Erasmus was one of the greatest scholars of his time and was called the Prince of Humanists. He lived during the Renaissance, a period characterised by a renewal of most concepts of knowledge and a return to the Greco-Roman sources of antiquity. He was born in Rotterdam (ca 1467) and died in Basel (1536).

Erasmus is constantly on the move. His search for new biblical sources, benefactors and later his own obligations, oblige him to travel incessantly throughout cultured Europe, thereby developing a real network of friends and a community of thinkers.

Frightened by the disastrous social consequences of the many wars that he observed throughout his existence, Erasmus never gave up exhorting these sovereigns through his letters or books to bring peace to their respective peoples.

Erasmus, a permanent student, disseminated his message through his books and thousands of letters. He was one of the first to adopt a scientific and philological attitude in the study of sacred texts in order to produce an exegesis.

Virtual exhibition by the Catholic University of Leuven in English

Virtual exhibition by the Catholic University of Leuven in Dutch

Erasmus Center for Early Modern Studies 

Erasmus experience 

Association d’Études sur la Renaissance, l’Humanisme et la Réforme 

ModerNum, le réseau des modernistes francophones de Belgique : online resources