Contemporaries of Erasmus contains biographical information about more than 1900 people mentioned in the correspondence and other writings of Erasmus. This paperback edition is a reprint of the three-volume set published between 1985 and 1987. The volumes have been combined into a single volume – without any editorial changes – to provide a manageable and affordable edition of a magisterial work. The remarkable breadth of Erasmus’ contacts throughout his life is reflected in this unique volume. Differing substantially from the national biographical dictionaries that restrict themselves to major figures, Contemporaries of Erasmus combines the famous with the obscure – popes and politicians, artists and poets, knights and theologians – covering every individual mentioned whose death occurred after the year 1450. Well known figures include Martin Luther, King Henry VIII, Machiavelli, Popes Nicholas V and Peter IV, and Emperor Charles V.


Dipping into the pages of this fully illustrated volume will intrigue and delight the casual reader, but the combined volume will also be an indispensible tool for those who have searched in vain for a biographical dictionary of the Renaissance and the Reformation.