Synopses & Reviews
This book covers one of the most controversial subjects in Italian historiography, namely the success or failure of the Church's policy during the counter-Reformation to exert rigorous control not only over theology but over all branches of knowledge. By drawing extensively upon newly-opened sources in the archive of the former Congregation of the Holy Office, generally known as the "Inquisition", it affords a more articulated and objective assessment of the effects of ecclesiastical censorship on religion and culture in early modern Italy.
Synopsis
Essays on the Italian Church's attempt to control and censor 'knowledge' during the counter-Reformation.
Synopsis
Drawing upon a wealth of newly-available archival material, this book deals with one of the most controversial subjects in Italian historiography, namely the success or failure of the Church's policy during the counter-Reformation to exert rigorous control not just over theology but over all branches of knowledge.
About the Author
Gigliola Fragnito is Professor of Early Modern History in the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, Universitàdegli Studi, Parma. Her many publications on early modern Italian church and government include La Bibbia al Rogo ('The Bible at the stake'), Il Mulino, 1997.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction Gigliola Fragnito; 2. The central and peripheral organisation of censorship Gigliola Fragnito; 3. How to doctor a bibliography: Antonio Possevino's practice Luigi Balsamo; 4. The Roman Inquisition's condemnation of astrology: reasons and consequences Ugo Baldini; 5. Tradition and change in the spiritual literature of the Cinquecento Edoardo Barbieri; 6. A project of 'expurgation' by the Congregation of the Index: treatises on duelling Claudio Donati; 7. The Index, the Holy Office, the condemnation of the Talmud and publication of Clement VIII's Index Fausto Parente; 8. Italian literature on the Index Ugo Rozzo; 9. The censoring of law books Rodolfo Savelli.