Johann von Kelle

Johann von Kelle (March 15, 1828 – January 30, 1909) was a German philologist who studied the German language.

Biography He attended the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München where he studied classical philology. Inspired by Johann Andreas Schmeller, he turned his attention to the German language, and received a Ph.D. from the University of Würzburg in 1854. From 1855 to 1857, he was an editor for a Berlin publisher, where he oversaw the development of an encyclopedia. During this time, he got to know the Grimm brothers. In 1857, he was made a full professor of German language and literature at the University of Prague, where he remained until his retirement in 1899. From 1891 to 1892, he served as university rector.

Works His work on Otfrid von Weissenburg includes: Otfrids von Weissenburg Evangelienbuch, Regensburg 1856. Die Formen- und Lautlehre der Sprache Otfrids, Regensburg 1869. Christi Leben und Lehre, besungen von Otfrid : Aus dem Althochdeutschen übersetzt, Prag 1870. Glossar zu Otfrids Evangelienbuch (1879–81).

His work on Notker Labeo is no less important: in general it aims to prove that the writings bearing his name are not by a school or group of translators, but by Notker alone. Writings include: Das Verbum und Nomen in Notker's Boëthius, Wien 1885. Die Sankt Galler deutschen Schriften und Notker Labeo (1888). Untersuchungen zur Überlieferung, Übersetzung, Grammatik der Psalmen Notkers, Berlin 1889.

Other works: Die Jesuiten-Gymnasien in Österreich (1873). Vergleichende Grammatik der germanischen Sprachen, vol. 1, Prag 1863. Geschichte der deutschen Litteratur von der ältesten Zeit bis zur Mitte des 11. Jahrhunderts (1892). Die Quelle von Ezzos Gesang von den Wundern Christi, in: Sitzungsberichte der philosophisch-historischen Classe der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, vol. 129, Wien 1893. Speculum Ecclesiae (1858).