eramus

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, commonly known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, (c.1466–1536) was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, priest, and theologian. A central figure of Christian humanism, he promoted education, the study of classical texts, and reform within the Catholic Church. Born in Rotterdam, he studied at European universities and traveled widely, engaging with scholars across the continent.

Erasmus produced influential works that shaped religious and scholarly thought. In Praise of Folly, published in 1511, satirized church abuses and social folly. Adagia, a collection of ancient proverbs first published around 1500, became a standard reference for education and rhetoric. De Copia, on abundant expression and language, offered practical methods for writing and speaking. His most enduring contribution to biblical scholarship was the Novum Instrumentum Omne (1516), a Greek New Testament with a Latin translation and scholarly annotations, which helped establish critical methods and the study of original biblical texts.

Erasmus advocated reform through education and a return to original sources (ad fontes). He urged clerical reform, improved schooling, and a more humane approach to faith, while remaining within the Catholic Church rather than joining the Protestant break with Rome. His correspondence and ideas influenced contemporaries such as Sir Thomas More and, later, various reformers, though he criticized Martin Luther’s methods and rhetoric and sought reform within orthodoxy.

His legacy extends beyond his writings. Erasmus is regarded as one of the greatest scholars of the Northern Renaissance, and his name is attached to institutions and programs such as Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Erasmus Programme for European student exchanges.