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1902 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 1902 Nobel Prize in Literature was the second prestigious literary award based upon Alfred Nobel's will, which was given to German historian Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903) "the greatest living master of the art of historical writing, with special reference to his monumental work A History of Rome."[1]

1902 Nobel Prize in Literature
Theodor Mommsen
"the greatest living master of the art of historical writing, with special reference to his monumental work A History of Rome."
Date
  • 9 October 1902 (announcement)
  • 10 December 1902
    (ceremony)
LocationStockholm, Sweden
Presented bySwedish Academy
First awarded1901
WebsiteOfficial website
← 1901 · Nobel Prize in Literature · 1903 →

Laureate

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Main article: Theodor Mommsen

Theodor Mommsen was a writer expert both in history and law, and this combination was important for his research career. His Nobel Prize was motivated primarily by his pioneering three-volume work about Roman history, Römische Geschichte. It depicted different aspects of the Roman Republic's history: political, legal, economic, cultural and even geographical and meteorological. According to the Swedish Academy, his writing was "vivid and empathetic", and it was for these literary qualities that he was awarded the Nobel Prize.[2]

A History of Rome

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A notebook used by Theodore Mommsen for his Römische Geschichte or History of Rome.

When Mommsen was awarded the prize, the world recognition was given him with "special reference" to the Römische Geschichte (the History of Rome).[3] The award came nearly fifty years after the first appearance of the work. The award also came during the last year of the author's life (1817–1903). It is the only time thus far that the Nobel Prize for Literature has been presented to a historian per se.[4] Yet the literary Nobel has since been awarded to a philosopher (1950) with mention of an "intellectual history",[5] and to a war-time leader (1953) for speeches and writings, including a "current events history",[6] plus a Nobel Memorial Prize has been awarded for two "economic histories" (1993).[7] Nonetheless Mommsen's multi-volume History of Rome remains in a singular Nobel class.

The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a well-regarded reference yet nonetheless "a source unsparingly critical", summarizes: "Equally great as antiquary, jurist, political and social historian, Mommsen lived to see the time when among students of Roman history he had pupils, followers, critics, but no rivals. He combined the power of minute investigation with a singular faculty for bold generalization and the capacity for tracing out the effects of thought on political and social life."[8]

The British historian G. P. Gooch, writing in 1913, eleven years after Mommsen's Nobel prize, gives us this evaluation of his Römisches Geschichte: "Its sureness of touch, its many-sided knowledge, its throbbing vitality and the Venetian colouring of its portraits left an ineffaceable impression on every reader." "It was a work of genius and passion, the creation of a young man, and is as fresh and vital to-day as when it was written."[9] About the History of Rome another British historian Arnold J. Toynbee in 1934 wrote, at the beginning of his own 12-volume universal history, "Mommsen wrote a great book, [Römisches Geschichte], which certainly will always be reckoned among the masterpieces of Western historical literature."[10]

Deliberations

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Nominations

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Mommsen had not been nominated for the prize in 1901, making it the first rare occasion when an author have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature the same year they were first nominated.[11] In total, the Swedish Academy received 44 nominations for 34 writers, including the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (four nominations), British philosopher Herbert Spencer (one nomination), and Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (one nomination).[12]

The authors Philip James Bailey, Samuel Butler, Ethna Carbery, Mary Hartwell Catherwood, Francisco Javier de Burgos, Alice Marie Durand (known as Henry Gréville), Ernst Dümmler, Samuel Rawson Gardiner, Bret Harte, Annie French Hector, George Alfred Henty, Grace Hinsdale, Lionel Johnson, Heinrich Landesmann, William McGonagall, Ljubomir Nedić, Frank R. Stockton, Frank Norris, Masaoka Shiki, Gleb Uspensky, Jacint Verdaguer, Swami Vivekananda, and Mathilde Wesendonck died in 1902 without having been nominated for the prize.

