Institute for Classical Philology, Middle and New Latin at the University of Vienna

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The Institute for Classical Philology, Middle and New Latin at the University of Vienna looks after the language and literature of Greek and Roman antiquity, including late antiquity, as well as the Middle and New Latin language and literature in research and teaching . It is located in the main building , Universitätsring 1.

The Latin literature of the post-ancient epochs reaches close to the present day, it goes quantitatively many times over that of the ancient world and affects all sciences and arts in their historical aspect. That gives a period of approximately 2700 years.

Focus

The focus of the scientific analysis is the text interpretation , which requires profound language skills that enable a critical assessment of the tradition . The works of European antiquity, which have had a significant impact on all areas of world culture and continue to do so, are primarily analyzed and interpreted. Accordingly, the history of the impact as well as interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary issues represent a further focus of the institute's work. This applies to both research and teaching at all levels, i. H. Bachelor , master , teacher training and doctoral studies . The principle of research-led teaching is formative in all of these studies. Dealing with antiquity sees itself as a contribution to the understanding of an important constant of European culture and civilization . This concept is essentially supranational and respectful of other cultures; H. " Humanistic " in the ethical sense of the word.

history

Today's institute was founded in 1849 as the "Philological Seminar" and expanded in 1850 to become the "Philological-Historical Seminar". The Vienna seminar is the oldest in Austria : in Innsbruck and Graz , comparable institutions were only created in 1860 and 1864, respectively.

The first professor was appointed in the founding year Hermann Bonitz (1814–1888), who taught in Vienna until 1867 - after the battle of Königgrätz he went back to Germany - and carried out the grammar school reform together with Franz Serafin Exner (1802–1853). The “founding generation” also included Karl Josef Grysar (1801–1856) and Johannes Vahlen (1830–1911), who died early . It was also he who founded the Vienna Church Fathers' Corpus (CSEL = Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum ), which continues to this day .

The next generation continued work on the major project. First and foremost, Wilhelm Ritter von Hartel (1839–1907) should be mentioned, who - alongside Karlheinz Töchterle , the former Federal Minister of Science and Research - was the only Austrian classical philologist , rector and minister . Next to him worked Theodor Gomperz (1832-1912) and Karl Schenkl (1827-1900), who had been prior to his appointment to Innsbruck Hartel school teacher in Prague. The longest-serving professor at the institute was Emanuel Hoffmann (1825–1900). Gomperz and Schenkl published Wiener Studien for the first time in 1879 , a well-respected specialist journal that continues to flourish today and has been subtitled since 1996 - analogous to the extended institute name - "Journal of Classical Philology , Patristic Studies and Latin Tradition". Between Hartel and his pupil Edmund Hauler (1859–1941) taught for a few years (1896–1900) the highly respected but ultimately surrendering to the ministerial bureaucracy, Friedrich Marx (1859–1941). Hauler's successor was the talented, but early deceased Alfred Kappelmacher (1876–1932), whose captivating lecture style increased the audience enormously, and last but not least Rudolf Hanslik and Walther Kraus (1902–1997), who, together with Albin Lesky, formed the “triad” of the 50s - and the 60s of the 20th century formed, significantly shaped. A striking personality was Karl Mras (1877–1962), who taught in Vienna from 1933–1938 and 1945–1953; he had u. a. studied with Hans von Arnim (1859–1931), a Wilamowitz student. Ludwig Radermacher (1867–1952), full professor in Vienna since 1909 and also (general) secretary of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) from 1918–1933, despite his merits, was retired in 1936 by the corporate state government before his retirement . Thus, Karl Mras and Johannes Mewaldt (1880–1964), von Arnim's successors, remained until the “Anschluss” of Austria at the seminary . Mewaldt was left in his position because he was a party member. Mras, the declared Nazi opponent, was immediately relieved of his office and replaced by Richard Meister (1881–1964), who appeared to the new rulers to be too risky as a pedagogue , while as a classical philologist, on the other hand, seemed quite acceptable.

Some of the young scientists had to go to the front, some had to emigrate. This fate met u. a. Gertrud Herzog-Hauser , who mostly survived the war in the Netherlands , returned to Vienna in 1947, but died after a few years. Walther Kraus (1902–1997) was hit just as hard: Already in statu habilitandi he was denied access to the institute for "racial" reasons and membership in Eranos Vindobonensis, the ancient science association founded in 1876 and associated with the institute to this day. Aryan paragraphs ”had been included in its statutes. The habilitation process could only be completed in 1945 .

In 1949, after the suicide of Hans Oellacher (1889–1949), whose health had also taken away from his work during the Nazi regime, Albin Lesky (1896–1981) came from Innsbruck to Vienna. In 1965, Gräzist , who liked to be a rhetorician and was visited by many unfamiliar listeners, gave the speech in the Wiener Stadthalle instead of the incumbent rector Karl Fellinger at the 600th anniversary of the Alma Mater Rudolphina .

The decisive course for the future of the (since 1956 so named) "Institute for Classical Philology" was achieved by Rudolf Hanslik (1907–1982), head of the teaching examinations commission and chairman of the Church Fathers Commission (KVK) at the Austrian Academy of Sciences Latinist research and teaching from antiquity to the Middle Ages and modern times ; shortly before his retirement (1977) he had his venia legendi extended as a signal to his successors. It is thanks to him that the institute is now called the “Institute for Classical Philology, Middle and Neo-Latin”.

Scientific staff

Retired Professors

literature

  • Franz Römer, Hans Schwabl: Classical Philology, in: Karl Acham (Hrsg.): History of Austrian Human Sciences 5: Language, Literature and Art , Passagen Verlag, Vienna 2003, pp. 67–113.
  • Franz Römer: "cum ira et studio". Observations on the development of Viennese classical philology after 1945 . In: Margarete Grandner, Gernot Heiss, Oliver Rathkolb (eds.): Future with contaminated sites. The University of Vienna 1945 to 1955 . Studien-Verlag, Innsbruck, Vienna, Munich, Bozen 2005, ISBN 3-7065-4236-6 (cross sections, volume 19), pp. 222-235.

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