Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1466--1536

27 Feb 2017 16:30

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If this wasn't Yet Another Inadequate Placeholder, I would say something about the pivotal role of Erasmus in many of the developments that shaped the modern world: the Renaissance "revival" (really, transmutation) of classical learning in northern and western Europe; the Reformation; the beginnings of ideals of toleration; independent intellectuals reaching an audience through mass media such as printed books; and advanced textual scholarship. (Indeed, I could devote pages to the importance of textual scholarship alone.) But this is just an inadequate placeholder, so I won't.

See also: Early Modern Europe

Recommended:
• DE
  • Julius Excluded from Heaven [Julius Exclusus]
  • Handbook of the Christian Knight [Enchiridion Militis Christian]
  • The Praise of Folly [Gutenberg e-text of a 17th century translation]
• George Faludy, Erasmus
• John Huizinga, Erasmus and the Age of Reformation [a.k.a. Erasmus of Rotterdam]
• Richard H. Popkin, The History of Skepticism: From Erasmus to Descartes

To read:
• Kathy Eden, Friends Hold All Things in Common: Tradition, Intellectual Property, and the Adages of Erasmus
• DE, Colloquia
• Constance M. Furey, Erasmus, Contarini, and the Religious Republic of Letters
• Lisa Jardine, Erasmus: The Construction of Charisma in Print
• M. A. Screech, Erasmus: Ecstasy and the Praise of Folly
• James D. Tracy, Erasmus of the Low Countries