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The Autumn of the Middle Ages Paperback – November 24, 1997

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 69 ratings

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"Here is the first full translation into English of one of the 20th century's few undoubted classics of history." —Washington Post Book World

The Autumn of the Middle Ages is Johan Huizinga's classic portrait of life, thought, and art in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century France and the Netherlands. Few who have read this book in English realize that The Waning of the Middle Ages, the only previous translation, is vastly different from the original Dutch, and incompatible will all other European-language translations.

For Huizinga, the fourteenth- and fifteenth-century marked not the birth of a dramatically new era in history—the Renaissance—but the fullest, ripest phase of medieval life and thought. However, his work was criticized both at home and in Europe for being "old-fashioned" and "too literary" when
The Waning of the Middle Ages was first published in 1919. In the 1924 translation, Fritz Hopman adapted, reduced and altered the Dutch edition—softening Huizinga's passionate arguments, dulling his nuances, and eliminating theoretical passages. He dropped many passages Huizinga had quoted in their original old French. Additionally, chapters were rearranged, all references were dropped, and mistranslations were introduced.

This translation corrects such errors, recreating the second Dutch edition which represents Huizinga's thinking at its most important stage. Everything that was dropped or rearranged has been restored. Prose quotations appear in French, with translations preprinted at the bottom of the page, mistranslations have been corrected.

"The advantages of the new translation are so many. . . . It is one of the greatest, as well as one of the most enthralling, historical classics of the twentieth century, and everyone will surely want to read it in the form that was obviously intended by the author." —Francis Haskell,
New York Review of Books

"A once pathbreaking piece of historical interpretation. . . . This new translation will no doubt bring Huizinga and his pioneering work back into the discussion of historical interpretation." —Rosamond McKitterick,
New York Times Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

Review

This massive, gorgeously illustrated volume [. . .] offers a new translation of Huizinga’s classic supplemented by all sorts of useful and interesting material. It is in every way a superb production, beginning with Diane Webb’s translator’s note. If you know someone fascinated by the subject (especially someone you want to find a special gift for), you couldn’t go wrong with this. Of course, you might want to add it to your own library as well.

First Things

About the Author

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

Rodney J. Payton is a professor of liberal studies at Western Washington University. He is the author of A Modern Reader's Guide to Dante's Inferno. 

Ulrich Mammitzsch (1935-1990) taught in the General Studies and Liberal Studies departments at Western Washington University and served as director of East Asian Studies.  
 

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Chicago Press; Paperback edition (November 24, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 490 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0226359948
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0226359946
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.8 x 6.03 x 1.35 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 69 ratings

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
69 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the translation of the book solid and fluent. They appreciate that the quotes are printed in their original language with a footnote at the bottom. The book provides an in-depth study of the Middle Ages, with detailed analysis of 15th Century France and Holland. It's a great book for history lovers and those who can still appreciate and enjoy it.

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5 customers mention "Translation"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the translation. They find it solid, with a footnote at the bottom of each quotation in its original language. The book is fluent and poetic, with English translations included in the footnotes section. It includes text from original documents, many in French or Latin, but also includes English translations. Overall, readers describe it as a masterpiece of historical writing.

"...It is fluent, poetic and probably transposes most of the highly acclaimed aesthetic qualities that Huizinga's writing is known for...." Read more

"A wonderful new translation of a great work, with a revised title...." Read more

"...This book is heavy treading. The quotations are printed in their original language, with a footnote at the bottom...." Read more

"...This translation of the book seems solid. It includes a lot of text from original documents, many in French, or Latin, but includes English..." Read more

4 customers mention "History"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's historical exposition about the Middle Ages. They find it an in-depth study of the period, with detailed analyses of 15th-century France and Holland. The book is great for history lovers and those who appreciate and enjoy it.

"...Now I like this new title better. Great book for history lovers, and those who can still actually appreciate and enjoy reading academically meant..." Read more

"This indepth study of the Middle Ages was excellent. Requires concentration ...." Read more

"Wonderful introduction to end of the Middle Ages and rise of the Renaissance in North France /Low Countries area" Read more

"...No, it is a detailed analysis of Late Middle Ages culture - art, literature, religion, and lifestyles are all covered at great length...." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2012
    The five stars are for the original translation titled "The Waning of the Middle Ages," first published in 1949. Amazon doesn't (and should) have a separate listing for "The Autumn of the Middle Ages," a 1996 translation that is drastically different from "The Waning." The original translation ("The Waning") was done with the author Johan Huizinga's participation and is superb. It is fluent, poetic and probably transposes most of the highly acclaimed aesthetic qualities that Huizinga's writing is known for. On the other hand, "The Autumn" (done by two Western Washington University professors and published in 1996) is flat, boring, and reads like a bad tranlation homework assignment.

