Victor Gardthausen
Encyclopedia
Victor Emil Gardthausen was a German
ancient historian, palaeographer
, librarian, and Professor from Leipzig University. He was author and co-author of some books; editor of ancient texts.
.
Between 1865 to 1869 Gardthausen studied philology in Kiel
and Bonn
. In Kiel Alfred von Gutschmid
was his professor. After the Franco-Prussian War
he was sent to Italy and Greece for palaeographical
research. In 1873 he started work at the Leipzig University and from 1875 at the Leipziger Stadtbibliothek. From 1877 he was an extraordinary professor for ancient history. In 1887/1888 he was active again as a university librarian, becoming the main librarian in 1901. In 1907 he left the library service.
Gardthausen died on December 27 1925 in Leipzig
.
He examined Codex Sinaiticus
, Codex Boernerianus
, Uspenski Gospels
, manuscripts housed in the monastery on Sinai many other. According to him, Codex Sinaiticus was written in Alexandria
and is younger than Codex Vaticanus
at least 50 years. According to him, the Uspenski Gospels were seen by Johann Martin Augustin Scholz when he visited Mar Saba
. Gardthausen dated Codex Boernerianus to the 850-900 A.D. The evidence for this date includes the style of the script, the smaller uncial letters in Greek, the Latin interlinear written in Anglo-Saxon minuscule and the separation of words.
He investigated the nomina sacra
.
Gardthausen stated: "Ist die Handschrift gefunden, so orientiert man durch eine detaillierte Beschreibung, die im Verlaufe der Arbeit durch Beispiele vervollständigt wird" (Any intensive study of a manuscript begins with a detailed description, which in the course of its study is completed through illustration).
The main work of Gardthausen is "Griechische Paläographie" (Greek palaeography), the first edition appeared in 1879, the second in 1911/1913. It was the most important work since time of Bernard de Montfaucon
. It remains a standard work until to the present day.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
ancient historian, palaeographer
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
, librarian, and Professor from Leipzig University. He was author and co-author of some books; editor of ancient texts.
Life
Gardthausen was born in August 26 1843 at CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
Between 1865 to 1869 Gardthausen studied philology in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
and Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
. In Kiel Alfred von Gutschmid
Alfred von Gutschmid
Hermann Alfred Freiherr von Gutschmid , German historian and Orientalist, was born at Loschwitz near ....
was his professor. After the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
he was sent to Italy and Greece for palaeographical
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
research. In 1873 he started work at the Leipzig University and from 1875 at the Leipziger Stadtbibliothek. From 1877 he was an extraordinary professor for ancient history. In 1887/1888 he was active again as a university librarian, becoming the main librarian in 1901. In 1907 he left the library service.
Gardthausen died on December 27 1925 in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
He examined Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. It is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of...
, Codex Boernerianus
Codex Boernerianus
Codex Boernerianus, designated by Gp or 012 , α 1028 , is a small New Testament codex, measuring 25 x 18 cm, written in one column per page, 20 lines per page. Dated paleographically to the 9th century. The name of the codex derives from Boerner, to whom it once belonged...
, Uspenski Gospels
Uspenski Gospels
Uspenski Gospels, Minuscule 461 , ε 92 , are a New Testament minuscule manuscript written in Greek, dated at 835 AD...
, manuscripts housed in the monastery on Sinai many other. According to him, Codex Sinaiticus was written in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
and is younger than Codex Vaticanus
Codex Vaticanus
The Codex Vaticanus , is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Bible , one of the four great uncial codices. The Codex is named for the residence in the Vatican Library, where it has been stored since at least the 15th century...
at least 50 years. According to him, the Uspenski Gospels were seen by Johann Martin Augustin Scholz when he visited Mar Saba
Mar Saba
The Great Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified, known in Arabic as Mar Saba , is a Greek Orthodox monastery overlooking the Kidron Valley in the West Bank east of Bethlehem. The traditional date for the founding of the monastery by Saint Sabas of Cappadocia is the year 483 and today houses around 20...
. Gardthausen dated Codex Boernerianus to the 850-900 A.D. The evidence for this date includes the style of the script, the smaller uncial letters in Greek, the Latin interlinear written in Anglo-Saxon minuscule and the separation of words.
He investigated the nomina sacra
Nomina sacra
Nomina sacra means "sacred names" in Latin, and can be used to refer to traditions of abbreviated writing of several frequently occurring divine names or titles in early Greek language Holy Scripture...
.
Gardthausen stated: "Ist die Handschrift gefunden, so orientiert man durch eine detaillierte Beschreibung, die im Verlaufe der Arbeit durch Beispiele vervollständigt wird" (Any intensive study of a manuscript begins with a detailed description, which in the course of its study is completed through illustration).
The main work of Gardthausen is "Griechische Paläographie" (Greek palaeography), the first edition appeared in 1879, the second in 1911/1913. It was the most important work since time of Bernard de Montfaucon
Bernard de Montfaucon
Bernard de Montfaucon was a French Benedictine monk, a scholar who founded a new discipline, palaeography; an editor of works of the Fathers of the Church; he is also regarded to be one of the founders of modern archaeology.-Early life:Montfaucon was born January 13, 1655 in the castle of...
. It remains a standard work until to the present day.
Works
- Die geographischen Quellen Ammians Probevortrag; Montag den 20. Januar 1873, Leipzig, 1873.
- Mastara oder Servius Tullius: Mit einer Einleitung über die Ausdehnung des Etruskerreiches, Leipzig, 1882.
- Augustus und seine zeit, 2 vol., Leipzig, 1861-1904.
- Catalogus codicum Graecorum Sinaiticorum (1886)
- Sammlungen und Cataloge griechischer Handschriften, Leipzig, 1903.
- Der Altar des Kaiserfriedens, Ara Pacis Augustae, Leipzig, 1908.
- M. Vogel − V. Gardthausen, Die griechischen Schreiber des Mittelalters und der Renaissance, Leipzig, 1909.
- Amtliche Zitate in römischen Urkunden, Berlijn – e.a., 1910.
- Griechische paleographie, http://www.archive.org/details/griechischepalae01garduoft1 vol., 2 vol., Leipzig, 1911-1913.
- Die Schrift, Unterschriften, und chronologie im Altertum und im byzantinischen Mittelalter, Leipzig, 1913.
- Handbuch der wissenschaftlichen Bibliothekskunde, 2 vol., Leipzig, 1920.
- Die Alexandrinische Bibliothek, ihr Vorbild, Katalog und Betrieb, Leipzig, 1922.
- Das alte Monogramm, Leipzig, 1924.
- Autobiographie, [Leipzig, 1926].
Further reading
- Alexandra Habermann, Rainer Klemmt, Frauke Siefkes: Lexikon deutscher wissenschaftlicher Bibliothekare 1925–1980. Klostermann, Frankfurt 1985, ISBN 3-465-01664-5, S. 90.
- Nachruf von August Heisenberg, in: Byzantinische ZeitschriftByzantinische ZeitschriftByzantinische Zeitschrift is a Byzantine studies journal established in 1892 by Karl Krumbacher....
, Band 26 (1926), S. 251.
External links
- Literatur von und über Victor Gardthausen in Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek (DNB)
- Bücher und Aufsätze von Victor Gardthausen im Opac der Regesta Imperii
- Gardthausen, Victor Emil at the Universität Leipzig
- Victor Gardthausen at the Professorenkatalog der Universität Leipzig