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Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)

Author of The Waning of the Middle Ages

70+ Works 5,669 Members 64 Reviews 13 Favorited
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About the Author

Image credit: http://www.davidlavery.net/barfield/ (Owen Barfield)

Works by Johan Huizinga

The Waning of the Middle Ages (1919) 3,272 copies
In the shadow of to-morrow (1935) 84 copies
De wetenschap der geschiedenis (1937) — Author — 16 copies
Historian olemus (2015) 11 copies
Erasmo (2) (1988) 9 copies
Nederland's geestesmerk (1934) 9 copies
Verzamelde werken (1949) 7 copies
Erasmo. Vol. 1 (1987) 6 copies
Tien Studiën 4 copies
Amerika levend en denkend (1926) 3 copies
De hand van Huizinga (2009) 3 copies
De lo lúdico y lo serio (2014) 2 copies

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Erasmus according to Huizinga in Reformation Era: History and Literature (March 2023)

Reviews

 
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luvucenanzo06 | 11 other reviews | Sep 7, 2023 |
Saggio del 1935 che risente profondamente dell’ascesa del totalitaristico e della diffusione del pensiero spengleriano. Testo definito da più parti (anche nell’introduzione italiana degli anni ’70) troppo pessimistico sfogo di di un intellettuale cui non piace nulla, vive invece di intuizioni brillanti e di qualche passaggio pedante, entrambi fondati sulla critica all'irrazionalismo. In testa alle prime, il riconoscere una crisi della cultura nel non banale allineamento fra progresso (fine a se stesso) tecnologico, divisione del lavoro e istruzione di massa. Fra le seconde, la critica del cinema, dell’arte contemporanea e del generale “puerilismo” della società.… (more)
 
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d.v. | 2 other reviews | May 16, 2023 |
I’m glad I went back and picked up Huizinga’s, Erasmus and the Age of Reformation. This popular biography was originally written in 1924, so it’s very old. I read a reissued edition of 2002 which also includes some letters of Erasmus. Huizinga died in 1945.

Huizinga is more critical of Erasmus than Augustijn (the other biography I read, Erasmus: His Life, Works, and Influence), and he offers some cutting criticism. For one, he calls Erasmus “weak” and talks of his “weakness”. While Luther obviously confronted the powers-that-be of his time, and did that quite vigorously, Erasmus kept aloof. Huizinga thinks Erasmus’ weakness was “… the study of a recluse bending over his books,” which, “did more than anything else to prevent Erasmus from understanding the true nature and purport of the Reformation.” (p. 138). It may be that Erasmus did not even read Luther’s most important writings until well after they were published. According to Huizinga, Erasmus thought the conservative reaction to the Reformation was about resistance to learning. There was much more to it than that, and Erasmus never faced up to the singular issues of his day.

Having said that though, I have some reservations about getting rid of Erasmus so easily. Not everyone has the ability, as Luther certainly did, of calling forth inner powers and confronting all the evil of one’s own age. Erasmus did confront evil, but when he did so it was as if behind a veil of language and learning. In fact, this is another of Huizinga’s criticisms of Erasmus. (p. 43) But must Erasmus be judged solely by this standard? Erasmus towards the latter part of his life says, “The essentials of our religion are peace and equanimity. These can hardly exist unless we make definitions about as few points as possible and leave many questions to individual judgement.” (p. 116) Elsewhere he says, “Let us resist not by taunts and threats, not by force of arms and injustice, but by simple discretion, by benefits, by gentleness and tolerance.” (p.152) This almost turns Huizinga’s criticism on its head. In my view, “gentleness” is not always the same thing as “weakness”. Erasmus and Luther were likely after two different things.

In the end, Erasmus remained a Catholic while Luther did not. Erasmus writes to Luther during the freedom of the will controversy in 1526, “I have never been an apostate from the Catholic Church. I know that in this Church, which you call the Papist Church, there are many who displease me, but such I also see in your Church. One bears more easily the evils to which one is accustomed. Therefore I bear with this Church, until I shall see a better, and it cannot help bearing with me, until I shall myself be better. And he does not sail badly who steers a middle course between two several evils.” (p. 165)

There is more criticism of Erasmus here in Huizinga, as well as more insights. I was glad to read this book because it gave me a feeling for the reality of Erasmus, the man. Even the criticism of Erasmus’ weakness has its place, if taken as part of a more holistic view of him.
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geoffreymeadows | 7 other reviews | May 16, 2023 |
I have been interested in Erasmus for years and read several of his works in translation. I wanted to find a newer biography and came across Huizinga's 1924 work Erasmus and the Age of Reformation. It was very readable in places and dragged in others. I wanted more than I got out of Erasmus of Rotterdam by Stefan Zweig. Both books were about on the same level so I am still looking for more. Huizinga gave a clear view of Erasmus's wanderings and his search for a permanent place in the world, which sadly Erasmus never found. One of the best points of Erasmus and the Age of Reformation was the inclusion of many letters sent by Erasmus to many influential people of his time. Letter that showed his friendship with Sir Thomas More, Bishop(later Saint) John Fisher and even Martin Luther though Erasmus broke off his contact with Luther in later life. For those letters alone the book is worthwhile. In one letter Erasmus reflected on being placed in a monastic setting when he was too young to make a life commitment. He recognized that he was not suited for the monastic life but he remained as faithful as he could within the promises he made. This book is available for free at Amazon or the Gutenberg Project as a free e-book.… (more)
 
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MMc009 | 7 other reviews | Jan 30, 2022 |

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