1510
Theologian Johannes Eck, one of Martin Luther’s most implacable opponents, is appointed to a professorship.
In 1510, the year in which he received his doctorate in Theology, Johannes Eck – whose real surname was Maier – (1486–1543) obtained a professorship at the up-and-coming University in Ingolstadt. He was regarded as a conciliatory figure who could effectively mediate between adherents of the major philosophical traditions of his day, Nominalism (via moderna) and Realism (via antiqua). In 1511 Eck became Dean of the Faculty of Theology. A year later he was named Vice-Chancellor of the University. He held the office for the next 30 years.
As Vice-Chancellor, Eck supported reforms whose aim was to bring the curriculum into line with the humanist ideal of education. But he is best known as Martin Luther’s chief theological adversary, a role which strengthened the reputation of Ingolstadt University as a stronghold of the Counter-Reformation.
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