Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536)
Author of In Praise of Folly
About the Author
Desiderius Erasmus was born, probably in 1469, in Rotterdam, Holland. He studied in Paris, traveled in England, Germany, and Italy, and wrote in Latin. Living at the time of the Renaissance when most intellectual concepts were being examined, Erasmus was a great admirer of the ancient writers and show more edited many of their works. Erasmus remained a Roman Catholic, but believed that many of the priests and theologians had distorted the simple teachings of Jesus. He published an edition of the New Testament-the first edition in the original Greek-in order to make clear the essential teachings of Christianity. Erasmus liked above all things clear and honest thinking; he despised intolerance and persecution. He was the greatest of the humanists because his books, more effectively than any others, propagated a humane philosophy of life, teaching that one's chief duties are to be intelligent, open-minded, and charitable. The most famous and the most influential of Erasumus' books were The Praise of Folly (1509) and Colloquies (1518). These works, written in lively, colloquial, and witty Latin, expressed his ideas on the manners and customs of his time. Erasmus exerted a powerful influence not only through his books, but also through the private letters that he wrote to a great number of humanist scholars in all parts of Western Europe. He carried on extensive correspondences with Thomas More of England. More than 1500 of his letters survive today. Erasmus died in Basel, Switzerland, on July 12, 1536. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Desiderius Erasmus
The education of a Christian prince : with the Panegyric for Archduke Philip of Austria (1516) 111 copies
Desiderius Erasmus 2 - Lof en Blaam: Lof van het huwelijk / Lof van de geneeskunde / Lof der Zotheid / Brief aan… (2004) 31 copies
Desiderius Erasmus 3 - Opvoeding. Etiquette / Leren studeren / De opvoeding van kinderen / De opvoeding van de… (2006) 26 copies
Desiderius Erasmus 4 - Verweerschriften: De spons / De Ciceroniaan / Antwoord aan prins Alberto Pio van Carpi (2007) 23 copies
Literary and Educational Writings, 1 and 2. Volume 1: Antibarbari / Parabolae. Volume 2: De copia / De ratione studii… (1978) 21 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 1-141 (1484-1500) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 1) (1974) 19 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 594-841 (1517-1518) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 5) (1979) 17 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 446-593 (1516-17) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 4) (1977) 17 copies
Vrede's weeklacht en andere geschriften over vrede en eendracht op internationaal-politiek en kerkelijk terrein (1989) 16 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 142-297 (1501-1514) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 2) (1975) 15 copies
Spiritualia and Pastoralia: Precatio ad virginis filium Iesum / Paean Virgini Matri / Obsecratio ad Virginem Mariam /… (1988) 14 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 298-445 (1514-1516) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 3) (1976) 14 copies
Twenty Select Colloquies of Erasmus 12 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 842-992 (1518-1519) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 6) (1982) 12 copies
Literary and Educational Writings, 3 and 4. Volume 3: De conscribendis epistolis / Formula / De civilitate. Volume 4:… (1985) 11 copies
Desiderius Erasmus 6 - Theologie: Handboek van de christensoldaat / Oproep / Gods onmetelijke barmhartigheid / Uit de… (2015) 11 copies
Erasme : Eloge de la folie . Adages . Colloques . Réflexions sur l'Art, l'Education, la Religion, la Guerre et la… (1992) 11 copies
Opera omnia Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami : recognita et adnotatione critica instructa notisque illustrata. Ordo 5. T. 2 (1981) 11 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 1658-1801 (1526-1527) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 12) (2003) 10 copies
Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami Colloquia familiaria ; et, Encomium moriae : ad optimorum librorum fidem diligenter… (2010) 10 copies
