Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Monumenta Germaniae Historica is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published sources for the study of German history from the end of the Roman Empire to 1500. The society sponsoring the series was established by the Prussian reformer Heinrich Friedrich Karl Freiherr vom Stein in 1819 and the first volumes appeared in 1826 and following years. The editor from 1826 until 1874 was Georg Heinrich Pertz, who was succeeded by Georg Waitz. Many eminent medievalists from Germany and, eventually, other countries, joined in the project of searching out and comparing manuscripts and producing scholarly editions. The motto chosen by Klein, Sanctus amor patriae dat animum is explained as linking Romantic nationalism with professional scholarship.