Erasmus StudiesPub Date : 2024-03-06DOI: 10.1163/18749275-04401001
Xander Feys
{"title":"Mourning an Oenophile","authors":"Xander Feys","doi":"10.1163/18749275-04401001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18749275-04401001","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In Petrus Nannius’ posthumously published commentary on Vergil’s Eclogues (Basel: Johannes Oporinus, 1559), one section contains a forgotten mock epitaph ascribed to Erasmus. The short poem, omitted in modern editions of Erasmus’ poetry, is written for a man simply referred to as “Theodoricus”. In the present article, I offer a diplomatic transcription, translation, and contextualization of the epitaph and the commentary section in which it is imbedded. In my discussion of the epitaph, I identify “Theodoricus” as Dirk Martens of Aalst (Theodoricus Martinus Alustensis/Alostensis), Erasmus’ close friend and the publisher of many of his works.","PeriodicalId":40983,"journal":{"name":"Erasmus Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140263042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erasmus StudiesPub Date : 2024-03-06DOI: 10.1163/18749275-04401004
Jan Bloemendal
{"title":"Praised and Maligned: Receptions of Erasmus’ Paraphrases on the New Testament","authors":"Jan Bloemendal","doi":"10.1163/18749275-04401004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18749275-04401004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Erasmus was not only the first to have the Greek text of the New Testament printed together with his Latin translation, but he also paraphrased the books of the New Testament—with the exception of the Apocalypse. These Paraphrases were highly successful as evidenced by their many editions and translations. Even an English translation was to be found in every parish in the Church of England. There was also opposition. Theologians from Spain and France scrutinized them for Lutheran ideas, and, of course, found them. However, the interest in the paraphrases was not diminished by this criticism and they had an intense reception in the sixteenth century and a long-lasting one stretching after Erasmus’ death. Parts were included in commentaries on the New Testament, sometimes with reference to the original author, more often without his name.","PeriodicalId":40983,"journal":{"name":"Erasmus Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140262734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erasmus StudiesPub Date : 2023-10-23DOI: 10.1163/18749275-04302007
{"title":"Bibliography of Selected Secondary Sources on Erasmus and Gender","authors":"","doi":"10.1163/18749275-04302007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18749275-04302007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40983,"journal":{"name":"Erasmus Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135459760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erasmus StudiesPub Date : 2023-10-23DOI: 10.1163/18749275-04302006
Reinier Leushuis
{"title":"Gender and Civic Harmony in Erasmus’ Senatulus (The Council of Women)","authors":"Reinier Leushuis","doi":"10.1163/18749275-04302006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18749275-04302006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The colloquy Senatulus ( The Council of Women , 1529) depicts a group of women assembled in imitation of the female senate conducted by the mother of the emperor Heliogabalus. While the proclaimed goal is to correct gender inequality, they spend a disproportionate amount of time on seemingly trivial procedures of speaking and on matters of dress and etiquette. The colloquy seems another example of Erasmus’ ambiguous views on women, oscillating between clichés on female inferiority and advocacy for women’s education. This essay revisits this elusive question of Erasmus and gender. First, a comparison with Erasmus’ discussion of Heliogabalus’ female senate in Lingua (1525) and a reflection on the gender-blurring figure of Heliogabalus reveal how Erasmus challenges deceptively simple gender biases (female speaking as garrulous and excessive concern with appearance and decorum). Next, I show that by exploiting the dialogical strategies of speaking together in a political or social body and by rethinking the regulation of dress and etiquette accordingly, Erasmus reframes the woman’s role in the social fabric to account for a gender diversity that benefits a well-functioning polis while avoiding excesses that threaten civic harmony.","PeriodicalId":40983,"journal":{"name":"Erasmus Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135461758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erasmus StudiesPub Date : 2023-10-23DOI: 10.1163/18749275-04302008
Niccolò Brandodoro
