Friedrich Jürgen Baethgen (30 July 1890 – 18 June 1972) was a German

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

born in

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...

. He specialized in

medieval studies Medieval studies is the academic interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages. A historian who studies medieval studies is called a medievalist. Institutional development The term 'medieval studies' began to be adopted by academics in the opening ...

and in

history of the papacy According to Catholicism, the pope is head of the Catholic Church, spans from the time of Saint Peter to the present day. In the first three centuries of the Christian era, many of Peter's successors as bishops of Rome are obscure figures, ...

. He studied history at the Universities of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, earning his doctorate in 1913 under the guidance of Karl Hampe (1869–1936) with a thesis on

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

. Afterwards, he was a lecturer and associate professor at

, then becoming a professor of history at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...

(from 1929). From 1939 to 1948 he taught classes in

. In 1927, Baethgen was appointed second secretary at the

German Historical Institute in Rome The German Historical Institute in Rome, short DHI Rome, is the oldest of the German historical institutes abroad. Its purpose is to conduct research of the Italian history and music history, as well as the history of German-Italian relations from ...

. From 1948 to 1959, he was president of the ''

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The (Latin for "Historical Monuments of Germany"), frequently abbreviated MGH, is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of parts of Northwestern, Central and Souther ...

'', and from 1956 to 1964, he was president of the ''Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften'' (

Bavarian Academy of Sciences The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities () is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledge within their subject. The general goal of th ...

). He never married.

Published works

* ''Die Regentschaft Papst Innozenz III. im Königreich Sizilien'' (The reign of Pope Innocent III in the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

); (1914). * ''Der Engelpapst'' (The "Angel Pope"); (1933). * ''Beiträge zur Geschichte Cölestins'' (Contributions to the history of

Pope Celestine V Pope Celestine V (; 1209/1210 or 1215 – 19 May 1296), born Pietro Angelerio (according to some sources ''Angelario'', ''Angelieri'', ''Angelliero'', or ''Angeleri''), also known as Pietro da Morrone, Peter of Morrone, and Peter Celestine, was ...

); (1934). * ''Europa im Spätmittelalter'' (Europe in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

); (1951). * ''Dante und Petrus de Vinea'' (

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

and Peter de Vinea); (1955). * ''Die Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1909–1959'' (The Bavarian Academy of Sciences, 1909–1959); (1959). * ''Mediaevalia'' (1960). * ''Das Gesamtverzeichnis der Mitglieder der Akademie, 1759–1959'' (Roster of members of the Academy, 1759–1959); (1963). * ''Deutschland und Europa im Spätmittelalter'' (Germany and Europe in the late

); (1968). * ''Schisma und Konzilzeit'' (1973).

References

* "This article is based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

."
Friedrich Baethgen (Open Library)
(publications by author) People from Greifswald Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Academic staff of the University of Königsberg 1890 births 1972 deaths Academic staff of Heidelberg University German male non-fiction writers 20th-century German historians Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin {{Germany-historian-stub