Jan de Vries (linguist)
Jan Pieter Marie Laurens de Vries ( born February 11, 1890 in Amsterdam, † July 23, 1964 in Utrecht ) was a Dutch germanistischer and skandinavistischer medievalist and scholar of religion.
De Vries was one of the technically most accomplished Altgermanisten his time, his contributions to the so-called " Germanic Antiquity " of religion, language and literature are standard scientific literature and reference, even if the results of recent research partially revise de Vries conclusions. Special interest he brought against the etymology, mythology, religion, history and place names research.
Biography
Jan de Vries studied in Amsterdam Dutch, old Germanic, Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali. Promotion 1915. 1914 bis 1918 officer in the First World War. 1919-1926 Dutch teacher at a secondary school in Arnhem. 1926-1945 Professor of Germanic antiquity in Leiden.
During the Second World War, de Vries saw the German occupation as a way of creating a new order in the Netherlands. From 1940 to 1941 he was chairman of the already existing since the 19th century " Algemeen Nederlands - Verbond ", which promoted cultural exchange between the Netherlands and Flanders. De Vries was vice president of the company founded under German aegis " Nederlandse Kultuurraad " and was appointed in 1942 as head of the "Institute for Dutch language and folk culture " in The Hague. He worked with the Ahnenerbe SS, but was treated suspiciously by senior people, because he turned against one propagated by Ahnenerbe superiority of the " Germanic race ". Also emphasized de Vries, the Dutch independence in language and culture, contrary to the Pan-German aspirations of Nazi ideology. In September 1944, de Vries left the Netherlands and went to Leipzig, where he received a position at the German studies and friend Theodor Frings as a lecturer. Through the intercession of the head of the "Germanic control center " of the Ahnenerbe SS, Hans Ernst Schneider de Vries received a six-month scholarship from the German Research Foundation, which was in the spring of 1945, extended by a further six months.
1946 de Vries lost his professorship in Leiden. His membership in the Royal Academy was declared forfeit. He was interned and found in 1948 in a process of intellectual collaboration guilty; the sentence was settled with the internment.
From 1948 to 1955, Jan de Vries worked as a teacher. In addition, he has published in international scientific periodicals, especially German to his research interests. In this time he wrote a book on Celtic religion and made the second and revised edition of his " Altgermanischen religious history ", then the " Old Norse literary history " and his " Etymological Dictionary of Old Norse " to.
His contributions to the discussion on the genesis of the Germanic heroic saga close to those of Franz Rolf Schröder, Hermann Schneider and Hans Kuhn in the turning away, or correction of the designed by Andreas Heusler strict system of a pure literariness of the heroic saga of. De Vries as Schröder stressed out again the mythical connections, or the mythical basis of the heroic saga.
Works (selection)
- The problem of Loki. FFC 110, Helsinki 1932.
- Old Germanic religious history I. Berlin -Leipzig 1935 ( 3rd edition 1970).
- Altgermanische Religious History II ( the German plan. Philol. 12.2 ), Berlin- Leipzig 1937
- Old Norse literature History I. ( Outline of German. Philol. 15), Berlin -Leipzig 1941.
- Old Norse literature History II ( the German plan. Philol. 16). Berlin 1942.
- The spiritual world of the Germans. Hall A.D. Saale 1943. ( 3rd ed Darmstadt 1964).
- Etymologically Woordenboek. Waar komen en onze woorden plaatsnamen vandaan? Utrecht -Antwerp 1958.
- Celts and Germans. ( Bibliotheca Germanica 9). Bern 1960.
- Norse etymological dictionary. Leiden 1961.
- Celtic religion. ( The religions of mankind 18). Stuttgart 1961.
- Research History of mythology. Orbis Academicus I, 7 Verlag Karl Alber, Freiburg / Munich 1961.
- Woordenboek of Noord -en Zuidnederlandse plaatsnamen. Utrecht -Antwerp 1962.