Johan Huizinga Books

In Homo Ludens, Johan Huizinga defines play as the central activity in flourishing societies. He identifies five characteristics of play: it is free; it is not ordinary or real life; it is distinct from ordinary life both as to locality and duration; it creates order; it is connected with no material interest, and from it no profit can be gained. With cross-cultural examples from the humanities, business, and politics, Huizinga examines play in all its diverse guises as it relates to language, law, war, knowledge, poetry, myth, philosophy, art, and much more. As he writes, Civilization is, in its earliest phases, played. It does not come from play like a baby detaching itself from the womb: it arises in and as play, and never leaves it. Starting with Plato, Huizinga traces the contribution of man the player through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and early modern world. With an eye for our own times he writes: In American politics [play] is even more evident. Long before the two-party system had reduced itself to two gigantic teams whose political differences were hardly discernible to an outsider, electioneering in America had developed into a kind of national sport. With its remarkable historical sweep, Homo Ludens defines play for generations to come

This study of life, thought and art in France and the Netherlands in the 14th and 15th centuries remains a classic historical work. In it, Johan Huizinga challenges the prevailing notion that the Middle Ages were just a prelude to the Renaissance. Examining in detail the work of the brothers Van Eyck, he goes on to demonstrate his belief that the actions of princes and statesmen, the chivalry of knights, and the outpourings of theologians, artists, poets and chroniclers were the final and perfect flowering of an older style of life. He ends his work by concluding that in an age of violent contrasts and impressive forms there was a tone of passion in everyday life that helped produce that perpetual oscillation between despair and distracted joy, between cruelty and pious tenderness, which characterize life in the Middle Ages.

In the 16th century, Erasmus was one of the most celebrated figures in Europe - a man of such vast learning that both royalty and universities petitioned for his services. In this very readable biography, a noted scholar traces Erasmus’s youth, his years as an itinerant scholar, sojourns in England, France, Switzerland, and Italy, friendship with Sir Thomas More, and disputes with Martin Luther. The author also probes Erasmus’s mind and character and discusses his writings, including In Praise of Folly and his great translation of the New Testament.

Der Band versammelt vier grundlegende Texte der kulturwissenschaftlichen Spieltheorie des 20. Jahrhunderts, in deren Zentrum Johan Huizingas ›Homo Ludens‹ in einer unpublizierten Vortragsversion steht. Georges Bataille und Roger Caillois radikalisieren ihn zu einer postsurrealistischen Spieltheorie.

Johan Huizingas Kulturgeschichte des Goldenen Zeitalters der Niederlande ist eines der Meisterwerke des berühmten Kulturhistorikers. Mit seinem bekanntesten Buch, Herbst des Mittelalters, teilt dieses knappe Porträt die beeindruckende Weite des Blicks und den literarischen Glanz der Darstellung. Wie konnte es in den Niederlanden des 17. Jahrhunderts zu der Blüte der Kultur kommen, die wir etwa in den Bildern Vermeers oder Rembrandts noch heute bestaunen? Huizinga beleuchtet ihre sozialen, wirtschaftlichen, politischen und militärischen Voraussetzungen und schildert das religiöse Leben des Landes. Vor diesem Hintergrund läßt er ein facettenreiches Bild von Literatur und Kunst der Zeit entstehen. Huizingas charmantes Epochenporträt wird hier nach langer Zeit endlich wieder in deutscher Sprache zugänglich gemacht. Ein neues Nachwort von Bernd Roeck erläutert die bleibende Bedeutung des Werkes.

Die Studie über Erasmus von Johan Huizinga beleuchtet den geistigen Wandel in Europa während der politischen und sozialen Krisen der Weltkriege. Ursprünglich 1924 für die Reihe "Great Hollanders" verfasst, wird das Werk nun in deutscher Neuübersetzung präsentiert. Begleitet wird es von einer erstmals in eine andere Sprache übersetzten Analyse über den niederländischen Maler und Dichter Jan Veth, mit dem Huizinga eine enge Freundschaft pflegte. Diese Kombination bietet einen tiefen Einblick in die kulturellen Strömungen der Zeit.