Outcomes of Censorship in the Middle Ages

Srednji vijek je povijesno razdoblje koje započinje padom Zapadnog Rimskog Carstva, a završava Kolumbovim otkrićem Amerike. Ovo razdoblje otprilike pokriva 1000 godina. Ključnu ulogu za vrijeme srednjovjekovlja ima Crkva kao vrhovni autoritet. Usporedno sa svjetovnom rimskom i grčkom književnošću počinje se razvijati i kršćanska književnost, što uzrokuje osnivanje knjižnica uz samostane. Važan utjecaj na zapad ima i arapska kultura koja je donijela papir u Europu. Tako se počinje razvijati djelatnost tiskarstva za koju je najviše zaslužan Johannes Gutenberg - izumitelj tiskarskog stroja. Razvojem ove plemenite djelatnosti broj knjiga vrtoglavo raste što dovodi do pojave cenzure. Sve više se pojavljuju knjige koje svojim sadržajem nisu podobne za svjetovne ili Crkvene vlasti. Tako se pojavljuju prvi popisi zabranjenih knjiga koje prvotno izdaju vladari, a nakon njih i Crkva. Jedan od najpoznatijih popisa zabranjenih knjiga je Index librorum prohibitorum iz 1559. godine. Kao jedan od oblika cenzure javlja se i spaljivanje knjiga. Brojne knjige završavaju na lomači, poput onih Martina Luthera i njegovih sljedbenika reformatora. Velik broj knjiga je kroz povijest tako nesretno stradao. Iako se mnogi ljudi protive cenzuri ona se kao praksa nastavlja provoditi sve do dana današnjeg.Middle Age is historic period that begins with the fall of Roman Empire and ends with discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. This period lasted for thousand years. The key role in the medieval had Church as the supreme authority. Christian literature started developing at the same time as Roman and Greek literature, which led to establishment of libraries near the monastery. Significant impact on the West had Arabic culture by bringing paper to Europe. That led to development of the printing industry, created by Johannes Gutenberg , the inventor of printing machine. Due to the growth of this noble activity number of books grew rapidly and that led to presence of censorship. The number of books with content not suitable for secular and Church authorities started growing. For that reason initial list of forbidden books was released by the monarchs and later by the Church. The most famous list was Index librorum prohibitorum, made in 1559. Also one form of censorship is book burnings. Many books were burned at the stake, some of them included those written by Martin Luther and his reformers. The large number of books shared the same fate throughout the history. Even though many people protest against censorship, the practice of censorship is still prevalent today