Culmination of the Reuchlin Controversy

Timeline

1. 1510–1517Cologne · GermanyThe convert Pfefferkorn advocated confiscating and burning Jewish Hebrew books; the Hebraist Reuchlin opposed destroying texts by political means, stressing the importance of language study for understanding the Bible and Christian theology, provoking a fierce counterattack from the Cologne theologians' camp.
2. 1517Mainz · GermanyIn 1517 the Imperial Chamber Court ruled that Reuchlin must remain silent but did not fully endorse book burning; meanwhile the Epistolae obscurorum virorum mocked conservative theologians in satirical style, elevating the controversy into a German public opinion event, and humanists and reformers formed a loose alliance.