Eduard Norden (21 September 1868 – 13 July 1941) was a German

classical philologist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

and historian of religion. When Norden received an honorary doctorate from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

James Bryant Conant James Bryant Conant (March 26, 1893 – February 11, 1978) was an American chemist, a transformative President of Harvard University, and the first U.S. Ambassador to West Germany. Conant obtained a Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard in 191 ...

referred to him as "the most famous Latinist in the world".Andrew R. Dyck
review
of Wilt Aden Schröder, ''Der Altertumswissenschaftler Eduard Norden (1868-1941)''. ''

Bryn Mawr Classical Review ''Bryn Mawr Classical Review'' (''BMCR''), founded in 1990, is an open access journal that as of 2008 published reviews of scholarly work in the field of classical studies including classical archaeology. The journal describes itself as the sec ...

'' 2000.01.03.

Life

Eduard Norden was born in

Emden Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

, the son of a Jewish physician. Baptized in the

Evangelical Church Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

aged 17, he studied classics at

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. After serving as assistant at

Strassburg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, in 1893 he became professor at

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

. In Greiswald he married Marie Schultze, the daughter of the city's mayor. After having published ''Die Antike Kunstprosa'' in 1899 he was appointed to the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. The book on Vergil's Aeneid (1903) made him famous. At age 38 he was appointed to the chair of Latin in Berlin, the most prestigious position for a classicist in Germany. In 1928, at age 60, he was appointed rector of the University of Berlin.Bernhard Kytzler: ''Norden, Eduard'' in: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie 19 (1999)'', S. 341. During winter 1934/35 a new law in Germany set the age for retirement from professorship from before 68 to 65. Because Norden had already by 1933 reached the age of 65, he was given emeritus status in February 1935. Because of the antisemitic

Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. The two laws were the Law ...

of 1935 already in December 1935 Norden lost the right to hold lectures at the University of Berlin. Reacting to pressure by the Ministry of Education in 1938 the Berlin Academy of Science urged Norden to quit his membership there.Eckart Mensching: ''Nugae zur Philologie-Geschichte V. Eduard Norden zum 50. Todestag.'' Universitätsbibliothek der Technischen Universität Berlin Abt. Publikationen, Berlin 1992, . p. 131 The 1938 Jewish tax forced him to sell his house and portions of his library, and he lost his right to use university facilities. Friends persuaded him to move to

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, where he died on 13 July 1941. Norden described

Hermann Usener Hermann Karl Usener (23 October 1834 – 21 October 1905) was a German scholar in the fields of philology and comparative religion. Life Hermann Usener was born at Weilburg and educated at its Gymnasium. From 1853 he studied at Heidelberg ...

(1834–1905) und

Franz Bücheler Franz Bücheler (3 June 18373 May 1908) was a German classical scholar, was born in Rheinberg, and educated at Bonn, where he was a student of Friedrich Ritschl (1806–1876). Biography In 1856, Bücheler graduated from the University of Bonn ...

(1837–1908) as his most important teachers. Today the best known of Norden's scientific works is ''Antike Kunstprosa'' (1898), which centers on problems of rhetoric. Another important work is his commentary to Vergil's ''Aeneis (book 6)'', which focuses on religious problems.

Major works

* ''Die antike Kunstprosa vom VI. Jahrhundert v. Chr. bis in die Zeit der Renaissance'' (1898). * ''P. Vergilius Maro Aeneis Buch VI'' (1903, 1916, 1927). * ''Agnostos Theos; Untersuchungen zur Formengeschichte religiöser Rede'' (1913). * ''Ennius und Vergilius; Kriegsbilder aus Roms grosser Zeit'' (1915). * ''Die germanische Urgeschichte in Tacitus Germania'' (1921). * ''Die Geburt des Kindes; Geschichte einer religiösen Idee'' (1924). * ''Alt-Germanien; völker- und namengeschichtliche Untersuchungen'' (1934). * ''Aus altrömischen Priesterbüchern'' (1939).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norden, Eduard 1868 births 1941 deaths People from Emden German philologists German historians of religion German classical scholars German male non-fiction writers Converts to Protestantism from Judaism German people of Jewish descent Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Bonn alumni Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg Academic staff of the University of Breslau Academic staff of the University of Greifswald Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences German Latinists

Life

Major works

Further reading

References