Roth, Ferdinand Wilhelm Emil

historian

born: 06.08.1853 in Eltville

died: 08.02.1924 in Offenbach am Main

Roth trained as an archivist at the city archives in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1877/78 and published the source edition "Fontes rerum Nassoicarum" in 1879. After the death of his father in 1887, his inheritance gave him the financial means to pursue his passion for collecting manuscripts, documents and old prints. From 1887-91, he worked as the house archivist of the Counts of Eltz, organizing the family archives in Eltville and at Eltz Castle. In 1902, severe depression made itself felt for the first time. In 1904-08 and 1912, he was in the sanatorium on the Eichberg in Kiedrich.

Roth published numerous works on the history of the Duchy of Nassau, the Rheingau and the history of the city and archbishopric of Mainz. He also published on topics such as late medieval mysticism, Latin literature of the Middle Ages and monastic life before the Reformation. Recently, there have been considerable doubts about the quality of his 500 or so publications; it is even assumed that he falsified many of the sources he edited. He was a contributor to prestigious journals, including the "Neues Archiv" and the "Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte".