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One Thousand and One Teutonic Nights : Leo Wiener and the Destruction of German Philology

Norris, Matthew LU (2026) In Journal of English and Germanic Philology
Abstract
In the years between 1915 and 1921, Harvard professor of Slavic Languages Leo Wiener (1862–1939) published a controversial and now largely forgotten series of philological studies which sought to prove that that all textual sources testifying to the languages, laws, customs, and beliefs of the ancient Germanic peoples had been forged in the eighth century C.E. by a group of Arabicized Goths in the Umayyad provinces of Europe. This article investigates Wiener’s self-described project to “destroy the scientific creations of the Germans,” with the aims of coming toward an understanding of his methods and motives, and casting new light on early twentieth-century scholarly debates on language, race, and culture by viewing them through the eyes... (More)
In the years between 1915 and 1921, Harvard professor of Slavic Languages Leo Wiener (1862–1939) published a controversial and now largely forgotten series of philological studies which sought to prove that that all textual sources testifying to the languages, laws, customs, and beliefs of the ancient Germanic peoples had been forged in the eighth century C.E. by a group of Arabicized Goths in the Umayyad provinces of Europe. This article investigates Wiener’s self-described project to “destroy the scientific creations of the Germans,” with the aims of coming toward an understanding of his methods and motives, and casting new light on early twentieth-century scholarly debates on language, race, and culture by viewing them through the eyes of one of the era’s most puzzling and eccentric iconoclasts. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
in press
subject
keywords
Leo Wiener, Gothic language, German philology, Historical revisionism, History of philology
in
Journal of English and Germanic Philology
publisher
University of Illinois Press
ISSN
0363-6941
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
cd2c88da-5276-4028-bb72-83bb0d6c8518
date added to LUP
2026-04-06 15:26:35
date last changed
2026-04-21 10:55:33
@article{cd2c88da-5276-4028-bb72-83bb0d6c8518,
  abstract     = {{In the years between 1915 and 1921, Harvard professor of Slavic Languages Leo Wiener (1862–1939) published a controversial and now largely forgotten series of philological studies which sought to prove that that all textual sources testifying to the languages, laws, customs, and beliefs of the ancient Germanic peoples had been forged in the eighth century C.E. by a group of Arabicized Goths in the Umayyad provinces of Europe. This article investigates Wiener’s self-described project to “destroy the scientific creations of the Germans,” with the aims of coming toward an understanding of his methods and motives, and casting new light on early twentieth-century scholarly debates on language, race, and culture by viewing them through the eyes of one of the era’s most puzzling and eccentric iconoclasts.}},
  author       = {{Norris, Matthew}},
  issn         = {{0363-6941}},
  keywords     = {{Leo Wiener; Gothic language; German philology; Historical revisionism; History of philology}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{University of Illinois Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of English and Germanic Philology}},
  title        = {{One Thousand and One Teutonic Nights : Leo Wiener and the Destruction of German Philology}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}