Johann Reuchlin

Johann Reuchlin (1455-1522), German humanist and scholar of Greek and Hebrew, born in Pforzheim, and educated at the University of Basel, Switzerland. He attained his reputation as a translator of classical Greek texts. In 1506 he completed De Rudimentis Hebraicis, the first Hebrew grammar written by a Christian and an important aid in biblical scholarship. In 1509 the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, on Reuchlin's advice, opposed a movement by the Inquisition to burn the Talmud and other Hebrew books throughout the empire. For this opposition, Reuchlin was accused of heresy, and was only acquitted by a papal commission. Reuchlin was the foremost German champion of Greek and Hebrew studies in his day. Although his liberalism indirectly aided the Protestant cause, he did not support the Reformation, of which his nephew Melanchthon was a leader.