Leiden University Libraries Digital Collections

Johan Huizinga was born on 7 December 1872 in Groningen. He studied Dutch and Eastern languages at the University of Groningen from 1891 until 1895 and linguistics at Leipzig from 1885 till 1896. On 28 May 1897 he obtained his PhD in Groningen, for his thesis on the 'Vidûsaka' (the Fool) in Indian theatre. From 1987 till 1905 he was a teacher in Haarlem and Amsterdam. In 1905 he became Professor of General and Dutch History at the University of Groningen and in 1915 Professor of General History and Political Geography at Leiden University. He also was editor of the monthly cultural magazine De Gids and chairman of the Advising Commission for the various State Museums. From August to October 1942 Huizinga was held prisoner in the hostage camp Sint-Michielsgestel for warning against the Nazi ideology and the effect on the freedom of historical writing. After his release, he lived in the country house of his Leiden colleague R.P. Cleveringa in De Steeg (near Arnhem), where he died on 1 February 1945. His archive was deposited at Leiden University Library in World War II and donated in 1946 by the widow Huizinga-Schölvinck. This was later supplemented with a few donations from Huizinga’s children.

The digital collection is supplemented with the volumes of Huizinga’s Verzamelde werken (1948-1953, 9 vols.)

Publications on Huizinga, mainly by Anton van der Lem: