Erasmus : A Pioneer For The Reformation

Martin Luther is known as the man who fought the Catholic church. The man who exposed the church of committing unjust practices. The man who kick started the protestant reformation. The man who founded the Lutheran church. Martin Luther was many things, but he was not the man who planned to destroy Catholicism. The Reformation changed the religious climate in Europe by introducing ideas that were the basis of the modern-day Lutheranism.

This shift from promoting an ideal 'Utopia ' in his work to openly and aggressively defending the Catholic Church is one of the first examples of the Reformations affect on changing political discourse from criticisms to open violent outbursts and pleas of aggression. Adding to this further is More 's response to Tyndale in 1531, where More states the Reformation is a genuine danger to all of Catholic society4. More was eventually executed but stated “I die the Kings faithful servant, but Gods First”5 revealing although More hated the Reformation, he had stood by his religious values, including his King, making his political writing still plausible in terms of how an authority, such as a monarch, could work hand in hand in a religious society. More 's response to Tyndale and final words shows how much his own way of political discourse had shifted through the years of the reformation, as he had called for violence in the early years 1517, aggressively insulted protestant philosophers such as Luther, but had now consorted to reason. Therefore it can be concluded that many of the philosophers actions during the early years of the Reformation were shock reactions to this shift in power and apparent attack on the perceived 'Catholic state ' rather than a true change in political discourse, as many of the underlying religious opinions in political writing has been retained.

To begin, the past experiences of Erasmus and Luther affected their approach to reformation. Desiderius Erasmus was born in 1466 and died in 1536.

The Protestant Reformation was a pivotal time of European history that occurred during the 16th century. The Protestant Reformation was comprised of people called “reformers” that challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice (“The Reformation”). The Protestant Reformation was revolutionary due to the fact that the reformers preached against everything the Catholic Church had been teaching. Some famous reformers are John Calvin and Martin Luther. However, Martin Luther-- to some--- is named the most successful and influential reformer of the 16th century. Martin Luther was tremendously effective and influential due to how resourceful he was, and his teachings spread across Europe swiftly.

Erasmus ridiculed those who thought this way, a tactic he used skillfully in order to gain more followers. He published a book named Encomium Moriae, translated as The Praise of Folly. The book was originally created to amuse Erasmus’s friend, Thomas More. The book includes a bantering tone and clearly attacks theologians of this time period. The mere thought of this book angered the priests and of course, this did not stop Erasmus from spreading his statements of ridicule across the lands of which he travelled. It did not take long for Erasmus to target Pope Julius II, nicknamed “The Fearsome Pope” and “The Warrior Pope”. Erasmus produced a skit that was created to ridicule Pope Julius II to all extents; it was named Iulias exclusus. Soon after Pope Julius II’s death, the skit spread like wild fire amongst the communities, quickly becoming the hot topic of various cities. The Roman Curia of the Holy See were very displeased with Erasmus and his actions. The Curia acted in the name of Pope Julius II, so when they learned of Erasmus’s cruel jokes, they longed for Erasmus to stop his nonsense and spend the rest of his days in remorseful piety (Manchester 126).

Although many Historians may argue that Erasmus was the biggest promoter of change during the Reformation it was actually Luther that was the biggest promoter of change during the Reformation because he was the one that found the things wrong with the church and everyone else was influenced by him. According to Document C it states eight of the 95 things Luther found wrong with the Church. The six thesis states “ The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God; or to be sure, by remitting in cases reserved to his judgement...Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences” This is pretty much stating that the pope

Using the Ninety-Five Theses, Martin Luther almost single handedly lead the reformation of the Protestants in 1520. Although his father was strict, Luther followed his own path by questioning the limits of the church. Because of this, the church shunned Luther and punished him accordingly. Luther spent most of his time studying writings by Augustine which he used these ideas to influence the way Christianity is practiced today. Creating Lutheranism as well as the basic concepts for many branches of religions today.

The Effects of the Reformation on European Life European society was divided from the word go, people all around Europe were dominantly Catholic before the reformation. This time was bringing change throughout Europe with a heavy influence on art and culture because the Renaissance was occurring; a religious revolution was also beginning, which was known as the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was the voicing of disagreements by a German Catholic priest about the Catholic Church; this priest was Martin Luther and was excommunicated from the church for his actions. The Protestant Reformation helped to influence and strengthen the Renaissance that was just arising in England.

