Erasmus von rotterdam biography

Desiderius erasmus famous works

When was erasmus born

Desiderius Erasmus von Rotterdam
Biography

Erasmus von Rotterdam, one of the leading theologians and humanists in Northern Europe, saw the light of day in Rotterdam. As far as his exact year of birth is concerned, we have to settle with speculations, however, it is quite likely that Erasmus was born in the 1460s. The year of his death, on the other hand, is certain: The renowned humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam, who also called himself Erasmus Desiderius, died in Basle in 1536 .
Erasmus chose a theologian career from an early point on. In 1492 he became a priest and studied theology, which he completed with a doctorate. Intensive studies in European countries, among others, in England, France and Italy, as well as the exchange with contemporaries have decisive impact on Erasmus of Rotterdam. Among the core ideas of his teachings are questions regarding free will, particularly in terms of religious faith.
Among the main works by Erasmus of Rotterdam are "The Praise of Folly" (Latin "Encomium moriae", around 1510), as well as "Colloquies" (Latin "Colloquia Familiaria", 1518) or the treatise "Of free will: Discourses" (Latin "De libero arbitrio diatribe sive collatio", 1524).

Erasmus

Dutch humanist (c. 1469 – 1536)

For other uses, see Erasmus (disambiguation).

See also: Legacy and evaluations of Erasmus

See also: Works of Erasmus

The Reverend Father, later Doctor Desiderius Erasmus

Born	c. 28 October 1466 Rotterdam or Gouda, Burgundian Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire
Died	12 July 1536(1536-07-12) (aged 69) Basel, Old Swiss Confederacy
Other names	Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus
Known for	New Testament translations and exegesis, satire, pacificism, letters, author and editor
Awards	Counsellor to Charles V. (hon.)
Education
Influences
Era	Northern Renaissance
School or tradition
Institutions
Main interests
Notable works
Notable ideas
Influenced
Religion	Christianity
Church	Catholic Church
Ordained	25 April 1492

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (DEZ-i-DEER-ee-əs irr-AZ-məs; Dutch:[ˌdeːziˈdeːrijʏseːˈrɑsmʏs]; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and theologian, educationalist, satirist, and philosopher. Through his vast number of translations, books, essays, prayers and letters, he is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the Northern Renaissance and one of the major figures of Dutch and Western culture.

Erasmus was an important figure in classical scholarship who wrote in a spontaneous, copious and natural Latin style. As a Catholic priest developing humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared pioneering new Latin and Greek scholarly editions of the New Testament and of the Church Fathers, with annotations and commentary that were immediately and vitally influential in both the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Reformation. He also wrote On Free Will, The Praise of Folly, The Complaint of Peace, Handbook of a Christia

Erasmus (c.1466 - 1536)
Portrait of Erasmus Desiderius, 1523 ©Erasmus was a Dutch writer, scholar and humanist.
The illegitimate son of a priest, Erasmus (Gerrit Gerritszoon) was probably born in 1466 in Rotterdam. He was ordained in 1492 and studied in Paris. From 1499 he adopted the life of an independent scholar, moving from city to city tutoring, lecturing and corresponding with thinkers all over Europe.
He began writing in around 1500, on both theological and secular subjects. All his work displays his huge learning and intellectual brilliance, but also his humanity and wit. Many of his early works attacked corruption and superstition in the church and his famous satire 'The Praise of Folie' (1509), dedicated to his English friend Thomas More, advocated a return to a more simple Christianity. He translated and edited many classical and early Christian works and also published a critical edition of the Greek text of the New Testament which drew on newly available sources and was immensely influential. It symbolised the humanist desire to return to the sources of the Christian tradition.
During four trips to England, Erasmus became friends with leading intellectual figures such as John Colet and Thomas More, and taught at Cambridge University. He also visited and lived in France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
The onset of the Protestant Reformation took Erasmus in a new direction. Although he remained a Catholic he was in sympathy with some of the Protestants' reforming instincts. To counter accusations that he was a Lutheran he wrote a complete declaration of his theological position 'On the Freedom of the Will' which contained a brilliant attack on Luther.
Erasmus died in Basel in Switzerland on 12 July 1536.

Erasmus contributions to the renaissance

Works of Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus was the most popular, most printed and arguably most influential author of the early Sixteenth Century, read in all nations in the West and frequently translated. By the 1530s, the writings of Erasmus accounted for 10 to 20 percent of all book sales in Europe. "Undoubtedly he was the most read author of his age."
His vast number of Latin and Greek publications included translations, paraphrases, letters, textbooks, plays for schoolboys, commentary, poems, liturgies, satires, sermons, and prayers. He is noted for his extensive scholarly editions of the New Testament and the complete works of numerous Church Fathers. A large number of his later works were defences of his earlier work from attacks by Catholic and Protestant theological and literary opponents.
His work was at the forefront of the contemporary Catholic Reformation and advocated a spiritual reform program he called the "philosophia Christi" and a theological reform agenda he called the Method of True Theology. It provided much of the material that spurred the Protestant Reformation, the Anglican Reformation and the Counter-Reformation; the influence of his ideas continues to the present.
Following the Council of Trent, which endorsed many of his themes, such as his theology on Free Will, many of his works were at times banned or required to be expurgated under various Catholic regional Indexes of prohibited books, and issued anonymously or bastardized with sectarian changes in Protestant countries. Many of his pioneering scholarly editions were superseded by newer revisions or re-brandings, and the popularity of his writings waned as pan-European Latin-using scholarship gave way to vernacular scholarship and readership.
Notable writings
Erasmus wrote for both educated audiences on subjects of humanist interest and "to Christians in the various stages of lives:...for the yo