Christian Friedrich Seybold (6 January 1859 – 27 January 1921) was a German scholar of Oriental languages and professor at the University of Tübingen. He is known for his work on Arabic manuscripts and for collaborating with Pedro II of Brazil on publications related to the Guarani language.
Life and work
Christian Friedrich Seybold was born on 6 January 1859 in Waiblingen in the Remstal valley of Württemberg, the son of master cooper Daniel Seybold and his wife Katharina, née Böhringer. After successfully passing the state examination, he attended the Protestant seminaries in Maulbronn and Blaubeuren and entered the Protestant seminary in Tübingen in 1878. There he studied theology and Oriental languages. Seybold studied theology at the Evangelical Stift in Tübingen from 1877 to 1883. His coursework included Arabic, Sanskrit, Vedic literature, the Avesta, biblical studies, church history, philosophy, political economy, and comparative religion under scholars including Albert Socin, Rudolf von Roth, Eberhard Nestle, Christoph von Sigwart, Emil Kautzsch, and .
In 1883, he received his doctorate and passed his first theological examination. He then spent several months in Spain studying Arabic manuscripts and subsequently worked as a tutor in Heilbronn and Maulbronn until 1886.
In Brazil
Through the mediation of the indologist Albrecht Weber, Seybold was informed of an opportunity for employment in Brazil with Brazilian Emperor Pedro II. Pedro sought a German tutor who could assist him in studying literature in various languages, including Arabic, Sanskrit, and Greek, among others. On 2 June 1887, he travelled to Brazil on board the Gironde with Pedro and his entourage. As private language tutor (), Seybold would also accompany the emperor on extensive travels abroad, and remained with him until the emperor's death, even accompanying him in exile to France. In the last years of the emperor's life, Seybold was a frequent companion, being mentioned hundreds of times in his diaries.
Guaraní studies Seybold became quite involved in the study of the indigenous Guarani language of Brazil, a topic of particular interest to Pedro. He compiled a Spanish-language overview of Antonio Ruiz de Montoya's Arte (Grammar) of Guaraní in 1890, and later (1892) a full re-edition of the same work. The volume he worked from was exceedingly rare, the only known exemplar in Europe; having been acquired through Pedro's influence from German bibliophile Julius Platzmann, who had bought it from Alphonse Pinart. He also reprinted several colonial-era works, including a Guarani-Spanish dictionary and a longer grammar.
At Tübingen After the emperor's death, Seybold accepted a lectureship at the University of Tübingen in 1892. He received his habilitation in 1893, became associate professor in 1897, and full professor in 1901. In this later work Seybold focused primarily on the editing and translation of Arabic manuscripts. He also published a catalogue of the Arabic manuscripts in the University of Tübingen library. He succeeded Eberhard Nestle as chair of Oriental Studies from 1901 to 1921.
Selected publications
Notes
References