Georg Gustav Roskoff
Austrian theologian (1814–1889)
Georg Gustav Roskoff (1814–1889) was an Austrian theologian who was professor of Old Testament exegesis at Vienna University from 1850 to 1884.
His main work deals with the historical development of dualism in which he traces the figure of the Devil in human thought from the beginnings until his own time. His History of the Devil (1869) is still considered a standard work on the topic, although it has been criticized for repeating Gottfried Christian Voigt's unrealistic figure of nine million victims of the Early Modern witch-trials.
Bibliography
Die hebräischen Alterthümer in Briefen, Wien 1857
Die Simsonfrage nach ihrer Entstehung, Form u. Bedeutung u. der Heraclesmythus, Leipzig 1860
Geschichte des Teufels. [Added in later editions:] Eine kulturhistorische Satanologie von den Anfängen bis ins 18. Jahrhundert, Leipzig 1869 ISBN 978-3-937229-69-0
Das Religionswesen der rohesten Naturvölker, Leipzig 1880.
References
External links
Allgemeine Deutsche Biografie
Klaus-Gunther Wesseling (1994). "Georg Gustav Roskoff".
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Georg Gustav Roskoff” is austrian theologian (1814–1889). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Georg, Gustav and Roskoff, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “austrian theologian (1814–1889)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q89465. VIAF identifies the subject as 17978769. The Library of Congress control number is nb2005002914. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1814, 1889, 1850 and 1884.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Georg Gustav Roskoff”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Georg Gustav Roskoff primary sources, Georg Gustav Roskoff archive and Georg research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Georg Gustav Roskoff”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Georg Gustav Roskoff” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.