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Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; 28 October〔Gleason, John B. "The Birth Dates of John Colet and Erasmus of Rotterdam: Fresh Documentary Evidence," Renaissance Quarterly, The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Renaissance Society of America, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Spring, 1979), pp. 73–76; (www.jstor.org )〕 1466〔Harry Vredeveld, "The Ages of Erasmus and the Year of his Birth", ''Renaissance Quarterly'', Vol. 46, No. 4 (Winter, 1993), pp. 754-809, (www.jstor.org )〕 – 12 July 1536), known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, or simply Erasmus,〔''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was a self-adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' in his scholarly name meaning "from Rotterdam".〕 was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian. Erasmus was a classical scholar and wrote in a pure Latin style. Among humanists he enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists", and has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists".〔Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of Christianity. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1953, p. 661.〕 Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament, which raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also wrote ''On Free Will,''〔Written to refute Martin Luther's doctrine of "enslaved will", according to Alister McGrath, Luther believed that only Erasmus, of all his interlocutors, understood and appreciated the locus of his doctrinal emphases and reforms. )〕 ''The Praise of Folly'', ''Handbook of a Christian Knight'', ''On Civility in Children'', ''Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style'', ''Julius Exclusus'', and many other works. 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 Melanchthon and continued to recognise the authority of the pope, emphasizing a middle way with a deep respect for traditional faith, piety and grace, rejecting Luther's emphasis on faith alone. Erasmus remained a member of the Roman Catholic Church all his life,〔Manfred Hoffmann, "Faith and Piety in Erasmus's Thought," ''Sixteenth Century Journal'' (1989) 20#2 pp 241-258〕 remaining committed to reforming the Church and its clerics' abuses from within. He also held to the Catholic doctrine of free will, which some Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination. His middle road approach disappointed and even angered scholars in both camps. Erasmus died suddenly in Basel in 1536 while preparing to return to Brabant, and was buried in the Basel Minster, the former cathedral of the city.〔"He tried to remain in the fold of the old () Church, after having damaged it seriously, and renounced the () Reformation, and to a certain extent even Humanism, after having furthered both with all his strength". Johan Huizinga, ''Erasmus and the Age of Reformation'' (Tr. F. Hopman and Barbara Flower; New York: Harper and Row, 1924), 190.〕 A bronze statue of him was erected in his city of birth in 1622, replacing an earlier work in stone. ==Early life== Desiderius Erasmus was born in Rotterdam on 28 October in the late 1460s.〔〔Erasmus Roterodamus. Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami de utraque verborum ac rerum copia. Libri II. Osnabrucae, 1715〕 Some people maintain that he was called Geert Geerts (also Gerhard Gerhards or Gerrit Gerritsz),〔Adrian Room, ''Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins'', blz. 165〕 but of this there is no proof.〔''Erasmus'', Johan Huizinga, Ed. Ad Donker, Rotterdam, 2001, page 28〕 He was born in Rotterdam, although there are insufficient records to confirm this. On a well-known wooden picture is indicated: ''Goudæ conceptus, Roterodami natus'' (Latin: conceived in Gouda; born in Rotterdam). According to an article by historian Renier Snooy (1478-1537), Erasmus was born in Gouda. The exact year of his birth is debated, with most biographers citing the year as 1466. Some evidence confirming 1466 can be found in Erasmus's own words: of twenty-three statements Erasmus made about his age, all but one of the first fifteen indicate 1466. He was christened "Erasmus" after the saint of that name.〔Huizinga, ''Erasmus'', pp. 4 and 6 (Dutch-language version)〕 Although associated closely with Rotterdam, he lived there for only four years, never to return. Information on his family and early life comes mainly from vague references in his writings. His parents were not legally married. His father, Gerard, was a Catholic priest and curate in Gouda.〔Cornelius Augustijn, ''Erasmus: His life, work and influence'', University of Toronto, 1991〕 Little is known of his mother other than that her name was Margaretha Rogerius (Latinized form of Dutch surname 'Rutgers')〔(Catholic Encyclopedia )〕 and she was the daughter of a physician from Zevenbergen; she may have been Gerard's housekeeper.〔〔〔The famous 19th century novel ''The Cloister and the Hearth'', by Charles Reade, is an account of the lives of Erasmus's parents.〕 Although he was born out of wedlock, Erasmus was cared for by his parents until their early deaths from the plague in 1483; but he felt his origin to be a stain, and threw a smoke-screen around his youth.〔 Erasmus was given the highest education available to a young man of his day, in a series of monastic or semi-monastic schools. At the age of nine, he and his older brother Peter were sent to one of the best Latin schools in the Netherlands, located at Deventer and owned by the chapter clergy of the Lebuïnuskerk (St. Lebuin's Church),〔 though some earlier biographies assert it was a school run by the Brethren of the Common Life.〔 During his stay there the curriculum was renewed by the principal of the school, Alexander Hegius. For the first time ever Greek was taught at a lower level than a university in Europe, and this is where he began learning it.〔Peter Nissen: ''Geloven in de Lage landen; scharniermomenten in de geschiedenis van het christendom''. 2004 Davidsfonds Leuven〕 He also gleaned there the importance of a personal relationship with God but eschewed the harsh rules and strict methods of the religious brothers and educators. His education there ended when plague struck the city about 1483, and his mother, who had moved there to provide a home for her sons, died of the infection.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Desiderius Erasmus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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