Ludwig Mendelssohn

Ludwig Mendelssohn, approx. 1890
Source: Monacensia , Literature Archive and Library Munich

Ludwig August Johann Peter Salomonovich Mendelssohn (also Ludwig von Mendelssohn ; * 6. June 1852 in Oldenburg , † September 4 ^{. Jul} / 16th September  1896 ^greg. In Tartu ) was a German classical philologist , who at the since 1876 University of Tartu had .

Life

Ludwig Mendelssohn comes from the Mendelssohn family from Jever and was the sixth child of the gymnastics teacher Salomon Mendelssohn (1813–1892) and Johanna, nee. Philip's son and was baptized Protestant; his father remained Jewish throughout his life. After graduating from the Oldenburg grammar school, Ludwig Mendelssohn studied classical philology at the University of Göttingen from 1870 , where he solved the university's award task in the first year ( de Eratosthenis chronographi fontibus et auctoritate ). Among the academic teachers he was particularly influenced by Hermann Sauppe and Kurt Wachsmuth .

In the fall of 1871, Mendelssohn moved to the University of Leipzig and joined the text critic and Latinist Friedrich Ritschl , who accepted him into his societas philologa and the philological seminar. Mendelssohn also made his first publications under Ritschl. Mendelssohn's doctoral thesis, with which he received his doctorate in 1873 , arose out of a price request by Ritschl . The habilitation followed in the summer of 1874.

Wandering years

Mendelssohn's first work concerned the ancient chronology, to which he suggested numerous improvements. His research was reviewed by many experts and triggered a dispute with the historians Theodor Mommsen , Benedikt Niese and Alfred von Gutschmid . Mendelssohn hardly intervened in this debate, since he had been on a research trip to Italy since autumn 1874, which was financially supported by the Saxon king. He examined manuscripts in the libraries of Milan, Florence, Venice and Rome and collected material for his later editions.

Teaching activity in Leipzig and Dorpat

After his return from Italy, Mendelssohn began teaching as a private lecturer at the University of Leipzig in the winter semester of 1875/1876. But already in the summer of 1876 he received a call to the University of Dorpat as associate professor, which he followed on August 20. At that time, the University of Dorpat was a German-speaking university with a steady increase in the number of students. Mendelssohn put his research on hold for the time being in order to devote himself entirely to teaching and administration. His colleague was Wilhelm Hoerschelmann , who had studied with him in Göttingen. In February 1878 Mendelssohn was appointed full professor.

Marriage and children

Mendelssohn married the Baltic noblewoman Alexandrine von Cramer (1849–1922) on April 30, 1877 and had four children with her: Walter von Mendelssohn (1883–1955), later senior teacher in Straussberg, the later artisan Georg Mendelssohn (1886–1955), the writer Erich von Mendelssohn (1887–1913) and the later graphologist and writer Ania Teillard (born as Anja von Mendelssohn, later Ania Adamkiewicz-Mendelssohn, then Ania Teillard, 1889–1978).

Editing activity: Appian, Herodian and Zosimos

In the years after his appointment, the first fruits of Mendelssohn's Italian journey appeared: his two-volume critical edition by the historian Appian (Leipzig 1879–1881) placed the text on a reliable basis for the first time, as Mendelssohn was the first since Johann Schweighäuser (1742–1830) who had viewed the author's manuscripts. Mendelssohn's edition was received with goodwill by the professional world, as it was in need of improvement in details, but overall it reproduced the text reliably.

Mendelssohn's next works were editions by the Greek historians Herodian (Leipzig 1883) and Zosimos (Leipzig 1887), with which he replaced the editions of Immanuel Bekker and for the first time presented a text based on a broad study of manuscripts. For these editions Mendelssohn used the material from his first trip to Italy and that of his second (1884), during which he visited Venice, Milan and Florence.

Elevation to the nobility

For his scientific merits, Mendelssohn was honored by the Russian Tsar Alexander II with the Order of St. Anne, first class, with which he was raised to the hereditary nobility. His grandson Peter converted the “from” into a “de” when he acquired British citizenship in 1939.

Marginalization at the University of Dorpat

With the Russification of Dorpat University, which began in 1886, on the initiative of the curator Mikhail Nikolajewitsch Kapustin , the situation for German-speaking professors and students became increasingly difficult. In 1892 Kapustin ordered that after three years all professors had to speak in Russian. The number of German professors listened dramatically. This led Mendelssohn, who lived withdrawn, to a severe depression, which intensified when his friend and colleague Hoerschelmann died in 1895.

Mendelssohn continued his research tirelessly. In 1893 his edition of Cicero's letters appeared , based on manuscript studies in Italy, England and France. His last major work was a copy of Aristeas' letter that he could no longer finish himself. On September 16, 1896, he left the house in the evening and disappeared for days until his body was found in the Embach .

Services

Mendelssohn's text editions marked decisive advances in classical studies. Except for the Aristeas letter, which his Dorpater colleague Michail Nikititsch Krascheninnikow and the then Berlin high school teacher Paul Wendland published posthumously, all editions were reprinted in the 20th century and represent the basis for the text constitution of the respective authors.

literature

• Georg Goetz : Ludwig Mendelssohn . In: Biographisches Jahrbuch für Alterthumskunde . 21st year (1898), pp. 49-60

Web links

Commons : Ludwig Mendelssohn  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Ludwig Mendelssohn  - Sources and full texts

• Literature by and about Ludwig Mendelssohn in the catalog of the German National Library
• Overview of Ludwig Mendelssohn's courses at the University of Leipzig (summer semester 1875 to winter semester 1876)
• Entry in the Erik Amburger database at the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Entry in the burial register of the university community in Dorpat (Estonian: Tartu ülikooli kogudus)
2. ↑ Hilde Spiel: Which world is my world? Memories 1946-1989, p. 21, ISBN 978-3471786338