The Elizabeth Perkins Prothro Bible Collection
at
Bridwell
Library
September 8 - December 12, 2009
The New Testament Translated by Erasmus of Rotterdam
Novum Testamentvm omne multo quam antehac diligentius ab Erasmo Roterodamo recognitum, emendatum ac translatum. Edited, translated, and annotated by Desiderius Erasmus. Basel: Johannes Froben, 1519.
In 1516 Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (c. 1466–1536) updated St. Jerome’s imperfect Vulgate New Testament with his own Latin version, translated from the original Greek. In this revised second edition of 1519, the Latin translation by Erasmus appears beside the Greek source text, accompanied by the translator’s annotations. Erasmus was not a Protestant, but as one of the outstanding linguists of his age he understood the necessity of reforming the Latin Bible, which had accrued many erroneous readings during the previous millennium of transmission. His efforts provided Catholics and Protestants alike with an extremely well-edited Greek New Testament and a highly reliable Latin version.