Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in the United States was a source of controversy. His brother was the distinguished classical scholar,
Eduard Meyer
Eduard Meyer (25 January 1855 – 31 August 1930) was a German historian. He was the brother of Celticist Kuno Meyer (1858–1919).
Biography
Meyer was born in Hamburg and educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums and later at the unive ...
.
Meyer was considered first and foremost a lexicographer among Celtic scholars but is known by the general public in Ireland rather as the man who introduced them to ''Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry'' (1911).
[
He founded and edited four journals devoted to Celtic Studies, published numerous texts and translations of Old and Middle Irish romances and sagas, and wrote prolifically, his topics ranging to name origins and ancient law.][
]
Early life
Born in Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, he studied there at the Gelehrtenschule of the Johanneum. He spent two years in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, as a teenager (1874–1876) learning English.[
From 1879, he attended the ]University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
, where he was taught Celtic scholarship by Ernst Windisch
Ernst Wilhelm Oskar Windisch (4 September 1844, Dresden30 October 1918, Leipzig) was a German classical philologist and comparative linguist who specialised in Sanskrit, Celtic and Indo-European studies.
In his student days at the University o ...
. He received his doctorate for his thesis ''Eine irische Version der Alexandersage'', on an Irish version of the Alexander Romance, in 1884.[
]
Lecturer
He then took up the post of lecturer in Teutonic languages at the new University College, Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
, the precursor of the University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...
, which was established three years earlier. While at Liverpool, he was appointed to the post of MacCallum Lecturer at the University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
. He held this post for three years, delivering his first lectures in 1904. He was among those who called for the establishment of a permanent lectureship in Celtic Studies
Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celts, Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art h ...
at Glasgow.
He continued to publish on Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...
and more general topics on the Celtic languages
The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yve ...
, as well as producing textbooks for German. In 1896, he founded and edited jointly with Ludwig Christian Stern, the prestigious '' Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie''. He also co-founded ''Archiv für celtische Lexicographie'' in 1898 with Whitley Stokes, producing 3 volumes from 1900 to 1907.
In 1903, Meyer founded the School of Irish Learning in Dublin, and the next year created its journal ''Ériu
In Irish mythology, Ériu (; ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland.
The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germanic (Old Norse or ...
'' of which he was the editor. Also in 1904, he became Todd Professor in the Celtic Languages at the Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
. In October 1911, he followed Heinrich Zimmer
Heinrich Robert Zimmer (6 December 1890 – 20 March 1943) was a German Indologist and linguist, as well as a historian of South Asian art, most known for his works, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization'' and ''Philosophies of Indi ...
as Professor of Celtic Philology at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin; the following year, a volume of ''Miscellany'' was presented to him by pupils and friends in honour of his election, and he was made a freeman of both Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
and Cork.
First World War
At the outbreak of the First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Meyer left Europe for the United States of America, where he lectured at Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
, and elsewhere. A pro-German speech he gave in December 1914 to Clan na Gael on Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
caused outrage in Britain and some factions among the Irish, and as a result, he was removed from the roll of freemen in Dublin and Cork and from his Honorary Professorship of Celtic at Liverpool. He also resigned as Director of the School of Irish Learning and editor of ''Ériu''.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
also had extended an invitation to Meyer to lecture on campus, but it subsequently "disinvited" him on in the fall of 1914 on account of Meyer's pro-German activity.
Meyer nevertheless accepted candidacy for the post of exchange professor at Harvard, at the recommendation of German professors there. However, when the April 1915 issue of '' The Harvard Advocate'' awarded first prize to an anti-German satirical poem "Gott mit Uns" written by an undergraduate, Meyer sent the university (and the press) a letter of protest, rebuking the faculty members who served as judges for failure to exercise neutrality. Meyer also declined his candidacy for the exchange professorship in the letter. In a reply, President Abbott Lawrence Lowell
Abbott Lawrence Lowell (December 13, 1856 – January 6, 1943) was an American educator and legal scholar. He was president of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933.
