Abstract
Analyzes the narrative pattern underlying the second and posthumously published version of 'Mijn Weg tot de Historie,' the autobiography by Dutch historian Johan Huizinga (1872-1945). The text of the work clearly divides into two parts: events before and after Huizinga's appointment as professor in Groningen (1905). The book's structure parallels that of the 'Doppelweg' of the courtly epic, in which the hero must pass through a two-stage quest for identity, where he first acquires an identity of his own, which he then must learn to reconcile with the demands of the community to which he returns. In this case that community is the academic world, reflecting Huizinga's strong ambivalence about his own profession as a historian. Huizinga's disinclination for autobiography was perhaps not as strong as he had originally claimed, and 'Mijn Weg tot de Historie' exhibits some similarities with his works 'Erasmus' (1924) and 'Leven en Werk van Jan Veth' (1927). His perception of possible parallels between his own life and those of the historical characters he depicted is discussed.