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Index Librorum Prohibitorum
Sign in to saveAlso known as Romish Index, Index Expurgatorius, Index of banned books
list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church from 1559 to 14 June 1966
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was an official list of books that the Catholic Church banned its members from reading, maintained from 1559 until 1966. It matters historically because it demonstrated the Church's effort to control which ideas its followers could access, and it reflected broader struggles over religious authority, censorship, and intellectual freedom during this period.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
In the Vinony graph
Within Vinony's link graph, Index Librorum Prohibitorum is referenced by 742 other articles, and connects out to Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Galileo Galilei and Niccolò Machiavelli.
It is catalogued under topics including 1559 in law, 16th-century books in Latin and 16th-century Catholicism.
Its subject is documented across 55 Wikipedia language editions.
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- censorship
- Publisher
- Congregation of the Index
- Image
- Index Librorum Prohibitorum 1.jpg
Show 10 more facts
- topic's main category
- Category:Index Librorum Prohibitorum
- Commons gallery
- Index Librorum Prohibitorum
- Commons category
- Index Librorum Prohibitorum
- described by source
- Wikitólica
- language of work or name
- Ecclesiastical Latin
- publication date
- 1559-00-00
- facet of
- Catholic Church
- dissolved, abolished or demolished date
- 1962-00-00
- Stack Exchange tag
- christianity.stackexchange.com/tags/index-of-forbidden-books
- inception
- 1571-00-00
Sources (2)
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Encyclopedic overview
The master title page of Index Librorum Prohibitorum (in Venice, 1564)
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum (English: Index of Forbidden Books) was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print or read them, subject to the local bishop. Catholic states could enact laws to adapt or adopt the list and enforce it.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Index Librorum Prohibitorum” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.