Pius Bonifacius Gams (23 January 1816, Mittelbuch,

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...

– 11 May 1892,

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

) was a German

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

ecclesiastical historian.

Life

His classical studies made at

Biberach an der Riss Biberach may refer to: *Biberach an der Riß, a town in Upper Swabia, Germany *Biberach (district), which has Biberach an der Riß as its capital *Biberach, Baden, a municipality in the ''Ortenaukreis'', Germany *Biberach is a part of Roggenburg, B ...

and

Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,00 ...

(1826–1834), he studied philosophy and theology at

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

(1834–38), entered the seminary of

Rottenburg am Neckar Rottenburg am Neckar (; until 10 July 1964 only ''Rottenburg''; Swabian: ''Raodaburg'') is a medium-sized town in the administrative district (''Landkreis'') of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies about 50 kilometres (31 miles) s ...

in 1838, and was ordained priest on 11 September 1839. He filled various posts as tutor, vicar, parish priest, professor until 1 May 1847, when he was appointed chairs of philosophy and general history by the theological faculty of

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the ...

. He entered the Abbey of St. Boniface at Munich, which belonged to the Bavarian congregation of the Order of St. Benedict, and pronounced the monastic vows, 5 October 1856, adding the name of Pius to that of Boniface. Gams filled several monastic offices, being successively master of novices, sub-prior, and prior.

Work

He is best known for his ''Kirchengeschichte von Spanien'', 3 vols. (Ratisbon, 1862–1879), and his ''Series episcoporum Eccelesiae catholicae quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo'' etc. (Ratisbon, 1873–86, with two supplements). The ''Kirchengeschichte von Spanien'' is a methodical work, critical, also, to a certain extent, in dealing with the earliest period of Spanish ecclesiastical history, though the author rarely abandons unreliable sources. The ''Series episcoporum'' is a collection of the episcopal lists of all ancient and modern sees. Gaps are frequent in the lists of ancient sees, especially those of the Eastern Church. Gams ignored a number of dissertations which would have rectified, on a multitude of points, his uncertain chronology. In 1850 Gams founded with his colleagues

Johann Baptist Alzog Johann Baptist Alzog (8 June 1808 – 1 March 1878) was a German theologian and Catholic church historian. He was born at Ohlau, in Silesia. He studied at the universities of Breslau and Bonn and was ordained a priest at Cologne in 1834. In t ...

, F. W. Koch, Mattes, and G.J. Muller a ''Theologische Monatschrift'' which lasted two years (1850–1851), and in which he published a number of essays.

Works

*"Geschichte der Kirche Jesu Christi im neunzehnten Jahrhunderte mit besonderer Rucksicht auf Deutschland"; 3 vols. (Innsbruck, 1854–1858) *"Johannes der Taufer im Gefangnisse" (Tübingen, 1853) *"Die elfte Sacularfeier des Martyrertodes des heiligen Bonifacius", etc. (Mainz, 1855) *"Die Kirchengeschichte von Spanien", 3 vols, in five parts (Ratisbon 1862-79); "Spanische Briefe" in "Historisch-politische Blatter", LVI, 134 sq., 208 sg, 311 sq., 418 sq., "Wetterleuchten auf der pyrenaischen Halbinsel", ibid, LVI, 67 sq *"Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo" (Ratisbon, 1873) supp I: "Hierarchia catholica Pio IX Pontifice Romano" (Munich, 1879), Supp. II: "Series episcoporum quae apparuit 1873 completur et continuatur ab anno circa 1870 ad 20 Febr. 1885" (Ratisbon, 1886) *"Das Jahre des Martyrtodes der Apostel Petrus und Paulus" (Ratisbon, 1867).

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gams, Pius Bonifacius 1816 births 1892 deaths People from Ochsenhausen People from the Kingdom of Württemberg German Benedictines 19th-century German historians 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers 19th-century German Roman Catholic priests