Gudmund Schütte (17 January 1872– 12 July 1958) was a Danish philologist, historian and writer who specialized in

Germanic studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary te ...

Biography

Gudmund Schütte was born at Eskjær,

Salling Salling is a peninsula located in the north-west of the larger Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The largest city in Salling is Skive, and smaller towns and villages includes Jebjerg, Roslev and Glyngøre. The Sallingsund Bridge connects the penins ...

, Denmark on 17 January 1872, the son of landowner Theodor Schütte ((1835–1915)) and Thilia Augusta Marie Cathrine Petersen ((1837–96)). His paternal grandfather, the landowner August Theodor Schütte, was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

immigrant from

Perleberg Perleberg (; North Margravian: ''Perlberg'') is the capital of the district of Prignitz, located in the northwest of the German state of Brandenburg. The town received city rights in 1239 and today has about 12,000 inhabitants. Located in a mostly ...

, Germany. In addition to Eskjær, his father also owned the Bygholm estate, and the

Sankt Andrä ) is a town in the district of Wolfsberg in Carinthia in Austria. It is named after Saint Andrew. Landmarks The main church is the former Saint Andrew's Cathedral, until 1829 the bishop's seat of the Diocese of Lavant The Diocese of Lavant(tal) ...

estate in Austria. Schütte enrolled at Horsens Statsskole in 1889. While studying

at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public research university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia after Uppsala Unive ...

, Schütte won a university gold medal for a 1897 dissertation on

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

. The same year, Schütte established the Society for Germanic Philology (Danish: Selskabet for germansk filologi). He earned an MA in

philology in 1898, and a PhD in 1907 with the dissertation ''Oldsagn om Godtjod''. From 1909 to 1913, Schütte lectured at universities in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and at Aarhus University. In 1915, Schütte inheritated the estate of his father. With his financial independence secured, Schütte was free to pursue his scientific pursuits without being affiliated with any university or spending time on lecturing. In subsequent years, Schütte wrote a number of important works on the early

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

and history of the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and e ...

. His

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

, ''The Gothonic Nations'' (1929-1933), was published in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in two volumes by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

. He also wrote a number of books and articles on Danish history intended for a popular audience. In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Schütte was an active participant in public debate. He was strongly critical of

Pan-German Pan-Germanism (german: Pangermanismus or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify all the German-speaking people – and possibly also Germanic-speaking ...

aggression towards

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, and advocated Danish reclamation of Danish territory annexed by Germany in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. ...

. Despite opposition from German scholars, Schütte confirmed conclusively that the Jutlandic dialect is a dialect of

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

. He was forceful advocate not only for the rights of the

minority in Germany, but also for several other

ethnic minorities The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

and stateless nations in Europe. Schütte was made a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1928, and received Dannebrogsmændenes Hæderstegn in 1942. Schütte died in Grinderslev, Denmark on 12 July 1958.

Personal life

Schütte married Elsa Margrethe Sidonie Magdalene Johanna Pichler (1880-1953), in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

on 21 January 1909. She was Bohemian, the daughter of architect Hans P. Pichler (1830-1908) and Sidonia Moritsch (1854-1936). The two were introduced to each other in Prague while Schütte was visiting the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

Germanist Arnošt Kraus. Gudmund and Johanna had a close relationship, and her death in 1953 was a heavy blow.

Selected

* * * * * * * * *

References

Sources

* *

External links

* 1872 births 1958 deaths Aarhus University faculty 20th-century Danish historians Danish people of German descent 20th-century Danish philologists Danish writers Germanic studies scholars Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Old Norse studies scholars People from Skive Municipality Writers on Germanic paganism University of Copenhagen alumni {{Denmark-historian-stub