was a man called by Hecatæus unwarlike and timid. Such misprints are attributed to the malice of the printers, and the letter continues to give an extreme example of this, as shown in a misprint said to have been introduced into Erasmus's dedication of the Christian Widow to Queen Mary of Hungary. Where he had written "Atque mente illa usam eam semper fuisse, quæ talem feminam deceret," the printer had substituted for "mente illa" "mentula," thus turning a compliment into an obscene insult, which was said to have been printed in a thousand copies. Though when he heard of this forgery Erasmus at once protested against it, the imitation of his style was so good that the spurious letter was printed as his by Merula in 1607, and has found its way into the complete editions of his correspondence published since then.1

1 The letter, dated Freiburg, January 11, 1535, in Lond. xx, 68; LB. 1276; Erasmi Responsio ad Petri Cursii Defensionem, LB. ix, 1747. Cf. Jortin: Life of Erasmus, i, 557 f; Nichols, i, p. xxxviii, 474.—A letter to Erasmus from Martin Dabrowski, dated Rome, 1536, gives him information of the political situation there. Published with one from Joseph Tectander, by Miaskowski, in Pamiętnik literacki, xiii, 1914-15, pp. 71-76.

CHAPTER XIV

LAST YEARS AT FREIBURG IN THE BREISGAU AND AGAIN

TH

AT BASLE

HE residence selected by Erasmus after leaving Basle was the Hapsburg city about forty miles north of that town, Freiburg in the Breisgau. Beautifully situated on the Dreisam at the foot of the Schlossberg in the Black Forest, this archiepiscopal see was adorned with one of the finest Gothic minsters in Germany and was the seat of the university founded by Albert VI, Archduke of Austria, in 1457- The attractions of the spot for the weary scholar consisted largely in the promise of freedom from the sects and in the presence of several warm friends, headed by Ulrich Zasius, the local professor of jurisprudence.

By the care of John Faber, Bishop of Vienna, he found awaiting him the handsomest house in Freiburg, then known as The White Lily, built by the Imperial Treasurer, James Villinger, in 1516 for the Emperor Maximilian. The only drawbacks to his enjoyment of this royal residence were that he had to share it with Dr. Othmar Nachtigall, known in Latin as Luscinius, and that he was expected to pay rent. But these proved so serious that after two years and a half he moved to another house, known as The Child Jesus, which he at

1 H. Mayer: "Erasmus in Seinen Beziehungen zur Universität Freiburg," Alemannia, N. F. viii, 1907, pp. 287 ff. Cf. Förstemann-Günther, p. 345. In that day houses were named instead of numbered. This palace was later dubbed "The Whale," and is now Franciskanerstrasse 3, occupied by a wholesale wine merchant, but preserved in the old style.

2 To More, September 5, 1529, Lond. xxvi, 21; LB. 1074; and Lond. xxx, 20, LB. ep. 1210, 1531.

first rented and then bought for a thousand gulden, again selling it when he returned to Basle in 1535.1

Crowned with his own fame and armed with a special diploma from Ferdinand, Erasmus was received with high honors by the university. With him to Freiburg he brought the whole chapter of canons of the Basle cathedral, some of whom were given teaching positions.2 Erasmus, who found the university well attended, but not well served in any faculty save that of jurisprudence, was on intimate terms with the professors, and was by them occasionally consulted as to appointments, and was allowed to keep a few students with him as famuli. On August 5, 1533, he enrolled as "Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus theologiæ professor," his chief object in doing so apparently being the desire to secure the professorial privilege of freedom from taxes. Just two months later he was taken into the university senate, on the stipulation that no heavy work be put upon him.

Never content long in one place, Erasmus in the autumn of 1531 paid another visit to Besançon, in order "to quench his thirst with good Burgundian wine." A letter of recommendation from the emperor secured him a splendid reception from the magistrates of the town, and perhaps an invitation to settle there. He thought of going further to see Lyons, which he remembered from his visit of a quarter of a century before, but the war between Savoy and Berne and a letter from Charles V prevented him.5

1 Now Schiffstrasse 7, occupied by a brewery, rebuilt but with an inscription reminding the visitor of Erasmus's sojourn. On the rent and other details, letters of J. Löble to Erasmus, Förstemann-Günther epp. 153, 155, 184.

2 Glarean to Laski, Freiburg, October 6, 1529. S. A. Gabbema; Illustrium et Clarorum Virorum Epistolæ, 1669, ep. 8.

3 H. Mayer: Die Matrikeln der Universität Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1460-1656. 1907. Under date.

Erasmus to Secretary Lambelin, dated October 26, 1532 (for 1531) and letter of Charles V, October 1, 1531, published by A. Castan "Granvelle et le petit empereur de Besançon," Revue Historique, i, 1876, p. 125.

5 To Dalbonus, Abbot of Lyons, November 27, 1530 (for 1531), Lond. xxv, 41; LB. ep. 1147.