Desiderius Erasmus

Desiderius Erasmus (about 1466 to 1536), known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch humanist, theologian and philosopher and one of the most influential scholars of the Northern Renaissance. Educated in private, monastic and semi-monastic schools, including the Latin school at Deventer where Greek was taught below university level, he later worked as a tutor and prepared pioneering Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament and the Church Fathers. His writings include pedagogical works such as On Civility in Children and Copia, a guide to the abundant style, besides The Praise of Folly and On Free Will. A Catholic priest who stayed in the church, he influenced a wide circle of correspondents, among them Philipp Melanchthon.