Herwig Wolfram (born 14 February 1934) is an Austrian historian who is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History and Auxiliary Sciences of History at the University of Vienna and the former Director of the Institute of Austrian Historical Research [de]. He is a leading member of the Vienna School of History, and internationally known for his authoritative works on the history of Austria, the Goths, and relationships between the Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire.
Quick Facts Born, Academic background ...
Herwig Wolfram |
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| Born | (1934-02-14) 14 February 1934 (age 90)
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| Education | |
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| Influences | Reinhard Wenskus |
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| Discipline | Medieval history |
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| School or tradition | Vienna School |
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| Institutions |
- University of Vienna
- Institute of Austrian Historical Research [de]
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| Doctoral students | |
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| Notable works |
- History of the Goths (1988)
- The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples (1997)
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Herwig Wolfram was born in Vienna, Austria on 14 February 1934. He studied history and Latin at the University of Vienna since 1952, gaining a Ph.D. there in 1957. He subsequently served as University Assistant at the Institute of History at the University of Vienna (1959–1961) and the Institute of Austrian Historical Research [de] (1962–1969). Wolfram gained his habilitation at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Vienna in 1966.[2]
Wolfram was Visiting Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1968 to 1969, and has subsequently made many visits to the United States. Since 1969, Wolfram was Professor of Medieval History and Auxiliary Sciences of History at the University of Vienna. From 1983 to 2002, Wolfram was also Director of the Institute of Austrian Historical Research. He was since retired from the University of Vienna as professor emeritus.[2]
Wolfram is a leading figure in the Vienna School of History.[3] His book History of the Goths (1979) has been translated into a number of languages and been published in several completely revised editions. It is considered the standard work on the Goths, and a work of large importance to the study of Germanic peoples in general.[3][4][5][6][7] In the more recent editions of this work, Wolfram has adopted some of the controversial theories of Walter Goffart.[6][8] Wolfram and Heather's books on the Goths are considered the foremost studies on the subject.[9]
Works in English translation. For a complete list see the German National Library
Goffart 2006, p. 58. "Herwig Wolfram, whose writings and teaching in Vienna have dominated Gothic history since the 1970s..." Brown 1990, p. 82. "[I]t has established itself since its publication in 1979 as the standard survey..." Fanning 1990, pp. 104–106. "[T]his is a major work... among the most significant recent contributions to the history of the early Middle Ages... [T]he weight of Wolfram's scholarship makes it mandatory to consult this brilliant study for virtually any matter of Gothic or Gotho-Roman history." Croke 1991, pp. 183–184. "By now Wolfram's History of the Goths requires no explanation or comment. It has already established itself as a classic... Wolfram has [however] absorbed, perhaps too uncritically, the controversial thesis of Walter Goffart..." Schutz 1990, p. 1174. "This detailed history of the Goths establishes itself as the definitive treatment of the subject..." Heather 1989, p. 256. "One major change between the second German edition and this translation is W.'s adoption... after previous resistance... of W. Goffart's theories concerning the economic integration of 'barbarians' into the Roman Empire. This is a controversial question, and in coming down heavily on one side of the debate without further argument, W. leaves himself open to criticism from the wide group of scholars who remain unconvinced. Murdoch 2004, p. 166. "The best modern general history in English is Peter Heather’s The Goths... The standard German text is Herwig Wolfram’s Die Goten..."
Sources
- Brown, T. S. (February 1, 1990). "History of the Goths". German History. 8 (1). Oxford University Press: 82.
- Croke, Brian (December 1991). "Wolfram, Herwig, History of the Goths". Parergon. 9 (2). Australian and New Zealand Association of Medieval and Early Modern Studies: 183–184. doi:10.1353/pgn.1991.0069. S2CID 144328249.
- Fanning, Steven (January 1990). "History of the Goths by Herwig Wolfram". The Catholic Historical Review. 76 (1). American Catholic Historical Association: 104–106. JSTOR 25023214.
- Goffart, Walter (2006). Barbarian Tides: The Migration Age and the Later Roman Empire. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812200287.
- Heather, Peter (November 1989). "H. Wolfram, History of the Goths". Journal of Roman Studies. 79. Cambridge University Press: 256. doi:10.2307/301260. JSTOR 301260. S2CID 163669569.
- Kulikowski, Michael (2006). Rome's Gothic Wars: From the Third Century to Alaric. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1139458092.
- Murdoch, Brian (2004). "Gothic". In Murdoch, Brian; Read, Malcolm (eds.). Early Germanic Literature and Culture. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 149–170. ISBN 9781571131997.
- Schutz, Herbert (October 1990). "H. Wolfram, History of the Goths". The American Historical Review. 95 (4). American Historical Association: 1174. doi:10.1086/ahr/95.4.1174.
- "Herwig Wolfram". Contemporary Authors. Gale. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
