Johann Reuchlin (1455–1522), Celebrated Hebraist Loyal to the Church: Commemorating the 500th Anniversary of His Death
Johann Reuchlin (1455–1522), Celebrated Hebraist Loyal to the Church: Commemorating the 500th Anniversary of His Death

Summary/Abstract: The life and work of Johann Reuchlin (1455–1522) has been investigated in the past primarily by Protestant authors pivoting around the views of Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560), who was Reuchlin’s relative and Martin Luther’s close collaborator. The purpose of the present contribution is to liberate the Catholic Reuchlin from the Protestant Wirkungsgeschichte. In order to come closer to the real Reuchlin, one has to focus on him as the Catholic Philo-Semite that he actually was. There were multiple cardinals in Rome who were favorably inclined toward Reuchlin; his controversial book Eye Glasses was on trial in Rome. Reuchlin had an unshaken and life-long commitment to the Catholic faith under papal leadership. He also maintained good relations with the monastic humanists (German Klosterhumanisten) of his time. He was glorified by Christians and Jews. Erasmus thought of Reuchlin as a saint and paid him overwhelming tribute in his eulogy Apotheosis Capnionis (Reuchlin’s Ascension into Heaven).

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