The waning of the middle ages: a study of the forms of life, thought and art in…


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(4.5 stars; 2 reviews)

The Waning of the Middle Ages (also known as The Autumn of the Middle Ages, or Autumntide of the Middle Ages), subtitled A study of the forms of life, thought and art in France and the Netherlands in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, is Johan Huizinga's most famous work. It was published in 1919 as Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen and first translated into English in 1924.

Huizinga defends the idea that the exaggerated formality and romanticism of late medieval court society was a defense mechanism against the constantly increasing violence and brutality of life. The break off between Middle Ages and Renaissance was, according to him, a period of pessimism, cultural exhaustion, and nostalgia. Even though this work has found criticism, especially for relying too heavily on evidence exclusively from the Burgundian court, it has achieved immense impact in the thought about the period. - Summary by Leni (13 hr 26 min)

Chapters

Preface 3:58 Read by Larry Wilson
The Violent Tenor of Life, part 1 30:10 Read by Wayne Cooke
The Violent Tenor of Life, part 2 28:34 Read by Florence
Pessimism and the Ideal of the Sublime Life, part 1 33:17 Read by czandra
Pessimism and the Ideal of the Sublime Life, part 2 26:43 Read by czandra
The Hierarchich Conception of Society 30:09 Read by ke126
The Idea of Chivalry 27:04 Read by Michele Eaton
The Dream of Heroism and of Love 21:21 Read by Michele Eaton
Orders of Chivalry and Vows 21:51 Read by Michele Eaton
The Political and Military Value of Chivalrous Ideas 28:00 Read by JacobValdez
Love Formalized 28:29 Read by czandra
The Conventions of Love 18:37 Read by czandra
The Idyllic Vision of Life 26:36 Read by Andrew Mauls Byron
The Vision of Death 33:03 Read by Andrew Mauls Byron
Religious Thought Crystallizing into Images, part 1 30:55 Read by jaykaymak
Religious Thought Crystallizing into Images, part 2 27:39 Read by Owlivia
Types of Religious Life 40:44 Read by lisad
Religious Sensibility and Religious Imagination 23:51 Read by Larry Wilson
Symbolism in its Decline 43:31 Read by Emanuela
The Effects of Realism 14:25 Read by czandra
Religious Thought Beyond the Limits of Imagination 12:57 Read by Willow Lin
The Forms of Thought and Practical Life 39:02 Read by czandra
Art and Life, part 1 28:45 Read by Tasha Hobbs Peterson
Art and Life, part 2 29:11 Read by Tasha Hobbs Peterson
The Aesthetic Sentiment 22:07 Read by czandra
Verbal and Plastic Expression Compared I. part 1 33:06 Read by Owlivia
Verbal and Plastic Expression Compared I. part 2 27:56 Read by Owlivia
Verbal and Plastic Expression Compared II. part 1 22:10 Read by czandra
Verbal and Plastic Expression Compared II. part 2 20:15 Read by czandra
The Advent of the New Form 31:48 Read by BenDowling

Reviews

Important book for those interested in the Reformation


(5 stars)

The book is a classic in its field, still an important scholarly work. The book itself gives a thorough picture of the mental world of the bourgeoisie and petty nobility of NE France/Flanders in the period immediately before the Northern Renaissance and Reformation. It may be a bit unapproachable for the common reader, as the individuals H discusses are mostly minor, obscure figures. (This is sort of the point; they're typical, not famous.) The readers are good.