Johannes Cochlaeus

Johannes Cochlaeus (born 1479, Wendelstein, near Nürnberg—died Jan. 10, 1552, Breslau, Silesia) was a German Humanist and a leading Roman Catholic opponent of Martin Luther.

Educated at the University of Cologne (1504–10), Cochlaeus became rector of the Latin School of St. Lawrence, Nürnberg (1510–15), where he published several textbooks that notably improved instructional methods. Ordained priest while in Rome (1517–19), Cochlaeus returned to Germany to become, successively, dean at Frankfurt am Main (where in 1520 he first engaged in the Reformation controversies), canon at Mainz (1526), and court chaplain to Duke George of Saxony (1529). A pamphlet against King Henry VIII of England caused him to be transferred to Meissen as canon (1535). When George died in 1539, he was succeeded by his Lutheran brother Henry, and Cochlaeus was compelled to leave Saxony, where he was no longer safe. He became canon at Breslau (1539) and, after holding benefices in Eichstätt and Mainz, he returned to Breslau in 1549.

Cochlaeus’ early sympathy with Luther changed c. 1520 into unremitting criticism. As adviser to papal nuncios and other ecclesiastical and secular dignitaries, he was prominent at several assemblies that strove to mend the religious split, including the Diet of Worms (1521); the diets of Nürnberg (1522–23) and Speyer (1526); the Diet of Augsburg (1530), where he was one of the theologians selected to refute the Lutheran Augsburg Confession; and a famous, if indecisive, conference at Worms (1540).

Cochlaeus ranked among the most zealous theologians of his time, completely dedicated to his cause. Though uneven, his production of articles on religious controversy was prolific. Noteworthy among his historical works were the History of the Hussites (1549) and Acts and Writings of Luther (1549), considered his best known book.