Johann Kaspar Zeuss

Johann Kaspar Zeuss , born with Kronach (High-Franconie) on July 22nd, 1806 and deceased on November 10th, 1856 with Kronach at the 50 years age, is a historian and German Philologue, specialist in the Celtic Langues who was the founder of the Philologie Celtic Langues.

He makes his studies with the college of Bamberg, then at the university of Munich. His/her parents intend it for the priesthood, but the young man chooses the university career, inclining in particular towards the historical research and linguistics. Entered as studying at the university of Munich it remains there to teach after having finished its studies as professor in one of the colleges. In 1837, it publishes Die Herkunft der Baiern von den Markomannen , which is worth to him the title of doctor of the university of Erlangen. The same year, it starts to teach the Histoire at the house of the culture of Speyer. In 1847, it is named professor d' Histoire at the university of Munich. Following health issues, it is transferred to the house of the culture of Bamberg. In 1853, it publishes its famous monumental Grammatica Celtica , written in Latin for an international audience and which establishes its fame. Two years after it takes a leave to recover its health, but it dies the following year.

Zeuss was a man of a great scholarship, combining a knowledge of the Philologie with that of the Histoire and the Ethnologie. Its Germanic studies had taught to him the need for a knowledge of the Celtic Langues, field hitherto neglected by the other researchers. To study the old manuscripts, in particular in Old Irish, it went to Karlsruhe, Würzburg, Saint-Gall, London and Oxford. Its research in the libraries of these cities enabled him to discover and recopy broad extracts of the rich person documentations on the old languages and the modern languages which had caused its attention.

Its monumental Grammatica Celtica establishes that the Celtic languages belonged to the family of the Indo-European Langues and gave to philology Celtic Langues a solid scientific base. After its death, its work was re-examined and republished by Hermann Wilhelm Ebel (Berlin, 1871).

Zeuss is also the possessionesque author of Traditiones Wirzenburgenses (1842) and of Die Freie Reichstadt Speyer VOR ihrer Zerstörung .

See too

Celtic

Celtic Languages

Bibliography on Celtic civilization

Bibliography of Celtic mythology

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