Erasmus von Rotterdam: Novum Instrumentum

This edition of Erasmus (1467–1536) – versio graeca and a new Latin translation is one of the most momentous works of the early modern period. It became the basis for the people’s Bible at that time (Luther und Tyndale) and pointed the way for a new hermeneutics in the humanities. The idea of understanding the text of the Bible as a historical text and thus as being verifiable from the perspective of textual criticism and in addition of subordinating the Vulgate to the early Greek text in its expertise was revolutionary.