(1469-after 1521)
Moravian apostate and anti-Jewish agitator. He was a butcher by trade. He was baptized at Cologne in 1504 and published a number of anti-Jewish tracts. In 1509 he was authorized by Emperor Maximilian to examine Jewish books in Germany and destroy any which blasphemed the Christian faith. As a result of various protests, the matter was referred to a group of scholars, including Johannes Reuchlin. Reuchlin's defence of the Talmud gave rise to a polemical dispute with Pfefferkorn. In 1520 the pope decided against Reuchlin, but the censorship of Jewish books was not revived and the Talmud was printed by David Bomberg.
Dictionary of Jewish Biography. Dan Cohn-Sherbok.