Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum

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Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum (i. e. Letters of Obscure Men), a celebrated collection of satirical Latin letters which appeared in the 16th century in Germany. They support the German Humanist scholar Johann Reuchlin and they mock the doctrines and modes of living of the scholastics and monks. Most of the letters are addressed to Hardwin von Grätz and contain mock accusations against him, such as allegation that he had been intimate with Johannes Pfefferkorn's wife (Letter XII) and that Gratius had defecated his pants in public (letter XL). It was written in large part by the humanists Crotus Rubeanus a.k.a. Johannes Jäger and Ulrich von Hutten, who contributed mainly to the second volume, although the collection was published anonymously. The work is credited with hastening the Protestant Reformation. The book was banned in many places and Pope Leo X excommunicated the authors, readers, and disseminators of the Epistolæ.

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• Renaissance Humanism

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.