The Case against Johann Reuchlin: Religious and Social Controversy in Sixteenth-Century Germany.

Tyler, J. Jeffery

By Erika Rummel. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. xvi + 174 pp. $50.00 cloth; $22.95 paper.

In 1509 Johann Pfefferkorn, a Jewish convert to Christianity, sought permission to confiscate and destroy Jewish books. Esteemed German Hebraist, Johann Reuchlin, a Christian, vigorously opposed Pfefferkorn's campaign. Reuchlin not only defended the legal rights of Jewish residents, but also trumpeted the historical and exegetical value of Jewish books, including the Talmud and the Cabala. In response, theologians declared Reuchlin's "judaizing" publications heretical, while fellow humanists took up his defense. Erika Rummel, distinguished scholar of Renaissance Humanism, takes a fresh look at the "Reuchlin case." First, she reconstructs the dispute, the widening circles of its impact, and the current state of scholarship. Second, she provides an invaluable set of key documents in English translation, including works by Pfefferkorn, Reuchlin, and Erasmus. Rummel shows the remarkable degree of dissent in sixteenth-century society, which led contemporary writers to portray "the controversy as a battle between orthodox Christians and Judaizers, between Catholics and reformers, or between representatives of scholasticism and champions of humanism" (vii).

For the reader intrigued by the development of Humanism, the roots of anti-Semitism, and the shape of the early Reformation, this book serves as a marvelous and concise introduction to the dispute and its sources. For the expert, Rummel offers a convincing reading of the evidence and describes the broader historical significance of the Reuchlin case.

J. Jeffery Tyler

Hope College