Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam , *1466/9 1536

Erasmus and Luther engaged in a great debate about the place of human free choice in the process of salvation. In this controversy Erasmus was a fervent defender of free will (De libero arbitrio, 1524) and Hyperaspistes (1526-27). Luther wrote De servo arbitrio (1525), one of his most important theological works, in the course of this debate.

Erasmus emphasised studies in classical and Christian antiquity and became the greatest European scholar of the 16th century. He used philological methods in his historical-critical studies of the past and edited the writings of most of the major Church Fathers in both Latin and Greek. In 1516 he published the original Greek text of the New Testament together with his own Latin translation. This work was intended to stimulate a renewal of authentic Christian faith.

Erasmus was named honorary councillor to the 16-year-old archduke Charles, the future Charles V. For him, he wrote "Education of a Christian Prince" in Latin. Erasmus, the great Dutch humanist, was born at Rotterdam in 1466/9. Both parents died early, and he had to enter a monastery. Thanks to the bishop of Cambrai, he was given the opportunity to study in Paris and travel to England. During these years of study he developped an aversion against the traditional scholastics. His writings criticized and ridiculed ecclesiastical abuses and encouraged the growing urge for reform. He sympathized with the Reformation at first, but he refused to intervene either for or against Luther at the time of the Diet of Worms in 1521. He rejected Luther's self-proclaimed dogmatic mission as well as the papacy's claim to secular power, which made him suspicious to both parties. His supporters were rationalists, opposed to orthodoxy and praised his independent stance in an age of fierce confessional controversy. Erasmus wrote to pope Adrian VI, whom he had known at Louvain: he claimed there was still hope for reconciliation, if only the church would ease the burden of rules, for instance by permitting priests to marry.Erasmus and Luther engaged in a great debate about the place of human free choice in the process of salvation. In this controversy Erasmus was a fervent defender of free will (De libero arbitrio, 1524) and Hyperaspistes (1526-27). Luther wrote De servo arbitrio (1525), one of his most important theological works, in the course of this debate.Erasmus emphasised studies in classical and Christian antiquity and became the greatest European scholar of the 16th century. He used philological methods in his historical-critical studies of the past and edited the writings of most of the major Church Fathers in both Latin and Greek. In 1516 he published the original Greek text of the New Testament together with his own Latin translation. This work was intended to stimulate a renewal of authentic Christian faith.Erasmus was named honorary councillor to the 16-year-old archduke Charles, the future Charles V. For him, he wrote "Education of a Christian Prince" in Latin. Though he himself insisted that his best portrait was to be found in his books, Erasmus commissioned likenesses from some of the greatest artists of his day: Matsys, Dürer, and Holbein. Matsys had already painted Erasmus in 1517. Two years later he created this earliest medal of the famous humanist, who happened to pass through Antwerp that year.

Cast bronze medal 1519, by Quentin Matsys. Ø 105 mm.

The Currency of Fame 157. Piece in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Obv. : THN KPEITTΩ TA ΣYΓΓPAMMATA ΔEIΞEI : IMAGO AD VIVA m EFFIGIE m EXPRESSA "His writings will present a better image: portrait executed from life"

Bust to left, wearing a cap and a coat with a fur collar.

In the field to the left, ER [asmus]; to the right, ROT [terdamensis] "Erasmus of Rotterdam".

Below, the date 1519. Rev. : OPA TEΛOΣ MAKPOY BIOY - MORS VLTIMA LINEA RERV m Cast, by Quentin Matsys.Obv. : THN KPEITTΩ TA ΣYΓΓPAMMATA ΔEIΞEI : IMAGO AD VIVAEFFIGIEEXPRESSARev. : OPA TEΛOΣ MAKPOY BIOY - MORS VLTIMA LINEA RERV "Consider the end of a long life - death is the ultimate limit of things"

On a rocky mound, a bust to left of the god Terminus, set upon a square base.

On the base: TERMINVS . (roman god "Boundary Stone").

In the field, the motto, to be thought of as spoken by the god: CONCEDO - NVLLI "I yield to no one". The Erasmian character of the medal's legends and inscriptions should be noted. The Greek legend on the obverse echoes the philosopher's statement that his truest likeness is to be found in his works. [from "The Currency of Fame, Portrait Medals of the Renaissance", 1994] Hieronymus Hopfer used the medal as model for his etching in 1519 Landesmuseum Münster, Westfalia ]

Albrecht Dürer sketched Erasmus in Brussels in 1520. This drawing in charcoal was not the basis for Dürer's well known engraving of 1526 , where he reproduced the Greek inscription of the medal. Ref.:

• Stephen K. Scher [Ed.]: The Currency of Fame - Portrait Medals of the Renaissance, NY 1994,

p.348-350, 361.