Wilhelm Ludwig Geiger (/ˈɡaɪɡər/; German:[ˈɡaɪɡɐ]; 21 July 1856 – 2 September 1943) was a German Orientalist in the fields of
Indo-Iranian languages and the history of
Iran and
Sri Lanka. He was known as a specialist in
Pali,
Sinhala language and the
Dhivehi language of the
Maldives. He is especially known for his work on the Sri Lankan chronicles
Mahāvaṃsa and
Cūlavaṃsa and made critical editions of the Pali text and English translations with the help of assistant translators.
Life
He was born in
Nuremberg, the son of an evangelical clergyman, and was educated especially at the
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg under the scholar
Friedrich von Spiegel.[1] During his studies, he joined the fraternity
Uttenruthia. After completing his
Ph.D. thesis in 1878, he became a lecturer on ancient Iranian and Indian philology and then a master at a
gymnasium. In 1891 he was offered a chair in Indo-European Comparative Philology at the University of Erlangen, succeeding Spiegel. His first published works were on ancient Iranian history, archaeology and philology.
He travelled to
Ceylon in 1895 to study the language.[2][3]
The Age of the
Avesta and
Zoroaster, co-authored with Friedrich Spiegel, translated into English by Dārāb Dastur Peshotan Sanjānā, London 1886 (
Google-US)
Civilization of the eastern Iranians in ancient times, with an introduction on the Avesta religion, translated into English by
Darab Dastur Peshotan Sanjana, London 1885–1886.
Zarathushtra in the Gathas, and in the Greek and Roman classics, co-authored with
Friedrich Heinrich Hugo Windischmann; translated into English by Dārāb Dastur Peshotan Sanjānā, Leipzig 1897.
The
Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa and their historical development in Ceylon, translated into English by Ethel M. Coomaraswamy, Colombo 1908 (
Google-US)
The Mahavāmsa or the Great Chronicle of Ceylon, English translation assisted by
Mabel Haynes Bode, Pali Text Society, London 1912 (
Internet Archive)
Maldivian Linguistic Studies, Colombo 1919.
The Language of the Väddās, Calcutta 1935.
A Grammar of the Sinhala language, Colombo 1938.
Pali Literature and Language, translated by
Batakrishna Ghosh from the German original, Calcutta 1943. Revised by
K. R. Norman under the title A Pali Grammar, Oxford 1994.
Cūlavamsa : being the more recent part of the Mahāvamsa, English translation assisted by Christian Mabel Duff Rickmers, Colombo 1953.
Culture of Ceylon in mediaeval times, edited by
Heinz Bechert, Wiesbaden 1960.
German works
Aogemadaêcâ: ein Pârsentractat in Pâzend, Altbaktrisch und Sanskrit. Erlangen, 1878 (
Google)
Das Yātkār-i Zarirān und sein Verhältnis zum Šāh-nāme [The Yātkār-i Zarirān and its Relation to the Šāhnāme]. von W. Geiger. München: Druck der Akademischen Buchdrukerei von F. Straub. 1890
Die Pehleviversion des Ersten Capitels des Vendîdâd herausgegeben nebst dem Versuch einer ersten Uebersetzung und Erklärung. Erlangen, 1877 (
Google)
Handbuch der Awestasprache. Grammatik, Chrestomathie und Glossar. Erlangen, 1879 (
Google-US)
Etymologie des Balūčī. Aus den Abhandlungen der k. bayer. Akademie der Wiss. I. Cl. XIX. Bd. I. Abth. München, 1890 (
Google-US)
Etymologie des Singhalesischen. Aus den Abhandlungen der k. bayer. Akademie der Wiss. I. Cl. XXI. Bd. II. Abth. München, 1897 (
Google-US)
Ceylon. Tagebuchblätter und Reiseerinnerungen. Wiesbaden, 1898 (
Google-US)
Wilhelm Geiger &
Ernst Kuhn (Hrsg.): Grundriß der iranischen Philologie. 1. Bd., 1. Abt., Straßburg 1895–1901 (
Google-US,
Google-US); Anhang zum 1. Bd., Straßburg, 1903 (
Google-US); II. Bd., Straßburg, 1896–1904 (
[2],
Google-US)
Litteratur und Sprache der Singhalesen. Straßburg, 1900 (
Google-US)
Dīpavamsa und Mahāvamsa, die beiden Chroniken der Insel Ceylon. Sonderabdruck aus der Festschrift der Universität Erlangen zur Feier des achtzigsten Geburtstages Sr. königlichen Hoheit des Prinzregenten Luitpold von Bayern. Erlangen & Leipzig, 1901 (
Google-US)
Dīpavaṃsa und Mahāvaṃsa und die geschichtliche Überlieferung in Ceylon, Leipzig, 1905 (
Google-US)
Wilhelm Geiger & Magdalene Geiger: Pāli Dhamma vornehmlich in der kanonischen Literatur, München, 1920.
Wilhelm Geiger: Elementarbuch des Sanskrit, de Gruyter, Berlin und Leipzig, 1923.
Wilhelm Geiger: Besprechung zu Heinrich Junker, Arische Forschungen, um 1930.
Wilhelm Geiger: Singhalesische Etymologien. Stephen Austin and Sons, 1936.
Wilhelm Geiger: Beiträge zur singhalesischen Sprachgeschichte, Bayerischen Akad. der Wiss., München 1942.
Wilhelm Geiger: Kleine Schriften zur Indologie und Buddhismuskunde, hrsg. von Heinz Bechert. Steiner, Wiesbaden 1973.
Wilhelm Geiger: Die Reden des Buddha: Gruppierte Sammlung, Saṃyutta-nikāya, translation of Saṃyutta-nikāya, Beyerlein-Steinschulte, Stammbach, 1997.