Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigné, Genevan historian of Christianity, offered Protestants in post-French revolutionary Europe historical reflections on the origins of their religious and political organizations. Best known for his 13-volume history of the Reformation, Merle d'Aubigné's popularity was without rival in the middle third of the 19th century. Roney argues that Merle d'Aubigné must be seen as an important historian who promoted new historical methods developed in German historical schools and the Romantic study of history. He used contemporary concepts, such as liberty and conscience, to explain the important place of Christianity in Western Civilization.