With an "aristocratic sense of mission and self-certainty," Lowell cut a large ...
said, in explaining Harvard's policy, that freedom of speech includes pro-German and pro-Allied voices alike.[
]
Later life
He was injured in a railway collision in 1915 and met 27-year-old Florence Lewis while he was recovering in a California hospital. They married shortly afterwards. Florence went to Germany in 1916, Meyer in 1917. In 1919 Florence and her daughter went to Switzerland. He died in Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
.
Legacy
Posthumously, in 1920, Meyer's name was restored, both by Dublin and Cork, in their Rolls of Honorary Freemen. The restoration happened on 19 April 1920 in Dublin, where Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
had won control of the City Council three months before, rescinding the decision taken in 1915 by the Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nati ...
.
In 1965, the Gaelic League and the ''Irish Press'' petitioned the restoration as they were unaware that it had already occurred.[
Meyer was regranted the Freedom of the City of Cork, as follows: "Re-elected 14th May, 1920, and order of Council of the 8th January, 1915, expunging his name from the roll rescinded".]
Also in 1920, Meyer was described by his acquaintance Douglas Hyde
Douglas Ross Hyde (; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician, and diplomat who served as the first president of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a l ...
, Celtic philologist and later president of the Republic of Ireland, as "one of the most lovable men who ever existed, and himself undoubtedly in love with Ireland". Hyde credited him with advancing the goals of the Gaelic League
(; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it eme ...
when the question arose whether to allow the teaching of the Irish language in the Intermediate Education of Ireland.
W. T. Cosgrave, later president of the Irish Free State
The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...
, as a Dublin councilman, had strenuously opposed the removal of Meyer's name from Dublin's Freemen roll in the first place. Cosgrave wrote in a letter that Meyer was recognized as "the greatest Celtic authority since the death of Whitley Stokes" and that he has "done more for Irish scholarship and Irish national glory than any other living man".[ (reprint of Cosgrave's letter dated 8 February 1915)]
In 2004, on the centenary of the publication of ''Ériu'', Proinsias Mac Cana described Kuno Meyer as a "great" scholar, in "brilliant" partnership with John Strachan as the first editors of ''Ériu'', his predecessors in that position. Meyer is among those credited with playing a crucial role in fostering native Irish Celtists in the initial phases of ''Ériu'' and the School of Irish Learning, and when the editorship over ''Ériu'' later passed to the succeeding generation of Irish scholars, tantamount to the fulfilment of the "primary intention of Meyer and his associates".
Selected bibliography
* 1885: ''The Irish Odyssey''
* 1892: ''The Vision of MacConglinne'', with A. Nutt
* 1894: ''The Voyage of Bran
The Voyage of Bran ( [], meaning "The Voyage of Bran [son of Febail]") is a medieval seventh- or eighth-century Irish language narrative.
Source
The date of composition has been assigned to the late 7th or early 8th century, and the text is kn ...
''
* 1896: ''Early Relations of the Brython and Gael''
* 1901: ''King and Hermit''
* 1905: '' Cáin Adamnáin: An Old Irish Treatise on the Law of Adamnan''
* 1911: ''Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry''
* 1912: '' Sanas Cormaic, an Old Irish Glossary''
* 1913: ''Learning in Ireland in the Fifth Century''
* 1914: ''Über die älteste irische Dichtung''
Festschrift
*''Miscellany presented to Kuno Meyer by some of his friends and pupils on the occasion of his appointment to the chair of Celtic philology in the University of Berlin''; ed. by Osborn Bergin and Carl Marstrander. Halle: M. Niemeyer, 1912.
Notes
References
;Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
*
Bibliography
by Å tÄ›pán KosÃk.
from CELT Project
CELT
(Corpus of Electronic Texts)
*
*
* ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' on the Harvard controversy:
**
**
**
** Remarks by Professors John A. Walz, Kuno Francke, and poem author C. Huntington Jacobs '16.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Kuno
1858 births
1919 deaths
Linguists from Germany
Celtic studies scholars
German monarchists
Translators from Irish
Translators from Old Irish
Translators of the Táin Bó Cúailnge
Translators to German
Academics of the University of Liverpool
Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin
Columbia University faculty
People educated at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums
German male non-fiction writers
19th-century German translators
19th-century German non-fiction writers
19th-century German male writers
19th-century German writers
19th-century British male writers
Academics from Hamburg
Emigrants from the German Empire to the United Kingdom