The Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) was the dominant figure of the early-16th-century humanist movement. The intellectual arbiter during the last years of Christian unity, he remains one of European culture's most controversial giants. The...

In July 1514 Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam left England for Basel, Switzerland, and the Froben Press to publish the annotated New Testament and the critical edition of the works of Saint Jerome on which he had been working during his stay at...

ERASMUS, DESIDERIUS (1469?–1536), Dutch scholar, is called the "prince of humanists." Neither the date nor the place of Erasmus's birth is known with certainty; he was probably born in 1469 in Rotterdam (he styled himself...

Erasmus, Desiderius(1466? Italie. Geneva: E. Droz, 1954. Torzini, Roberto. I labirinti del libero arbitrio: La discussione tra Erasmo e Lutero. Florence, Italy: L.S. Olschki,...

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (sometimes known as Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam) (October 27, 1466/1469 – July 12, 1536) was a Dutch humanist and theologian. His scholarly name Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus comprises the following three...

In the following essay, Kahn relates the dispute between Luther and Erasmus on free will in order to highlight the paradoxes in Erasmus's positions on folly and prudence.

In this essay, Jardine begins with a study of Erasmus's letters as an example of a technical method of expressing and producing feeling. Erasmus's epistolary methods then provide a context for a reading of King Lear, in which the methodical expression of feeling consistently proves to be false. Jardine concludes that a Renaissance audience schooled in Erasmian ideals of rhetoric would thus experience the drama of Lear as strongly pessimistic about the possibility for honest communication.

In the following essay, O'Malley suggests that it was as a grammarian that Erasmus chiefly defined his humanism, meaning that Erasmus tended to place greater value on texts and teaching rather than on oratory and public life. O'Malley considers how this stance influenced Erasmian theology, including his more mystical, contemplative brand of Christianity and his emphasis on Christ as a teacher of philosophy.

Provides biographical detail on the life of Desiderius Erasmus, religious reformer during the Age of Reformation. Discusses his life and early religious training. Describes his role in the Protestant Reformation and his relationship with Martin Luther.

A take on what Erasmus of Rotterdam, author of Praise of Folly, would think about the world of today. The topics addressed include democracy and current views of evangelical Americans.