View source for Germanic philology

{{Short description|Philology study of Germanic languages}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2009}}
'''Germanic philology''' is the [[philology|philological]] study of the [[Germanic languages]], particularly from a [[Comparative method|comparative]] or historical perspective.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://signumuniversity.org/departments/language-literature/germanic-philology/ |title=Germanic Philology |website=[[Signum University]] |language=en-US |access-date=2019-10-08}}</ref>

The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary texts in the earlier phases of the languages. Early modern publications dealing with [[Old Norse]] culture appeared in the 16th century, e.g. ''Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus'' (Olaus Magnus, 1555) and the ''[[List of editiones principes in Latin|editio princeps]]'' of the 13th century ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'' by [[Saxo Grammaticus]], [[editio princeps|in 1514]].

In 1603, [[Melchior Goldast]] made the first edition of [[Middle High German]] poetry, Tyrol and Winsbeck, including a [[Commentary (philology)|commentary]] which focused on linguistic problems and set the tone for the approach to such works in the subsequent centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Humanismus in der deutschen Literatur des Mittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit |last=Dunphy |first=Graeme |date=2008 |publisher=Max Niemeyer |editor-last=McLelland |editor-first=Nicola |location=Tübingen |pages=105–121 |chapter=Melchior Goldast und Martin Opitz: Mittelalter-Rezeption um 1600 |editor-last2=Schiewer |editor-first2=Hans-Jochen |editor-last3=Schmitt |editor-first3=Stefanie |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/3455592/Melchior_Goldast_und_Martin_Opitz_Mittelalter-Rezeption_um_1600}}</ref>

He later gave similar attention to the [[Old High German]] translation of the Benedictine Rule. In [[Elizabethan era]] and Jacobean England, [[Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington|Robert Cotton]]'s collection and studies of the manuscripts now in the [[Cotton Library]] marks the beginnings of scholarship of the [[Old English language]] and [[Anglo-Saxon literature]].

The pace of publications started by the [[Gutenberg Revolution]] increased during the 17th century with Latin translations of the ''[[Edda]]'' (notably Peder Resen's ''Edda Islandorum'' of 1665).

Germanic philology, together with [[history of linguistics|linguistics]] as a whole, emerged as a formal academic discipline in the early 19th century, pioneered particularly in [[History of Germany#1815–1871|Germany]] by linguists such as [[Jacob Grimm]], the German author, philologist, and [[Folklore studies|folklorist]] who discovered the [[Grimm's law]], documenting the [[sound shift]] across all [[Germanic languages]]. Important 19th-century scholars include [[Henry Sweet]], [[Matthias Lexer]], and [[Joseph Wright (linguist)|Joseph Wright]]. One of the most famous and respected 20th-century scholars, whose work as a Germanic philologist heavily influenced his poetry, fiction, and [[high fantasy]] writing, was [[Oxford University]] professor [[J.R.R. Tolkien]].

==Subfields==
*[[Comparative linguistics]] ([[Common Germanic]])
*[[Dutch language|Dutch studies]]
*[[English studies]]
*[[German studies]]
*[[Germanic languages]]
*[[Runology]]
*[[Scandinavian studies]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
*[[The Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics]]

{{Germanic languages}}
{{Germanic peoples}}
{{Regional cultural studies}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Germanic philology| ]]
[[Category:16th-century introductions]]


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