Gottfried Hermann's laboratory: meaning and methods in early nineteenth-century classical scholarship

Thesis

This thesis focuses on Gottfried Hermann and his philological practices, considered especially with a view to his dispute with August Boeckh in the early 1800s. Through an analysis of Hermann’s scholarly persona in the context of German academia, his theory of metrics and hermeneutics, and of the issues at stake in the dispute, this thesis keeps as a background reference the categories of Wortphilologie and Sachphilologie, which are traditionally associated with Hermann and Boeckh respectively. It aims to show that these two categories are methodologically unjustified and instead highlights the prominence of the socio-biographical aspect of their origins and presence in the history of classical scholarship. The examination of Hermann’s philology is conducted through a close reading of primary sources, discussions of his own textual-critical analysis, and archival materials. The conclusion underlines the need for a re-evaluation of Hermann’s scholarly work, with particular regard to his methods and hermeneutics; it also, more broadly, calls for further inquiry into Hermann’s work of the type that would encourage the rejection of the faulty idea of Wortphilologie in association with Hermann, arguing that the label generated implications which are part of the reason for Hermann’s underrepresentation in modern scholarship of intellectual history.

Authors: Poletti, L

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-exong65qy
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: august boeckh; 19th-century philology; gottfried hermann; sachphilologie; classical philology; metrics; wortphilologie; hermeneutics; philologenstreit; classical scholarship
• Subjects: Intellectual history; Classical languages--Metrics and rhythmics; Hermeneutics; Classical philology