Ludwig Pastor, ennobled as Ludwig von Pastor,

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

von Campersfelden (31 January 1854 – 30 September 1928), was a German historian and diplomat for

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. He became one of the most important Catholic historians of his time and is most notable for his ''History of the Popes''. He was raised to the nobility by the Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

in 1908 and was nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

six times.

Early life

Born in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

to a Lutheran father and a Catholic mother, Pastor was converted to Catholicism at ten, after his father's death. He attended a

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

gymnasium, where his teacher was Johannes Janssen who introduced him to historical studies.Antoni, Carlo. "Pastor, Ludwig von", '' Enciclopedia Italiana'' (1935)
/ref> Pastor studied in 1875 at

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, in 1875/76 at

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, where he became a member of the student corporation Arminia, and in 1877/78 at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Pastor taught at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

, first as a lecturer (1881–87), then as professor of modern history (1887). His dissertation was titled "Die kirchlichen Reunionsbestrebungen während der Regierung Karls V" (The Church's Attempts at Reunion During the Reign of Charles V). Pastor edited his mentor Janssen's eight-volume ''Geschichte des deutschen Volkes'' (History of the German People) and published it from 1893 to 1926.

''History of the Popes''

Janssen had made him aware of

Leopold von Ranke Leopold von Ranke (21 December 1795 – 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of ...

's ''History of the Popes''. This determined the field he would take for his own, becoming in a sense a Catholic anti-Ranke. His approach was that the apparent shortcomings of the Papacy reflected flaws of their times. Pastor consulted archives throughout Catholic Europe and, during his first trip to Italy in 1881, his seriousness ensured the patronage of

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

, who opened to him the contents of the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

, which had previously been held unavailable to scholars. He was granted privileged access to the Secret Vatican Archives, and his history, largely based on hitherto unavailable original documents, superseded all previous histories of the popes in the period he covered, which runs from the

Avignon Papacy The Avignon Papacy (; ) was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon (at the time within the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire, now part of France) rather than in Rome (now the capital of ...

of 1305 to Napoleon's entrance in Rome, 1799. He also investigated the archives of public and private libraries and archives in Italy and Europe, demonstrating an extraordinary capacity for work and rare sagacity in discovering interesting documents. Pastor decided to begin his work with the papacy of

Pope Clement V Pope Clement V (; – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his death, in April 1314. He is reme ...

(1305–1314) and the onset of the

, so that he could concentrate his research on surviving documents. His dispassionate and frank papal history concentrated on individual popes rather than on the developments of papal institutions. Pastor's tomes span the pontificates of 56 popes, from Clement V to

Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

He combined painstaking scholarship with erudition. The result of his research was his ''Geschichte der Päpste seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters'' in sixteen volumes. The ''opus magnum'' was subsequently translated into English and published as ''History of the Popes From the Close of the Middle Ages''. Pastor began his work in 1886 and wrote throughout the pontificates of Leo XIII, Pius X, Benedict XV and

Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

, publishing fifteen volumes. The 16th and final volume was published posthumously in 1930. The English translations were published between 1899 and 1953.

Academic memberships, honours and offices

In 1901, Pastor was appointed director of the Austrian Historical Institute in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, which he headed (with an interruption 1914-1919) until his death. He also was a member of the Emperor Franz-Joseph Academy in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, corresponding member of the Società Colombaria in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, member of the Papal Academy in

, of the Academy of Cracow and the Académie Royale d'Archéologie de Belgique in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. He achieved an honorary membership of the Academy of St Luke in Rome, an honorary doctorate at the University of Leuven, and membership in the historical section of the Görres Society. He received the positions of Commander of the Papal Order of St Sylvester Pope and Martyr, of Knight of the Papal Order of Pius IX, of Commander of the Austrian Order of Franz Joseph and of the Royal Italian

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

. Emperor Francis Joseph I elevated him to the nobility in 1908 and gave him the title Freiherr von Campersfelden in 1916. In 1921 he was appointed the

