Adolf Holtzmann (2 May 1810 in Karlsruhe – 3 July 1870 in Heidelberg) was a German professor and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

. His name is associated with a

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...

sound law known as Holtzmann's Law. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

at the universities of

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...

and

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, where he was a student of

Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional ...

. He later studied philology at the University of Munich, where his influences included Johann Andreas Schmeller. Holtzmann also attended classes in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

given by Eugène Burnouf, and beginning in 1837, spent a number of years working as a tutor to members of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden ...

royalty. From 1852 he was a professor of

German literature German literature () comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy and to a l ...

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

at the University of Heidelberg, and a notable

of his day. Holtzmann was the father-in-law of Albrecht Kossel, German

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of "biological che ...

and 1910 Nobel laureate, by his marriage to Holtzmann's daughter, Luise, in 1886.

Selected works

* ''Ueber den griechischen Ursprung des indischen Thierkreises'', 1841 – On the Greek origin of the Indian zodiac. * ''Über den Umlaut. Zwei Abhandlungen'', 1843 – On umlaut : two treatises. * ''Über den Ablaut'', 1844 – On

ablaut In linguistics, the Indo-European ablaut (, from German '' Ablaut'' ) is a system of apophony (regular vowel variations) in the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE). An example of ablaut in English is the strong verb ''sing, sang, sung'' and i ...

. * ''Beiträge zur Erklärung der persischen Keilinschriften'', 1845 – Contributions to the explanation of Persian cuneiform inscriptions. * ''Indische Sagen'', 1st part 1845 and 3rd part 1847 (2nd ed. in two volumes 1854) – Indian legends. * ''Untersuchungen über das Nibelungenlied'', 1854 – Investigations of the " Nibelungenlied". * ''Kelten und Germanen. Eine historische Untersuchung'', 1855 – Celts and Germans, a historical study. * ''Der große Wolfdieterich'', 1865 – Wolfdietrich. * ''Altdeutsche Grammatik, umfassend die gotische, altnordische, altsächsische Sprache'', 1870-75 (with Alfred Holder) – Old Germanic grammar; spanning

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

and

Old Saxon Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). It ...

. * ''Germanische Alterthümer. Mit Text, Übersetzung und Erklärung von Tacitus Germania'', 1873 – Germanic antiquities with text, translation and explanation of

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

' "

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north ...

". * ''Deutsche Mythologie'', 1874 (edited by Alfred Holder; published posthumously) – German mythology.Most widely held works by Adolf Holtzmann
WorldCat Identities

References

External links

* 1810 births 1870 deaths German philologists Linguists from Germany Germanic studies scholars Germanists Writers from Karlsruhe Linguists of Germanic languages Academic staff of Heidelberg University Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Halle alumni German Sanskrit scholars {{Germany-academic-bio-stub

Selected works

See also

References

External links