Monumenta Germaniae Historica

Monumenta Historica Germaniae (MGH, Latin Historical Monuments of Germany ) denotes medieval source texts whose scientifically edited editions as well as the institution that publishes them. The MGH editions represent the major source collection for medieval history, they are often also the breakdowns scientific issues.

Founded the kingdom of Baron von Stein 1819 " society for older German history lesson " had begun to work through historical documents and to publish them as " Monumenta Historica Germaniae ". This was dissolved in 1935 as part of the transformation of the Monumenta Historica Germaniae into a realm Institute of older German History class in 1945 but restored by representatives of all German Academies and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The Monumenta Historica Germaniae have since 1949 based in Munich; the Free State of Bavaria gave the Institute in 1963 the property of a corporation under public law.

A resident of Munich since 1949 association of scholars out this operation continue as a corporation under public law and to the assumed name " Monumenta Historica Germaniae (German Institute for Exploration of the Middle Ages ) ". You want to serve by critical studies and editions of sources of scientific exploration of the medieval history of Germany and Europe.

Often the term " MGH " is also based on the data published by the Institute editions of medieval texts, their first concern is to make available to these sources of research. It also published one of the most important journals for the medieval history of the MGH with the German Archive for Research into the Middle Ages ( DA).

Following the resignation Claudia Märtls on March 31, 2014, the so protested against the saving of the Free State of Bavaria, which jeopardize the continued existence of an independent institution, has been April 1, 2014 Marc- Aeilko Aris " Deputy President " (leader) of the MGH.

History

The Monumenta Historica Germaniae project had set itself after the Congress of Vienna, the ambitious goal to edit the main historical sources, the German ' past. Accordingly, Johann Lambert Büchler was 1819, the society for older German History class and thus the MGH the motto Sanctus amor patriae dat animum, Latin for "The holy patriotism is the ( right ) spirit " - a motto in the sense of romantic nationalism in the early 19th century.

Initial disagreements about the nature and scope of the source book have been clarified fundamental to the plan by the Central Directorate of 1824, for example, the classification of publications in the five main departments it was decided (see the next section). As editorial rules were then given, among other things: The best manuscripts of a work should be complete, the worse only be considered in selection. The original spelling of the manuscripts was to maintain the distinction between u, v and w, the punctuation could be modernized.

Decisive for the pressure was the publisher Heinrich Wilhelm Hahn the Younger, however, further handed the job to Friedrich Bernhard Culemann.

It was also established AD as a guide for the temporal scope of the Monumenta time of about 500 to 1500 AD, by the cessation of classical literature to the general use of the typography. Ancient classical writers - such as Tacitus - should be at most excerpts taken into account. With regard to the geographic scope of the medieval expansion of the German Empire should be governed, so that the German Switzerland, Alsace - Lorraine, the Baltic provinces and the Netherlands were taken into account.

In addition, should include the important " emigrant German tribes " such as the Vandals, Burgundians and Lombards be considered: " Until their mixing or its setting " belong to history " in a broader sense to ours ," it says in the company of older plan German history class of 1824 but was Obeyed the warning of Barthold Georg Niebuhr, who had opposed the inclusion of the sources of some of the " emigrant tribes ' major concerns. , the Franks were indeed readily incorporated because yes their settlement area was part of the Carolingian Empire; but the Anglo-Saxons, he argued, are toto orbe been divisi (Latin: " with all their ( settlement ) area [ from the German Empire ] separately " ), and the Visigoths no less.

The activity of MGH, one of the largest coordinated work in the field of historical research, consists in the 21st century continues. In 2004, MGH began, financially supported by the German Research Foundation, all their editions that are older than three years to provide, in the form of digitized scans and as full text online ( see links).

Publications and departments of the Monumenta

The publications of the Monumenta Historica Germaniae appear mainly in five departments:

• I. Scriptores ( Latin for " writer " ) editions of narrative sources ( biographies, chronicles, annals, government securities);
• II Leges ( Latin for " law " ): editions of popular rights, capitularies, council decisions, Formulae and Others
• III. Diplomata ( Latin for " Certificates"): editions of documents, in particular the charters of the German kings and emperors of the Merovingians currently 481 AD through the Carolingian, Ottonian and Salian to the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II 1212.
• IV Epistolae (Latin " letters ").
• V. Antiquities ( Latin for " antiquities " ) editions of medieval poems, Necrologies, Memorial books.

Also, appear (or appeared ) in the Monumenta Historica Germaniae:

• The magazine " | Archive for Research into the Middle Ages" ( since 1937; predecessor: the magazine " New Archive society for older German history lesson ", 1876-1935 );
• The publication series " sources for intellectual history of the Middle Ages ";
• The publication series " German Middle Ages. Critical study texts ";
• Single Latin source texts for study use ( " Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separatim editi ").

President

The President of the Monumenta Historica Germaniae were from the founding to the present day: