Huizinga, Johan

(born Dec. 7, 1872, Groningen, Neth.—died Feb. 1, 1945, De Steeg) Dutch historian. He was professor of history at Groningen (1905–15) and then at Leiden until 1942, when he was held as a hostage by the Nazis; he remained under open arrest until his death. His first studies dealt with Indian literature and cultures, but he became internationally recognized for The Waning of the Middle Ages (1919), a lively examination of life in France and Holland in the 14th–15th centuries.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica