Heinrich Karl Ludolf von Sybel (2 December 1817 – 1 August 1895) was a German historian and politician, who served in the
Landtag of Prussia
The Landtag of Prussia () was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameralism, bicameral legislature consisting of the upper Prussian House of Lords, House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower Prussian ...
from 1862 to 1864 and from 1874 to 1880. He was a professor at the
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
family which had long been established at Soest. He was born in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
, where his father held important posts in the public service under both the French and the
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
ns; in 1831 he was raised to the hereditary nobility. His home was one of the centres of the vigorous literary and artistic life for which Düsseldorf was renowned at that time. Sybel was educated at the local Gymnasium, and then at the
University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany.
The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
, where he came under the influences of
Friedrich Carl von Savigny
Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and historian.
Early life and education
Savigny was born at Frankfurt am Main, of a family recorded in the history of Lorraine, deriving its name from the cast ...
and
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 ...
, whose most distinguished pupil he was to become.
After taking his degree, he settled down in 1841 as a ''
Privatdozent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...
'' in history at the university of Bonn. He had already made himself known by critical studies on the history of the
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 ...
, of which the most important was his ''Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzuges'' (''History of the First Crusade'') (Düsseldorf, 1841; new ed., Leipzig, 1881), a work which, besides its merit as a valuable piece of historical investigation employing the critical methods he had learnt from Ranke, was also of some significance as a protest against the vaguely enthusiastic attitude encouraged by the Romantic school towards the Middle Ages. In 1861 Lady Duff-Gordon published an English translation of a part of this book, to which were added lectures on the crusades delivered in Munich in 1858, under the title ''History and Literature of the Crusades''.Sybel, H. von., Duff Gordon, L. (18--) The history and literature of the crusades London. This was followed by a study of the growth of German kingship (''Die Entstehung des deutschen Königtums'', Frankfurt, 1844, and again 1881), after which he was appointed professor.
In the same year (1844) Sybel became prominent as an opponent of the
Ultramontane
Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by ...
Trier
Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...
had attracted enormous numbers of pilgrims, and so, indignant at what appeared to him a fake, he assisted in publishing an investigation into the authenticity of the celebrated relic. From this time he began to take an active part in contemporary politics and in controversy as a strong but moderate Liberal. In 1846 he was appointed professor at
Marburg
Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...
, and though this small university offered little scope for his activities as a teacher, a seat in the Hessian ''Landtag'' gave him his first experience of politics. In 1848 he was present at Frankfurt, but he did not succeed in winning a seat for the National Assembly. His opposition to the extreme democratic and revolutionary party made him unpopular with the mob who broke his windows, and his liberalism made him suspect at court. He sat in the Erfurt parliament of 1850, and was attached to the Gotha party, which hoped for the regeneration of Germany through the leadership of
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
.
During the period 1859–1866, Sybel was engaged in a literary controversy with the historian,
Julius von Ficker
Julius Ficker or Julius von Ficker or Johann Kaspar Julius Ficker von Feldhaus (30 April 1826 – 10 June 1902) was a Roman Catholic Germans, German historian. In 1898 he was awarded the Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts.
During the years that followed he was occupied with his major chronicle of the French Revolution, ''Geschichte der Revolutionszeit 1789–1800'', for which he had made prolonged studies in the archives of Paris and other countries. The later editions of the earlier volumes were enlarged and altered, and a new edition was published at Stuttgart in 1882. The first three volumes were translated into English by Walter Copland Perry (1867–1869). In this work he showed for the first time the connection between the internal and external history of France. By systematically studying the records, he was also the first to check and correct the traditional account of many episodes of France's internal history. He demonstrated that letters attributed to
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...
were not genuine. He undermined the influential revolutionary legends, expounded by French writers. Sybel was interested in
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...
, on whom he had published two essays. The work was in fact the first attempt to substitute for the popular view of Thiers and
Lamartine
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more w ...
, a line which was later taken up by Taine and Albert Sorel.
