Editing Historiography (section)

====Cultural and constitutional history====
One of the major progenitors of the history of [[cultural history|culture]] and [[art history|art]], was the Swiss historian [[Jacob Burckhardt]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/historian/Jacob_Burckhardt.html|title=Jacob Burckhardt The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy Cultural history|website=www.age-of-the-sage.org|access-date=2014-01-08|archive-date=2019-08-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804133058/https://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/historian/Jacob_Burckhardt.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Siegfried Giedion]] described Burckhardt's achievement in the following terms: "The great discoverer of the age of the [[Renaissance]], he first showed how a period should be treated in its entirety, with regard not only for its painting, sculpture and architecture, but for the social institutions of its daily life as well."<ref>[[Siegfried Giedion]], in ''Space, Time and Architecture'' (6th ed.), p. 3. {{ISBN|978-0674030473}}</ref>

His most famous work was ''The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy'', published in 1860; it was the most influential interpretation of the Italian Renaissance in the nineteenth century and is still widely read. According to [[John Lukacs]], he was the first master of cultural history, which seeks to describe the spirit and the forms of expression of a particular age, a particular people, or a particular place. His innovative approach to historical research stressed the importance of art and its inestimable value as a primary source for the study of history. He was one of the first historians to rise above the narrow nineteenth-century notion that "history is past politics and politics current history."<ref>John Lukacs, ''Remembered Past: John Lukacs on History, Historians, and Historical Knowledge'', ed. Mark G Malvasi and Jeffrey O. Nelson, Wilmington, Delaware: ISI Books, 2004, p. 215.</ref>

By the mid-19th century, scholars were beginning to analyse the history of institutional change, particularly the development of constitutional government. [[William Stubbs]]'s ''Constitutional History of England'' (3 vols., 1874–1878) was an important influence on this developing field. The work traced the development of the English constitution from the Teutonic invasions of Britain until 1485, and marked a distinct step in the advance of English historical learning.<ref>[[s:A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Stubbs, William]]</ref> He argued that the theory of the unity and continuity of history should not remove distinctions between ancient and modern history. He believed that, though work on ancient history is a useful preparation for the study of modern history, either may advantageously be studied apart. He was a good [[palaeography|palaeographer]], and excelled in textual criticism, in examination of authorship, and other such matters, while his vast erudition and retentive memory made him second to none in interpretation and exposition.<ref>''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' (11th ed.)</ref>