Desiderius Erasmus

Desiderius Erasmus (1466 – 1536) was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and theologian. Secretly, he was also the leader of the North European Brotherhood of Assassins. His teachings were spread throughout Europe, and one of his disciples was English scholar Richard Croke.

Biography

In the early 16th century, Erasmus was captured by Templars working for the Borgia while teaching in Paris. To his fortune, he was saved by Italian Assassins sent from Rome by Ezio Auditore da Firenze, whereupon he informed them of another member of the Brotherhood being held captive in the city.

Circa 1512, Erasmus sent a message to the acting leader of the Italian Assassins, Claudia Auditore da Firenze, who had been given command during her brother's journey to Masyaf. In the message, Erasmus warned the Italian Assassins of Martin Luther's revolutionary religious thinking, which he thought needed watching.

At some point prior to 1519, Erasmus met Leonardo da Vinci and became the artist's friend and ally. When Leonardo became afraid of possible interception of his research on havens, he contacted the theologian and gave him encoded information that he was to give to the Assassins who approached him or to destroy it if none arrived within a month of Leonardo's death. As an additional test, the Assassins were meant to answer a riddle related to Hieronymus Bosch's most famous work, The Garden of Earthly Delights. On May 1519, Erasmus was living at the Maison du Cygne in Brussels, where he was located by the Assassins. After they managed to puzzle out the solution based on the information they had collected, Erasmus nodded in agreement and gave them the translucid sheet with a line drawn on it that Leonardo had given him for safe keeping.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Last Quest of Leonardo da Vinci (first appearance)