Index Librorum Prohibitorum (say that five times fast)

 Index Librorum Prohibitorum 

The first time we talked about the “index” in class, I was immediately interested, and I’ve been thinking about it and even reading about it since.  I think it’s a great way to transition from written cultures and knowledge directly into more print-based culture.

The opening pages of the document

The origins of the index are a little unclear.  The idea of avoiding “bad books” is old; we can even see it in the Bible.  In Acts 19:19, some of Paul’s converts who were into “curious arts” actually brought their books forward and burned them as part of their conversion process.

I found several sources of good information about the Index, and one of the best was the Encyclopedia. (online article here)  According to the encyclopedia, the index is:

A List of books once forbidden by Roman Catholic Church authority as dangerous to the faith or morals of Roman Catholics. ... Compiled by official censors, the Index was an implementation of one part of the teaching function of the Roman Catholic Church: to prevent the contamination of the faith or the corruption of morals through the reading of theologically erroneous or immoral books. 

Saint Innocent I was instrumental in
deciding which books were apocryphal.

It seems that the original idea of index may have started with the Apocrypha, when certain texts were deemed incorrect and heretical, and thus unfitting for use as scripture, or canon.  In connection with apocryphal writings, Pope Innocent I wrote a list of prohibited texts in the early 5^th century, and Pope Gelasius I made a more complete list of recommended and banned books as early as the mid-5^th century that is sometimes called the “First Roman Index.”   

Gutenberg

Two major factors influenced the creation of the formal index.  First, Gutenberg’s printing press and the subsequent printing revolution took the copying of books completely away from the clergy (a trend that had begun centuries earlier, but which was brutally accelerated by printing).  Second, the protestant Reformation began in the first part of the 16^th century, which made it essential, in the eyes of many leading members of the Church, to control what books people were reading.

Luther; as a leader in the Reformation,
he was one of the catalysts in the
formalizing of the Index.

(Interestingly, the index was preceded by several regional movements.  Early indices appeared in the Netherlands, Venice, and Paris during the 16^th century.  Also at this time, as we discussed in class, the English Crown tried to control the flow of printed books by regulating who could print and where.)

The first official and church-wide index was written under the direction of Pope Paul IV, in 1559.  An inherent assumption was that if the author embraced heretical or impure ideals, all of his works were contaminated and dangerous for good Catholics to read.  To that end, the entire works of something like 500 authors were included, in addition to other individual books.  Only five years later, a general feeling that the censorship was entirely too harsh caused the Pauline index to be revised and replaced with the Tridentine Index, under Pope Pius IV. 

The index continued to have full force of doctrine until 1966, when a declaration was issued that ‘abolished’ the index.  However, this was in no way to be considered an endorsement of the books formerly on the index; instead, the faithful members were left to their own consciences to avoid books that could damage their faith, and the index was now intended to be used as a sort of guideline as to the type of books that should be avoided. 

Since 1966, the Index is more of a historical document than an actual attempt at censorship.

While I think many in our culture, especially here at BYU, might find unilateral censorship of books to be shocking, especially at such a large scale, I don’t think it is as strange as it seems, after the decree of 1966.  After the declaration, when there was no longer a specific list to be consulted, isn’t it similar to what our Church leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have told us?  They rarely (if ever?) condemn specific books or music or movies, for example, but they do give a very detailed idea of what types of things might be inappropriate (as in this talk by President Ezra Taft Benson.  Do a search for r-rated movies, and you might be surprised what you find ^^).  What do you think?  How big do *you* feel like the differences really are?

See also:

David Dusto, “Index Librorum Prohibitorum: The History, Philosophy, and Impact of the Index of Prohibited Books”, 07 August 2008. http://www.unc.edu/~dusto/dusto_prague_paper.pdf