24
April 1514 A.D. Hebrew scholar, Johann Reuchlin, Acquitted of
Heresy Charges
The story is told at: http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1501-1600/reuchlin-found-not-guilty-11629914.html
To Johann Reuchlin, Luther owed
the Hebrew grammar for his Bible translation. A man of lowly birth, Reuchlin's
talent for singing brought him to the attention of the Margrave of Baden who
made him a companion of his son. In love with learning, the singer seized every
opportunity his new position afforded to educate himself. Languages were his
forte. He wrote the first Latin dictionary to be published in Germany and a
Greek grammar. Hebrew was his dearest love. He ferreted out the rules of
Israel's ancient language by study of Hebrew texts and converse with every
rabbi who appeared within his range. His authority became widely recognized.
Reputation was nearly the cause
of his ruin. A converted Jew and a Dominican inquisitor extracted from Emperor
Maximilian an order to burn all Hebrew works except the Old Testament, charging
they were full of errors and blasphemies. Before the edict could be carried
out, the Emperor had second thoughts and consulted the greatest Hebrew scholar
of the age: Reuchlin.
Reuchlin urged preservation of
the Jewish books as aids to study, and as examples of errors against which
champions of faith might joust. To destroy the books would give ammunition to
the church's enemies, he said. The emperor revoked his order.
The Dominicans were furious.
Selecting passages from Reuchlin's writings, they tried to prove him a heretic.
Possibly he was. He seemed to expect salvation through cabalistic practices
rather than relying totally on Christ's atoning blood. The inquisition summoned
him and ordered his writings burnt. Sympathetic scholars appealed to Leo X. The
Pope referred the matter to the Bishop of Spires, whose tribunal heard the
issue. On this day, April 24, 1514, the tribunal declared Reuchlin not guilty.
It was a great victory for freedom of learning.
The Dominicans were not so easily
brushed off. They instigated the faculties at Cologne, Erfurt, Louvain, Mainz
and Paris to condemn Reuchlin's writings. Thus armed, they approached Leo X.
Leo dithered. Should he win applause from scholars by protecting the Jewish
books, or placate the clerics? He appointed a commission. It backed Reuchlin.
Still Leo hesitated. At last he decided to suspend judgment. This in itself was
a victory for Reuchlin. The cause of the embattled scholar became the cause of
the innovators. Reuchlin's nephew, Melanchthon, rejoiced. Erasmus praised him.
In 1517 Luther posted his 95
theses. "Thanks be to God," said the weary Reuchlin. "At last
they have found a man who will give them so much to do that they will be
compelled to let my old age end in peace." Thanks to Reuchlin, the Talmud
and Kabbala were preserved. Although he died a broken man, freedom for academic
production was strengthened because of his ordeal. Soon his studies formed the
basis for better translations of the Old Testament. Furthermore, his influence
assured Melanchthon a position among the learned and a place in the
Reformation.
Bibliography:
1. Hirsch, Samuel A. Book of Essays.
Macmillan, 1905.
2. Loeffler, Klemens. "Johannes
Reuchlin." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
3. Manschreck, Clyde Leonard.
Melanchthon, the Quiet Reformer. New York, Abingdon Press, 1958), especially
24, 25.
4. Mee, Charles L., jr. White Robe,
Black Robe. New York: Putnam, 1972; p. 154ff.
5. "Reuchlin, Johannes."
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A.
Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
6. Rummel, Erika. The Case against
Johann Reuchlin: religious and social controversy in sixteenth-century Germany.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002.
No comments:
Post a Comment