Maurits Gysseling
Maurits Gysseling was an influential Belgian researcher into historical linguistics and paleography. He was especially well known for his editions and studies of old texts relevant to the history of the Dutch language, and also for his very detailed analyses of historical place-names and their probable origins.
Based upon the results of his study of place-names, Gysseling became one of the proponents of the "Nordwestblok" idea that before the 2nd century BCE the language of Gallia Belgica was an Indo-European language that was neither Germanic nor Celtic. According to his conclusions, the northern Belgae then became Germanic-speaking, and never had been fully Celtic-speaking, in the centuries before Rome conquered them.
Major published works include:Diplomata Belgica ante annum millesimum centesimum scripta Toponymisch woordenboek van België, Nederland, Luxemburg, Noord-Frankrijk en West-Duitsland Proeve van een Oudnederlandse grammatica Hoofdlijnen in de evolutie van het Nederlandse vocalensysteem De Germaanse woorden in de Lex Salica Noordwesteuropese persoonsnaambestanddelen Prehistorische waternamen Inventaris van het archief van Sint-Baafs en Bisdom Gent tot eind 1801
At his death his letters and archives were left to the Ghent University, where he had worked, and the Koninklijke Academie voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde. Uncompleted works in these records include Het Antroponymisch Woordenboek van België, Nederland, Luxemburg, Noord-Frankrijk en West-Duitsland , the Toponymisch Woordenboek van Oost- en Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and a re-working of Julius Pokorny's Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch.