History Of The German People At The Close Of The Middle Ages V3 (1900)

Johannes Janssen (1829-91) Was A Catholic Priest And German Historian. Hi Master Work First Published In Germany As Geschichte Des Deutschen Volkes Seit Dem Ausgang Des Mittelalters In 8 Volumes (1876–1894) Its English Translation Was Published In 16 Volumes (1896-1910) By Kegan Paul Trench Trübner & Co Ltd. London. This Kindle Edition Consists Of The First Two English Volumes Published In 1896 Which Correspond To The First German Volume. It Is Fully Edited With Linked Footnotes.. The Following Summarizes Various Contemporaneous Reviews And Articles On Janssen'S Master Work:. These First Two Volumes Form The Introductory Portion Of Janssen'S History Of Germany Which Beginning With The End Of The Middle Ages That Is About 1450 Reaches In Its Eighth German Volume Down To The Beginning Of The Sixteenth Century. These Two Volumes Constitute However A Complete Whole Inasmuch As It Sketches The Conditions Of German Society In Its Literary Artistic Social Economic And Political Aspects At The Time When The Fever Germs Of The Reformation Were Breaking Forth. It Is A Wonderful Story Of High Aims And Low Ambitions Of Sober Thrift And Sottish Idleness Of Consummate Wisdom In Great Leaders Foiled By The Political Folly Of Weak Princes. The Statesman And Philosopher The Teacher Reformer And Missionary Alike Will Find Here Abundance Of New Material Among Hitherto Ill-Known Or Long-Forgotten Monuments Of History Which May Serve For The Construction Of Strong Passageways For Truth In Our Day. Janssen Demonstrated That History Has Hardly Yet Been Written Unless We Accept As Such The Historical Novels Or Romances Or Plays In Which The Dramatis Personae Are Made To Suit The Local Notions Of The Playwright Or The Capacities Of The Stage Or The Taste Of The Progressive Audience.. This Admirable Work Gives Us A Fair And Deeply-Interesting Insight Into The Conditions Not Only Of Germany But Of Europe In General During A Most Critical Period Of Its History.. The First Volume Appeared In 1876 At A Time Hardly Calculated To Help Its Reception. The Kulturkampf Had Stirred All Germany. But The Incredible Wealth Of Material And The Ingenious Manner In Which Janssen Had Woven Pungent Extracts And Telling Phrases From The Sources Into His Text Won A Grudging Respect From The Protestant World. As Volume Followed Volume And The Frail Author Continued With Researches That Would Have Killed Another Man The Work Assumed Its Fuller Outlines And A Storm Of Criticism And Abuse Came From The Protestant Camp. The Protestants Had Always Pictured The Reformation As A Purification A Necessary Upheaval After A Sordid Church Had Sunk To Unbelievable Depths Towards The Close Of The Middle Ages. The Schism The Babylonian Captivity The New Financial Expedients Indulgences And Pilgrimages The Morals Of The Renaissance Popes It Was A Well-Known Story. But Janssen Was Reversing The Entire Plot! He Was Showing How Steadily Morals Rose And The Material Prosperity Of The Nation Increased As The Middle Ages Drew To A Close. Then Subtly Adding Stone To Stone He Suggested That The Reformation Threw All Into Chaos And That National Decay Set In Long Before The Ruinous March Of Swede And Czech Of Frenchman And German Lutheran Scarred The Face Of Their Beautiful Land. . Despite Janssen'S Great Learning He Remained Humble; Worldly Honours And Ecclesiastical Dignities Had No Attraction For Him. In 1864 Efforts Were Made To Win Him For The Diplomatic Service Of The Vatican; Some Time Later He Was Mentioned For A Vacant Bishopric; In 1883 Pope Leo Xiii Contemplated Summoning Him To Rome For The Direction Of The Vatican Archives; In 1890 The Cardinalate Was To Be Conferred On Him; But Janssen Succeeded In Escaping All These Honours. He Gave Often And Abundantly To The Poor To The Sick To Churches And To Institutions Of Mercy. Janssen Was A Great Scholar And An Exemplary Priest Though He Never Exercised The Ecclesiastical Ministry.