How did Erasmus and Thomas More become lifelong friends?

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Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger, showing More in dark robes and a black hat, wearing a gold chain of office, seated against a green and yellow draped background. — Thomas More *Sir Thomas More*, oil on panel by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1527; in the Frick Collection, New York City.

Erasmus and Thomas More became lifelong friends after meeting in England in 1499. The meeting was facilitated by William Blount, Lord Mountjoy, who was a pupil of Erasmus and invited him to the country.1

Following this initial introduction, the two developed a deep and enduring bond, with More’s home even serving as the location where Erasmus wrote his famous work, Praise of Folly. Their friendship was rooted in shared intellectual interests, particularly their commitment to Christian humanism and the study of classical texts to renew theology. Throughout their lives, they supported each other's work; for instance, More campaigned for Erasmus’s religious and cultural programs, while Erasmus frequently praised More as a model of virtue and intellect to other prominent European scholars.12