Philhellenic Neo-Latinist | Boekenman
On 2 April 1524, Erasmus wrote a highly confidential letter to one of his closest friends, Conrad Goclenius, professor of Latin at the Collegium Trilingue. To warn his addressee about the top-secret content, he noted above the address a directive in Greek: Ἀναγίνωσκε μόνος καὶ λάθρα. (Allen 1437) “Read alone and in secret.” After gossiping …
Erasmus dedicated the new edition of Cicero's 'Tusculanae Quaestiones' published by Froben to John Vlatten, a clergyman, councillor, and educational reformer who was his friend. In his dedicatory letter to Vlatten, Erasmus discusses his admiration for Cicero and the nuances of a humanist education. Two instances of 'code-switching', meaning transitioning between languages, occur in the letter, providing insights on his perspectives towards different aspects of classical culture. [Excerpt generated by AI.]
Today, the new academic year started in Leuven. By a historical coincidence, Erasmus wrote on this day 500 years ago to the professor of Latin at his Trilingual College (Collegium Trilingue) in the same city, his close friend Conrad Goclenius (ca. 1490-1539) from Mengeringhausen (today in the German state of Hessen). Erasmus touches on some …
Continue reading "Erasmus 500 years on: A short note to his close friend Goclenius in Leuven"
Non possum litteris tibi satis significare praesentem huius regionis et horum temporum statum; aut ego nihil video, aut aliquid monstri alitur inter multas regiones et ciuitates quasdam precipuas. Ex hoc famulo multa disces quae litteris mandare tutum non est. Hortaris vt scribam in Lutherum; atqui iam id feci, non semel testatus me ab ea factione …
Continue reading "Erasmus 500 years on: Disgusted by Luther and the Protestants"
Erasmus 500 years on: The paraphrasis of Luke and Henry VIII
Erasmus was entitled to a pension from emperor Charles V, but had not received it since he had left Brabant (Leuven) in the fall of 1521, despite numerous reminders he sent out. Finally, in the summer of 1523, Charles wrote to his aunt Margaret of Austria, urging her in a French letter to pay the …
On this day 500 years ago, Erasmus sent a letter from Basel to the Zürich town council addressing the arrogant behavior of Ulrich von Hutten, a reformed knight and author, and a former friend of Erasmus. He hoped to counter Hutten's public attack on his persona. Erasmus' aim was to spread the correct message of …
28 oktober alweer, verjaardag van onze dwarsdenker Erasmus van Rotterdam. Wat een dag ook om mijn lectuur van Sandra Langereis’ biografie ein-de-lijk af te ronden. Na initieel Erasmus in mijn onderzoek wat te hebben vermeden (“over die kerel is toch alles al gedaan”), ben ik in de laatste vijf jaar dan toch ook bij de …
Raf Van Rooy 