Johannes Reuchlin and the Campaign to Destroy Jewish Books. By DAVID H. PRICE.

Scholars of early modern Europe will welcome this nuanced and carefully researched account of the Reuchlin affair. David Price's thorough understanding of the political and intellectual currents of the time allows him to bring together the various factors determining the course of the campaign to destroy Hebrew books and the inquisition into Reuchlin's alleged Judaism. Conversely, Price uses Reuchlin's life and career as a prism to reflect the position of Jews in the German Empire. After briefly discussing the modern literature on Reuchlin (ch. 1), he begins his enquiry by examining the role humanism played in shaping Reuchlin's interests and the skills he developed to pursue them (ch. 2). Price then follows Reuchlin's career as courtier in Wurttemberg and, after his exile, in Heidelberg (ch. 3). The chapter illustrates the twin paths of Reuchlin's career, as a courtier and a scholar, showing how his diplomatic missions provided him with opportunities to make contact with learned Jews and acquire Hebrew books. Price continues with a more detailed examination of Reuchlin's Hebrew studies (ch. 4). This includes an instructive discussion of Reuchlin's grammar, a subject not often given the attention it merits. The book was the first manual meant for the instruction of Christians and is an interesting (though not particularly successful) attempt to press Hebrew grammar into a Latin mould. Chapter 4 also touches on Reuchlin's attitude towards the Kabbalah, that is, his Christianizing interpretation of Jewish mysticism. Chapter 5 deals with Johann Pfefferkorn, the converted Jew who initiated the campaign to confiscate Hebrew books and received a mandate from Emperor Maximilian to proceed with his plan. In chapter 6 (dealing with the question ‘Who Saved the Jewish Books’) Price elaborates on the imperial policy and introduces the other players in the affair: the Frankfurt city council, the Archbishop Uriel von Gemmingen, and the theological faculties at the universities of Mainz, Cologne, Paris, and Louvain. In chapters 7 and 8, Price turns to the personal consequences of the campaign for Reuchlin, who had defended the legal rights of the Jews: he was formally accused of Judaism. Price leads us through the various phases of Reuchlin's trial in the inquisitorial courts of Mainz and Speyer and finally at the papal court. He examines the role played by Pfefferkorn's publications, the verdicts of the university theologians, and the polemical tracts of the prosecutor, Jacob Hoogstraeten. These writings found their counterweight in the letters and tracts of Reuchlin's Italian supporters (Benigno, Giles of Viterbo) and in the publicity campaign waged on Reuchlin's behalf by the German humanists (Letters of Obscure Men, Pirckheimer's Apologetic Letter). Chapter 9 is devoted to Luther, his anti-Semitism, and the impact his case had on the final verdict rendered by the papal court: Reuchlin was found guilty as charged, and fined.

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