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Erasmus' Commitment to the Canons Regular of St. Augustine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Richard L. Demolen
Richard L. Demolen*
Affiliation:
The Folger Shakespeare Library
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Extract

By the northwest coast of England . . . there's a college of canons, to whom, however, the Latins add the title of Regulars: an order midway between monks and the canons called Seculars. You tell me of amphibians, such as the beaver. Yes, and the crocodile. But details aside, I'll try to satisfy you in a few words. In unfavorable matters, they're canons; in favorable ones, monks.

Erasmus, Colloquies (1526), tr. Craig Thompson

Erasmus offered this observation of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine in the colloquy 'A Pilgrimage for Religion's Sake.' Filled with bite and insight, it reflects Erasmus' understanding of the apostolate of the order which he formally joined in 1488. The Canons Regular of St. Augustine, also known as the Austin Canons, performed many of the duties of secular priests. They served parishes, taught in schools and colleges, and served as chaplains.

Type
Research Article
Information
Renaissance Quarterly , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , Winter 1973 , pp. 437 - 443
Copyright
Copyright © Renaissance Society of America 1973

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References

1 ‘A Pilgrimage for Religion's Sake’ (1526), The Colloquies of Erasmus, ed. and tr. Craig R. Thompson (Chicago, 1965), p. 292.

2 There is a brief discussion of the active ministry of the Austin Canons in Dickinson, J. C., The Origins of the Austin Canons and Their Introduction into England (London, 1950), p. 196 Google Scholar. Also see Knowles, Dom David, The Religious Orders in England (Cambridge, 1955), II, 289, 292–293 Google Scholar.

3 Although there are many examples, I call attention to the following two: John J. Mangan wrote: ‘In a word, of the three vows of chastity, obedience, and poverty which he [Erasmus] took at the time of his religious profession [1588], he had now by the Pope's dispensation been relieved of the latter two, and was henceforth regarded as a simple priest, with no regular duties, and subject nominally to the Bishop of Utrecht who had ordained him.’ See Mangan, , Life, Character and Influence of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (New York, 1927), n, 53 Google Scholar. George Faludy repeats the error: ‘In April 1517 he revisited England, staying this time in Ammonio's house. In a ceremony at Westminster Abbey he received absolution from his friend, and at one stroke the nightmare of 30 years was ended: he was released from his vows as an Augustinian canon (though not of course as a priest).’ See Faludy, , Erasmus of Rotterdam (London, 1970), p. 167.Google Scholar

4 Erasmus to [Gerard Geldenhauer?] (ca. April 2, 1524). See Allen, P. S., ed., Opus Epistolarum Des. Erasmi Roterodami (Oxford, 1924), V, 427. 24Google Scholar.

5 De Contemptu Mundi was begun in 1489 but was not published until 1521. For a recent discussion of the work in terms of 'suasoria’ and 'dissuasoria,’ see Bainton, Roland, Erasmus of Christendom (New York, 1970), pp. 14–23.Google Scholar

6 For two conflicting interpretations of the origins and history of the Devotio Moderna, see Post, R. R., The Modern Devotion (Leiden, 1968)Google Scholar, and Hyma, Albert, The Christian Renaissance: A History of the Devotio Moderna, 2nd ed. (Hamden, Conn., 1965).Google Scholar

7 Antibarbarorum Liber was first composed about 1495, rewritten about 1519, and first published in 1520. See Albert Hyma's edition and discussion of the work in The Youth of Erasmus, 2nd ed. (New York, 1968). Also see Kazimierz Kumaniecki's definitive Latin text of the Antibarbarorum Liber in Opera Omnia Desiderii Erasmi Roterodami (Amsterdam, 1969), 1, 1-138.

8 Erasmus to Lambert Grunnius, papal secretary [August 1516]. The Epistles of Erasmus, tr. Francis M. Nichols (New York, 1904), II, 356.

9 Ibid., p. 359.

10 Erasmus to Servatius Rogers, July 8, 1514. See Nichols, II, 149.

11 Ibid.

12 Phillips, M. M., Erasmus and the Northern Renaissance (London, 1949), p. 87 Google Scholar.

13 The Enchiridion was first published in 1503. See The Enchiridion of Erasmus, ed. and tr. Himelick, Raymond (Bloomington, 1963), p. 199 Google Scholar.

14 J. J. Mangan published a translation of the 1506 dispensation in his biography, Life, Character and Influence ofDesiderius Erasmus, II, 60-61.

15 For the text of the 1517 dispensation, see Mangan's translation, ibid., II, 54-56.

16 Erasmus to [Gerard Geldenhauer?] (ca. April 2, 1524). See Allen, V, 427. 19.

17 Erasmus to Servatius Rogers, July 8, 1514. See Nichols, II, 144.

18 Erasmus to Paul Volz, August 15,1518. Desiderius Erasmus: Christian Humanism and the Reformation, tr. John C. Olin (New York, 1965), p. 130.

19 Erasmus to John of Heemstede, February 28, 1533. J. J. Mangan, II, 347.

20 Erasmus to Servatius Rogers, July 8, 1514. See Nichols, II, 142.