I - Erasmus

Summary

He was born in Rotterdam, on the eve of the feast of St Simon and St Jude. So begins the Compendium vitae by Erasmus. ‘He’ refers to himself; ‘he’ as in ‘I’. I, Erasmus, who hereby offer a brief account of my life. ‘Supputat annos circiter 57.’ ‘He reckons he is about fiftyseven years of age.’ Erasmus knew that he was born on 28 October, but he was often cryptic about the year. Or rather, he was selective with the truth. Context influenced the age that he chose.

In this short autobiography, which dates from 1524, he had an evident preference for 1466 as the year of his birth. This is also the most likely year. Yet often when he looked back upon his youth and wished to present the events in a certain self-selected light, he preferred to make himself three or four years younger. In such cases, he was suddenly born in 1469. Thus we do not know the exact year for sure.

Erasmus had the Compendium delivered personally to a confidant of his, Conradus Goclenius, a professor in Leuven. The piece was for Goclenius’ eyes only, to be used as material for a biographical sketch that would precede the publication of Erasmus’ collected works. Goclenius would publish the latter, but when it came to his biography, Erasmus wanted to be running the show.

He states a number of facts. He tells us the names of his parents: Margaret, his mother, a physician's daughter; Gerard, his father. Although he does not reveal his father's profession, Erasmus does tell us that Gerard was the youngest-but-one child in a large family with ten sons, and that he had lain with Margaret in secret, ‘spe coniugii’, in the expectation that they would marry. ‘Et sunt qui dicant intercesisse verba.’ ‘Some say they were already betrothed.’ This did little to abate the fury of Gerard's parents and his brothers.

These same brothers then came up with the plan of putting Gerard in a monastery; then there would be one less person with whom to split the inheritance, plus there would always be someone to whom they could go for a meal. But what does a desperate young man do in such circumstances? He runs away. Once he was away, Gerard wrote a letter to his parental home, showing a sketch of two clasped hands: ‘Farewell, I shall see you no more.’