Official list of nominees and their nominators for the prize
No. Nominee Country Genre(s) Nominator(s)
1 Juhani Aho[a] (1861–1921)   Russia
(  Finland) 		novel, short story
  • Johannes Paulson (1855–1918)
  • Gustaf Cederschiöld (1849–1928)
2 Marcel Barrière[b] (1860–1954)   France novel, essays Émile Faguet (1847–1916)
3 Alexander Baumgartner, S.J.[c] (1841–1910)    Switzerland poetry, history Knud Karl Krogh-Tonning (1842–1911)
4 Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson[d] (1832–1910)   Norway poetry, novel, drama, short story
5 Bernard Bosanquet (1848–1923)   Great Britain philosophy William Macneile Dixon (1866–1946)
6 Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907)   Italy poetry, literary criticism, biography, essays
7 Houston Stewart Chamberlain[e] (1855–1927)   Great Britain
  Germany 		philosophy Wolfgang Golther (1863–1945)
8 José Echegaray Eizaguirre[f] (1832–1916)   Spain drama 12 members of the Royal Spanish Academy
9 Gustav Falke[g] (1853–1916)   Germany novel, poetry August Sauer (1855–1926)
10 Antonio Fogazzaro (1842–1911)   Italy novel, poetry, short story Per Geijer (1886–1976)
11 Arne Garborg[h] (1851–1921)   Norway novel, poetry, drama, essays Kristian Birch-Reichenwald Aars (1868–1917)
12 Hartmann Grisar, S.J.[i] (1845–1932)   Germany history, theology Knud Karl Krogh-Tonning (1842–1911)
13 Gerhart Hauptmann[j] (1862–1946)   Germany drama, novel
14 Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906)   Norway drama Axel Erdmann (1873–1954)
15 Ferenc Kemény (1860–1944)   Austria–Hungary
(  Hungary) 		essays Gusztáv Heinrich (1845–1922)
16 Anatoly Koni[k] (1844–1927)   Russia poetry, literary criticism, memoir, law Anton Woulfert (1877–1927)
17 Ventura López Fernández[l] (1866–1944)   Spain poetry, drama, literary criticism Emmanuel Casado Salas (?)
18 George Meredith (1828–1909)   Great Britain novel, poetry
19 Frédéric Mistral[m] (1830–1914)   France poetry, philology
20 Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903)   Germany history, law 18 members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences
21 John Morley[n] (1838–1923)   Great Britain biography, literary criticism, essays Alice Stopford Green (1847–1929)
22 Lewis Morris[o] (1833–1907)   Great Britain poetry, songwriting, essays
23 Gaspar Núñez de Arce (1832–1903)   Spain poetry, drama, law
24 Gaston Paris[p] (1839–1903)   France history, poetry, essays Fredrik Wulff (1845–1930)
25 Archibald Robertson[q] (1853–1931)   Great Britain theology, history John Wesley Hales (1836–1914)
26 Paul Sabatier[r] (1858–1928)   France history, theology, biography Carl Bildt (1850–1931)
27 Henryk Sienkiewicz[s] (1846–1916)   Russia
(  Poland) 		novel Hans Hildebrand (1842–1913)
28 Herbert Spencer (1820–1903)   Great Britain philosophy, essays 49 members of The Nobel Prize Committee of the Society of Authors[t]
29 Leo Tolstoy[u] (1828–1910)   Russia novel, short story, drama, poetry
30 Charles Wagner[v] (1852–1918)   France theology, philosophy Waldemar Rudin (1833–1921)
31 Carl Weitbrecht (1847–1904)   Germany history, poetry, short story, essays Hermann Fischer (1884–1936)
32 William Butler Yeats[w]   Ireland poetry, drama, essays William Edward Lecky (1838–1903)
33 Theodor Zahn[x] (1838–1933)   German Empire theology, essays Lars Dahle (1843–1925)
34 Émile Zola[y] (1839–1902)   France novel, drama, short story Marcellin Berthelot (1827–1907)

Prize decision

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In 1902, the Nobel committee considered the authors Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson for the prize.[14] Tolstoy was praised for his prominent literary work, but dismissed for his anarchistic ideology;[14] Ibsen was dismissed for similar reasons, his radical style was considered completely against the ideal direction required by Alfred Nobel's will;[14] while Bjørnson was pushed for the next year considering a shared prize with Ibsen.[14] Because the Academy's permanent secretary Carl David af Wirsén was a fierce opponent of the idea of awarding Tolstoy and Ibsen, as a compromise, the historian Theodor Mommsen was launched as an alternative candidate that could be agreed upon.[14]

Reactions

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The decision to award the second Nobel Prize in Literature to a non-fiction writer was criticised by some. While praising Mommsen's work in a 1902 article in Ord och Bild, the Swedish professor in Intellectual history Johan Bergman wrote: "It is and remain a flagrant injustice to not award this prize for the best literary work in ideal direction to one of the great idealists among the celebrated authors of our time, to Tolstoj or Björnson or Ibsen."[15] Internationally, Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg were frequently mentioned as worthy candidates for the prize.[15]

