Erasmus of Christendom

Roland Bainton, Erasmus of Christendom (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1969) Reprinted as an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Humanities Print-on-Demand (POD) volume. I'm really happy I gave Prof. Huizinga's biography only four stars, as Bainton's work is both more readable and more scholarly, with the small exception that the index seems incomplete. Professor Bainton should be recognizable to many as the author of the best known biography of Martin Luther (1483 - 1546), Here I Stand. It is totally appropriate that he should do a similar biography of Desiderius Erasmus (1466/1469 - 1536), as the careers of these two giants were intertwined, just as the Renaissance and Reformation are joined at the hip in our history. The title of this work is eminently appropriate, far more appropriate than the label often given to `Erasmus of Rotterdam'. While part of Erasmus' heart was with his Dutch homeland, he was a true citizen of Europe, living most of his life outside of Holland, in France, England, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. In Holland, he spent most of his time in Louvain and Deventer and not in Rotterdam. If we give any uninformed thought to Erasmus today, we may be hard pressed to appreciate the source of his great fame in his own lifetime. The sole work for which he is read today is his short satire, The Praise of Folly, (Encomium Moriae in Latin, a pun on the name of his good friend, Thomas More) which may literally have been composed while en route, on horseback, from Rome to England, in a very short time, in 1509, and first printed in 1512. But in his lifetime, and in his biographies, this little book has a very small role in his story. Part of our difficulty is that Erasmus' profession as a major scholar is simply does not make as big an impression today, when literacy is near 100% and global communication is virtually instantaneous. Erasmus was a translator of classics (from the Greek), an editor of Greek and Latin works, a commentator on the classics (at a time when Europe was rediscovering the works of the Greco-Roman world) and an essayist in Latin, when virtually all educated people could read and speak Latin, but that was only 20 - 30% of the people. It was also the time when Gutenberg's printing press was barely 50 years old when Erasmus began writing. Newspapers were not yet common, and the primary medium of communication, the `blog' of the day, was the pamphlet or tract. It was by this means that Luther's 95 Theses was circulated throughout Europe quickly (in the span of a few months). The best approximation in the 20th century to Erasmus' role may be if the careers of H. L. Mencken (editor, newspaperman, essayist, and linguist), Bruce Metzger (Biblical scholar and translator), and C. S. Lewis (fiction writer and Christian apologist) could be wrapped up into a single person. At the height of his career, he was sought after by the major universities in Europe and as a councilor to the Holy Roman Emperor and th

Given the immense popularity and prestige Erasmus attained during his lifetime, in an age dominated by such giants as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, etc., it is incredible to me that so little has been written about him. Bainton's biography is one of only a handful of books about Erasmus in the english language, and from what I have seen it is by far the best. Bainton's writing is as easy to read as ever, and I think that this book tops even his monumental Here I Stand. If Erasmus were as popular as Luther today, I imagine that this book, rather than his biography of Luther, would be the book Bainton was remembered for. Erasmus of Christendom has the rare combination of both high scholarship and ease of reading. Bainton moves smoothly from one aspect of Erasmus' life to another in a way that makes it a joy to read, yet at the same time the abundance of footnotes and the reluctance to provide an all-encompasing interpretation of Erasmus reveal Bainton's dedication to accurate scholarship. He readily points out anomalies in Erasmus' actions or writings, and admits freely that Erasmus at times defies classification. As far as Erasmus is concerned, it is a shame that he is so neglected. His peaceful approach to life and his tolerant attitude toward those of opposing beliefs stands in stark contrast to the intolerance (by which I mean tolerance in the classical, not postmodern, sense) rampant among both the Reformers and the Catholics. Erasmus makes an insightful distinction between doctrines essential to Christianity (namely the Incarnation, Atonement, and Resurrection) and those of secondary importance (the function of the Pope, the exact nature of communion, the interaction of human free will and divine sovereignty, etc.) and proposed that tolerance and freedom of belief should be extended in the case of non-essential doctrines. For this he was condemned by both the Reformers and the Catholics, for each wished to persecute the other and Erasmus wished to persecute no one. Erasmus' sophisticated and peaceful letters and books were responded to with vulgarity and insults by Luther and other Reformers, and were judged to be too lenient and sympathetic to the Reformers by the Catholics. Erasmus' desire to reform the Catholic church led him to initially support many of Luther's ideas, but when it became clear that Luther preferred to break from the church rather than reform it he distanced himself from the ironically named Reformers. Erasmus' acknowledgement that the Catholic church was in dire need of reform alienated the Catholics holding power, and his refusal to break from the Catholic church alienated the Reformers, leaving Erasmus to be censored by both sides. It has been said by many, both in his own day and in ours, that Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched. Erasmus not only pointed out the failures and corruption in the Catholic church which Luther would pick up on, but his emphasis on Greek and printing of a Gree

Erasmus of Christendom is a great read. Anyone who periodically wades through history texts (willingly and for scholastic credit) will enjoy this one. This book was not very bland; I've read worse. I feel like I know Erasmus as a person now. I've witnessed his entire life, and I can model my own fistfights with conservative christians after him. His Christian theology is on par with modern versions, but he stresses literal imitation of Christ's life. I trust Erasmus' vision of the gospels and other works more than I trust almost any modern theologian.