{"title":"“The Place of Speaking for a Speaking That Has No Place”","authors":"Niccolò Brandodoro","doi":"10.1163/18749275-04302008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18749275-04302008","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The cultural environment of Charles V’s Spanish Empire, where Erasmianism met the Franciscan tradition, gave rise to an experimental quest for new religious practices that contributed to the diffusion of interiorizing meditative techniques. This essay focuses on mental prayer in the writings of Teresa of Avila, following the trail of Erasmianism and Franciscanism in spiritual literature. In order to measure the importance of such legacy, this research analyzes the relationship between the feminine discourse produced by Teresa of Avila and the male authority of different spiritual directors who watched over her camino de perfección . In particular, within a theoretical framework based on Michel de Certeau’s understanding of mysticism, it will be shown that Teresian practice is not structured as a rigorous method, but more properly as a real double bind between the need for regulated prayer and the impossibility to capture the mystical event.","PeriodicalId":40983,"journal":{"name":"Erasmus Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135459762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erasmus StudiesPub Date : 2023-10-23DOI: 10.1163/18749275-04302005
Virginia Lauria
{"title":"“The Burning Light of Phoebus”","authors":"Virginia Lauria","doi":"10.1163/18749275-04302005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18749275-04302005","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This essay examines a brief and little-known composition by Erasmus of Rotterdam, a poem dedicated to St. Genevieve. The presence of a votive composition dedicated to a saint is an atypical occurrence among Erasmus’ humanistic writings, which generally reduce the importance of saintly devotion and worship. However, the poem presents a captivating case that sheds light on Erasmus’ understanding of the role of women and the feminine element in his philosophy of Christ. In this context, it can be argued, women become the ideal vehicles for disseminating key tenets of his thought, including imitatio Christi , accommodatio , and Philosophia Christi . Furthermore, the text provides valuable insights into Erasmus’ stance on the veneration of saints, which consistently remains subordinate to his Christocentric perspective.","PeriodicalId":40983,"journal":{"name":"Erasmus Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135461572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erasmus StudiesPub Date : 2023-10-23DOI: 10.1163/18749275-04302004
Ludovico Battista
{"title":"The Feminine Irony of God","authors":"Ludovico Battista","doi":"10.1163/18749275-04302004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18749275-04302004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract It is not by chance that one of the most radical and enigmatic speeches in Erasmus’ production—the Encomium Moriae —was pronounced by a female character: Folly. This paper aims at interrogating Erasmus’ text not simply as the result of a carnivalesque spirit of suspension and derision of traditional order, or as a literary imitation of ancient satire, but as the expression of an original type of speech, serious from a religious point of view, that proposes itself as the alternative of the ‘male’ theological-philosophical logos , which it mocks. The Pauline and apocalyptic logic of the catastrophic inversion of the world’s values is reinterpreted by Erasmus in an Origenian lens as the revelation of the immense yet ‘foolish’ divine mercy that forgives everyone. Folly’s speech thus both condemns and forgives the foolishness of human sin. This paper will highlight both the corrosive and secularising potential of Erasmus’ scepticism, which harshly deconstructs the dogmatic naivety of human beliefs and attitudes, conceived as sin and therefore as foolishness; and Folly’s ironic exaltation of the world’s foolishness as redeemed by the maternal, ‘feminine’ and universal embrace of God’s forgiveness.","PeriodicalId":40983,"journal":{"name":"Erasmus Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135460591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erasmus StudiesPub Date : 2023-10-23DOI: 10.1163/18749275-04302002
Maria Fallica
{"title":"Erasmus and the Lady of Loreto","authors":"Maria Fallica","doi":"10.1163/18749275-04302002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18749275-04302002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract One could argue that a mass dedicated to the Virgin of Loreto is an unusual choice for Erasmus. His Liturgy of the Virgin Mother Venerated at Loreto ( Virginis Matris apud Lauretum cultae liturgia , 1523, 1525, 1529) would prove such an argument wrong, as this overlooked text reveals much of Erasmus’ theory of accommodatio , his approach to liturgy and the cult of Mary, and his vision of the church and his spiritual exegesis, even in the midst of the Reformation’s turmoil. This article proposes a close reading of the 1525 edition, which will contextualize Erasmus’ portrait of Mary in her moral values and in the de-eroticization and purification of the medieval, Catholic model, which he re-affirms in the same years in which his controversy with Luther unfolded. Moreover, the sermon presents a rarefied and intellectual variant of the feminine imagery of the bride, which I will analyze as being systematically integrated into Erasmus’ theology of progress and ecclesiology.","PeriodicalId":40983,"journal":{"name":"Erasmus Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135461570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}