As economic and demographic methods were applied to the study of history, the trend was increasingly to see the late Middle Ages as a period of recession and crisis. Belgian historian Henri Pirenne continued the subdivision of Early, High, and Late Middle Ages in the years around World War I. Yet it was his Dutch colleague, Johan Huizinga, who was primarily responsible for popularising the pessimistic view of the Late Middle Ages, with his book The Autumn of the Middle Ages (1919). To Huizinga, whose research focused on France and the Low Countries rather than Italy, despair and decline were the main themes, not rebirth. COUNT 5
QSN1 What methods, applied to the study of history, led to the perception of the Middle Ages as a time of recession and crisis? ANS1 economic and demographic QSN2 Which author popularized a pessimistic view of the Late Middle Ages in his 1919 book? ANS2 Johan Huizinga QSN3 What was the title of Huizinga's 1919 book on the Middle Ages? ANS3 The Autumn of the Middle Ages QSN4 Which countries were the focus of Huizinga's research? ANS4 France and the Low Countries QSN5 What was the nationality of historian Henri Pirenne? ANS5 Belgian