Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. Simek specializes in Germanic studies, and is the author of several notable works on

Germanic religion Germanic religion may refer to: * Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological dating, chronological range of at least one t ...

and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

(including

Old Norse religion Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into distinct branches. It was replaced by Christianity and forgotten ...

and

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

, Old Norse literature, and the culture of

Medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Biography

Since 1995, Simek has been Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the

. Simek was appointed Professor of Comparative Religion at the University of Tromsø in 1999, and Professor of Old Nordic Studies at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 2000. Simek has held a number of visiting professorships, having had long research stays at the universities of Reykjavik,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, London,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. From 2000 to 2003, Simek was Chairman of the International Saga Society (German: Internationalen-Saga-Gesellschaft). Simek is a member of many additional learned societies, including the International Arthurian Society, the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Germanistik, the Viking Society for Northern Research, the Society for Northern Studies, and the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy.

Research

Simek researches a wide variety of topics connected to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. This includes

and

(including

and

and the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

, Old Norse literature, and medieval science (including

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

) and popular religion. Simek has published a number of notable works on these subjects, several of which have been translated into multiple languages.

Selected works

* ''Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie'', Stuttgart, Kröner, 1984 (translations to English, French and Icelandic) * ''Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur'' (with Hermann Pálsson), Stuttgart, Kröner, 1987
''Altnordische Kosmographie. Studien und Quellen zu Weltbild und Weltbeschreibung in Norwegen und Island vom 12. bis zum 14. Jahrhundert''
Berlin/New York, de Gruyter, 1990 ( Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde. Ergänzungsbände, Bd. 4) * ''Erde und Kosmos im Mittelalter''. München, C.H. Beck, 1992. * ''Die Wikinger'', München, C.H. Beck, 1998 (translation to Spanish) * ''Religion und Mythologie der Germanen'', Stuttgart, Theiss 2003 * ''Götter und Kulte der Germanen'', München, C.H. Beck, 2004 * ''Runes, Magic and Religion: A Sourcebook'' (with John McKinnell und Klaus Düwel), Wien, Fassbaender, 2004 * ''Mittelerde – Tolkien und die germanische Mythologie'', München, C.H. Beck, 2005 * ''Der Glaube der Germanen'', Limburg und Kevelaer, Lahn-Verlag, 2005 * ''Die Germanen'', Stuttgart, Reclam, 2006. * ''Die Edda.'' C. H. Beck, München 2007, (''C. H. Beck Wissen''). * ''Ewige Orte. Reliquien und heiligen Stätten in Wien.'' Metro, Wien 2007, . * ''Artus-Lexikon. Mythos und Geschichte, Werke und Personen der europäischen Artusdichtung.'' Reclam, Stuttgart 2012, . * ''Die Schiffe der Wikinger.'' Reclam, Stuttgart 2014, . * ''Monster im Mittelalter. Die phantastische Welt der Wundervölker und Fabelwesen''. Böhlau, Köln, Weimar, Wien 2015. . * ''Vinland! Wie die Wikinger Amerika entdeckten''. C. H. Beck, München 2016, . * ''Trolle. Ihre Geschichte von der Mythologie bis zum Internet.'' Böhlau, Köln/Weimar/Wien 2018, . * ''Die Geschichte der Normannen. Von Wikingerhäuptlingen zu Königen Siziliens.'' Reclam, Ditzingen 2018, . * ''Monster im Mittelalter''. Köln und Wien: Böhlau 2019,

References

External links

Page of Rudolf Simek at the Scandinavian studies chair of University of Bonn

Page of Rudolf Simek at the Institute for German studies of University of Bonn

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simek, Rudolf 1954 births 20th-century Austrian historians 21st-century Austrian historians Academics of the University of Edinburgh Austrian librarians Austrian medievalists Austrian non-fiction writers Austrian philologists Germanic studies scholars Austrian Germanists Living people Members of the Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy Old Norse studies scholars People from Eisenstadt Academic staff of the University of Bonn Academic staff of the University of Tromsø University of Vienna alumni Academic staff of the University of Vienna Writers on Germanic paganism

Biography

Research

Selected works

See also

References

External links