Probably the most brilliant Roman Catholic scholar and orator during the Reformation, most famous for debating Martin Luther at the Disputation of Leipzig, cornering Luther into affirming that his theology was essentially that of Jan Hus, who had been declared a heretic by the Church.
Named after the city of his birth—his name was originally Johann Mayr (or Meier)—Eck was a child prodigy who entered university at age twelve and, by 24 was already professor of theology at the University of Ingolstadt, a post he held until the end of his life. "He was a man of immense learning in philosophy, theology, Hebrew, and Greek, with a prodigious memory and a great flair for debate, in which his ready wit and swift repartee made him the most masterly disputant in all Germany" (J. Atkinson)
Committed to the defence of the Catholic Church, Eck was chiefly responsible for the papal bull excommunicating Luther. Though by far the ablest opponent Luther ever faced, other reformers—Zwingli, Oecolampadius, Melanchthon—all felt the barb of his vile and abuse. Not surprisingly, being the scholar he was, Eck left behind a great volume of his writings, including On the Primacy of Peter against Peter (1520), eight major volumes against the Reformation, the most important of which was Enchiridion of Commonplaces of John Eck against Luther and Other Enemies of the Church (1525, which went through forty-six printings in the next fifty years), On the Sacrifice of the Mass (1527), as well as a German translation of the Bible (which, lacking literary lustre, could not compete with Luther's in popularity).
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