Charles Terlinden (1878—1972) was a Belgian historian, professor at the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and

papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

.Henri Haag, "Terlinden, Charles", ''

Nouvelle Biographie Nationale Nouvelle is a French word, the feminine form of "new". It may refer to: ;Places * Nouvelle, Quebec, a municipality in Quebec, Canada * Nouvelle-Église, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department, France * Port-la-Nouvelle, a commune in the Aude depa ...

''
vol. 3
(Brussels, 1994), 323-325.

Life

Terlinden was born in

Schaerbeek (French language, French and History of Dutch orthography, archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Re ...

on 6 July 1878. He studied law at Saint-Louis University Faculty in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and at the Faculty of Law of the

. After completing a doctorate in law, he began historical studies under Alfred Cauchie, with a thesis on

Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX ( la, Clemens IX; it, Clemente IX; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Biography Ear ...

and the

War of Candia War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

(1904). He followed this in 1906 with a second thesis on

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who we ...

and the

Catholic Church in Belgium The Catholic Church in Belgium, part of the global Catholic Church in Belgium, is under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome and the Episcopal Conference of Bishops. Dioceses There are eight dioceses, including one archdioces ...

, making him a triple doctor. He was called up in 1914 and saw action at

Melle Melle may refer to: People * Basil Melle (1891–1966), South African cricketer * Gil Mellé (1931–2004), American artist, jazz musician and film composer * John van Melle (1887–1953), Dutch-born South African author * Melle Mel (born 19 ...

. After the war he was a historical adviser to the Belgian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, and in the aftermath was vocally critical of the way that

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

had been dismembered. From 1918 until his death he was Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the Catholic University of Louvain (emeritus from 1948).''Manifestation en l'honneur du vicomte Charles Terlinden, professeur à l'Université de Louvain, 27 octobre 1948'' (Brussels, Imprimerie Van Buggenhoudt, 1948). During the Second World War he wrote a number of popularising works about strong women in Belgian history. From 1955 until his death he was president of the

Belgian Historical Institute in Rome The Belgian Historical Institute in Rome ( nl, Belgisch Historisch Instituut te Rome, french: Institut historique belge de Rome, it, Istituto storico belga di Roma), founded 1902, is a scholarly research institute focused on the study of Roman, and ...

. He died in Brussels on 23 January 1972. Obituaries were published in the '' Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire'' (50, 1972, pp. 1061–1069), ''Revue belge d'histoire militaire'' (19, 1972, pp. 361–362), '' Bulletin de l'Institut historique belge de Rome'' (43, 1973, pp. V-XI), and '' Bulletin de la Commission royale d'Histoire'' (150, 1984, pp. 75–78).

Works

* ''The History of the Scheldt'', London, 1920 * ''Histoire de la Belgique contemporaine'', 2 vols., Brussels, 1929 * ''Histoire militaire des Belges'', Brussels, 1931 * ''A travers notre histoire et nos gloires'', Brussels, 1943 * ''L'Archiduchesse Isabelle'', Brussels, 1943 * ''Princesses belges du passé'', Brussels, 1943 * ''Figures de princesses'', Brussels, 1944 * ''La Renaissance en Belgique'', Brussels, 1945 * ''Impérialisme et équilibre'', Brussels, 1952 * ''Carolus Quintus: Charles Quint, empereur des Deux Mondes'', ruges 1965

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Terlinden, Charles 1878 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Belgian historians Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Academic staff of the Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968)