The "letters written by obscure men" are neither parodies on the corrupt Latin of monks only, nor satires on life in the monasteries of their times, even if they were and are still read in this way. Rather as differences between the tradition of medieval schoolmen and the studia humanitatis, they represent an early form of the "querelle". As a result of studies on the "Epistolae obscurorum virorum" and their reception as well, the cause of their coming into existence, namely the dispute about the Jewish books, has been forgotten. This dispute did not only involve books, but also human beings, who are reminded of it in this essay.