Godefroid Kurth
Godefroid Kurth ( born May 11, 1847 in Arlon, † January 4, 1916 in Asse ) was a Belgian historian. He became known. Known for its history of the city of Liège in the Middle Ages and its history of Belgium, for the catholic Origines de la civilization advanced the development of modern Europe, and for his defense of the medieval guild system
His father came from Cologne, was a soldier and later police commissioner in Arlon, Arlon his mother so that he grew up in Luxembourg language. He attended the Athenaeum in Arlon and Liege, where he was taught won several national prizes, and studied at the Ecole Normale in Liege with the conclusion of 1869. Afterwards, he taught history at the Athenaeum in Liege. In 1873 he received his doctorate ( Caton l' ancien, étude biographique ) and professor at the University of Liège. In 1906 he left the university after he had received considerable difficulties due to his strict Catholic positions.
Kurth dealt with the Franks ( Merovingian ), including a biography of Clovis I, the High Middle Ages, the history of the city of Liège in the Middle Ages and of Belgium, and church history. He also studied the history of the language border in Belgium using the etymology of place names.
He took active both in his scientific views as well as in teaching a Catholic point of view, the conception of history fought the Protestant historians like Leopold von Ranke and wrote textbooks on history from a Catholic perspective. He was friends with Henri Pirenne, who was his pupil in Liege. 1893 to 1903 he was politically active in Liege for the Christian Democrats.