Otto Friedrich von Gierke 1841 – October 10 1921) was a German historian in Stettin, at that time in Prussia, and died in Berlin. He specialised in the study of the German antecedents of German law. His view of the Rechtsstaat (state on a legal basis), and his emphasis on the federal nature of medieval states, became important and debated. He stood as an opponent of the trend of civil law (legal system) interpretation and theorising. Abroad he was a major influence on the British historian of law F. W. Maitland, who translated as Political Theories of the Middle Ages some of Gierke's major works, and on John Neville Figgis.
Works
- Das deutsche Genossenschaftsrecht, Berlin 4 volumes, 1868, 1873, 1881
- Deutsches Privatrecht, 3 volumes, Leipzig 1895
- Naturrrecht und Deutsches Recht, Frankfurt 1883
