Erasmus at the University of Paris (1495)

In 1495, with the consent and financial support of Bishop Henry of Cambrai, Erasmus enrolled at the University of Paris, specifically at the Collège de Montaigu. The institution, under the austere leadership of the ascetic scholar Jan Standonck, was renowned as a hub of reformist zeal. Erasmus, however, soon found himself dissatisfied with Standonck's stringent and rigorous methods, expressing his discontent openly.

At this time, the University of Paris represented the pinnacle of Scholastic learning but was simultaneously beginning to feel the transformative influence of Renaissance humanism. Erasmus himself played a notable role in this shift, forming a close friendship with the Italian humanist Publio Fausto Andrelini, a distinguished poet and the university's "professor of humanity." This friendship with Andrelini further deepened Erasmus’s engagement with humanist ideals and literature, shaping his intellectual trajectory profoundly.