The correspondence of Isabella d’Este shows how
much importance was attached to imprese, which were be-
lieved to present in a peculiarly concentrated form the
various operations of mind and spirit to produce a distil-
lation of the owner’s personality; medals bearing a portrait
of the owner on one side and a riddling impresa on the
other were favorite tokens among humanist courtiers.
Thus Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici had depicted on
the obverse of his medal a variation on the ancient Egypt-
ian hieroglyph of a serpent biting its tail, an emblem of
perfection or eternity; the hint conveyed to the initiated
by this serpent is that the soul although descended to
earth still partakes of its heavenly nature. Paolo GIOVIO
(Dialogo dell’ imprese militari et amorose, 1555) established
five requisites for the impresa: it should show just propor-
tion; it should not be too obscure or too transparent; it
should make a fine show; there should be no human fig-
ure; the motto should be in a different language from that
of the author of the device.
The fashion lasted throughout the 16th century and
spread throughout Europe. Toward the end of the period
RUDOLF IIwas a particular aficionado of imprese and both
the Empresas Morales (1581) of the Spaniard Juan de Borja
and the Symbola Divina et Humana (1601–03) of Aegidius
Sadeler were published in Prague.
incunabula (Latin, “swaddling clothes”) Books printed
before the end of the year 1500. The term was first used in
reference to printing by Bernard von Mallinckrodt, dean of
Münster cathedral, in De ortu et progressu typographicae
(Cologne, 1639), a bicentenary celebration of GUTEN-
BERG’s invention. The author describes the period up to
1500 as prima typographicae incunabula (“the time when
printing was in swaddling clothes”), a phrase that other
writers soon copied. In the 18th century the word “in-
cunabula” alone began to be applied to the products of
early printing. The singular form “incunabulum,” now
often anglicized or gallicized to “incunable,” is used to
refer to a single book from this period. The German equiv-
alent is Wiegendruck (“cradle-book”). The choice of the
year 1500 as the end of the first period suggests a clear
break in the development of printing, an implication that
is not confirmed by the work produced early in the 16th
century.
Index Librorum Prohibitorum A list of books which
Roman Catholics were forbidden to read, on pain of ex-
communication. Its aim was to protect faith and morals,
especially to prevent the spread of heresy and to regulate
the reading and editing of Scripture. From the fourth cen-
tury onwards, the works of heretics were condemned, and
several popes issued decrees listing recommended and for-
bidden books. From about 1540 lists of proscribed works
were produced by universities and bishops. In 1557 Pope
PAUL IVordered the Congregation of the Holy Office to
compile the first official printed list or Index, which con-
demned some authors entirely and certain works of oth-
ers: there were rules for the guidance of readers. It was
issued in 1559 and revised several times by the popes and
by the Council of TRENTin 1562. In 1571 a separate Con-
gregation for the Index was established, which was reor-
ganized in 1588; the secretary was always a Dominican.
The system remained substantially unchanged until the
early 20th century and was finally abolished in 1966.
See also: CENSORSHIPindulgences In Roman Catholic teaching, the commuta-
tion by the Church of the temporal penalty incurred by
sins that have already been forgiven. There are two pre-
sumptions behind this doctrine: first, that divine justice
requires temporal punishment of sins on earth and in Pur-
gatory, even though the sinner has repented and received
God’s forgiveness; second, that the Church, through the
merits of Christ and the saints, has the authority to remit
such punishment in consideration of good works per-
formed by the sinner. Having become deeply uneasy about
both presumptions, LUTHERwould challenge the whole
system of indulgences in 1517–18, thus setting in train the
complex series of events now known as the REFORMATION.
Although the doctrine of indulgences can be traced
back to the early centuries of the Church, it did not ac-
quire any great importance until the high Middle Ages.
From the 12th century onward the granting of indul-
gences to repentant sinners who performed conspicuous
good works, such as going on crusades or pilgrimages,
became increasingly common. The doctrine was greatly
extended in 1459, when Pope Sixtus IV ruled that indul-
gences could commute not only the penance required on
earth but also sufferings endured in Purgatory. By this
time, the system was already under attack for its manifold
abuses. These included not only the flagrant selling of in-
dulgences by rogue “pardoners,” but, more insidiously,
the Church’s use of the system to encourage donations,
often for specific building projects.
The chain of events leading to Luther’s epoch-making
protest began in 1506, when Pope JULIUS IIdeclared an in-
dulgence for Christians who contributed to the cost of re-
building St. Peter’s, Rome. In 1514 his successor, LEO X,
made the fateful decision to extend the preaching of the
indulgence from Italy to other territories. In Germany it
was proclaimed in extravagant terms by Albert, arch-
bishop of Mainz, and his agent, a Dominican named Jo-
hann Tetzel (c. 1465–1519), both of whom appeared to
suggest that sins could be remitted for a simple cash pay-
ment. To Luther, already passionately committed to the
idea of JUSTIFICATION BY FAITHalone, this was intolerable.
His Ninety-five Theses, posted at Wittenberg on October
31, 1517, were a direct response to Tetzel’s preaching; at
the same time, they went beyond the issue of monetary
abuse to raise deeper questions about the theology behind22552 2 iinnccuunnaabbuullaa