The MGH was founded in Hanover as a private text publication society by the Prussian reformer Heinrich Friedrich Karl Freiherr vom Stein in 1819. The first volume appeared in 1826. The editor from 1826 until 1874 was Georg Heinrich Pertz, who was succeeded by Georg Waitz. Many eminent medievalists from Germany and, eventually, other countries, joined in the project of searching out and comparing manuscripts and producing scholarly editions. The motto chosen, "Sanctus amor patriae dat animum" ("Holy love for the fatherland gives the spirit"), is explained as linking Romantic nationalism with professional scholarship. In 1875, the MGH was established as a more formal institution with headquarters in Berlin.