Johann Kaspar Zeuss | |
|---|---|
 Johann Kaspar Zeuss | |
| Born | (1806-07-22)22 July 1806 |
| Died | 10 November 1856(1856-11-10) (aged 50) Kronach, Bavaria |
| Other names | Zeuß, Johann Kaspar |
| Occupation | German linguist |
Johann Kaspar Zeuss (orZeuß, 22 July 1806 – 10 November 1856) was a German historian and founder ofCelticphilology. He is credited with demonstrating that the Celtic languages belong to the Indo-European group.[1]
Zeuss was born inKronach,Upper Franconia, and studied at thegymnasium ofBamberg. His parents wished him to enter the priesthood, but he chose a scholarly career, inclining particularly to historical and linguistic studies. He entered theUniversity of Munich and after graduating, taught at the gymnasium there. In 1837 his bookDie Herkunft der Baiern von den Markomannen (The Descent of the Bavarians from the Markomans), brought him an honorary PhD from theUniversity of Erlangen. The same year he went toSpeyer to teach history at the lyceum and remained there until 1847, when he accepted a professorship of history at the University of Munich. This he resigned on account of poor health and was transferred to the lyceum in Bamberg. In 1853 there appeared his monumentalGrammatica Celtica,[2][3] which brought him fame. Two years after he took a leave of absence to recover his health, but he died in Kronach the following year.
Zeuss was a scholar of great erudition, combining a knowledge of philology with history and ethnology. His Germanic studies had taught him the necessity of knowing Celtic languages, and he went to work to investigate this neglected field. To get at the sources, the old manuscripts, particularly those inOld Irish, he journeyed toKarlsruhe,Würzburg,St. Gallen, Milan, London, andOxford, and everywhere made extracts or copies. Both ancient and modern dialects received his attention. HisGrammatica Celtica proved beyond doubt that the Celtic languages were a group of the Indo-European family, which put Celtic philology on a sound scientific basis. After the author's death, the work was revised and re-edited byHermann Ebel (Berlin, 1871). Other works by Zeuss areTraditiones possessionesque Wirzenburgenses (1842) andDie Freie Reichstadt Speyer vor ihrer Zerstörung (The Free Imperial City of Speyer before its Destruction).
De Barra (2018, page 26) writes that Zeuss "brought rigorous scientific methodologies and a sense of scholarly gravitas to the study of indigenous languages of Britain and Ireland....something the field had lacked before....in his wake universities in Britain and Europe devoted more resources to the study of Celtic matters".
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Johann Kaspar Zeuss".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