They would say that the questions inspired by the knowledge that the world was round would only breathe life to a new round of questions as soon as a preceding inquiry was answered. His supporters would say he was the man who inspired the Renaissance man to question medieval assumptions. But in reality, Martin Luther was the leader that made people asks questions. Martin Luther became the leader of the reformation against the church the German people had been waiting for. He led his followers against the church and used himself as an example of what man could do if they tried. Luther showed everyone that it was possible to defy the church without anything happening to him. He burned papal bulls, ignored summons to Rome for an audience with the pope, and he even rejected the authority of the popes and cardinals by refusing to recant this works that spoke against the Catholic Church. Luther also took control of those who wished to rebel against the catholic church. He also created his own religion, Lutheranism, and invited all those who followed him to join him. This religion caused problems for the church. If someone didn’t agree with what the church said, they went and joined the Lutherans; because of this, the

Erasmus questions toward the Catholic Church led to many new reforms during this renaissance era. The Popes of the Catholic Churches were more concerned with politics than religion and started to allow people to pay to receive indulgences. Martin Luther, a Monk from Germany and who agreed with some ideas of Erasmus was another reformer and who questioned the Catholic Church during this period. Both Martin Luther and Erasmus agreed that the church needed to have some reforms but challenged each other on certain issues. Martin Luther stated that people should not be saved by good work but their faith in God alone and that people shouldn’t pay to be saved.

Desiderius Erasmus was born in Holland in 1466. Margaret, his mother, was the daughter of a physician and his father Roger was a priest. He was given a semi-monastic teaching and at a young age, his father sent him to a Latin grammar school. Erasmus had little time with his parents due to the plague that killed them both in 1483. After his parents died, the guardians with whom Erasmus was being cared by were persistent about him becoming a monk. In 1492, Erasmus took the holy vows of monks at the canonry of Stein in Holland. He was soon ordained a priest and poverty was a big factor in his decision to enter the monastery. In the adult years of his life, Erasmus was a traditional scholar who studied and resided in France, England, and Italy.

There have been many questions raised as to the circumstances that led More to write Utopia, but Greenblatt argues that his reasons for writing this book are in a sense more personal. It is more than just a prophetic, proto-communist work of social theory, but a statement regarding an act of “self-cancellation.” When More looks at the world, all he sees is madness and a clinical society. People have strayed away from the humanist thinking and More believes that his book serves as an example that humanity can bring greatness if it’s according to God’s instructions. More had hoped that the king he served under could think like a humanist. The king ultimately disappointed More which results in the writing of Utopia and a sense of personal

In 1499, a pupil, William Blount, Lord Mountjoy, invited Erasmus to England. This is where he met a Thomas More, Erasmus and More became friends for life. John Colet quickened Erasmus thought to be a primitive theologian, one who would expound scripture but not in a argumentative way of scholastics but in the manner of Jerome and the other Church Fathers, the ones who lived in an age when men still understood and practiced the classical art of rhetoric. The impassioned Colet brought him to lecture on the Old Testament at Oxford, but the more paranoid he was made him not ready even more. He went back to the Continent with a Latin copy of St. Paul’s Epistles and the conviction that “ancient theology” required mastery of Greek. By 1502 Erasmus had already settled in the university town of Leuven which is now in Belgium and was reading Origen and St. Paul Greek. Erasmus urged leaders to inject into the vitals, the teachings of Christ by studying and meditating on the scriptures using a spiritual interpretation. He sailed for England in 1505 trying to find support for his studies, he then found an opportunity to travel to Italy instead. He published many books using satirical dialogue and an example of that is “Julius Exclusus e coelis” which was published in 1513-1514. In the end of his finalized work the second edition of Erasmus’ New Testament (1519) replaced

Now, both Erasmus and Luther wrote something out against the Catholic church, Erasmus writes the satire praise of folly in 1509 , and Martin Luther writes his 95 Theses on the Power and

Erasmus believes in the need of a universal language, both in verse and prose. He was well versed in Latin and in Greek. Erasmus and Thomas More were both staunch Catholics, opposed the reformation  as proposed by Martin Luther but thought the church needed 'adjustments'.  Erasmus differed from some of More's ideas, for instance he believed in free will of the individual,  whereas More did not. They all advocated social reform and were interested in improvement for society. Erasmus thought science unworthy of a gentleman. "Erasmus appeared as a responsible and constructive critic of society. He attacked the superstition and formalism of late medieval religion, offering in their place a simple piety that could appeal to all levels of society."(Wilcox)