Erasmus and the Age of Reformation

What It's About

This is Johan Huizinga's biography of Desiderius Erasmus, the great humanist scholar of the Northern Renaissance. Huizinga traces Erasmus's life from his early years through his rise as Europe's foremost man of letters, exploring his temperament, his scholarship, and his uneasy position at the centre of the religious upheavals of the Reformation. The book also includes a selection of Erasmus's own letters, translated separately by Barbara Flower, which reveal his relationships with figures such as Thomas More and Martin Luther.

Key Concepts

Central to the book is the idea of Christian humanism, and the tension between Erasmus's desire for reform within the Church and his refusal to break with it, which left him caught between Catholic orthodoxy and the Protestant movement he had helped inspire but would not join. Huizinga is especially attentive to Erasmus's personality: cautious, ironic, and fiercely independent, more at home with ideas than with causes.

About the Author

Johan Huizinga (1872–1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history. He taught at the universities of Groningen and Leiden, bringing a literary, form-conscious approach to historical writing. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, he spoke out against the Nazi regime and was held under arrest until his death, shortly before the country's liberation.

About This Edition

This is a 1924 translation by Frederik Hopman.