Heinrich Rudolf Hildebrand (13 March 1824 – 28 October 1894) was a
Germanist
German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, German literature, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on Culture ...
, contributor to, and then, editor of the Grimm brothers' ''
Deutsches Wörterbuch
The ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'' (; "German Dictionary"), abbreviated ''DWB'', is the largest and most comprehensive dictionary of the German language in existence.folksong
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has bee ...
s, and on the teaching of the
German language
German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...
in schools.
Biography
Rudolf Hildebrand was born 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 ...
to
typesetter
Typesetting is the composition of Written language, text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging metal type, physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''char ...
Heinrich Hildebrand and Amalia, born Porges. He attended the
Thomasschule
St. Thomas School, Leipzig (; ) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools in the world.
St. Thomas is known for its art, language and m ...
in Leipzig from 1836 to 1843. He went on to study at
Leipzig University
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 first studied theology as his father wished him to, but soon switched to classical and German
philology
Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
. Among his teachers were
Moritz Haupt
Moriz or Moritz Haupt (27 July 1808 – 5 February 1874), was a German philologist.
Biography
He was born at Zittau, Lusatia, Saxony. His early education was mainly conducted by his father, Ernst Friedrich Haupt, burgomaster of Zittau, a man of ...
. He wrote his main thesis about
Walther von der Vogelweide
Walther von der Vogelweide (; ) was a Minnesänger who composed and performed love-songs and political songs ('' Sprüche'') in Middle High German. Walther has been described as the greatest German lyrical poet before Goethe; his hundred or s ...
, which was later published in 1900.Adalbert Elschenbroich Hildebrand, Rudolf ''
Neue Deutsche Biographie
(''NDB''; Literal translation, literally ''New German Biography'') is a Biography, biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 27 volumes published thus far co ...
'', retrieved 15 April 2013
In 1848, he worked for a time as reviewer and translator of the ''
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung
''Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung'' (often abbreviated to DAZ) was a German newspaper that appeared between 1861 and 1945.
Until 1918 the title of the paper was ''Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung''. Although Wilhelm Liebknecht, one of the founder ...
'' and was considering a career as a publisher. However, the same year, he started working as a teacher at the Thomasschule from 1848 and remained there to 1868.
He became professor of newer German language and literature at 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 ...
in 1869 ("
außerordentlicher Professor
Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia.
Overview
Appointment grades
* (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'')
* (''W3'')
* (''W2'')
* (''W2'', ...
" from 1869, "
ordentlicher Professor
Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia.
Overview
Appointment grades
* (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'')
* (''W3'')
* (''W2'')
* (''W2'', ...
" from 1874).
Selected works
* ''
Deutsches Wörterbuch
The ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'' (; "German Dictionary"), abbreviated ''DWB'', is the largest and most comprehensive dictionary of the German language in existence.Prof. Dr. phil. Rudolf Hildebrand Professorenkatalog der Universität Leipzig, retrieved 15 April 2013
* ''Vom deutschen Sprachunterricht in der Schule und von deutscher Erziehung und Bildung überhaupt'', Leipzig 1879.
* ''Gesammelte Aufsätze und Vorträge zur deutschen Philologie und zum deutschen Unterricht'', Leipzig 1890.
* ''Ueber Walter von der Vogelweide'', edited by Georg Berlit, Leipzig 1900.