Republic of Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

's ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, and died in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

in 1928.Fellner, P. Felix. "Ludwig von Pastor, the Historian of the Popes", ''The Catholic Historical Review'', vol. 15, no. 2, 1929, pp. 154–70. JSTOR
/ref>

Works

All forty volumes of ''The History of the Popes'' are available from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

. Volumes I to VI are translated and edited by Frederick Ignatius Antrobus, volumes VII to XXIV by Ralph Francis Kerr, volumes XXV to XXXIV by Ernest Graf and volumes XXXV to LX by E. F. Peeler. The publishers vary and include K. Paul, Trench Trübner, & Co.,

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

, and K. Paul.
Vol. I
1305–1447, Popes at Avignon, The Schism, Councils of

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

and Constance,

Martin V Pope Martin V (; ; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Oddone Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. His election effectively ended the West ...

and Eugenius IV
Vol. II
1447–1458,

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 afte ...

and Calixtus III
Vol. III
1447–1464, Pius II
Vol. IV
1464–1483, Paul II and

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

Vol. V
1484–1497,

Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII (; ; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492. Son of the viceroy of Naples, Cybo spent his ea ...

and

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...

Vol. VI
1492–1511,

, Pius III and Julius II
Vol. VII
1513–1521, Leo X (Book I)
Vol. VIII
1513–1521, Leo X (Book II)
Vol. IX
1522–1527, Adrian VI and Clement VII
Vol. X
1523–1534, Clement VII
Vol. XI
1534–1540, Paul III
Vol. XII
1534–1549, Paul III
Vol. XIII
1550–1555, Julius III
Vol. XIV
1555–1559, Marcellus II and Paul IV
Vol. XV
1559–1565, Pius IV
Vol. XVI
1559–1565, Pius IV
Vol. XVII
1566–1572, Pius V
Vol. XVIII
1566–1572, Pius V
Vol. XIX
1572–1585,

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

Vol. XX
1572–1585,

Vol. XXI
1585–1590,

Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

Vol. XXII
1585–1591,

, Urban VII, Gregory XIV and Innocent IX
Vol. XXIII
1592–1605, Clement VIII
Vol. XXIV
1592–1605, Clement VIII
Vol. XXV
1605–1621, Leo XI and

Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...

Vol. XXVI
1605–1621, Leo XI and

Vol. XXVII
1621–1644, Gregory XV and

Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

Vol. XXVIII
1621–1644, Gregory XV and

Vol. XXIX
1621–1644, Gregory XV and

Vol. XXX
1644–1655, Innocent X
Vol. XXXI
1655–1676, Alexander VII, Clement IX and Clement X
Vol. XXXII
1676–1700, Innocent XI, Alexander VIII and Innocent XII
Vol. XXXIII
1700–1721, Clement XI
Vol. XXXIV
1721–1740, Innocent XIII, Benedict XIII and Clement XII
Vol. XXXV
1740–1758, Benedict XIV
Vol. XXXVI
1740–1769, Benedict XIV and

Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII (; ; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. He was installed on 16 July 1758. ...

Vol. XXXVII
1758–1769,

Vol. XXXVIII
1769–1774, Clement XIV
Vol. XXXIX
1775–1799,

Vol. XL
1775–1799,

References

Sources

External links

*
Pastor @ New Catholic DictionaryLudwig Pastor, the Great German Historian: ''Catholic world'', Volume 67, Issue: 397, Apr 1898
@ the University of Michigan {{DEFAULTSORT:Pastor, Ludwig von 1854 births 1928 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism 20th-century German historians Historians of the Catholic Church 19th-century Austrian diplomats Austrian barons People from Aachen People from the Rhine Province University of Bonn alumni University of Vienna alumni Academic staff of the University of Innsbruck German Roman Catholics Pope Leo XIII Commanders of the Order of Franz Joseph Commanders of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester Knights of the Order of Pope Pius IX German male non-fiction writers 19th-century German historians 20th-century Austrian diplomats