The Ecclesiastical and Political History of the Popes of Rome
During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

Written with impartiality and objectivity, Ranke's work, through Austin's translation, influenced generations of historians and historiographers.

Leopold von Ranke (Author), Sarah Austin (Translated by)

9781108027137, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 January 2011

674 pages
21.6 x 3.8 x 14 cm, 0.84 kg

This translation by Sarah Austin (1793–1867) of German historian Leopold von Ranke's work contributed significantly to early modern history and historiography. By some accounts 'the best living translator' of her time, Austin was a member of social circles that included Jeremy Bentham and J. S. Mill. Ranke (1795–1886) worked for most of his life at the University of Berlin, writing several histories covering the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries. Austin's translation recognises Ranke's importance to Western historiography: his methodology stressed the centrality of using primary sources and of the historian's objectivity. Ranke's history engages with a much wider area than his title suggests; indeed, his subject is 'the struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism, between authority and innovation', as Austin writes. Volume 3 analyses the period 1590–1630 and examines later significant events and includes an expansive appendix. These volumes will be of interest to early modern historians and historiographers alike.

Book VIII. 1590–1630
Appendix
Index.

Subject Areas: European history [HBJD]