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== Work ==
Like Behaghel, his thesis supervisor, Maurer directed much attention to the study of [[dialect]]s ([[dialectology]] and dialect geography) and to the [[comparative linguistic]] of [[German language|German]]. He published numerous works on [[medieval literature]] and [[medieval poetry|poetry]] that were notable for their connections between literature studies, [[cultural history]], [[prehistory|prehistoric]] [[archaeology]] and [[sociology]]. With [[Friedrich Stroh]], Maurer published ''Deutsche Wortgeschichte'' ("History of German
Maurer's 1942 linguistic work ''Nordgermanen und Alemannen'' ("Northern [[Germanic peoples|Germans]] and [[Alemanni]]") is considered his most important one, where he put forth a theory of the development of the Germanic languages that was strongly imbued with [[nationalist]] [[ideology]] by hypothesizing a strong union of the Germanic peoples in antiquity; a theory that is still controversial. He sought to construct a conception of the [[West Germanic languages]] as precursors to Modern German. Against the common division of Germanic into [[North Germanic languages|North]], [[East Germanic languages|East]] and West Germanic languages, he posited a fivefold division into North Germanic (Scandinavia), [[Ingaevones|North Sea Germanic]] (Saxon, Frisian etc.), [[Weser-Rhine Germanic]] ([[Cherusci]], [[Chatti]], later [[Franks]]), [[Elbe Germanic]] ([[Suebi]], [[Marcomanni]], [[Lombards]], later Alemanni) and [[East Germanic languages|Oder-Weichsel Germanic]] ([[Vandals]], [[Burgundians]], [[Goths]]). The theory was supported mainly by [[Tacitus]] and [[Pliny the Elder]] and especially the latter's observation in the ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' of there being ''Germanorum genera quinque'': "five kinds of Germans".<ref>Pliny, ''Nat. Hist'' [[s:la:Naturalis Historia/Liber IV#.5B99.5D|IV, 99]].</ref>
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