Franz Skutsch

Franz Skutsch ( born January 6, 1865 in Neisse, † September 29, 1912 in Breslau) was a German classical scholar, who worked as a lecturer and professor in Breslau ( 1890-1912 ). He was one of the best connoisseurs of the Latin language history and a leading researcher Plautus his time.

Life

Franz Skutsch was born on January 6, 1865 in Neisse, Silesia, as the son of a Jewish doctor. The mother 's maiden name was Gradenwitz, was used by Franz Skutsch with the legal historian Otto Gradenwitz. Skutsch first studied law in Breslau, Jena, turned, however, after attending a lecture by Georg Curtius linguistics to. He then studied classical philology and Indo-European Studies in Heidelberg and Breslau, where he became a pupil of Georg Wissowas. In 1887 he went to Bonn, where he received his Ph.D. under Franz Bücheler in Latin linguistics in 1888 with a thesis on the composition of Latin words. 1890 and his habilitation in Wroclaw. He then worked as a lecturer in Wroclaw. 1893 failed an appeal and the trial of its Breslau colleagues to give him an extraordinary professorship. It was not until 1896 he was in the course of an ordinary house appointments in succession by Frederick Marx. In 1910 he was called to Strasbourg, but he declined. He died in 1912 at the age of 47 from cancer.

Franz Skutsch 1898 converted immediately prior to the marriage to Selma Dorff, to Protestantism. Together with his wife, whom he met as a listener of his lectures, he had three children, among them the later Classical philologist Otto Skutsch.

Services

Skutsch made ​​off with his first, written after the qualification writings, book Plautinisches and Romanesque name as Plautuskennner: He combined precise philological knowledge of Plautus with thorough linguistic training that enabled him, plausibly explain research errors and to make the way to a scientific Latin grammar prepare.

When drafting the article Cornelius Gallus for Realencyclopädie he formed the hypothesis that Gallus was the author of the traditional in the appendix Vergiliana Epyllions Ciris and triggered a fierce debate from research conducted. Skutsch tried in two writings ( from Virgil's early days and Gallus and Virgil ) the professional world to convince them of his thesis, which he was not able.

His numerous linguistic and literary essays and miscellanea, whose subjects range from Etruscan numerals and Volscian inscriptions on Catullus' 68th poem and Horace's Epodes extend to causes of accent change and studies on Iambenkürzung were published posthumously bundled by Wilhelm Kroll as Small Fonts. Particularly in the areas of Latin word customer and Etruscology meant Skutschs publications all a research progress.

Skutsch in common with Paul Kretschmer founder of the journal Glotta, whose first volume appeared in 1909. He was recognized and appreciated internationally and was an honorary member of the Society of Sciences in Athens, as well as a corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy.

Writings (selection )

• Plautinisches and Romanesque. Research on Latin grammar and metric. Volume 1, Leipzig 1892.
• From Virgil's early days. Leipzig 1901.
• Gallus and Virgil. Leipzig 1906.
• Kleine Schriften, edited by Wilhelm Kroll, Leipzig 1914 ( with biographical appreciation and list of publications ).