1927
• The Ur-Ur-Faust of 1772: An attempt at restoration . In: State Gazette for Württemberg. Special side dish . 1927, pp. 233-248
• The peculiarity of the two oldest Iliad poets, Homeros (from Perkote?) And the 'Ionians' (from Kolophon?) . Unpublished manuscript, completed in 1936 (Tübingen University Library, call number Mh II 336)
• The making of the Iliad . Unpublished manuscript, completed in 1939 (Tübingen University Library, call number Mh II 335)

Web links

Wikisource: Emil Wendling  - Sources and full texts

literature

• Gustav Lang: Emil Wendling . In: Annual report on the progress of classical antiquity . Born 1942, Volume 280 (Nekrologe), pp. 25–34