160 Erasmus
Learning Objective
- Describe Erasmus and his connection to the Renaissance
Key Points
- Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance Humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian known as the “Prince of the Humanists” for his influential scholarship and writings.
- Erasmus lived against the backdrop of the growing European religious Reformation, but while he was critical of the abuses within the Catholic church and called for reform, he kept his distance from Luther and continued to recognize the authority of the pope.
- In The Handbook of the Christian Soldier, Erasmus outlines the views of the normal Christian life and critiques formalism—going through the motions of tradition without understanding their basis in the teachings of Christ.
- One of Erasmus’s best-known works is In Praise of Folly, a satirical attack on superstitions and other traditions of European society in general and the western church in particular.