Erasmus House Brussels, Belgium

Overview

In the middle of an average neighborhood in Brussels stands the interesting redbrick Erasmus House, a brief home of the humanist reformer Erasmus of Rotterdam.

History

In the Middle Ages, Anderlecht was a small village of 300 inhabitants that included the Collegial Church of St. Guidon. Around the church were a number of important houses in which the canons lived.

Erasmus stayed in one of these houses in 1521; it was the home of his friend Pieter Wychman who was entrusted with teaching in the Chapter. Erasmus wrote to Guillaume Budé to say that he had followed his advice and had come to Anderlecht as he wanted to play at being a farmer.

Erasmus did not actually stay here very long, but he made a big impression: as early as the 17th century pilgrims visited the house ‘where the great Erasmus had lived’. Today the "Erasmus House" shelters both a museum and a study center with early manuscripts of Erasmus' works.

Description

The Erasmus House has been restored to the way it looked in 1521, the year the great humanist came to Brussels for the fresh air. First editions of In Praise of Folly, and many early prints of other books by Erasmus can be inspected here, and are used by Erasmus scholars. There are some extraordinary works of art, including prints by Albrecht Dürer and oils by Holbein and Hieronymus Bosch.

A moderate by nature, Erasmus never joined the Protestant movement. Nevertheless, he was out of tune with the ecclesiastical authorities of his day, and some of the pages on view show where the censors stepped in to protect the faithful. His works were influential on other reformers, including Luther and Calvin.