PASTOR, LUDWIG VON

Historian; b. Aachen, Jan. 31, 1854; d. Innsbruck, Sept. 30, 1928. Pastor is known as the "Historian of the Popes" and is remembered for his monumental history of the papacy from Martin V (1417) to Pius VI (1799). His use of the Vatican archives, in an age when methods of scientific research were greatly influencing historical exposition, made his study the first thoroughly documented history of the papacy, surpassing the works of Leopold von ranke and Mandell creighton. Born to a Lutheran father and a Catholic mother, Pastor was converted to Catholicism after his father's death (1864). Johannes Janssen, famed Catholic historian, influenced Pastor in his youth, and he pursued his natural inclination for historical studies. As Janssen's protégé and friend, he received a solid education, graduating from a gymnasium (1875) and studying at the universities of Louvain, Bonn, Berlin, and Vienna. He earned his doctorate in history at the University of Graz (1878). Interested in Church history, he investigated various archives in Italy, and sought permission to inspect the secret papal archives, which had been open to scholars only on a limited basis before 1870 and closed thereafter. Pastor, determined to gain access to the undisclosed treasure of Vatican documents, wrote petitions and appealed to high-ranking churchmen. His persistence was rewarded (1879) with the granting of limited privileges. In 1883, however, Pope leo xiii unexpectedly removed all research restrictions for all scholars. At a special audience of historians, Leo XIII stated: "True history must be written from the original sources….We have nothing to fear from the publication of these documents." To Pastor personally, who was then engaged in research on the papacy, the Pontiff said: "Owing to this decree [Saepenumero considerantes ] you have a good advantage over Ranke…. The fact that

many of these writings have never been used and some not even known, must increase the value of your work considerably. Naturally it will spread your fame as an historian." Pastor is generally credited with influencing this new Vatican policy.

He spent his remaining years engaged in research, writing, and teaching. As professor at the University of Innsbruck (1881–1901) Pastor became a popular teacher with an enthusiastic student following. He received numerous honorary degrees and decorations and was eventually raised to the rank of hereditary nobility by the Austrian emperor. He was appointed director of the Austrian Historical Institute in Rome (1901) and Austrian ambassador to the Holy See (1920). Pastor died eight weeks after the death of the other renowned Catholic historian of the popes, Msgr. Horace K. Mann.

Pastor was a prolific writer of books and articles: his principal work was History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages (16 v. 1886–1933; Eng. ed. 40 v. 1891–1953). This massive study aims at describing the forces of the Reformation era as reflected in the history of 55 popes. Pastor skillfully blended the inner life of the papacy with political and cultural tendencies. Certain interpretations and his criteria for selecting documents have been questioned by historians. Pastor's belief that only a Catholic can adequately understand and interpret the papacy has also been challenged. In general, however, the tone of his magnum opus is moderate and far from apologetic. That he provides a wealth of unused sources and presents an erudite, comprehensive account of the popes of the 15th through 18th centuries makes this study indispensable. His other major work is J. Janssen and L. Pastor, Geschichte des deutschen Volkes (8 v. 1893–1926), a cultural history of Germany during the Reformation begun by Janssen and completed by Pastor who wrote the last two volumes after his friend's death. Pastor also wrote a biography, Johannes Janssen, ein Lebensbild (1892), as well as biographies of others, e.g., August Reichensperger, Max von Gagern, and Viktor Dankl. Among his Church histories are Die Korrespondenz des Kardinals Contarini während seiner deutschen Legation 1541 (1880), Allgemeine Dekrete der Römischen Inquisition aus den Jahren 1555–1597 (1912), and Katholische Reformatoren (1924).

Bibliography: l. von pastor, Tagebücher, Briefe, Erinnerungen, ed. w. wÜhr (Heidelberg 1950); autobiography in Die Geschichtswissenschaft der Gegenwart in Selbstdarstellungen, ed. s. steinberg, 2 v. (Leipzig 1925–26) 2:169–198. f. fellner, "Ludwig von Pastor," Church Historians, ed. p. guilday (New York 1926) 373–415. j. w. thompson and b. j. holm, History of Historical Writing, 2 v. (New York 1942) 2:546–549.

[j. t. covert]