Until 1531, Rhenanus (1485–1547) had been known almost exclusively as a philologist and editor. Then he produced Res Germanicae, an historical work superior in both its methodology and reliability to anything similar from Germany. The present edition, which includes Sturm’s life of Rhenanus, explicates the text with its translation, list of sources and indexes. The studies in the commentary take account of the author’s correspondence, explain his methodology and examine the text for influences from 15th and 16th century Italian and German humanists.