Karl Schenkl (
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
, 11 December 1827
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
, 20 September 1900) was an Austrian
classical philologist.
Biography
Schenkl studied
classical philology and law from 1845 to 1849 at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
. After 1850 he taught at various
gymnasiums, and in 1858 was appointed professor of classical philology at the
University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669.
It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...
, where he founded the Philological Institute in 1860. In 1863, he left for the
University of Graz, and in the same year started a philological seminar and became a corresponding member of 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 ...
; in 1868 he became a full member. Schenkl was
rector at Graz from 1869 to 1870, and in 1870 became a member of the ''Gymnasialreformkommission'' (commission for the reform of the gymnasiums). In 1875, he was appointed professor at the University of Vienna.
Schenkl was co-founder in 1885 and president of the "Eranos Vindobonensis", a historical society associated with the University of Vienna's Institute for Classical Philology, Middle and Late Latin. With
Wilhelm von Hartel he founded, in 1879, the journal ''
Wiener Studien'', and he was publisher of the series ''
Bibliotheca Teubneriana''. Schenkl edited Latin texts by the
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...
and others for the ''
Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum
The ''Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum'' (CSEL) is an academic series that publishes critical editions of Latin works by late-antique Christian authors. There are about 100 volumes in the series; many are considered authoritative st ...
'' (CSEL), and published a number of important textbooks; his ''Griechisches Elementarbuch'' (1852) was used in Austrian schools for 70 years, and his students' dictionary of Ancient Greek was still in use in 2009. His interests also extended to Sanskrit, his lectures on which paved the way for the later foundation of the chair of comparative linguistics at Graz, and fairytales; his 1864 article "Das Märchen von Schneewittchen und Shakespeare's ''Cymbeline''" is one of the earliest studies of "
Snow White
"Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...
".
In 1919 a plaque honoring Schenkl was unveiled in the arcaded courtyard of the University of Vienna.
He was the father of philologist
Heinrich Schenkl.
Selected works
For the CSEL
*
Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...
, ''Hexameron'', ''De paradiso'', ''De Cain'', ''De Noe'', ''De Abraham'', ''De Isaac'', ''De bono mortis''. 1896, Vol. 32/1
*Ambrose, ''De Iacob'', ''De Ioseph'', ''De patriarchis'', ''De fuga saeculi'', ''De interpellatione Iob et David'', ''De apologia prophetae David'', ''De Helia'', ''De Nabuthae'', ''De Tobia''. 1897, Vol. 32/2
*Ambrose, ''Expositio evangelii secundum Lucam''. 1902, Vol. 32/4
*''Sancti Paulini epigramma'', ''Versus ad gratiam domini'', ''De verbi incarnatione'', ''De ecclesia''. 1888, Vol. 16/1
*Claudius Marius Victor, ''Alethia''. 1888, Vol. 16/1
*
Faltonia Betitia Proba, ''Cento''. 1888, Vol. 16/1
References
Sources
*
* ''Schenkl, Karl'', in: ''
Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie'', vol. 8, p. 607
* Alois Kernbauer: "Karl Schenkl (1863/64-1875)". In ''Das Fach Klassische Philologie an der Universität Graz vom Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts bis zur Gegenwart. Mit Beiträgen von Herbert H. Egglmaier, Walter Höflechner, Alois Kernbauer, Walter Primig, Peter G. Tropper, Franz-Anton Wallisch''. Beiträge und Materialien zur Geschichte der Wissenschaften in Österreich Ed.
Walter Höflechner (Publikationen aus dem Archiv der Universität Graz 11), Graz 1981, 38–52.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schenkl, Karl
1827 births
1900 deaths
19th-century philologists
Classical philologists
Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Linguists from Austria-Hungary
Academic staff of the University of Graz
Academic staff of the University of Innsbruck
University of Vienna alumni
Academic staff of the University of Vienna