How did Thomas More and Desiderius Erasmus become friends?

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Portrait of Desiderius Erasmus, shown in dark robes and cap, writing with a quill at a desk, after Quinten Massijs, oil on panel, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. — Erasmus Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus.

Thomas More and Desiderius Erasmus became friends in 1499 after Erasmus was invited to England by his pupil, William Blount, Lord Mountjoy. Their meeting marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship.1

The two humanists shared a deep intellectual bond, with More later becoming a staunch supporter of Erasmus’s religious and cultural programs, particularly his emphasis on Greek studies and a theology renewed by a return to the Bible and the Church Fathers. Their connection was so close that Erasmus even wrote his famous work, Praise of Folly, while staying at More’s house. Erasmus frequently praised More in his correspondence, describing him as a man "born for friendship" and holding him up as a model for the European intelligentsia.21