Censura Librorum
Item
Country
IT
Name of institution (English)
Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
ita
Contact information: postal address
Piazza del Sant’Uffizio, 11, 00193 Rome
Contact information: phone number
0039 0669895945
0039 0669895945
0039 0669895945
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
archive@cfaith.va
Reference number
ACDF, S.O., Censura librorum
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Censorship of books
Title (official language of the state)
Censura Librorum
Language of title
lat
Creator / accumulator
Congregazione del Sant’Ufficio dell’Inquisizione
Date(s)
1570/1939
Language(s)
ita
lat
Extent
197 storage units
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
This series preserves particularly important documents for the history of the censorship of Jewish books, Hebrew texts, and commentaries of the Torah, but, above all else, for the study of the persecution undertaken by the Holy See through qualifiers and consultants of the Talmud. These sources have not yet been studied in-depth. The studies that have been developed by Fausto Parente and Marina Caffiero in recent decades have used the Censura Librorum series in various ways, also regarding book testimonies coming from the Sephardic diaspora.
Archival history
The series entitled "Censura librorum” belongs to the Res Doctrinalia subfonds and results from the examination and evaluation of manuscripts and printed books subjected to censorship by the Holy Office. In addition to the “vota” (censorship) of the qualifiers and consultors of the Congregation of the Holy Office, there are also denunciations, reports, transmissions of acts, etc. Manuscripts or printed copies of the works examined are often attached to the documents. The series is divided into two distinct parts, according to the chronology. The old part is the largest, with documents from 1570 to 1928; the most recent part contains documents from 1917 to 1939. It has three distinct “rubricelle” (indexes) that can be consulted in the reading room.
Administrative / Biographical history
The history of the Roman Inquisition and its archive begins with the appointment of a commission of cardinals by Paul III (papacy: 1534-1549) with the bull "Licet ab initio", which took place on July 21, 1542. This congregation was intended to defend the Church from heresies, maintain the integrity of the faith, and identify and condemn errors and false teachings. In 1559, on the death of Paul IV (papacy: 1555-1559), the Roman people sacked and burnt the first seat of the Inquisition, located in via di Ripetta, thus causing the loss of much of the original documentation. In 1566, Pius V (papacy: 1566-1572) set up the seat of the congregation and its archive in the current palace. Initially, the archiving of the documentation was determined by the procedural activity carried out by the congregation. In the second half of the 18th century, a reorganisation by subject began, separating the criminal issues from the doctrinal ones and creating the series that still make it up today. During the 19th century, the Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede was subject to various movements and suffered considerable dispersions. With the union of Rome to the French Empire in 1809, it was transported to Paris by order of Napoleon. For the return of the archives to Rome in 1816, the Apostolic Delegate received the mandate to destroy the parts of the documentation not strictly essential to administrative activity. The criminal series was almost entirely burnt and only a few important trials were saved. During the Roman Republic of 1849, the complex of documents underwent further transfers and losses and, only in 1868, the part of the documentation necessary for the current administration was relocated to the palace of the Holy Office, while the oldest closed series remained kept in the Apostolic Palace until 1901. Then, this archival material was recovered and rearranged, forming the so-called Stanza Storica. This has remained the main structure of this archive until today. The Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede was open for consultation by scholars in 1998.
Access points: locations
Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
Finding aids
Three index books: 1. 1570-1850; 2. 1852-1916; 3. 1917-1939
"Inventario generale Shades 6 Ecclesia" (Software for Historical Archives Description – Ecclesia) only available in the reading room
Author of the description
Andrea Cicerchia, 2022
Bibliography
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede | Collections (official language of the state) |