In 1856, on the recommendation of Ranke, Sybel accepted the post of professor at Munich, where King
Maximilian II of Bavaria
Maximilian II (28 November 1811 – 10 March 1864) reigned as King of Bavaria between 1848 and 1864.
Unlike his father, King Ludwig I, "King Max" was very popular and took a greater interest in the business of Government than in personal ext ...
, a generous patron of learning, hoped to establish a school of history. Here he found a fruitful field for his activity. Besides continuing his work on the Revolution and on the Middle Ages, he occupied himself fully with the Historical Seminar which he instituted; with the ''
Historische Zeitschrift
''Historische Zeitschrift'', is a German scholarly journal of history and historiography. Founded in 1859 it was the first and for a time the foremost historical journal in Europe. It is published by Akademie Verlag GmbH, a subsidiary of Oldenbou ...
'' which he founded - the original model of the numerous historical periodicals which now exist – and as secretary of the new Historical Commission. Political differences soon interfered with his work; as a supporter of Prussia and a Protestant, especially as a militant champion against the Ultramontanes, he was from the first an object of suspicion to the Clerical party. In the political excitement which followed the war of 1859 he found that he could not hope for the unreserved support of the king, and therefore in 1861 he accepted a professorship 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 ...
, which he held until 1875.
He was elected a member of the Prussian Lower House, and during the next three years was one of the most active members of that assembly. In several important debates he led the attack on the government, and opposed the policy of Bismarck, not only on finances but also on Polish and Danish affairs, in particular the impending crisis with Denmark over
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...
and
Holstein
Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany.
Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...
. In 1864 he did not stand for re-election, owing to an eye infection, but in 1866 he was one of the first to point out the way to a reconciliation between Bismarck and his former opponents. He had a seat in the Constituent Assembly of 1867, and while he joined the National Liberals he distinguished himself by opposing the introduction of
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
, sharing the distrust of many Liberals over its effects. In 1874 he returned to the Prussian parliament in order to support the government in its conflict with the Clericals, and after 1878 with the
Socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
s. He explained and justified his position in two pamphlets that analysed the teaching of the Socialists and traced Clerical policy during the 19th century. In 1880 he retired, like so many other Liberals, disheartened by the change in political life which he blamed on universal suffrage.
In 1875, Bismarck appointed him to the post of director of the Prussian archives. Under his superintendence was begun the great series of publications, besides that of the correspondence of
Frederick the Great
Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...
, which he helped to edit. His last years were occupied with his great work, ''Die Begründung des deutschen Reiches durch Wilhelm I'' (''The Founding of the German Empire under William I'')(Munich, 1889–1894), a work of great importance on German unification, for which he was allowed to use the Prussian state papers and was therefore able to write a history of the greatest events of his own time with full access to highly secret sources of information. As a history of Prussian policy from 1860 to 1866 it is of incomparable value. After the fall of Bismarck permission to use the secret papers was withdrawn, and therefore vols. vi. and vii., which deal with the years 1866 to 1870, are of less importance. This work has been translated into English as ''The Founding of the German Empire'', by M L Perrin and G Bradford (New York, 1890–1891). Sybel did not live to write an account of the war with France, dying at Marburg on 1 August 1895. His other writings include ''Die deutsche Nation und das Kaiserreich'' (1862) and a large number of historical articles.
Sybel left two sons, one of whom became an officer in the Prussian army; the other, Ludwig von Sybel (1846-1929), a professor of archaeology in the university of Marburg, was the author of several works dealing with Greek archaeology.
Some of Sybel's numerous historical and political essays have been collected in ''Kleine historische Schriften'' (3 vols, 1863, 1869, 1881; new ed., 1897); ''Vorträge und Aufsätze'' (Berlin, 1874); and ''Vorträge und Abhandlungen'', published after his death with a biographical introduction by Conrad Varrentrapp (Munich, 1897).
References
*
* Gooch, G.P. ''History and historians in the nineteenth century'' (1913). onlineBiography at
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
(ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language.
It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...
Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...