Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466-1536)

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Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466-1536) Dutch
humanist and theologian
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(No Transcript)
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Early life of Erasmus

• born out of wedlock
• received excellent education
• forced to live in monastery in 1486
• released and became priest in 1492
• religious training from St. Jerome and Lorenzo
  Valla
• began making influential friends

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Erasmus the scholar

• prominent and vocal scholar
• discussed state of church
• started publishing in 1500
• Adagia
• Enchiridion militis christiani
• Lorenzo Valla's "Annotationes

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In Praise of Folly

• Attacks
• superstitious religious practices
• uncritical theories held by traditional
  scientists
• vanity of church leaders
• prayers to saints
• sale of indulgences
• behavior of high level church officials

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Erasmus and Luther

• laying the egg that Luther hatched
• Erasmian reformation
• dreaded doctrinal changes

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Devoted to...

• elegance and purity of Latin
• the revision of Christian traditions
• education
• pacifism