SPIEGEL, Ludwig Friedrich Ernst (1880 von Sp.). Kitzingen near Würzburg 11.7.1820 — Munich 15.12.1905. German Indo-Iranian Scholar. Professor in Erlangen. N.D.B. does not know the first names of his parents, but his father was a Rentamtmann and died in 1830, mother née Dorsch. Matriculated from Ansbach, began 1839 studies of theology at Erlangen, but soon moved to Sanskrit and other Oriental languages under Rückert, then also at Leipzig (Brockhaus, Arabic under Fleischer) and Bonn (Lassen). Ph.D. 1842 Jena. Originally interested in Pāli, but during a stay in Copenhagen in order to study Pāli manuscripts there in 1842-47 heturned to Iranian (prompted by Olshausen). Then in Paris, London and Oxford studying and copying Iranian manuscripts. In 1847-49 living in Munich. In 1849-90 Professor of Oriental languages at Erlangen (1852 ord.). In 1890 retired and moved to Munich, where he lived until his death. Married 1859 Karoline Schmidtmüller, their only daughter Julie married —> Eugen Wilhelm. Member of Bavarian (1848), Prussian and Russian Academies and A.I.B.L. Among his students were K. R. Cama and W. Geiger.

In his early years Spiegel was a pioneer of Pāli studies in Germany and collected material for a Pāli dictionary, which remained unfinished when he switched into Iranian studies. Later on, his student Geiger went the opposite way, from Iranian to Pāli.

Together with Justi Spiegel created a new school of Iranian studies, which used, though not without criticism, the Parsi tradition and Pahlavi commentaries, thus opposing to Roth, who discarded traditions and considered the entire Avesta as a sort of variant to Veda. In this Spiegel was later followed by de Harlez, Darmesteter, Wilhelm and Jackson. As editor he carefully noted manuscript variants and avoided emendation. His early grammars of Pāzend and Pahlavi were important as pioneer works, also much appreciated by Parsis, but later on seemed rather premature. In comparative linguistics he was more interested in facts and evidence than in theoreticising and speculation. He was the first (1887) to attempt at a reconstruction of Proto-Indo-Iranian. Beside languages, he was much interested in religion and culture. In 1851 he showed that Oriental Alexander legends were derived from the Western legend.

Publications: Diss. (?) Kammavākya, liber de officiis sacerdotum Buddhicorum. Palice et Latine primus ed. atque adnotationes adiecit. 15+39 p. Bonn 1841.

– Anecdota Palica. 1. 96 p. Lp. 1845 (Rasavāhinī 1-4, Uragasutta of Suttanipāta).

– Chrestomathia Persica. 9+338 p. Lp. 1846 (with glossary).

– “Der 19te Fargard des Vendidad” ABaAW 6, 1852, 43-75, 281-338 & 7, 1855, 389-428 (text, transl., notes); Zur Interpretation des Vendidad. 54 p. Lp. 1853.

– Der Alexandersage bei den Orientalen. 8+172 p. Lp. 1851.

– Grammatik der Pârsi-Sprache nebst Sprachproben. Lp. 1851 (Pāzend); Einleitung in die traditionalen Schriften der Parsen. 1-2. 10+194+472 p. Lp. & Vienna 1856-60 (Pahlavi grammar and chrestomathy).

– Avesta, die heiligen Schriften der Parsen. Übersetzung. 1-3. Lp. 1852-63 (English by Bleeck, 1864); Hrsg. mit Pahlavi-Übers. 1-2. 323+227 & 24+296+246 p. Vienna 1853-58 (3. with Khorda Av. never appeared); Commentar über das Avesta. 1-2. Lp. 1864-68.

– Edited; Neriosengh’s Sanskrit-Uebersetzung des Yaçna. 249 p. Lp. 1861.

– “Kurzer Abriss der Geschichte der érânischen Sprachen”, Beiträge zur vgl. Sprachforschung 2, 1861, 1-37 & 217-235.

– Die altpersische Keilinschriften. Text, Übersetzung, Grammatik und Glossar. 228 p. Lp. 1862, rev. 2nd ed. 1881.

– Erân, das Land zwischen dem Indus und Tigris. 6+384 p. B. 1863;; Über das Leben Zarathustra’s. SBaAW 1867, 1-92; Arische Studien. 1. 162 p.  Lp. 1881.

– Grammatik der Altbaktrischen Sprache. 4+410 p. Lp. 1867 (Avesta); Vergleichende Grammatik der Alteranischen Sprachen. 4+559 p. Lp. 1882.

– Erânische Alterthumskude. 1-3. 737+632+833 p. Lp. 1871-78

– Die arische Periode und ihre Zustände. 10+330 p. Lp. 1887.

– Numerous articles in ZDMG, KZ, ABaAW, SBaAW, etc.

Sources: L.C. Casartelli, JRAS 1906, 1035-1039; *M. Collignon, CRAI 49, 1905, 788f.; *B. Forssmann, F.S.: Schriftenverzeichnis. Erlangen 1992; *E. Kuhn, SBaAW 1906, 365-368; *O. Rühle, RGG 2. Aufl., 5, 690; R. Schmitt, N.D.B. 24, 2010, 680f. and Encyclop. Iranica 2002 (online); Stache-Weiske 2017, 61–63, 561; *E. Wilhelm in J.J. Modi (ed.), Spiegel Mem. Vol. Bombay 1908, xii-xxx; *Biogr. Jahrb. 10, 1905, 254; Wikipedia; photo in Rau 27 (from Intern. Taschenbuch der Orientalisten 1910).