Erasmus’s First Journey to England and Intellectual Connections (1499)

In 1499, the influential humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus undertook his first pivotal journey to England, accepting an invitation from the English nobleman William Blount, Lord Mountjoy (later Baron Mountjoy). This marked the beginning of a profound and transformative association between Erasmus and England, initiating a period of intellectual cross-fertilization that significantly shaped the Renaissance humanist movement in Atlantic West Europe.

Though relatively brief, Erasmus's initial stay in England proved immensely productive, laying the foundations for enduring intellectual and personal friendships with key figures who would later dominate English thought under King Henry VIII. Among these prominent associates were theologian and educational reformer John Colet, statesman and philosopher Thomas More, renowned theologian and bishop John Fisher, and distinguished scholars such as Thomas Linacre and William Grocyn. These connections were essential not only to Erasmus's future influence on English intellectual circles but also to the broader dissemination of humanist principles across northern Europe.

Cultural and Intellectual Significance:

Erasmus's interactions with English scholars, notably with John Colet—whose innovative approaches to theology deeply influenced Erasmus’s thought—and Thomas More, whose sharp wit and incisive humanism left a lasting imprint, were pivotal in refining his philosophical outlook. This formative period encouraged Erasmus’s later critical writings, including works advocating educational reform, religious tolerance, and scholarly rigor.

Long-term Consequences and Legacy:

Erasmus’s first journey to England signaled the start of a robust transnational scholarly exchange, fueling the spread of humanism beyond the continent. The intellectual alliances he formed significantly impacted his later works, such as In Praise of Folly (1511), and profoundly shaped the humanist critique of religious and cultural norms in the early sixteenth century. His friendships with prominent English scholars thus contributed significantly to the evolution of both English Renaissance culture and broader European intellectual history.

Venice, by the time Aldus Manutius settled here in 1490, was not only a major printing center but it also had a large library of Greek manuscripts from Constantinople and a population of Greeks who could assist with their translation.

He soon afterward printed editions of Hero and Leander by Musaeus Grammaticus, the Galeomyomachia, and the Greek Psalter.

He calls these "Precursors of the Greek Library."

He began gathering Greek scholars and compositors around him, employing as many as thirty Greeks in his print shop and speaking Greek at home.

Instructions to typesetters and binders are given in Greek.

The prefaces to his editions are written in Greek.

Greeks from Crete collate manuscripts, read proofs, and give samples of calligraphy for casts of Greek type.

Manutius had issued the first volume of his edition of Aristotle in 1495; four more volumes completed the work in 1497–1498.

Nine comedies of Aristophanes appeared in 1498.

Thucydides, Sophocles, and Herodotus follow in 1502.

In addition to editing Greek classics from manuscripts, Manutius reprints editions of classics that had originally been published in Florence, Rome, and Milan, at times correcting and improving the texts.

His Aldine Press becomes noted for its anchor and dolphin signature, or colophon, which first appears in 1502.

In order to promote Greek studies, Manutius founds an academy of Hellenists in 1502 called the "New Academy."

Its rules are written in Greek, its members are obliged to speak Greek, their names are Hellenized, and their official titles are Greek.

Members of the "New Academy" include Desiderius Erasmus and the Englishman Thomas Linacre.

It is possible that during this period, in his printing works, Hieromonk Makarije was educated, who will later found the Obod printing works of Cetinje and print the first books in Serbian and Romanian.

Forty-two-year-old physician and philosopher Judah Abravanel, with his father Isaac a resident of Naples and now Venice during the decade since the expulsion of Jews from Spain, writes Dialoghi d'Amore (“Dialogues of Love”) by 1502.

Taking, as his central theme, love as the major creative force in the universe, he professes that love of God is the ultimate goal of the human soul.

A circle of love therefore leads from God's creation in love to man's return to God through love.

Abravanel is also a minor poet.

London-born Thomas More, the son of prominent English jurist John More and his wife Agnes (née Graunger), has been educated at St Anthony's School, considered one of London's finest schools.

More from 1490 to 1492 had served John Morton, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England, as a household page.

Morton, an enthusiastic supporter of the "New Learning" (now called the Renaissance), thought highly of the young More and, believing that More had great potential, had nominated him for a place at Oxford University (either in St. Mary's Hall or Canterbury College, both now gone).

More had begun his studies at Oxford in 1492, and received a classical education.

Studying under Thomas Linacre and William Grocyn, he had become proficient in both Latin and Greek.

More had left Oxford after only two years—at his father's insistence—to begin legal training in London at New Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery.

More became a student in 1496 at Lincoln's Inn, one of the Inns of Court, remained there until 1502, when he was called to the Bar.

According to his friend, theologian Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, More once seriously contemplated abandoning his legal career to become a monk Between 1503 and 1504, More lived near the Carthusian monastery outside the walls of London and joined in the monks' spiritual exercises.

Although he deeply admired their piety, More ultimately decided to remain a layman, standing for election to Parliament in 1504 and marrying Jane Colt the following year.

In spite of his choice to pursue a secular career, More will continue ascetical practices for the rest of his life, such as wearing a hair shirt next to his skin and occasionally engaging in flagellation A tradition of the Third Order of St. Francis honors More as a member of that Order on their calendar of saints.

Jane is five years, one month younger than her husband, quiet and good-natured.

Erasmus reported that More wanted to give his young wife a better education than she had previously received at home, and tutored her in music and literature.

The couple have had four children before Jane's death in 1511: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cicely, and John.

More within thirty days marries one of the many eligible women among his wide circle of friends, choosing a rich widow, Alice Harpur Middleton.

The speed of the marriage is so unusual that More has had to get a dispensation of the banns, which due to his good public reputation he had easily obtained.

Alice More lacks Jane's docility; Erasmus, however, calls their marriage happy.