r reformer for a long time attempted to
draw up regular indices of prohibited books. Examples of something
approaching this may be found in the later history of Protestantism,
but they are so unimportant as to be negligible.

[Sidenote: National censorship, 1502]

The national governments, however, laid great stress on licensing. The
first law in Spain was followed by an ever increasing strictness under
the inquisitor who drew up several indices of prohibited books,
completely independent of the official Roman lists. The German Diets
and the French kings were careful to give their subjects the benefit of
their selection of reading matter. In England, too, lists of
prohibited books were drawn up under all the Tudors. Mary restricted
the right to print to licensed members of the Stationers' Company;
Elizabeth put the matter in the hands of Star Chamber. [Sidenote:
1559] A special license was required by the Injunctions, and a later
law was aimed at "seditious, schismatic or libellous books and other
fantastic writings." [Sidenote: 1588]

[Sidenote: Catalogues of dangerous books]

The idea of a complete catalogue of heretical and dangerous writings
under ecclesiastical censure took its rise in the Netherlands. After
the works of various authors had been severally prohibited in distinct
{420} proclamations, the University of Louvain, at the emperor's
command, drew up a fairly extensive list in 1546 and again, somewhat
enlarged, in 1550. It mentions a number of Bibles in Greek, Latin and
the vernaculars, the works of Luther, Carlstadt, Osiander, Ochino,
Bullinger, Calvin, Oecolampadius, Jonas, Calvin, Melanchthon, Zwingli,
Huss and John Pupper of Goch, a Dutch author of the fifteenth century
revived by the Protestants. It is remarkable that the works of Erasmus
are not included in this list. Furthermore it is stated that certain
approved works, even when edited or translated by heretics, might be
allowed to students. Among the various scientific works condemned are
an _Anatomy_ printed at Marburg by Eucharius Harzhorn, H. C. Agrippa's
_De vanitate scientiarum_, and Sebastian Muenster's _Cosmographia
universalis_, a geography printed in 1544. The Koran is prohibited,
and also a work called "Het paradijs van Venus," this latter presumably
as indecent. Finally, all books printed since 1525 without name of
author, printer, time, and place, are prohibited.

[Sidenote: Roman Index]

Partly in imitation of thi