New Testament Scholarship: Paraphrases on Romans and Galatians (Collected Works of Erasmus, 42) (1984) 10 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 993 to 1121 (1519-1520) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 7) (1987) 10 copies
Pas de deux in stilte de briefwisseling tussen Desiderius Erasmus en paus Adrianus VI 1522-1523 (2002) 10 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 1252-1355 (1522-1523) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 9) (1989) 10 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 1926-2081 (1528) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 14) (2011) 9 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2082-2203 (1529) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 15) (2012) 9 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 1535-1657 (1525) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 11) (1994) 9 copies
Delphi Collected Works of Desiderius Erasmus (Illustrated) (Delphi Series Nine Book 12) (2018) 9 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 1122-1251 (1520-1521) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 8) (1988) 8 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2357-2471 (August 1530-March 1531) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 17) (2016) 8 copies
Erasmus' Annotations on the New Testament : Acts, Romans, I and II Corinthians : facsimile of the final Latin text with… (1989) 7 copies
Literary and Educational Writings, 27 and 28. Volume 5: Panegyricus / Moria / Julius exclusus / Institutio principis… (1986) 7 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2204-2356 (August 1529-July 1530) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 16) (2015) 7 copies
Erasmi Colloquia selecta: or, the select colloquies of Erasmus. With an English translation, as literal as possible,… (2010) 7 copies
Spiritualia and Pastoralia: Exomologesis and Ecclesiastes (Collected Works of Erasmus) (2008) 7 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 1356-1534 (1523-1524) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 10) (1992) 7 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2635-2802 (April 1532-April 1533) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 19) (2019) 6 copies
Two Dyaloges (c. 1549) Wrytten in laten by the famous clerke, D. Erasm[us] of Roterodame, one called Polyphemus or the… (1550) 6 copies
New Testament Scholarship: Paraphrase on the Gospel of Matthew (Collected Works of Erasmus, 45) (2008) 6 copies
Erasmus and Cambridge: The Cambridge Letters of Erasmus. Trans. by D.F.S. Thomson. Intro etc. by H. C. Porter. (1963) 6 copies
Familiarium colloquiorum formulae = Schülergespräche : lateinisch/deutsch (1982) — Author — 6 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 1802-1925 (March-December 1527) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 13) (2010) 6 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2940-3141 (June 1534-August 1536) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 21) (2021) 6 copies
New Testament Scholarship: Paraphrases on the Epistles to the Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippans, Colossians, and… (2009) 5 copies
New Testament Scholarship: Paraphrases on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, the Epistles of Peter and Jude,… (1993) 5 copies
New Testament Scholarship: Paraphrase on the Acts of the Apostles (Collected Works of Erasmus, 50) (1995) 5 copies
Adagiorum Chiliades 5 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2803 to 2939 (May 1533–May 1534) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 20) (2020) 5 copies
New Testament Scholarship: Paraphrase on Luke 11-24 (Collected Works of Erasmus, 48) (2003) 4 copies
The dyaloge called Funus; a translation of Erasmus's colloquy (1534) & A very pleasaunt & fruitful diologe called… (1969) 4 copies
Collected works of Erasmus [v.61] : Patristic scholarship ; the edition of St. Jerome (1992) 4 copies
The Correspondence of Erasmus: Letters 2472-2634 (April 1531-March 1532) (Collected Works of Erasmus, 18) (2018) 4 copies
Dolce è la guerra per chi non ne ha esperienza: storie politiche tratte dagli Adagia (2017) 4 copies
Dialogus cui titulus ciceronianus sive de optimo dicendi genere der ciceronianer oder der beste stil ein dialog :… (1972) 3 copies
Adeges: Prolegomena to the Adages: Adagiorum Collectanea, Indexes to Erasmus' Adages (Collected Works of Erasmus, 30) (2017) 3 copies
