Hiob Ludolf facts for kids
Hiob Ludolf (born June 15, 1624 – died April 8, 1704) was a very important German scholar. He is famous for studying languages and cultures from the Middle East and Africa, especially Ethiopia. Many people, like Edward Ullendorff, say he is the most famous person in the history of studying Ethiopian languages and history.
Life of a Language Expert
Hiob Ludolf was born in a city called Erfurt. He went to school in Erfurt and Leiden, where he studied languages and how they work. This field of study is called philology. He loved learning new languages! To learn even more, he traveled a lot.
In 1649, while he was in Rome looking for some old papers, he met a monk named Abba Gorgoryos. This monk was from a part of Ethiopia called Amhara. Hiob Ludolf became good friends with him. From Abba Gorgoryos, he learned a lot about the Amharic language, which is spoken in Ethiopia.
In 1652, Ludolf started working for the duke of Saxe-Gotha. He worked there until 1678, when he moved to Frankfurt am Main. In 1683, he visited England. He wanted to start a special trading plan with Ethiopia. However, his efforts were not successful. This was mainly because the religious leaders of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church did not agree with his plan.
Ludolf returned to Frankfurt in 1684. After that, he spent almost all his time writing books and studying. He continued this work until he died. In 1690, he became the president of an important historical group called the Collegium Imperiale Historicum. He also wrote letters to another famous thinker, Leibniz, about languages. These letters were published later in 1755.
Ludolf passed away in Frankfurt.
Important Books and Studies
Hiob Ludolf was said to know about twenty-five different languages! His books were very important for understanding Ethiopian history and languages. One of his main works was Historia aethiopica (History of Ethiopia), published in 1681. This book was so important that it was translated into English, French, and Dutch. He also added more information to it later in 1691 and 1693–1694.
According to Edward Ullendorff, Ludolf's dictionaries and grammars for the Ethiopic and Amharic languages were incredibly important. For over 150 years, these books were the main tools for anyone wanting to study these languages. His big history book about Ethiopia is still useful and enjoyable to read today.
Here are some of his other important works:
- Grammatica linguae amharicae (Grammar of the Amharic language) from 1698.
- Lexicon amharico-latinum (Amharic-Latin Dictionary) from 1698.
- Lexicon aethiopico-latinum (Ethiopic-Latin Dictionary) from 1699.
- Grammatica aethiopica (Ethiopic Grammar) from 1661 and 1702.
