Johan Huizinga | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1872-12-07)7 December 1872 Groningen, Netherlands |
| Died | 1 February 1945(1945-02-01) (aged 72) De Steeg, Netherlands |
| Occupation(s) | Historian, professor, writer |
| Academic background | |
| Influences | Jacob Burckhardt |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | History |
| Institutions | Groningen University (1905–1923) Leiden University (1915–1942) |
| Notable works | |
Johan Huizinga (Dutch:[ˈjoːɦɑnˈɦœyzɪŋɣaː]; 7 December 1872 – 1 February 1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of moderncultural history.
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Born inGroningen as the son of Dirk Huizinga, a professor ofphysiology, and Jacoba Tonkens, who died two years after his birth,[1] he started out as a student ofIndo-European languages, earning his degree in 1895. He then studiedcomparative linguistics, gaining a good command ofSanskrit. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the role of thejester in Indian drama in 1897.
In 1902 his interest turned towardsmedieval andRenaissance history. He continued teaching as an Orientalist until he became a Professor of General and Dutch History atGroningen University in 1905. In 1915, he was made Professor of General History atLeiden University, a post he held until 1942. In 1916 he became member of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.[2]
In 1942, he spoke critically of his country's German occupiers, comments that were consistent with his writings aboutFascism in the 1930s. He was held in detention by theNazis between August and October 1942. Upon his release, he was banned from returning to Leiden. He subsequently lived at the house of his colleagueRudolph Cleveringa inDe Steeg inGelderland, nearArnhem, where he died just a few weeks before Nazi rule ended.[3] He lies buried in the graveyard of the Reformed Church at 6 Haarlemmerstraatweg inOegstgeest.[4]
Huizinga had an aesthetic approach to history, where art and spectacle played an important part. His most famous work isThe Autumn of the Middle Ages (also released asThe Waning of the Middle Ages orAutumntide of the Middle Ages) (1919).
Other works includeErasmus (1924) andHomo Ludens (1938). In the latter book he discussed the possibility that play is the primary formative element in human culture. Huizinga also published books on American history and Dutch history in the 17th century.
Alarmed by the rise ofNational Socialism in Germany, Huizinga wrote several works of cultural criticism. Many similarities can be noted between his analysis and that of contemporary critics such asOrtega y Gasset andOswald Spengler. Huizinga argued that the spirit of technical and mechanical organisation had replaced spontaneous and organic order in cultural as well as political life.[citation needed]
TheHuizinga Lecture (Dutch:Huizingalezing) is a prestigious annual lecture in the Netherlands about a subject in the domains of cultural history or philosophy in honour of Johan Huizinga.[5]
Johan Huizinga’s archive and papers are held byLeiden University Libraries’ Special Collections and also available in its Digital Collections.[6] A complete inventory has been published.[7]
Huizinga's son Leonhard Huizinga became a writer, including his series of tongue-in-cheek novels on the Dutch aristocratic twinsAdrian and Oliver [nl] ("Adriaan en Olivier").
“Text and Subtext in Johan Huizinga’s Writings on America.”From the Halve Maen to KLM. 400 Years of Dutch-American Exchange.Eds. Margriet Bruijn Lacy, Charles Gehring, Jenneke Oosterhof. [Studies in Dutch Language and Culture vol. 2]. Münster (Germany): Nodus Publikationen, 2008, 311-320.
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