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For more than four hundred years, the Catholic Churchs Index Librorum Prohibitorum struck terror into the hearts of authors, publishers and booksellers around the world, while arousing ridicule and contempt from many others, especially those in Protestant and non-Christian circles. Biased, inconsistent and frequently absurd in its attempt to ban objectionable texts of every conceivable description with sometimes fatal consequences the Index also reflected the deep learning and careful consideration of many hundreds of intellectual contributors over the long span of its storied evolution.
This book constitutes the first full study of the Index of Prohibited Books to be published in English. It examines the reasons behind the Churchs attempts to censor religious, scientific and artistic works, and considers not only why this most sustained of campaigns failed, but what lessons can be learned for todays debates over freedom of expression and cancel culture.
About the author
Robin Vose is Professor of History at St Thomas University, Canada. He is the author of Dominicans, Muslims and Jews in the Medieval Crown of Aragon and has served as a National Geographic expert on expeditions to Spain and Morocco.
Summary
The first full study of the Catholic Church’s notorious Index of Prohibited Books.