Epitola ad Paulum Volzium brief an Paul Volz : enchiridion militis christiani handbüchlein eines christlichen… (1990) 3 copies
Gedachten over goede en slechte boekdrukkers : gekozen uit het adagium Festina Lente (1986) 3 copies
Controversies: Clarifications Concerning the Censures Published in Paris in the Name of the Parisian Faculty of… (2012) 3 copies
The New Testament Scholarship of Erasmus: An introduction with Erasmus' Preface and Ancillary Writings (Collected Works… (2019) 2 copies
De libero arbitrio matpibh sive collatio gespräch oder unterredung über den freien willen (2016) 2 copies
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Handbook for Schools: Transforming Mental Health Support on a Budget (2019) 2 copies
Gedachten van Erasmus 2 copies
The praise of folie / by Thomas Chaloner ; ed. by Clarence H. Miller = Moriae encomium. English 2 copies
OBRAS ESCOGIDAS 2 copies
The Colloquies of Desiderius Erasmus 2 copies
In Euangelium Marci paraphrasis, 2 copies
Erasmus, Desiderius: Briefe. Verdeutscht und herausgegeben von Walther Köhler. [Unveränd. Neuaufl.].… (1947) 2 copies
Novum Testamentum, graecè & latinè 2 copies
Magni Des. Erasmi Roterodami vita; 2 copies
A dialoge or communication of two persons Deuysyd and set forthe in the late[n] tonge, by the noble and famose clarke.… (2011) 2 copies
The Ultimate Anthology of Christian Theology (20 works with an active table of contents) (2010) 2 copies
The Epistles of Erasmus, Vol. 3 2 copies
Een derde twaalftal Samenspraken 2 copies
Novvm Testamentvm 2 copies
Erasme. Éloge de la folie . Traduction par Pierre de Nolhac. Suivi de la Lettre d'Erasme à Dorpius,… 2 copies
Collected Proverbs 2 copies
A Educação Liberal 2 copies
The Epistles of Erasmus, Vol. 1 2 copies
The Epistles of Erasmus, Vol. 2 2 copies
Een tweede twaalftal Samenspraken 2 copies
Opera omnia Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami : recognita et adnotatione critica instructa notisque illustrata (2011) 2 copies
Desiderius Erasmus: Der sprichwörtliche Weltbürger: Herausgegeben und bevorwortet von Wolfgang Hörner… (2018) 2 copies
Erasmi Opera Omnia, Section 4, vol. 4 (Opera Omnia Desiderii Erasmi Erasmus, Opera Omnia) (2012) 2 copies
Classics Club Library 2 copies
Opera omnia Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami : recognita et adnotatione critica instructa notisque illustrata. Ordo 1. T. 4 (1973) 1 copy
Novum Testamentum Latinum 1 copy
Lof heimskunnar 1 copy
Portrétní kresby 1 copy
Colloqui scelti 1 copy
Penguin Classics Ancient Literature 6 Book Collection: Utopia, The Last Days of Socrates, Praise of Folly, The Early… (1973) 1 copy
Correspondance 1 copy
Epistolario 1 copy
Familiar Colloquies, Vol. II 1 copy
O elogio Da Loucura 1 copy
Os pensadores: Rotherdam 1 copy
The praise of folly. 1 copy
Desiderii Erasmi Rotterdami: Epigarmmata; Iohannus Secundi: Basia (Russian Edition)/ Erazm Rotterdamsky:… (1983) 1 copy
I classici del pensiero libero [Corriere della sera]: Erasmo da Rotterdam. Elogio della follia 1 copy
Briefe 1 copy
Nuevo Testamento 1 copy
Księgi, które zową język 1 copy
Antibarbarorum liber 1 copy
Opulentia sordida e altri scritti attorno ad Aldo Manuzio (Letteratura universale. Albrizziana) (Italian Edition) (2015) 1 copy
Erasmo vol. 1 1 copy
La philosophie chrétienne: L'éloge de la folie - L'essai sur le libre arbitre - le ciceronien - la réfutation de… (1970) 1 copy
Erasmo vol. 2 1 copy
Erasme, l'Education Du Prince Chretien (Miroir Des Humanistes) (French and Latin Edition) (2016) 1 copy
Complainte de la paix 1 copy
Gespräch über die Ehe 1 copy
Shakespeare: o que as peças contam: Tudo o que você precisa saber para descobrir e amar a obra do maior… (2018) 1 copy
Elogio da Loucura, A utopia 1 copy
[Works] 1 copy
Das Lob der Torheit. Mit den Randzeichnungen der Basler Ausgabe von Hans Holbein d. J. (1950) 1 copy
The Life of Saint Augustine 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae V 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae II 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae VII 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae X 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae VI 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae IX 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae I 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae IV 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae VIII 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae III 1 copy
