Originally published 1900 | ||
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Similar Economic and social history of, Mohammed and Charlemagne, Medieval cities, The stages in the social hist, Belgium and the First Worl | ||
The Histoire de Belgique ("History of Belgium") is a seven-volume survey of the history of Belgium by the historian Henri Pirenne, written in French language and published between 1900 and 1932. The series, which traces the emergence of the Belgian nation-state from the Roman era until the start of World War I, is a classic of nationalist historiography and one of Pirenne's major works. Although Pirenne is today best known as a historian of Medieval Europe, the Histoire de Belgique series was his most respected work during his lifetime and the foundation of his reputation as Belgium's leading national historian.
Unlike much nationalist historiography, Pirenne's history did not trace the emergence of a Belgian "Volksgeist" (national spirit) but argued that Belgium had naturally developed as a cosmopolitan society to serve as a mediator between Latin and Germanic Europe. Pirenne did, however, believe in the existence of a distinctly Belgian civilisation (civilisation belge) reflecting a unique combination of external influences and which had changed over time without losing its distinctiveness.
Publication began in 1900 and ended in 1932 after being disrupted for several years during the German occupation of Belgium (1914–18) in which Pirenne had been held as a political prisoner. The seventh volume was awarded the Francqui Prize in 1933. According to modern historians, Pirenne's 1928 publication La Belgique et la Guerre Mondiale (Belgium and the World War) could be considered a chronological sequel, covering the period after the end of volume seven.
Volumes
The series' seven volumes are entitled:
The series was followed by Pirenne's final and most influential work, Mahomet et Charlemagne (Mohammed and Charlemagne), which put forward the so-called "Pirenne thesis" on the end of the ancient world and the emergence of the Middle Ages.