John Colet

John Colet
Portrait drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger.
Born	January 1467 London, England
Died	16 September 1519(1519-09-16) (aged 52) London, England
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford
Era	Renaissance philosophy
Region	Western Philosophy
School	Renaissance humanism
Main interests	Politics, history, theology
Influences Girolamo Savonarola, Guillaume Budé
Influenced Desiderius Erasmus

John Colet (January 1467 – 16 September 1519) was an English churchman and educational pioneer.

Colet was an English scholar, Renaissance humanist, theologian, member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, and Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Colet wanted people to see the scripture as their guide through life. Furthermore, he wanted to restore theology and rejuvenate Christianity. Colet is an important early leader of Christian humanism as he linked humanism and reform. John Colet was a friend of Erasmus, a key figure in Christian humanism.

The eldest son of Sir Henry Colet (Lord Mayor of London 1486 and 1495), he was born in London in January 1467, and was educated at St Anthony's school and at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took his M.A. in 1490. He was already nonresident rector of Dennington, Suffolk, and vicar of St Dunstan's, Stepney, and now became rector of Thurning, Hunts. In 1493 he went to Paris and then to Italy, studying canon and civil law, patristics and Greek.

During his time abroad he became acquainted with Budaeus (Guillaume Budé) and Erasmus, and with the teaching of Savonarola. On his return to England in 1496 he took orders and settled at Oxford, where he lectured on the epistles of Saint Paul, replacing the old scholastic method of interpretation with one more in harmony with the new learning. Due to their influences, when he arrived back in England, he returned more than just a humanist; he returned a Christian reformer. His methods did much to influence Erasmus, who visited Oxford in 1498, and who later received an annuity from Colet.