Kurth played a role in founding. He was also a pioneer of Christian democracy, helping organize the Social Congresses held in Liège in 1886, 1887, and 1890 that gave shape to Catholic social teaching. His study of the medieval guild system brought an increased appreciation for the principles of charity, brotherhood, and justice. Published in 1886, Les Origines de la civilisation moderne brought him an international reputation but was controversial in drawing a direct connection between the "civilizing principle" of Christianity and the development of modern civilization. Death Kurth, who had strong links with the German Centre Party and with German colleagues, was repulsed by the German invasion of Belgium and the accompanying atrocities. Over the summer and autumn of 1915, he gathered testimony of the atrocities, including the killings at Aarschot, but was placed in detention by the Germans in an unheated location. He contracted pneumonia and died at Asse on 4 January 1916. He was provisionally buried in Asse, and later exhumed and reburied in Arlon. There are streets named after him in both Arlon, Asse and Liège. His work on the atrocities was published posthumously as Le Guet-apens prussien en Belgique ("The Prussian Ambush in Belgium"). Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier wrote in the preface that Kurth, whose family origins were German, was "overwhelmed by the invasion, its iniquity, its atrocities, its sham". Honours and awards Prix quinquennal des Sciences historiques (1891) Commander in the Order of St Gregory the Great (1906) Commander in the Order of Leopold (1907) Honorary Doctorate of the Catholic University of Leuven (1912) Works Godefroid Kurth wrote over 500 books and journal articles, including contributions to the Catholic Encyclopedia. His "style is consciously literary, lively, and flamboyant; ...However, Kurth's version of history is also notably technical; it is founded on rigorous principles of historical criticism, extensive mastery of philology and profound knowledge of the sources and other works." His Clovis (1895), Notger de Liège (1905), and La cité de Liège au Moyen-âge (1909–1910) remain indispensable reference works. Books Caton l'ancien, étude biographique (Bruges, Daveluy, 1872), online Analectes pour servir à l’histoire d’Arlon (Arlon, Institut archéologique du Luxembourg, 1880) Les origines de la ville de Liège (Liège, L. Grandmont-Danders, 1883) Les Origines de la civilisation moderne (Louvain, Ch. Peeters, 1886), online Histoire poétique des Mérovingiens (Brussels, Société belge de librairie, 1893), online La Frontière linguistique en Belgique et dans le nord de la France (Brussels,