### MONUMENTA GERMANIAE HISTORICA
It is the most important collection of sources for the history of the Middle Ages, particularly for Germany, but indirectly for all the countries that came within the orbit of the medieval Empire. It is published under the auspices of the "Reichsinstitut für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde" (formerly "Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde"), founded in Frankfurt in January 1818 by K. von Stein, which is indicated on the title pages of the individual volumes by the Latin name "Societas aperiendis fontibus rerum Germanicarum medii aevi." The character of the institution, which arose in conjunction with the affirmation in Germany of the ideals of political unity, is highlighted by the motto of the Society: "Sanctus amor patriae dat animus." In 1824, G. H. Pertz, who directed the publication of the M.G.H. until 1874, presented the definitive plan of the work, and two years later the first volume appeared. In 1875, the Society passed under the direction of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, and in 1886 it obtained official recognition from the State, which incorporated it into the Ministry of the Interior. Pertz was succeeded in the chairmanship of the steering committee by W. Waitz (1875-86), W. Wattenbach (1886-88), E. Dümmler (1888-1902), O. Holder-Egger (1902-1905), R. Koser (1906-19), P. F. Kehr (1919-36); then, after the provisional administration of W. Engel, by E. E. Stengel (1937-42), Th. Mayer (1942-47), and Fr. Baethgen (from 1947).
In January 1944, due to the war, the Institute was transferred from Berlin to Weissenstein Castle in Pommersfelden, near Bamberg, and in 1948 to Munich. In the same year, the statute of 1875 was revised, and the institution took the name "M.G.H. Deutsches Institut für Erforschung des Mittelalters." The generous intervention of Pius XII contributed significantly to the revival of the Institute after the painful trials and financial difficulties caused by the Second World War.
The M.G.H., which represent the first collection of historical sources published with a truly critical intent, initially appeared in large folio volumes, to which in-4° and in-8° formats were later added. The edition was initially entrusted to the Weidmann house of Berlin, which was later joined by Hiersemann of Stuttgart and Hahn of Hanover, and most recently by Böhlaus of Weimar. The texts are divided into five series, each of which comprises one or more sections: in citations, the title of the section and the number occupied by the volume within it are normally given. The following table also includes the format to allow comparison with the old schemes, in which the sections were distinguished precisely by format.
**1st series: SCRIPTORES.** — Includes historical and chronicle works from late antiquity and the Middle Ages, divided into 10 sections:
1. *Auctores antiquissimi*: 15 vols. in-4° (vols. I, III, IV, V, VI in 2 parts each, vol. XIII in 4), published by the Weidmann house between 1877 (vol. I) and 1919 (vol. XV).
2. *Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum*: 7 vols. in-4° (vols. I and II in 2 parts), published by the Hahn house between 1884 (vol. I, part 1) and 1920 (vol. VII). A 2nd ed. of vol. I, part 1, was published in 1937.
3. *Scriptores rerum Langobardicarum et Italicarum saec. VI-IX*: 1 vol. in-4°, published by the Hahn house in 1878.
4. *Gesta Pontificum Romanorum*: 1 vol. in-4°, published by the Weidmann house in 1898.
5. *Scriptores* (in general): 30 vols. in-4° (vol. XXX in 2 parts), published by the Hiersemann house, and 2 in-4° (the second [XXXII] in 3 parts) published by the Hahn house, between 1826 (vol. I) and 1926-34 (vol. XXX, part 2). Vols. I-XII and XVI-XXI were reprinted in 1925, vol. XXII in 1928, and vol. XXIII in 1929.
6. *Scriptores rerum Germanicarum. Nova series*: 9 vols. in small in-8°, published by the Weidmann house between 1922 (vol. I) and 1935 (vol. IX).
7. *Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separatim editi*: 61 vols. in small in-8°, published by the Hahn house, except vols. XXVI, XXXIX, XL, and XLIX by the Weidmann house (some volumes of this section, although containing texts already found elsewhere, represent an improved edition; others appear only here). The oldest (I) dates from 1871, the most recent (XXIV) from 1935; reprints were made of vols. VI, XIV, and XLVIII in 1930; a 2nd ed. was published for vols. XV (1880), XVI (1916), and XLV (1912); a 3rd ed. for vols. II (1917), XXXII (1937), XLI (1915), XLIV (1907), XLVI (1912), LVIII (1899), and LXI (1915); a 5th ed. for vol. LX (1935); a 6th ed. for vol. XXV (1911).
8. *Deutsche Chroniken* (*Scriptores qui vernacula lingua usi sunt*): 6 vols. in-4° (vols. I, III, and IV in 2 parts), published by the Weidmann house between 1877 (vol. II) and 1923 (vol. IV, part 2).
9. *Libelli de lite imperatorum et pontificum saec. XI et XII conscripti*: 3 vols. in-4°, published by the Hahn house between 1891 (vol. I) and 1897 (vol. III).
10. *Staatschriften des späteren Mittelalters*: of the 3 vols. in large in-8° (the 1st in 2 parts) announced by the Hiersemann house, only vol. I has appeared, but it has been transferred to the 3rd section of the *Antiquitates* (vol. IV).