    I thought they were the same book when I ordered from Amazon -- there was no information to indicate otherwise. I only realized that "The Autumn of the Middle Ages" was a completely different version after I read the introduction. And a few pages into the main text, I simply couldn't continue. The translators might think they were doing their students a favor by bringing in a newer, fuller translation, but no amount of good intention can compensate for dullness. On the second try I correctly ordered the "The Waning of the Middle Ages" and instantly understand why it is a classic when I started reading it. So whoever made the same mistake as I did the first time, don't give up. Get "The Waning" instead and you will love it.
    62 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2019
    A wonderful new translation of a great work, with a revised title. In the opening scene of the early 1970s weepy, "Love Story" Ryan O'Neil's character, Oliver, first meets Ali Macgraw's character, Jenny, in the Radcliffe Library (actually the Fordham Library where I went) and he asked her if they had, "The Waining of the Middle Ages?" That's the title I knew forever for this book. Now I like this new title better. Great book for history lovers, and those who can still actually appreciate and enjoy reading academically meant historical research that is neither dry nor dull.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2016
    This indepth study of the Middle Ages was excellent. Requires concentration . Has many insights into the beliefs of the people who lived at that time.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2013
    The book is in great shape. Can't wait to finish reading it. It was recommended by a Historian from Chile. He said it was the best book he read about the late Middle Ages in a long time.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2015
    Wonderful introduction to end of the Middle Ages and rise of the Renaissance in North France /Low Countries area
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2005
    In his histroiograhical tour of middle ages scholarship, Norman F. Cantor puts Huiznga in his "outriders" section at the back of the book. While he candidly acknowledges the populairty of the "waning of the middle ages" among undergraduates, he takes issue with Huizinga's scholarship.

    I think Cantor does Huzinga a disservice, for I found "Autumn" to be eye opening both for its adept analysis and its innovative method. Huzingia is a fore runner of later developments in social history, both in France and the United States. He anticipates the field of "Cultural Studies" in his blend of source materials and thematic chapter arrangement.

    It's hard not to think of Foucault as one meanders through three hundred pages of tossed off analysis if how people thought about allegories five hundred years ago in northern france. As Cantor says, Huzingia wrote this book with sources available in any "second tier library". Pretty much any criticism one might have of Foucault's scholarship one might apply here.

    It is the speculative nature of Huzingia's scholarship that is both the greatest strength and weakness of "Autumn".

    This book is heavy treading. The quotations are printed in their original language, with a footnote at the bottom. The translators have added end notes to explain the more obscure cultural references, but they are END notes, so of little use during the reading. This is not really a "read on the go" type of book. I found I had to focus on reading 20-30 pages a night for a couple of weeks.
    22 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2016
    FINE
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2015
    Bravo!

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Weslley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Muito bom
    Reviewed in Brazil on June 28, 2024
    Obra prima
  • Anirvan Dasgupta
    5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage brilliance
    Reviewed in India on July 1, 2018
    Let me start by saying that this wonderful book has aged a bit and attentive readers will see the wrinkles. But it still remains a great rock for lost sailors in the vast ocean of medieval history. All the usual criticism directed against this book is undoubtedly valid, but that does not take away its merits. While pointing at the cultural peculiarities and their emergence, this book somehow fails to a deeper look into the teeming life of everyman. Nevertheless., we should remain grateful to the author for presenting a vivid picture of the court life and its eccentricities. Modern historians may murmur about the book's geographical bias, but history, I believe, is essentially local and this magnificent book, even if a bit grandiloquent at times, adds to the perceived wonder of the middle ages.
  • ISD
    5.0 out of 5 stars Book: Middle Ages
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 7, 2012
    A highly recommended book on the subject. He is undoubtedly a brilliant scholar. The book contains many French quotes, but, thankfully, all are translated into English. The work requires slow digestion, but good food for the intellect. The translators did an outstanding job here. A masterpiece indeed!
  • drill
    5.0 out of 5 stars A profound historian who brings the past to life in ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2016
    A profound historian who brings the past to life in a disturbing way, pointing to the lunacy in our own life and world.
  • Annabell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great translation - useful read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2018
    Really interesting read and the translation is good. I wanted it for my Art History degree studies but would be useful for any history student