Emil Baehrens
Encyclopedia
Paul Heinrich Emil Baehrens (24 September 1848 – 26 September 1888) was a German classical scholar.
After completing his studies he became Privatdozent
at Jena. In 1877 he was appointed ordinary professor at the University of Groningen
. He published editions of many Latin authors, including Catullus
, Propertius and minor poets.
His son Wilhelm Baehrens
also became a classical scholar.
, Friedrich Heimsoeth, Joseph Klein
, August Reifferscheid, Franz Ritter, and Anton Springer. Most influential on Baehrens was Lucian Müller, as well as Otto Jahn
and Hermann Unsener, who gave him metrical and paleographical exercises, which brought him in 1868 to the Philological Seminar. In 1870 Baehrens took the "Oberlehrerexamen" and earned his doctorate. From 1871 to 1872 his deepened his studies at the University of Leipzig
with the critic Friedrich Ritschl. Finally, he undertook his first educational trip, where he saw antique manuscripts in Munich, Milan, Bologna, Pisa, Venedig, Florence, Lucca, Siena, Rome, and Naples. In Rome he stayed six months at the Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, where he gained many contacts.
After his return in the autumn of 1873 Baehrens qualified as a professor at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena with the article "De Sulpiciae quae vocatur satira, commentatio philologica." In the following years he took further research trips: from January to April 1874 he visited the libraries of Löwen, Brüssel, and Paris, and from March to August 1875, Paris, London, and Oxford. In the summer semester of 1877 he was given the position of professor, and spent several years as a professor at the University of Groningen
In the next eleven years he held many lectures and visited the library in London once again. In Groningen he married the daughter of his colleague Willem Hecker, a professor of history. On September 26 he succumbed to an abscess of the brain after 26 days. One of his three surviving children, Wilhelm Baehrens
became a classical philologist.
During his research, Emil Baehrens brought forth many important editions of different Latin authors, including Catullus
("Analecta Catulliana mit einem Corollarium"), "Panegyrici Latini," Valerius Flaccus
("C. Valeri Flacci Setini Balbi Argonauticon libri octo"), Publius Papinius Statius ("Silvae"), Tibullus
("Tibullinische Blätter"), Sextus Propertius
, Horace
("Lectiones Hortianae"), Tacitus
(Dialogus de oratoribus"), and Minucius Felix ("Octavius").
His greatest undertaking were the "Poetae latini minores," which from 1879 until 1883 appeared in five volumes from the publisher Teubner-Verlag. They were newly edited by Friedrich Karl Vollmer from 1910 until 1923. The first edition appeared in 1930 as a new adaptation by Willy Morel. As a continuation of the collection Baehrens published in 1886 through the Teubner-Berlag the "Fragmenta poetarum Romanorum," which are today separated from the "Fragmenta poetarum Latinorum" by Willy Morel, Karl Büchner, and Jürgen Blänsdorf.
After completing his studies he became Privatdozent
Privatdozent
Privatdozent or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications to become a tenured university professor...
at Jena. In 1877 he was appointed ordinary professor at the University of Groningen
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...
. He published editions of many Latin authors, including Catullus
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
, Propertius and minor poets.
His son Wilhelm Baehrens
Wilhelm Baehrens
Wilhelm Baehrens was a German classical scholar.The son of professor Emil Baehrens , Wilhelm Baehrens was born in Groningen. After visiting the local gymnasium he stepped in his early deceased father's footsteps by studying philology and papyrology at the University of Groningen. He also stayed...
also became a classical scholar.
Life
Baehrens was the son of Paul Baehrens, a businessman, and Gattin Maria (née Hagen). After the death of his father (1850), his mother married Dr. G. A. Hesse, who became like a second father to Baehrens. He was originally supposed to become a businessman, but in accordance with his aptitude Baehrens attended the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium in Cologne and after his final exam began his studies in classical philology at the Reinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. His teachers included Jacob Bernays, Franz BüchelerFranz Bücheler
Franz Bücheler was a German classical scholar, was born in Rheinberg, and educated at Bonn.He held professorships successively at Freiburg , Greifswald , and Bonn , and in 1878 became joint-editor of the Rheinisches Museum für Philologie...
