Erasmus’ Encomia

Abstract Erasmus praised contemporaries in books, letters, prefaces, and adagia. His public career was launched with an ostentatious work of praise, the Panegyricus ad Philippum Austriae (1504), in which he satisfied court expectations and literary tradition. He titled five works Encomium ; one of them—the Moriae Encomium ( Praise of Folly )—is by far his most popular book. This article examines his encomia and his interest in writing them. It identifies the models and conventions Erasmus inherited and recounts the trouble he took to make his encomia unique.