Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (/ ˌdɛzɪˈdɪəriəs ɪˈræzməs / DEZ-i-DEER-ee-əs irr-AZ-məs; Dutch: [ˌdeːziˈdeːrijʏs eːˈrɑsmʏs]; 28 October c. – 12 July ), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch humanist, Christian theologian, and pioneering philologist and educationalist.