Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte

work by Waitz

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June 25, 2026

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Georg Waitz's Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte is a monumental eight-volume work published between 1844 and 1878. It meticulously details medieval German institutions from their earliest origins up to the mid-12th century. Waitz, a historian and leading disciple of Leopold von Ranke, is recognized as a founder of medieval studies and a preeminent German constitutional historian. His work is noted for its exhaustive annotation and thoroughness, establishing a renowned school of medievalists at the University of Göttingen. This comprehensive study provides deep insights into the historical development of German constitutional structures.1

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Georg Waitz
His major work, Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte, 8 vol. (1844–78; “German Constitutional History”), is an exhaustively annotated study of medieval German institutions from the earliest times to the middle of the 12th century, remarkable for its thoroughness. In 1875 he became editor of Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Other studies by Waitz…
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His major work, Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte, 8 vol. (1844–78; “German Constitutional History”), is an exhaustively annotated study of medieval German institutions from the earliest times to the middle of the 12th century, remarkable for its thoroughness. In 1875 he became editor of Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Other studies by Waitz…
Read More