Helmut Gneuss (29 October 1927 – 26 February 2023) was a German scholar of Anglo-Saxon and Latin manuscripts and literature.
[1] Gneuss was emeritus professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,[2] where he occupied the chair for English language from 1965 to 1997.
He served as Visiting Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1974-75.
Specifically, his extensive lexicographical study of the important word ofermod "proved beyond doubt" that it means "pride",[5] settling an important question in the interpretation of the poem; in the words of Fred C. Robinson, "the poet's use of ofermod signals a criticism of Byrhtnoth's generalship.
[7] The "impact and significance" of his Handlist was the subject of a 2008 Festschrift edited by Thomas N. Hall and Donald Scragg.