Autumntide of the Middle Ages (Hardcover)

Description

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Johan Huizinga was the most renowned Dutch historian of the twentieth century, and his work ranged from medieval art to mechanization in modern America. His influential book Autumntide of the Middle Ages is still considered one of the most perceptive and influential analyses of the late medieval period. Its wide-ranging discussion of the ritual, formalism, and spirituality of medieval society makes it a classic study of life, culture, and thought in fourteenth and fifteenth century France and the Low Countries.

This new and unabridged English translation of the original text celebrates its centenary and captures the impact of Huizinga’s significant piece of historical scholarship and literature. Illustrated in color throughout, over three-hundred works of art, illuminated manuscripts, and miniatures pertinent to Huizinga's discourse are included, as well as a complete bibliography of Huizinga’s research and an updated introduction.
 

About the Author

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Johan Huizinga (1872-1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history.
 

Graeme Small is professor of Medieval History at Durham University and the author of several books, including George Chastelain and the shaping of Valois Burgundy; Court and Civic society in the Burgundian Low Countries; and Late Medieval France.
 

Diane Webb is a prize-winning translator whose work has included a wide range of literature on art-historical and historical subjects.
 

Praise For…

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Webb’s new translation is the first English rendition of Autumntide that comes equipped with a scholarly apparatus, as well as a plethora of high-quality image reproductions of the various artworks, sites, and objects relevant to Huizinga’s text. . . . these images alone make this latest translation of Huizinga’s masterpiece a must-have. Indeed, one might be tempted to call it a coffee-table book were it not for the sparkling prose of its author (and translator), which vies with the gorgeous images adorning its every page.

— The Los Angeles Review of Books

"Johan Huizinga’s The Waning of the Middle Ages, as it was once known, is a hundred years old and has just been awarded the accolade of a magnificent centenary edition in a superb, fresh English translation. This lavishly illustrated volume marvelously enhances the reader’s encounter with a historical classic by presenting alongside the text a mass of the ¬visual evidence the author discusses. Not many history books of the modern era have seen so many editions in so many different languages, and fewer still have enjoyed so long a run. How often, after all, does a book by a professional historian get a centenary edition, let alone such a luxurious one? The appearance of this latest version is a justly deserved tribute to a great work of history that is also a great work of literature."
— First Things

"Highly recommended. All levels."
— Choice

“I must say, if the [illustrations] are included in such a way, in high resolution, then it almost really comes back to life. And I believe it also provides to us as contemporary readers, even if you are not a historian, the opportunity to better understand the context.”
— Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

“The translator has captured the poetic qualities of Huizinga’s authorial voice without sacrificing the readability of the text...The result is a version of the text that captures Huizinga’s original voice better than either of the two previous English editions.”

“The edition is gorgeous – solidly bound with thick paper, and with high-quality illustrations of most, if not all, the works of art Huizinga mentions in his text, plus others. At the same time, the edition has been produced to a high scholarly standard. It includes all of Huizinga’s original prefaces, notes, timeline, and a reconstructed bibliography of works cited by the author.”

— Benjamin Kaplan