Desiderius Erasmus

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (/ˌdɛzɪˈdɪəriəs ɪˈræzməs/; 28 October 1466 – 12 July 1536), known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian.

Erasmus was a classical scholar and wrote in a pure Latin style. Among humanists he enjoyed the sobriquet "Prince of the Humanists", and has been called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists". Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament, which raised questions that would be influential in the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation. He also wrote On Free Will,The Praise of Folly, Handbook of a Christian Knight, On Civility in Children, Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style, Julius Exclusus, and many other works.

Erasmus lived against the backdrop of the growing European religious Reformation, but while he was critical of the abuses within the Catholic Church and called for reform, he kept his distance from Luther and Melanchthon and continued to recognise the authority of the pope, emphasizing a middle way with a deep respect for traditional faith, piety and grace, rejecting Luther's emphasis on faith alone. Erasmus remained a member of the Roman Catholic Church all his life, remaining committed to reforming the Church and its clerics' abuses from within. He also held to the Catholic doctrine of free will, which some Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination. His middle road approach disappointed and even angered scholars in both camps.

Desiderius

Desiderius (also known as Desiderio in Italian) (died c. 786) was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. He is chiefly known for his connection to Charlemagne, who married his daughter and conquered his realm.

Rise to power

Born in Brescia, Desiderius was originally a royal officer, the dux Langobardorum et comes stabuli, "constable and duke of the Lombards," an office apparently similar to the contemporaneous Frankish office of dux Francorum. King Aistulf made him duke of Istria and Tuscany and he became king after the death of Aistulf in 756. At that time, Aistulf's predecessor, Ratchis, left his monastic retreat of Montecassino and tried to seize the kingdom, but Desiderius put his revolt down quickly with the support of Pope Stephen II. At his coronation, Desiderius promised to restore many lost papal towns to the Holy See, in return for the papacy's endorsement of his claim. Conflict with the Holy See under Pope Stephen III arose, for Stephen opposed Charlemagne's marriage to Desiderius' daughter. Desiderius ceased delivery of the towns after only a few.

Proculus of Pozzuoli

Saint Proculus (Proclus) of Pozzuoli (Italian: San Procolo) was martyred around 305 AD, according to Christian tradition, at the same time as Saint Januarius.

He was martyred with:

These seven martyrs are first mentioned in relation to the life of Saint Januarius. The martyrs’ relics were translated at various times and to various destinations. Early documents, including the Atti Puteolani and the Acta s. Proculi were kept at the Archivio della Curia of Pozzuoli before being published for the first time in 1867 at Paris by the Jesuit Bollandist Stilting.

In addition, the Atti Bolognesi, conserved in a codex dating from 1180, also provides information about these martyrs; this codex was kept at the Celestine monastery of San Stefano at Bologna. The codex contains the legend of Proculus, based on earlier accounts dating from at least the seventh century.

Desiderius (given name)

Desiderius is a Latin given name, related to desiderium - which can be translated as "ardent desire" or "the longed-for". Various other forms include Desiderio in Italian, Desiderio or Desi in Spanish, Desidério in Portuguese, Didier in French and Dezső in Hungarian.

Desiderius may refer to:

Saints