Erasmus

c. 1466 – 12 July 1536

Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (c. 1466-1536) was a Dutch humanist scholar, Catholic priest, and the leading intellectual of the Northern Renaissance. His works include The Praise of Folly and a pioneering edition of the Greek New Testament, which profoundly influenced biblical scholarship and the Reformation debates. Though critical of church abuses, he remained within the Catholic Church and famously debated Martin Luther on free will.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Erasmus.

Life events

Born in Rotterdam
c. 1466

Erasmus was born in Rotterdam in the Burgundian Netherlands, the illegitimate son of a priest; the exact year of his birth is disputed between 1466 and 1469.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Educated by the Brethren of the Common Life at Deventer
c. 1478

Erasmus attended the chapter school of St. Lebuin in Deventer, one of the leading Latin schools of the Netherlands.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Ordained a priest and took vows as an Augustinian canon
25 April 1492

Erasmus was ordained to the Catholic priesthood at Stein, having earlier entered the Augustinian canonry there.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Studied theology at the University of Paris
1495

Erasmus went to Paris to study theology at the College de Montaigu, supporting himself by tutoring.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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First visit to England and friendship with Thomas More
1499

Erasmus traveled to England, where he formed lasting friendships with Thomas More and John Colet that shaped his humanist and biblical interests.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published The Praise of Folly
1511

Erasmus's satire on the follies of society and the church, written in Thomas More's house in 1509, was first printed in Paris in 1511.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Published the first printed Greek New Testament
March 1516

Erasmus's Novum Instrumentum omne, printed by Johann Froben in Basel, was the first published edition of the New Testament in Greek with a new Latin translation.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Settled in Basel
November 1521

Erasmus moved to Basel, where he worked closely with the Froben press and produced many of his mature editions and writings.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Published On Free Will against Martin Luther
September 1524

In De libero arbitrio Erasmus defended the freedom of the human will, prompting Luther's reply On the Bondage of the Will and marking their public break.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Basel
12 July 1536

Erasmus died suddenly in Basel during a visit from his residence in Freiburg and was buried in Basel Minster.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