GHIL Library

Image showing a desk and chair in one of the first floor library rooms. The chair is pulled out invitingly, and a book is lying on the desk.

The library of the GHIL is an important and well-regarded institution for British historians of German history, students at London universities, and the general public. Its holdings on German history, British-German relations from the Middle Ages to the present day, and wider European history are comprehensive, up to date, free to use, and form a unique collection in Britain.

Visiting and joining the Library

Spring opening hours:
The library is open Monday-Friday, 9.30am–8pm

New readers need to register for a library card and have a short introductory tour of the library before or during their first visit (Mo-Fr, 9.30am-4pm). Photo ID (passport, ID card or driving licence) must be provided.

Library staff are also available for general enquiries at library@ghil.ac.uk.

If you would like to receive regular updates on recent acquisitions, featured books, and other library news, then you can sign up to the Library Newsletter.

Library Guide

Take a look at the flipbook below for an introduction to our library.

Featured Books

The history of the papacy

Having recently witnessed white smoke signaling the end of the papal conclave and the accession of a new pope, we thought we would this month turn our attention to the history of the papacy. As heads of the Catholic (and until the Reformation, the only) Church in Western Europe, the popes have had great influence in ruling the church in spiritual matters, in governing the Vatican state as temporal rulers, and also in adjudicating on political questions throughout western Christian lands. Read all about the history of the popes (and antipopes) to see how they have influenced world history.

You can see these books in the display case in the Common Room at the GHIL. There is an additional display on the role of diplomats in foreign relations in the display case facing onto the stairs.

See in library catalogue

Stefan Weinfurter, Alfried Wieczorek, Michael Matheus, Bernd Schneidmüller (eds.)

Die Päpste

Regensburg ; Mannheim : Schnell + Steiner, 2016-2017

Hd/2102(1-4

Volker Reinhardt

Pontifex : die Geschichte der Päpste : von Petrus bis Franziskus

München : C.H. Beck, 2017

Hd/2101

Thomas F. X. Noble

The Republic of St. Peter : The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825

Philadelphia, PA : Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1984

Hd/3358

Birgit Emich and Christian Wieland (eds.)

Kulturgeschichte des Papsttums in der Frühen Neuzeit

Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung. Beiheft. 48

Berlin : Duncker & Humblot, 2013

Zs 62/Beih. 48

Brett Edward Whalen

The two powers : the papacy, the empire, and the struggle for sovereignty in the thirteenth century

The Middle Ages

Philadelphia, PA : University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019

eBook De Gruyter

René Schlott

Papsttod und Weltöffentlichkeit seit 1878 : Die Medialisierung eines Rituals

Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Zeitgeschichte. Reihe B, Forschungen. Bd 123

Paderborn : Schöningh, 2013

Hd/2126

Klaus Herbers

Geschichte des Papsttums im Mittelalter

Darmstadt : Primus-Verlag, 2012

Hd/2120/1

Stefan Weinfurter (ed.)

Päpstliche Herrschaft im Mittelalter : Funktionsweisen, Strategien, Darstellungsformen

Mittelalter-Forschungen. Bd 38

Ostfildern : Thorbecke, 2012

Hd/2118

Colin Morris

The Papal Monarchy : The Western Church from 1050 to 1250

Oxford History of the Christian Church

Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1989

Hd/3382

Elke Goez

Papsttum und Kaisertum im Mittelalter

Geschichte kompakt

Darmstadt : Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2009

Sb.5/900

Ernst-Dieter Hehl, Ingrid Heike Ringel and Hubertus Seibert (eds.)

Das Papsttum in der Welt des 12. Jahrhunderts

Mittelalter-Forschungen. Bd 6

Stuttgart : Thorbecke, 2002

Hd/2169

Andreas Fischer

Kardinäle im Konklave : Die lange Sedisvakanz der Jahre 1268 bis 1271

Bibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom. Bd 118

Tübingen : Niemeyer, 2008

Sd.6/1300

Benedict Wiedemann

Papal Overlordship and European Princes, 1000-1270

Oxford studies in medieval European history

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2022

eBook ProQuest

Michael Jeismann (ed.)

Das 11. Jahrhundert : Kaiser und Papst

Das Jahrtausend : Die große Serie der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung. 1

München : C.H. Beck, 2000

Kb/2040(1

Georg Schwaiger

Papsttum und Päpste im 20. Jahrhundert : Von Leo XIII. zu Johannes Paul II.

München : C.H. Beck, 1999

Hd/2125

Steven A. Schoenig

Bonds of wool : the Pallium and papal power in the Middle Ages

Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Canon Law. Volume 15

Washington, D.C. : The Catholic University of America Press, 2016

Hd/2158 (eBook)

Horst Fuhrmann

Die Päpste : Von Petrus zu Johannes Paul II.

München : C.H. Beck, 1998

Hd/2115

Michael Borgolte

Petrusnachfolge und Kaiserimitation : Die Grablegen der Päpste, ihre Genese und Traditionsbildung

Veröffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts für Geschichte. 95

Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989

Hd/3300

Library Catalogue

All of our books, journals and electronic resources can be found via our online catalogue.

Recently published books can be made available to readers very quickly, and we invite readers to suggest new acquisitions at library@ghil.ac.uk.

Start your search

Library Collections

The GHIL Library's holdings comprise around 95,000 volumes, with a growing number of electronic resources. The collection's focus is largely on German history, with a special emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Around a third of the library's resources are English-language materials.

Access and Services

The library is open to anyone with an interest in German history, British-German relations, or comparative historiography. The collection is reference only, so books cannot be taken out on loan.

There are no membership or joining fees but a passport photo and recent proof of address should be provided on the first visit so that a library card can be issued.

Contact and opening hours

Contact

German Historical Institute Library
17 Bloomsbury Square
London WC1A 2NJ

Tel. +44-(0)20-7309 2050
Email: library@ghil.ac.uk

Opening hours:

The library is open Monday-Friday, 9.30am–8pm

Meet the Team

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German Historical Institute London