I just finished the Goldstones' Out of the Flames, an account of the life and influence of Michael Servetus. The book is very readable, proving a brisk, assured, and passionate narrative, nicely embedding biography within a very complex context (i.e., the Reformation and history of the book).
I wanted to note it here to offer an instance of information flow being blocked, then enabled. Servetus' major writing, a theological treatise against the trinity, Christianismi Restitutio (1553), was used by Calvin to prosecute, then execute the man. Out of the Flames describes movingly how Calvin led an effort to obliterate any traces of the book's existence. Only three copies survived this "Protestant Inquisition". A classic case of how threatening mass book publication could be, and repressive responses. It's an example of religious control of information, to the point of material destruction, human violence, and decreasing the amount of cultural objects.
Beyond the religious aspect, Christianismi Restitutio represents a lost opportunity for medical science. Amid the extended theological discussions, one passage described the circulation of blood within the human torso, significantly in advance of what medicine knew at the time, and nearly a century before Harvey figured it out. Again, the control of information - in this case, by religious authority - cut down the amount of knowledge available, with human costs.
I've been thinking about religious violence a great deal, and wondering how, or if, to blog about it. Religion and the history of information is one angle, perhaps.
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