Erasmus, Man of Letters: The Construction of Charisma in Print - Updated Edition

Synopsis

Overview: The Name Erasmus Of Rotterdam Conjures Up A Golden Age Of Scholarly Integrity And The Disinterested Pursuit Of Knowledge, When Learning Could Command Public Admiration Without The Need For Authorial Self-promotion. Lisa Jardine, However, Shows That Erasmus Self-consciously Created His Own Reputation As The Central Figure Of The European Intellectual World. Erasmus Himself--the Historical As Opposed To The Figural Individual--was A Brilliant, Maverick Innovator, Who Achieved Little Formal Academic Recognition In His Own Lifetime. What Jardine Offers Here Is Not Only A Fascinating Study Of Erasmus But Also A Bold Account Of A Key Moment In Western History, A Time When It First Became Possible To Believe In The Existence Of Something That Could Be Designated European Thought. List Of Illustrations -- Preface To The New Paperback Edition -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction: Self-portrait In Pen And Ink -- Better Portrait Of Erasmus Will His Writings Show: Fashioning The Figure -- In(de)scribable Aura Of The Scholar-saint In His Study: Erasmus's Life And Letters Of Saint Jerome -- Inventing Rudolph Agricola: Recovery And Transmission Of The De Invention Dialectica -- Recovered Manuscripts And Second Editions: Staging The Book With The Castigatores -- Reasoning Abundantly: Erasmus, Agricola, And Copia -- Concentric Circles: Confected Correspondence And The Opus Epistolarum Erasmi -- Conclusion: The Name Of Erasmus Will Never Perish -- Appendices -- Notes -- Index. Lisa Jardine. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 207-278) Index.