Leopold Ranke’s Archival Turn : Location and Evidence in Modern Historiography
From 1827 to 1831 the German historian Leopold von Ranke travelled through Germany, Austria, and Italy, hunting for documents and archives. During this journey Ranke developed a new model for historical research that transformed the archive into the most important site for the production of historical knowledge. Within the archive, Ranke claimed, the trained historian could forget his personal predispositions and political loyalties, and write objective history. This essay critically examines Ranke’s model for historical research through a study of the obstacles, frustrations, and joys that he encountered on his journey. It shows how Ranke’s archival experiences inspired him to re-evaluate his own identity as a historian and as a human being, and investigates some of the affiliations between his model for historical research and the political realities of Prince Metternich’s European order. Finally, the essay compares Ranke’s historical discipline to other nineteenth-century disciplines, such as anthropology and archaeology.