1. Kale Kingsbury LIS 612: History of Books and Libraries 31 March 2008
The Inquisition
Kale Kingsbury
LIS 612: History of Books and Libraries
31 March 2008

2. The Inquisition: An Introduction
What was it?
Derived from Latin inquiro (“inquire into”)
Not one, but three:
Medieval Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
Roman Inquisition

3. Origins of the Inquisition
All about heresy, heresies, and heretics
Catalyst - Large scale heresies
Cathari, Waldenses, Albigensians
Early 1200s - Albigensian Crusade
1231 – Pope Gregory IX institutes Inquisition

4. Inquisitorial Procedures
Time given to confess
Failure to confess resulted in trial
Only two witnesses needed for conviction
No legal aid
1252 – Use of torture authorized by Pope Innocent IV
Penalties

6. The Spanish Inquisition
Origins
1478 – Authorized by Pope Sixtus IV
Church loses control
1483 – Tomas de Torquemada

8. The Roman Inquisition Established in 1542
Led by Congregation of the Inquisition
Designed to combat Protestantism in Italy
Inquisition’s end

10. So what did it mean for books?
Books relating to Judaism and Islam targeted / destroyed
Index Librorum Prohibitorum (“Index of Forbidden Books”)
First issued in 1551
Continued until June 1966
Science books banned if:
Content ran counter to Church
Authors belonged to different faiths
Largely same for literature
Effects
“The times are such that one should think carefully before writing books.”

11. Religion vs. Science: Galileo
Published Dialogue in 1632
Forced to recant Copernican beliefs in 1633
Sentenced to life imprisonment
Church admitted error in 1992

12. Thank You!
Any Questions?