History has defined Erasmus and Martin Luther as the two most influential thinkers in pre-Reformation Europe. Through their revolutionary words and writings, they shook the very foundations of Western society. But who were these men? One was born a bastard child of a priest and his maid and rose through academia to the high society of the kingly courts of Europe. The other rejected the life his father planned for him as a prestigious lawyer and instead entered a monastery to pursue his own spiritual path. In this remarkable book, author Barth Hoogstraten goes beyond the limitations of dry historical texts to transport the reader into the final days of medieval Europe at one of the most crucial turning points in history. The reader meets many of the most influential men of the time - from popes and kings to great philosophers and corrupt indulgence sellers - while gaining fascinating insight into two of the most brilliant minds in history.