Desiderius (ˌdɛzɪˈdɪərɪəs), real name Gerhard Gerhards. ?1466–1536, Dutch humanist, the leading scholar of the Renaissance in northern Europe. He published the first Greek edition of the New Testament in 1516; his other works include the satirical Encomium Moriae (1509); Colloquia (1519), a series of dialogues; and an attack on the theology of Luther, De Libero Arbitrio (1524)