Index

The Vatican and the Forbidden Books. Christianity is a religion of the book - and yet, or perhaps precisely because of this, it burns books: the Holy Scripture as well as medical, legal, scientific, literary, classical, theological, and philosophical literature. The medium of the book is so dangerous that the church authority long relied solely on book bans. The Vatican houses a wealth of highly revealing material: a unique archive of innovative knowledge culture with a negative connotation. Hubert Wolf provides an overview of the origins, history, and workings of the Index Congregation, describing how books came under its scrutiny, who the censors were that read the "dangerous" books, and what consequences a condemnation had. Last but not least, he recounts surprising processes and judgments, such as against "Knigge.".