Desiderius Erasmus Biography and Quotes
Birthday: October 27th, 1469
Commemoration: July 12th, 1536
Nationality: Dutch
69
Years Old
Famously Known For
Desiderius Erasmus is considered to be one of the greatest scholars in Dutch, an important player in classical literature and patristics.
Erasmus is remembered for translating the New Testament to the Greek language.
Early Life
Desiderius was born to Roger Gerard and Margaret. Roger was a priest who made Erasmus an illegitimate child. He studied at St. Lebuin’s school in Deventer. Erasmus and his siblings lost their parents while still young, and their guardians sent the two boys to a monastery in ’s-Hertogenbosch. Erasmus later in life describes this school as a place that only focused on severely disciplining students to make them humble but in the process breaking their spirits.
Personal Life and Career
Erastus’s stay at a monastery set out a path for him to follow in his life. Erasmus lived during the European religious reformation, and although he was against the abuses that were happening in the Catholic Church, he did not side with the reformers such as Luther.
Erasmus emphasized for a middle way understanding between the reformers and the papacy regime. Unlike Luther, Erasmus remained a Catholic believer for the rest of his life. He was convicted that he would change the abuses of the Catholic Church from within.
Erasmus believed in the doctrine of free will, while the reformers preferred the doctrine of predestination. Erasmus’s middle road ideology was not accepted by either the Catholic Church or the reformers.
Death
Erasmus died in 1536 out of a dysentery attack while visiting Basel. His death came after he had agreed to move to from Freiburg to Brabant, by the queen of Hungary. He was 69 years of age at his time of death. He was buried in Bansel Minster, and in 1622, a bronze statue was erected in his city of birth.
