Collected Works of Erasmus: Controversies, Volume 84

This new volume of the CWE presents three of Erasmus' polemic works against Alberto Pio, Prince of Carpi. A leading diplomat of the period, patron of artists and humanists, and conservative Catholic, Pio continually angered Erasmus by criticizing him for his denunciations of church practices and officials, and by accusing him of supporting Luther and holding dangerous opinions. The texts are lucid, passionate, and even vitriolic at times.

The introduction by Nelson H. Minnich provides a biography of Pio, an overview of the controversy and related texts, and a bibliographical conspectus of source-texts. The translation is by Daniel J. Sheerin. The annotation by Minnich and Sheerin is wide-ranging and informative, answering questions posed by the text and placing the reader firmly in the sixteenth-century context of the dispute.

This is the first English translation of the Alberto Pio controversies. In the CWE series it follows on volumes 71-83, which contain Erasmus' controversies with other critics on theological, political, social, philological, and educational matters.

Volume 84 of the Collected Works of Erasmus series.

Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536), a Dutch humanist, Catholic priest, and scholar, was one of the most influential Renaissance figures. A professor of divinity and Greek, Erasmus wrote, taught, and travelled, meeting with Europe’s foremost scholars. A prolific author, Erasmus wrote on both ecclesiastic and general human interest subjects.
Nelson H. Minnich is a professor in the Department of History at the Catholic University of America. Daniel J. Sheerin is an associate professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Notre Dame. Nelson H. Minnich is a professor in the Department of History at the Catholic University of America.