Notes

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  1. ^ Aho: Enris ("Juniper Twigs", 1899–1900)[13]
  2. ^ Barrière: Le nouveau Don Juan ("The New Don Juan", 1900)[13]
  3. ^ Baumgartner: Geschichte der Weltliteratur ("The History of World Literature", 1897—1901)[13]
  4. ^ Bjørnson: Paul Lange og Tora Parsberg, 1898
  5. ^ Chamberlain: Richard Wagner (1895), Die Grundlagen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts ("The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century", 1899), Die Worte Christi ("The Word of Christ, 1901), and Immanuel Kant. Die Persönlichkeit als Einführung in das Werk ("Immanuel Kant: The Personality as an Introduction to the Work", 1905)[13]
  6. ^ Echegaray: for his 62 dramatical works.
  7. ^ Falke: Mynheer der Tod ("My Lord, the Death", 1891), Tanz und Andacht ("Dance and Prayer", 1894), Zwischen zwei Nächten ("Between Two Nights", 1894), Neue Fahrt ("New Journey", 1897), and Mit dem Leben ("With Life", 1899)[13]
  8. ^ Garborg: I Helheim ("In Helheim", 1901)[13]
  9. ^ Grisar: Storia di Roma ("Roman History", 1899), Analecta Romana. I ("Roman Analecta I", 1899), and Geschichte Roms und der Päpste im Mittelalter. I ("History of Rome and the Popes in the Middle Ages", 1901)[13]
  10. ^ Hauptmann: Die Weber ("The Weavers", 1892), Hanneles Himmelfahrt ("The Assumption of Hannele", 1893), Florian Geyer (1896), and Einsame Menschen ("Lonely lives", 1891)[13]
  11. ^ Koni: Doktor Friedrich Haass. Lebensskizze eines deutschen Philantropen in Russland ("Friedrich Joseph Haass: Biography of a German Philanthropist in Russia", 1899)[13]
  12. ^ Fernández López: La Rota (Canto épico) ("Broken: Epic Song", 1901)[13]
  13. ^ Mistral: Mirèio and La Respelido (1900).
  14. ^ Morley: The Life of William Ewart Gladstone (1903)[13]
  15. ^ Morris: The Epic of Hades (1877), The Works (1901), and Harvest Tide: A Book of Verse (1901)[13]
  16. ^ Paris: La poésie du moyen âge ("The Poetry of the Middle Ages", 1885–95) Discours de réception ("Reception Speech", 1897), Penseurs et poètes ("Thinkers and Poets", 1896), Poèmes et légendes du moyen âge ("Poems and Legends of the Middle Ages", 1900), and François Villon (1901)[13]
  17. ^ Robertson: Regnum Dei: Eight Lectures on the Kingdom of God in the History of Christian Thought (1901)[13]
  18. ^ P. Sabatier: Vie de S. François d'Assise ("The Life of St. Francis of Assisi", 1894)[13]
  19. ^ Sienkiewicz: Quo Vadis? (1896) and Ogniem i mieczem ("With Fire and Sword", 1884)
  20. ^ Nomination was made by 49 separate letters sent in by "The Nobel Prize Committee of the Society of Authors".
  21. ^ Tolstoy: Voskreséniye ("Resurrection", 1899)[13]
  22. ^ Wagner: Justice. Huit discours ("Justice: Eight Speeches", 1889), Sois un homme! Simples causeries sur la conduite de la vie ("Be a Man! Simple Discussions on How to Lead Life", 1889), Jeunesse ("Youth", 1895), Vie Simple ("Simple Life", 1895), L'âme des choses ("The Soul of Things", 1901), and Le long du chemin ("Along the Path", 1901)[13]
  23. ^ Yeats:The Wanderings of Oisin (1889), The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics (1892), and The Land of Heart's Desire (1894).
  24. ^ Zahn: Forschungen zur Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons und der altkirchlichen Litteratur ("Research on the History of the New Testament's Canon and Early Church Literature", 1881–1908), Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons ("History of the New Testament's Canon", 1889–92), and Einleitung in das neue Testament ("Introduction to the New Testament", 1900)[13]
  25. ^ Zola: "for his works in general."[13]

References

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  1. ^ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1902 nobelprize.org
  2. ^ Theodor Mommsen nobelprize.org
  3. ^ The Nobel Prize in Literature 1902 nobelprize.org
  4. ^ Cf., Alexander Demandt, "Introduction" 1–35, at 1 (502 n.2), to Mommsen's A History of Rome under the Emperors (Munich 1992; London 1996). Demandt also mentions Winston Churchill.
  5. ^ Bertrand Russell in 1950 received the Nobel Prize for Literature. In the award presentation his then recent work A History of Western Philosophy (1946) was mentioned first along with a few other books, 35 of his titles being referenced in all.
  6. ^ Winston Churchill was a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was selected in 1953 for his political oratory, his biographies, and his histories, e.g., his The Second World War (1948–1953). The later work, of course, he wrote in his role as a leading participant, and it was a collaborative effort. Later Churchill would write his History of the English Speaking Peoples (1956–1958).
  7. ^ The 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded concurrently to Robert W. Fogel and to Douglass North, both of whom separately wrote economic histories, each employing their discipline's analytic structures in order to better understand major events of the past.
  8. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, cited by Saunders and Collins, "Introduction" at 2, to Mommsen, History of Rome (1958). Cf., "Theodor Mommsen" in the 11th edition, published in 1911.
  9. ^ G. P. Gooch, History and Historians (1913, 1928) at 456 and 458.
  10. ^ Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History, volume one (Oxford University 1934, 2d ed. 1935, 1962) at I: 3.
  11. ^ Facts on the Nobel Prize in Literature nobelprize.org
  12. ^ Nomination archive – 1902 nobelprize.org
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Svensén, Bo. "Nobelpriset i litteratur. Nomineringar och utlåtanden 1901–1950". Swedish Academy. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  14. ^ a b c d e Gustav Källstrand Andens Olympiska Spel: Nobelprisets historia, Fri Tanke 2021, p. 186-187
  15. ^ a b Helmer Lång, Hundra nobelpris i litteratur 1901-2001, Symposion 2001, p.25 (in Swedish)
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