The Ecclesiastical and Political History of the Popes of Rome

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

Drawing on a wealth of manuscript and primary sources from across Europe, Ranke's history narrates and contextualises the fortunes of the papacy in one of its most tumultuous eras. Volume 2 examines the Counter-Reformation across Europe (and in fact introduces that term to the English language).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 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 2 is almost wholly concerned with the Counter-Reformation (and coins the term), from 1563 to 1630. These volumes will be of interest to early modern historians and historiographers alike.