18 Facts about Desiderius Erasmus
Historical Figures of the Renaissance
Compiled by DJ Hadoken
1. He lived from 1466 (or 1469) to 1536 and lived to see the discovery of the New World (America).
2. He was a Dutch humanist.
3. He was born out of wedlock.
4. He moved to Basel, Switzerland to escape persecution and criticism.
5. He wrote satirical essays such as “In The Praise of Folly” (1509) and “The Education of a Christian Prince” (1515).
6. He was friends with Henry VIII and Thomas More.
7. He opposed the protestant reformation and remained a loyal Catholic.
8. He and Martin Luther became bitter opponents.
9. In his “The Freedom of the Will” essay, he denounced Luther’s position on predestination.
10. He was a preacher of righteousness and emphasized that what was needed to regenerate Europe was learning. It needed to be applied fearlessly and administrated to public affairs through church and state.
11. He was the center of literary movement of his time. He corresponded with over 500 men of the highest importance in the world of politics and thought. His advise was readily followed.
12. In 1529, when the city of Basel was reformed by Protestants, Erasmus moved to the Imperial town of Freiburg-im-Breisgau. He believed it was easier to remain neutral under Roman Catholic and Protestant conditions.
13. He was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church.
14. He edited the church’s Latin and Greek classic texts and the writings of the “Fathers of the Church”, and made a New Testament based on the original Greek manuscripts.
15. Six years later, he went back to Basel and died (because he wanted to go back to the place where he was born).
16. He said that the chief evil of the day was “formalism”.
17. Erasmus was so prolific and famous that he commissioned many portraits of himself to distribute to his supporters.
18. His most famous portrait was painted by “Hans Holbein the Younger” and was copied many times.
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