Desiderius Erasmus

1466–1536

Nationality: Dutch

Historical Period: The Renaissance and the Reformation

Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) was a Christian, humanist scholar; the first editor of the New Testament; a classicist; and a leading voice in the theological debates of the early Reformation in northern Europe. He contended with the reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546), emphasizing the importance of free will in human actions against Luther’s belief in the absolute bondage of the will to sin.

• Author: The Colloquies 2 vols.
• Author: The Complaint of Peace
• Author: In Praise of Folly
• Author: The Manual of a Christian Knight
• Author: The Works of Vicesimus Knox, vol. 5