Why did Desiderius Erasmus travel to England in 1499?

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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.

In 1499, Desiderius Erasmus traveled to England at the invitation of his pupil, William Blount, Lord Mountjoy.1

During this visit, Erasmus formed a lifelong friendship with Thomas More and was encouraged by John Colet to pursue his ambition of becoming a "primitive theologian." This experience was pivotal for Erasmus, as it deepened his conviction that interpreting Scripture required a mastery of Greek and a return to the methods of the early Church Fathers, such as St. Jerome, rather than the argumentative approach of the Scholastics.1