Johannes Janssen
Johannes Janssen (10 April 1829 – 24 December 1891) was a Catholic priest and German historian born in Xanten. After graduating from the "Rektoratsschule" in Xanten (today's "Stiftsgymnasium"), he was educated at the universities of Münster, Leuven, Bonn and Berlin, afterwards becoming a teacher of history in Frankfurt-am-Main. He was ordained priest in 1860, became a member of the Prussian House of Deputies in 1875, and in 1880 was made domestic prelate to the pope and apostolic pronotary. He died at Frankfurt. Janssen was a stout champion of the Ultramontane party in the Roman Catholic Church . Works. His great work is his "Geschichte des deutschen Volkes seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters" (8 vols., Freiburg, 1878–1894). He argues against Luther, Zwingli and the other Protestant reformers Reformation, and claims that Protestantism was responsible for the general unrest in Germany during the 16th and 17th centuries. The author's conclusions led to some controversy, and Janssen wrote "An meine Kritiker" (Freiburg, 1882) and "Ein zweites Wort an meine Kritiker" (Freiburg, 1883) in reply to the "Janssens Geschichte des deutschen Volkes" (Munich, 1883) of Max Lenz, and other criticisms. The "Geschichte", which has passed through numerous editions, has been  continued and improved by Ludwig Pastor, and the greater part of it has been translated into English by M. A. Mitchell and A. M. Christie (London, 1896, fol.). Of his other works perhaps the most important are: the editing of "Frankfurts Reichskorrespondenz, 1376–1519" (Freiburg, 1863–1872); and of the "Leben, Briefe und kleinere Schriften" of his friend JF Böhmer (Leipzig, 1868); a monograph, "Schiller als Historiker" (Freiburg, 1863); and "Zeit- und Lebensbilder" (Freiburg, 1875).