The Autumn of the Middle Ages (review)

Short Notices Huizinga, Johan, The Autumn of the Middle Ages, trans. Rodney J. Payton and Ulrich Mammitzsch, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1996; paper; pp. xxii, 467; 45 b / w illustrations; R.R.P. US$19.95. This is a new translation of a work which was originally publi in Dutch in 1919 and then translated into English in 1924, in which form it achieved renown under thetitleThe Waning of the Middle Ages. The translators suggest that the previous translation was woefully inadequate, while conceding it was still effective. This translation is considerably longer (or more complete), has more references, is divided into fewer chapters, and differs in its interpretation of some passages. Although the 1924 translation was made with Huizinga's participation and approval, its characteristics were not carried forward into subsequent editions in other languages, from which the present translators argue i t represents a sort of false detour. The new translation follows the second Dutch edition of 1921. Huizinga explains that he began with the aim of explaining the art of the van Eyck brothers by consideration of life in Burgundy 344 Short Notices in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. His scope grew to cover the end of the Middle Ages in France and the Netherlands. The result is a thematic study. Each chapter introduces a general proposition about medieval life, which is then supported by a list of examples. Some of these generalisations sound attractive, such as the notion that people took life as it was and could not imagine a better world, or that people thought a lot about death, or that things were felt more acutely than today. This last is supported by a list of cases of people crying. The effect is diminished by Huizinga's lack of self-reflection. H e criticises Scholasticism as empty form, but Aquinas took care when he advanced an argument to consider objections and counterarguments , which The Autumn of the Middle Ages does not contain. Because the information is arranged by theme, it is difficult to use it in any other way. For example if you wanted to know what happened in 1407, you would need to look through the entire book. Even then, m a n y examples are undated. There is a strong assumption that the reader already k n o w s the outlines of Burgundian history, and is familiar with Charles the Bold, John the Fearless and the Duke of Orleans. In the end, Huizinga relies so extensively on literary sources, his work serves as gloss to that literature and its aristocratic audience, but says little about everyday life for the rest. This translation provides English speakers with an important example of early twentieth-century Dutch historiography. M a x Staples Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga ...