HISTORIAN

Henri Pirenne

1862 - 1935

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Henri Pirenne (French: [piʁɛn]; 23 December 1862 – 24 October 1935) was a Belgian historian. A medievalist of Walloon descent, he wrote a multivolume history of Belgium in French and became a prominent public intellectual. Pirenne made a lasting contribution to the study of cities that was a controversial interpretation of the end of Roman civilization and the rebirth of medieval urban culture. He also became prominent in the nonviolent resistance to the Germans who occupied Belgium in World War I. Henri Pirenne's reputation today rests on three contributions to European history: for what has become known as the Pirenne Thesis, concerning origins of the Middle Ages in reactive state formation and shifts in trade; for a distinctive view of Belgium's medieval history; and for his model of the development of the medieval city. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Henri Pirenne is the 75th most popular historian (down from 49th in 2019), the 118th most popular biography from Belgium (down from 79th in 2019) and the most popular Belgian Historian.

Henri Pirenne is most famous for his theory that the decline of the Roman Empire was due to the rise of Islam.

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Among HISTORIANS

Among historians, Henri Pirenne ranks 75 out of 561. Before him are Theopompus, Bernard Lewis, Theophylact Simocatta, Geoffrey of Villehardouin, Ephorus, and Johann Jakob Bachofen. After him are Al-Dhahabi, Eutropius, Gaston Maspero, Kenneth Clark, Nicolaus of Damascus, and Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr..

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1862, Henri Pirenne ranks 23. Before him are Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, Emilio Salgari, Helene Schjerfbeck, Nikolai Yudenich, Louis Barthou, and Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. After him are J. Bruce Ismay, Siegbert Tarrasch, Prince Henry of Prussia, Daniel Swarovski, Aurel Stein, and Edith Wharton. Among people deceased in 1935, Henri Pirenne ranks 29. Before him are Jane Addams, Komitas, Josef Suk, Max Liebermann, Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin, and Aron Nimzowitsch. After him are Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, Hugo Junkers, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, Mihajlo Pupin, Panait Istrati, and Magnus Hirschfeld.

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In Belgium

Among people born in Belgium, Henri Pirenne ranks 118 out of 1,190. Before him are Peyo (1928), Jean-Marie Pfaff (1953), Eugène Ysaÿe (1858), Elio Di Rupo (1951), Félicien Rops (1833), and Leo Baekeland (1863). After him are Ferdinand Verbiest (1623), Adriaen Brouwer (1605), Paul Deschanel (1855), Jacques Arcadelt (1507), Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522), and Frans Snyders (1579).

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Among HISTORIANS In Belgium

Among historians born in Belgium, Henri Pirenne ranks 1. After him are Julien Ries (1920), and Henri Grégoire (1881).

Belgian born Historians

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