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Expansion of the Papal Index of Forbidden Books

Type Event Region Vatican Time 1564–1566

In 1564, after the Council of Trent closed, Pope Pius IV approved a new edition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, the so-called 'Tridentine Index,'…

Timeline

  1. 1563–1564Vatican · VaticanAfter the Council of Trent closed, the papal curia organized theologians and censors to systematically revise the existing Index of Forbidden Books, incorporating stricter classification standards for Protestant writings, humanist heretical texts, and the risks of print circulation.
  2. 1564Vatican · VaticanPope Pius IV approved the new Index of Forbidden Books by bull, expanding the list of banned titles and requiring diocesan censorship and imprimatur procedures before publication, making book control an important part of the Tridentine reform.
  3. 1564–1570Europe · EuropeAfter the 1564 Index was promulgated, Catholic regions such as Italy, Spain, and France successively established or strengthened book censor offices; publishers and booksellers had to operate according to the Index's prohibition rules, giving the Counter-Reformation an institutionalized tool in the realm of knowledge dissemination.

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