Reuchlin Defends Hebrew Books

1510

The German humanist Johannes Reuchlin refused to endorse an imperial order calling for the confiscation of Jewish books, arguing that the Talmud and Kabbalah had value for Christian scholarship. A bitter lawsuit with the Dominican Johann Pfefferkorn ensued, and the controversy became a rallying point for northern humanists. The controversy prefigured the Reformation's debate about intellectual freedom, with humanists rallying to his defense against Dominican censorship.