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GÁBOR ITTZÉS
university as Humanistic in character, and distinguished it from the Reforma¬
tion renewal proper. In the former regard, Wittenberg was no trend-setter,
but rather followed the example of other leading institutions such as Vienna,
Ingolstadt, Erfurt, Heidelberg, Tübingen and Leipzig."
It is important to note at this point that Melanchthon himself was brought to
the Saxon capital by this first wave of university reform. When he announced
his Aristotelian programme upon arrival, it perfectly blended in with changes
already afoot at Wittenberg. Luther was also well impressed with his new col¬
league’s inaugural speech and saw in him an ally. He by no means perceived
Melanchthon’s proposal as hostile to or compromising his own efforts. In fact,
whatever his commitment to educational reform within his own institution,
he had not yet publicly articulated a vision. That he did for the first time in
the 1520 treatise To the Christian Nobility, where the twenty-fifth reform pro¬
posal called for a renewal of higher education.** There he advocated an almost
complete rejection of Aristotle, whom he called a ‘damned, conceited, rascally
heathen [...] sent [...] as a plague upon us for our sins.’ Indeed, here we are in
many ways at the height of Luther’s critique of the late medieval ecclesiastical
system. Melanchthon also came under his senior colleague’s sway and tempo¬
rarily abandoned his plan to renew the study of the Philosopher. His critique
of Aristotle was at times no less sharp than Luther’s.5°
The stakes were much higher in these tumultuous years than mere educa¬
tional reform at home. Luther was travelling throughout Germany, debating or
being interrogated. The indulgence controversy propelled him to international
fame, and as he was forced to work out the implications of his initial position,
his attack widened to include the very foundations of late medieval theology
and church authority. Yet the push for reform also continued. As students
flocked to the Saxon university,*! their interest in traditional courses slackened.
47 SCHEIBLE, Heinz, Die Reform von Schule und Universitat in der Reformationszeit, Lutherjahr¬
buch 66 (1999) 237-262, here 259-260.
LUTHER, Martin, An Open Letter to the Christian Nobility ofthe German Nation: Concerning
the Reform of the Christian Estate, in C.M. Jacobs (trans.), The Works of Martin Luther: With
Introduction and Notes, repr. of the Philadelphia Edition, 6 vols., Grand Rapids, Baker, 1982,
vol. 2, 87-164, here 146-153. His famous letter to Jodocus Trutfetter (c.1460-1519) on 9 May
1518 is considered a private expression in this context (WA Br 1:170, No. 74).
® LUTHER, To the Christian Nobility, 146.
50 SCHEIBLE, Aristoteles, 141-142 and evidence cited therein.
The number of matriculations rose rapidly from 242 in 1517 to 579 in 1520. Surely, it was
sharply reduced thereafter and reached as low as 73 in 1527. TREU, Martin, Die Leucorea
zwischen Tradition und Erneureung: Erwägungen zur frühen Geschichte der Universität Wit¬
tenberg, in H. Lück (ed.), Martin Luther, 31-51, here 48. Nevertheless, new student enrolment
continued unbroken to be the highest among all German universities until the mid-1570s, at
48
+ 24 +