Helmut Gneuss (29 October 1927 – 26 February 2023) was a German scholar of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

manuscripts and literature.

Academic career

Gneuss was emeritus professor at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, where he occupied the chair for English language from 1965 to 1997. He served as Visiting Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1974-75. He lived in Eichenau. He was a member of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

, the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

, the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

, the

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

, and the

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until ) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes the q ...

Publications

Gneuss's 1976 article on the Anglo-Saxon poem ''

The Battle of Maldon "The Battle of Maldon" is the name given to an Old English Old English literature, poem of uncertain date celebrating the real Battle of Maldon of 991, at which an Anglo-Saxon army failed to repulse a Viking raid. Only 325 lines of the poem are ...

'' is regarded as "a turning point" in the history of Maldon scholarship. Specifically, his extensive lexicographical study of the important word ''ofermod'' "proved beyond doubt" that it means "pride", settling an important question in the interpretation of the poem; in the words of Fred C. Robinson, "the poet's use of ''ofermod'' signals a criticism of Byrhtnoth's generalship." His 1981 publication ''A preliminary list of manuscripts written or owned in England up to 1100'' was described as the next milestone in Anglo-Saxon manuscript studies after

Neil Ripley Ker Neil Ripley Ker (; 1908–1982) was a scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature. He was Reader in Palaeography at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford until he retired in 1968. He is known especially for his ''Catalogue of M ...

's 1957 book ''Catalogue of manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon''. The "preliminary" list ("an indispensable tool and essential starting point for anyone interested in Anglo-Saxon literary culture") was followed in 2001 by an expanded and redefined book, ''Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A List of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100''. The "impact and significance" of his Handlist was the subject of a 2008 ''Festschrift'' edited by Thomas N. Hall and Donald Scragg.

Bibliography

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References

External links

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Helmut Gneuss
page at LMU Munich 1927 births 2023 deaths Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Members of Academia Europaea Fellows of the British Academy Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences German palaeographers Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America {{nonfiction-writer-stub