Frederick Klaeber
Encyclopedia
Frederick J. Klaeber (1 October 1863 – 4 October 1954) was a German philologist
who was Professor of Old and Middle English at the University of Minnesota
. His edition of the poem Beowulf
, published as Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, is considered a classic work of Beowulf scholarship; it has been in print continuously since 1922 and is now in its fourth edition.
, Prussia
to Hermann and Luise Klaeber. He received his doctorate from the University of Berlin (Philosophy) in 1892. He was invited to join the University of Minnesota
as an Assistant Professor of English Philology. He was Professor of English and Comparative Philology from 1898 to 1931. In 1902 he married Charlotte Wahn.
Klaeber retired from Minnesota in 1931 and returned to Berlin, where he continued to work on what would become the 1936 third edition of Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg. During World War II
, his house in Berlin was destroyed, including his books, articles, and notes; he and his wife fled to her house in Bad Kösen
, where he continued work on what would be published as the second supplement to the third edition of Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg (1950). During this time, because he no longer had his library and paper was scarce (Bad Kösen was in the Soviet occupation zone), he depended greatly on colleagues and friends in the US. Toward the end of his life, Klaeber was bedridden, impoverished, and partially paralyzed but continued his scholarly work nevertheless. He died in 1954.
which he included is all that remains of another poem about an event alluded to in Beowulf. The second edition was published in 1928. The third edition was published in 1936; it was republished with a supplement in 1941, and then republished again with a second supplement in 1950. All of Klaeber's editions have included a substantial Introduction, discussing a range of different topics related to the poem, and a comprehensive Commentary section on particular aspects of the text, as well as an extensive glossary.
For many years, Klaeber was considered one of the world's leading Beowulf researchers, and his great work, Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, became enormously important and influential on scholars and students of those poems. As Josephine Bloomfield observes:
In 2008, a new version prepared by an editorial team consisting of Robert Dennis Fulk, Robert E. Bjork, and John D. Niles was published as the "fourth edition"; it retains much of Klaeber's third edition design and text, but also substantial alterations intended to update the work by taking into account scholarship on Beowulf published since 1950.
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
who was Professor of Old and Middle English at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. His edition of the poem Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
, published as Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, is considered a classic work of Beowulf scholarship; it has been in print continuously since 1922 and is now in its fourth edition.
Biography
Klaeber was born in BeetzendorfBeetzendorf
Beetzendorf is a municipality in the district Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
to Hermann and Luise Klaeber. He received his doctorate from the University of Berlin (Philosophy) in 1892. He was invited to join the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
as an Assistant Professor of English Philology. He was Professor of English and Comparative Philology from 1898 to 1931. In 1902 he married Charlotte Wahn.
Klaeber retired from Minnesota in 1931 and returned to Berlin, where he continued to work on what would become the 1936 third edition of Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, his house in Berlin was destroyed, including his books, articles, and notes; he and his wife fled to her house in Bad Kösen
Bad Kösen
' is a spa town in Germany, on the Saale river in the small German wine-growing region of Saale-Unstrut. It is a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt...
, where he continued work on what would be published as the second supplement to the third edition of Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg (1950). During this time, because he no longer had his library and paper was scarce (Bad Kösen was in the Soviet occupation zone), he depended greatly on colleagues and friends in the US. Toward the end of his life, Klaeber was bedridden, impoverished, and partially paralyzed but continued his scholarly work nevertheless. He died in 1954.
Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg
Klaeber was fluent in a number of languages (Greek, Latin, French, Germanic, Old, Middle, and Modern English) and was thus asked by the University of Minnesota to create an English language edition of Beowulf in 1893. Klaeber spent three decades on the project, finally publishing the first edition, Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, in 1922. The Finnesburg FragmentFinnesburg Fragment
The Finnesburg Fragment or Finnsburh Fragment is a fragment of an Old English heroic poem about a fight in which Hnæf and his 60 retainers are besieged at "Finn's fort" and attempt to hold off their attackers...
which he included is all that remains of another poem about an event alluded to in Beowulf. The second edition was published in 1928. The third edition was published in 1936; it was republished with a supplement in 1941, and then republished again with a second supplement in 1950. All of Klaeber's editions have included a substantial Introduction, discussing a range of different topics related to the poem, and a comprehensive Commentary section on particular aspects of the text, as well as an extensive glossary.
For many years, Klaeber was considered one of the world's leading Beowulf researchers, and his great work, Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, became enormously important and influential on scholars and students of those poems. As Josephine Bloomfield observes:
- Among the editions of Beowulf, Frederick Klaeber's remains the most important. A monumental project begun in 1893, published in 1922, and revised and supplemented up to 1950, it continues to be the central source used by graduate students for the study of the poem and by scholars and teachers as the basis of their translations.
In 2008, a new version prepared by an editorial team consisting of Robert Dennis Fulk, Robert E. Bjork, and John D. Niles was published as the "fourth edition"; it retains much of Klaeber's third edition design and text, but also substantial alterations intended to update the work by taking into account scholarship on Beowulf published since 1950.
Selected publications
- 1903: „Notes on Old English Prose Text“, in: Modern Language Notes; 18.8; pp. 241–247
- 1912: „Die christlichen Elemente im Beowulf“, in: AngliaAnglia (journal)Anglia, subtitled Zeitschrift für Englische Philologie is an German journal on English Linguistics. It was started in 1878. There are about three issues a year.-History:...
; 35; pp. 111–136 (in German) - 1929: Studies in English Philology: a miscellany in honor of Frederick Klaeber. Ed. Kemp Malone and Martin B. Ruud. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press (includes: "A bibliography of the works of Frederick Klaeber"; [by] Stefán Einarsson, pp. 477–85)
External links
- Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg (first edition, 1922) - Google Books
- Transcription of Klaeber's edition. - Fordham UniversityFordham UniversityFordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...