Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1073

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.8 linear feet (3 boxes)

Preferred Citation:

Hugo Albert Rennert collection, 1892-1920, Ms. Coll. 1073, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1892-1920 (inclusive)

Creator:

Rennert, Hugo Albert

Form:

Spanish literature, Postcards, and Correspondence

Abstract:

Hugo Albert Rennert (1858-1927) was a professor of romance literature at the University of Pennsylvania, an author, and a philologist who focused his research on Spanish literature. This collection contains hand copied European manuscripts, probably used by Rennert in his research, letters written to Rennert by his fellow scholars of Spanish literature, and a hand copied dictionary of Spanish actors from 1560 to 1680 along with notes on the Spanish actors and theater companies from that time.

Hugo Albert Rennert was a philologist who focused on Spanish literature and was a professor of romance literature at the University of Pennsylvania. Rennert was born in Philadelphia on May 6, 1858 to John and Margarethe Rennert. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1876. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Law degree in 1881, his Master of Arts degree in 1890, his Ph.D from the University of Freiburg-in-Baden in 1892, and finally his Doctorate of Law degree in 1914. Rennert married Helen Ringgold Rasin on November 17, 1897. Together they had one son, Hugo Rasin.

In 1892, Rennert became a professor of Romance Languages and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. He was also a corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy, the Royal Academy of Galicia, and the Hispanic Society of America. He was particularly interested in the work of Lope de Vega and published a book titled The Life of Lope de Vega (1562-1635) in 1904. His other works include Spanish Pastoral Romances, The Spanish Stage in the Time of Lope de Vega, Macias, o namorado: A galician trobador, Bibliography of the dramatic works of Lope de Vega Carpio based upon the catalogue of John Rutter Chorley, and Comedias of Miguel Sánchez "El Divino".

Hugo Albert Rennert died on December 31, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This collection contains manuscripts and letters belonging to Hugo Albert Rennert. There are two series contained in this collection. The first series contains hand copied manuscripts of Spanish and Italian literature along with hand drawn maps of various vistas. There are also notes on the different vistas and photocopies of Spanish poems. There is also what seems to be an untitled Italian poetry copybook in this series.

The second series contains letters to Rennert. These are in the form of various postcards and handwritten letters in Spanish, Italian, German, French, and English. Several notable scholars of Spanish literature wrote to him including James Fitzmaurice-Kelly, Gottfried Baist, Raymond Fulché-Delbosc, Hugo Schuchardt, and Webster Wentworth. The subjects mostly relate to Rennert's research on Spanish literature and constructive criticisms of his manuscripts for his books. The postcards from Fitzmaurice-Kelly are the most numerous and topics range from academic research to everyday correspondence between friends. This series also contains a folder of correspondence with illegible signatures and a folder of various envelopes.

The third and final series consists of a collection of notes on 16th and 17th century Spanish theatre. This includes a more modern handwritten copy of Representantes Espanoles, a dictionary of Spanish actors from 1560 to 1680. It also includes notes on all of the Spanish theater companies from 1581-1681 and their actors as well as some miscellaneous notes that include a list of companies and representations from Valencia and a typed version of the first few pages of Representantes Espanoles. All of these documents are written in Spanish by Hugo Albert Rennert himself.