The Autumn of the Middle Ages
Encyclopedia
The Autumn of the Middle Ages, or The Waning of the Middle Ages, (published in 1919 as Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen and translated into English in 1924) is the best-known work by the Dutch
historian Johan Huizinga
.
Its subtitle is 'a study of the forms of life, thought and art in France
and the Netherlands
in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries'.
In it, he presents the idea that the exaggerated formality and romanticism of late medieval court
society was a defense mechanism against the constantly increasing violence and brutality of general society. He saw the period as one of pessimism, cultural exhaustion, and nostalgia, rather than of rebirth and optimism.
Huizinga's work has later come under criticism, especially for relying too heavily on evidence from the rather exceptional case of the Burgundian
court. A new English translation of the book was published in 1996 because of perceived deficiencies in the original translation, although the new translation itself was criticized for being based on a German translation of the original Dutch book.
Other
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
historian Johan Huizinga
Johan Huizinga
Johan Huizinga , was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history.-Life:Born in Groningen as the son of Dirk Huizinga, a professor of physiology, and Jacoba Tonkens, who died two years after his birth, he started out as a student of Indo-Germanic languages, earning his...
.
Its subtitle is 'a study of the forms of life, thought and art in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries'.
In it, he presents the idea that the exaggerated formality and romanticism of late medieval court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
society was a defense mechanism against the constantly increasing violence and brutality of general society. He saw the period as one of pessimism, cultural exhaustion, and nostalgia, rather than of rebirth and optimism.
Huizinga's work has later come under criticism, especially for relying too heavily on evidence from the rather exceptional case of the Burgundian
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
court. A new English translation of the book was published in 1996 because of perceived deficiencies in the original translation, although the new translation itself was criticized for being based on a German translation of the original Dutch book.
Editions
- The Waning of the Middle Ages: A Study of Forms of Life, Thought, and Art in France and the Netherlands in the Dawn of the Renaissance, trans. Fritz Hopman, London, 1924 (many reprints).
- The Autumn of the Middle Ages, trans. Rodney J. Payton and Ulrich Mammitzsch, Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1996. ISBN 9780226359946
Literature
- William J. Bouwsma, "The Waning of the Middle Ages," Daedalus 103 (1974), 1: 35-43.
- Edward Peters and Walter P. Simons, "The New Huizinga and the Old Middle Ages," Speculum 74 (1999): 587-62.
External links
Sources- The Waning of the Middle Ages, Edward Arnold & Co, 1924. Scanned book via Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
. (In Original Dutch)
Other
- Johan Huizinga's The Waning of the Middle Ages, overview of author and book.