Mutianus Rufus

(real name, Conrad Muth). Born Oct. 15, 1471, in Homberg, near the city of Fritzlar; died Mar. 30, 1526, in Gotha. German humanist. A canon in the city of Gotha.

Mutianus Rufus led the Erfurt circle of humanists, which issued the Letters of the Obscurantists (Epistolae obscurorum virorum). His criticism of scholasticism, church ceremonies, and the ignorance and vices of the Catholic clergy helped pave the way for the Reformation. Mutianus Rufus, however, did not embrace the Reformation and considered the Peasant War of 1524–26 to be merely a riot.