Erasmi Epistolae XI 1 copy
Erasmo. Sulla pace 1 copy
Erasmus' Annotations on the New Testament: Galatians to the Apocalypse. Facsimile of the Final Latin Text with All… (1993) 1 copy
Cinq banquets 1 copy
La Lengua de Erasmo nuevamente romançada por muy elegante estilo : traducción española del siglo… (1975) 1 copy
De spons 1 copy
Leren studeren 1 copy
Brief aan Maarten van Dorp 1 copy
Lof van het huwelijk 1 copy
Familiar Colloquies, Vol. I 1 copy
Julius: Dialogue Entre Saint Pierre Et Le Pape Jules II a la Porte Du Paradis (1513) (Classic Reprint) (French Edition) (2017) 1 copy
Pope Julius the Second. A comical and facetious dialogue between Julius II, evil genius, and St. Peter. Written… (2010) 1 copy
Erasmus on folly 1 copy
Opera omnia Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami : recognita et adnotatione critica instrvcta notisqve illvstrata Ordo 6 Tomus 4… (2012) 1 copy
[Erasmus] 1 copy
Opera omnia Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami : recognita et adnotatione critica instrvcta notisqve illvstrata Ordo 1, Tomus… (2013) 1 copy
Opera omnia Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami : recognita et adnotatione critica instrvcta notisqve illvstrata Ordinis 5,… (2016) 1 copy
Select Colloquies of Erasmus 1 copy
Epitomes adagiorum omnium : quae hodie ab Erasmo, Iunio, et alijs collecta exstant, pars altera 1 copy
Ten Colloquies 1 copy
Aforismen 1 copy
Het boek tegen de barbarij 1 copy
An Inquiry Concerning Faith 1 copy
Colloquia Familiaria Et Encomium Moriae: Ad Optimorum Librorum Fidem Diligenter Emendata, Cum Succincta Difficiliorum… (2017) 1 copy
De kersten weduwe 1 copy
Essential Erasmus, The 1 copy
Opere scelte 1 copy
All the Familiar Colloquies of Desiderius Erasmus, of Roterdam, Concerning Men, Manners, and Things (2020) 1 copy
A Criança Psicossomática 1 copy
Pequeno Manual dos Médiuns 1 copy
Adagios 1 copy
Erasmo [Opere di] 1 copy
La Mattana del Giorno 1 copy
oeuvres complètes 1 copy
Ensayos Escogidos 1 copy
Colloqui : Ad Fidem Optimorum Exemplorum Denuo Edita Cum Scholiis Selectis Variorum... (2012) 1 copy
In Psalmum quartum concio 1 copy
Von walfart 1 copy
Cuestiones luteranas 1 copy
Nouu[m] testame[n]tu[m] omne 1 copy
Filosofskie proizvedeniia 1 copy
Associated Works
German Humanism and Reformation: Erasmus, Luther, Muntzer, and others (German Library) (1982) — Contributor — 29 copies
Oogst der tijden : keur uit de werken van schrijvers en dichters aller volken en eeuwen (1940) — Contributor — 10 copies
Mitt skattkammer. b.9 Gjennom tidene — Contributor — 9 copies
Erasmus en de vrouw in de religie; met een vertaling van "De abt en de geleerde vrouw" — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Erasmus, Desiderius
- Legal name
- Geert Geerts
- Other names
- Erasmus
Erasmus of Rotterdam
Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus
Érasme de Rotterdam, Didier - Birthdate
- 1466-10-28
- Date of death
- 1536-07-12
- Burial location
- Basel Cathedral, Basel, Switzerland
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- Netherlands
- Country (for map)
- Netherlands
- Birthplace
- Gouda (or Rotterdam), Burgundian Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire
- Place of death
- Basel, Old Swiss Confederacy
- Places of residence
- Cambrai, France
Paris, France
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK
Louvain, Belgium
Steyn monastary, near Gouda, The Netherlands
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany - Education
- monastic
Collège de Montaigu, University of Paris
University of Turin (DD|1506) - Occupations
- private secretary (Bishop of Cambrai)
priest
theologian
professor (Divinity and Greek)
author
translator (show all 7)
editor - Relationships
- John Colet (2) (friend)
- Organizations
- University of Cambridge
University of Oxford
University of Leuven
Catholic Church (ordained 1492) - Short biography
- "Prince of the Humanists" The year of his birth is uncertain, either 1466 or 1469. The day is also uncertain but Erasmus apparently celebrated his birthday on the 28th.
Members
Discussions
Folio Archives 256: Praise of Folly by Erasmus 1974 in Folio Society Devotees (November 2022)
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 510
- Also by
- 9
- Members
- 9,214
- Popularity
- #2,605
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 96
- ISBNs
- 933
- Languages
- 28
- Favorited
- 15