**2nd series: LEGES.** — Includes collections of laws, the capitularies of the Frankish kings, conciliar decrees, and other juridical sources relating to the Middle Ages, divided into 4 sections:
1. *Leges* in-fol.: 5 vols. (vol. II in 2 parts), published by the Hiersemann house between 1835 (vol. I) and 1875-89 (vol. V). Vols. I-IV were reprinted in 1925.
2. *Leges* in-4°, divided into 5 groups: a) *Legum sectio I: Leges nationum Germanicarum*: 3 vols. (I, II, and V: the latter in 2 parts), published by the Hahn house between 1892 (vol. II) and 1927 (vol. III, part 2); b) *Legum sectio II: Capitolaria regum Francorum*: 2 vols. (vol. I in 2 parts, vol. II in 3), published by the Hahn house in 1883 and 1897; c) *Legum sectio III: Concilia*: 2 vols. (vol. II with a supplement), published by the Hahn house between 1893 (vol. I) and 1924 (vol. II, suppl.); d) *Legum sectio IV: Constitutiones et acta publica imperatorum et regum*: 7 vols. (I-VI and VIII: vols. IV and V in 2 parts, I-VIII in 3), published by the Hahn house between 1893 (vol. I) and 1927 (vol. VI, fasc. 3); e) *Legum sectio V: Formulae Merovingici et Karolini aevi*: 1 vol., published by the Hahn house in 1886.
3. *Fontes iuris Germanici antiqui Nova series*: 2 vols. (I and III) in small in-8°, published by the Hahn house in 1933.
4. *Fontes iuris Germanici antiqui in usum scholarum separatim editi*: 9 vols. in small in-8°, published by the Hahn house (as with the *Scriptores*, this section includes, in addition to new texts, the two texts found in the previous section, improved from the point of view of philological criticism). They range from 1869 (vol. III) to 1933 (vol. IX). In 1933, a 2nd ed. of vol. II was also published.
**3rd series: DIPLOMATA.** — Includes public acts issued by the chanceries of the kings and emperors of France and Germany, divided into 4 sections:
1. *Diplomata* in-fol. [*Merovingorum*]: 1 vol., published by the Hiersemann house in 1872.
2. *Die Urkunden der Karolinger* (*Diplomata Karolinorum*): 1 vol. in-4°, published by the Weidmann house in 1906.
3. *Die Urkunden der deutschen Karolinger* (*Diplomata regum Germaniae ex stirpe Karolinorum*): 3 vols. in-4° (vol. I in 3 parts, vol. II in 2), published by the Weidmann house between 1932 (vol. I) and 1940 (vol. III).
4. *Die Urkunden der deutschen Könige und Kaiser* (*Diplomata regum et imperatorum Germaniae*): 7 vols. in-4° (I-VI and VIII; vol. II in 2 parts), published by the Weidmann house between 1879-84 (vol. I) and 1927 (vol. VIII).
Also included in the series of *Diplomata*, although not part of the above sections, is the vol. *Die Urkunden Heinrichs des Löwen, Herzogs von Sachsen und Bayern*, in 2 tomes, published in part by the Hiersemann house (vol. I, part 1 and vol. II, part 1b) and in part by the Böhlaus house (vol. I, part 2a) in 1941.
4th series: EPISTOLAE. — Comprises letters from the papal and imperial chanceries, as well as from the Merovingian and Carolingian kings and other leading figures in medieval history, divided into 4 sections:
1. *Epistolae in-4°*: 8 vols. (I, V, VI and VII in 2 parts), published by the Weidmann house between 1887 (vol. I, part 1) and 1939 (vol. VIII, fascicle 1).
2. *Die Briefe der deutschen Kaiserzeit*: 3 vols. in large 8°, (I, III and V), published by the Böhlaus house; vols. I and II in 2 parts, vol. V in 1950.
3. *Epistolae saec. XIII e regestis Pontificum Romanorum selectae*: 3 vols. in-4°, published by the Weidmann house between 1883 (vol. I) and 1894 (vol. III).
4. *Epistolae selectae*: 4 vols. in small 8° (vol. II in 2 parts), published by the Weidmann house between 1916 (vol. I) and 1926 (vol. IV).
5th series: ANTIQUITATES. — Comprises poetic texts, necrologies and literary writings of various kinds (philosophical, political, biographical, etc.) of historical interest for the medieval period, divided into 3 sections:
1. *Poetae latini medii aevi*: 5 vols. in-4° (vol. IV in 2 parts), published by the Weidmann house between 1880-81 (vol. I) and 1937-39 (vol. V).
2. *Necrologia Germaniae*: 5 vols. in-4°, in addition to one outside the series (published in 1884), published by the Weidmann house between 1886-88 (vol. I) and 1920 (vol. IV).
3. *Deutsches Mittelalter: kritische Studentexte*: 4 vols. in small 8°, the first 3 published by the Hiersemann house in 1937, the last by the Böhlaus house in 1949.
In 1890 a volume of indexes was also published by the Hahn and Weidmann publishers, edited by O. Holder-Egger and K. Zeumer.
Since 1938 the *Reichsinstitut für ältere deutsche Geschichte* has also published 9 vols. (the last in 1944), entrusted to the Hiersemann house, of critical studies.
*Monumenta Germaniae Historica*
Insignia of the Society on the title page of the first volume published (*Scriptores*, I, 1826).