, Friedrich Heimsoeth, Joseph Klein
Joseph Klein
Joe Klein is a well-known American audio producer, voice over artist and voice director. While in high school, Klein was at the helm of a closed circuit radio station which spawned several major media figures. After a brief stint as a teenage disc jockey he was hired by jazz singer and producer...
, August Reifferscheid, Franz Ritter, and Anton Springer. Most influential on Baehrens was Lucian Müller, as well as Otto Jahn
Otto Jahn
Otto Jahn , was a German archaeologist, philologist, and writer on art and music.He was born at Kiel...
and Hermann Unsener, who gave him metrical and paleographical exercises, which brought him in 1868 to the Philological Seminar. In 1870 Baehrens took the "Oberlehrerexamen" and earned his doctorate. From 1871 to 1872 his deepened his studies at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
with the critic Friedrich Ritschl. Finally, he undertook his first educational trip, where he saw antique manuscripts in Munich, Milan, Bologna, Pisa, Venedig, Florence, Lucca, Siena, Rome, and Naples. In Rome he stayed six months at the Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, where he gained many contacts.
After his return in the autumn of 1873 Baehrens qualified as a professor at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena with the article "De Sulpiciae quae vocatur satira, commentatio philologica." In the following years he took further research trips: from January to April 1874 he visited the libraries of Löwen, Brüssel, and Paris, and from March to August 1875, Paris, London, and Oxford. In the summer semester of 1877 he was given the position of professor, and spent several years as a professor at the University of Groningen
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...
In the next eleven years he held many lectures and visited the library in London once again. In Groningen he married the daughter of his colleague Willem Hecker, a professor of history. On September 26 he succumbed to an abscess of the brain after 26 days. One of his three surviving children, Wilhelm Baehrens
Wilhelm Baehrens
Wilhelm Baehrens was a German classical scholar.The son of professor Emil Baehrens , Wilhelm Baehrens was born in Groningen. After visiting the local gymnasium he stepped in his early deceased father's footsteps by studying philology and papyrology at the University of Groningen. He also stayed...
became a classical philologist.
During his research, Emil Baehrens brought forth many important editions of different Latin authors, including Catullus
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
("Analecta Catulliana mit einem Corollarium"), "Panegyrici Latini," Valerius Flaccus
Valerius Flaccus
Valerius Flaccus is the name of:*Gaius Valerius Flaccus , Latin poet at the time of Vespasian*a number of Roman political figures, including:*Lucius Valerius Flaccus *Lucius Valerius Flaccus...
("C. Valeri Flacci Setini Balbi Argonauticon libri octo"), Publius Papinius Statius ("Silvae"), Tibullus
Tibullus
Albius Tibullus was a Latin poet and writer of elegies.Little is known about his life. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to Tibullus are of questionable origins. There are only a few references to him in later writers and a short Life of doubtful authority...
("Tibullinische Blätter"), Sextus Propertius
Sextus Propertius
Sextus Aurelius Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC.Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of Elegies...
, Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
("Lectiones Hortianae"), Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
(Dialogus de oratoribus"), and Minucius Felix ("Octavius").
His greatest undertaking were the "Poetae latini minores," which from 1879 until 1883 appeared in five volumes from the publisher Teubner-Verlag. They were newly edited by Friedrich Karl Vollmer from 1910 until 1923. The first edition appeared in 1930 as a new adaptation by Willy Morel. As a continuation of the collection Baehrens published in 1886 through the Teubner-Berlag the "Fragmenta poetarum Romanorum," which are today separated from the "Fragmenta poetarum Latinorum" by Willy Morel, Karl Büchner, and Jürgen Blänsdorf.
Further reading
- Eulogy, in: Jahresbericht über die Fortschritte der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft, 16th vol. 1891, p. 7
- Nekrolog von J. W. Beck, in: Archiv für lateinische Lexikographie und Grammatik, 5th vol 1888, pp. 606–608
- D.R. Shackleton Bailey, "Emil Baehrens (1848-1888)", in Latin Studies in Groningen, 1877-1977, ed. Heinz Hofmann (Groningen, 1990), pp. 25–37