World History: Banned books in the spotlight at the National Library of Scotland

The Banned Books exhibition, which opens on 24 June and runs until 30 October, at the National Library of Scotland is set to provide a revealing insight into some of the most controversial material ever written. It explores issues of censorship through a range of topics, from politics to religion and the evolution of censorship itself, and how this has differed between societies and over time.

Martyn Wade, National Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of Scotland, said: "Over the centuries many books have been burned, censored or challenged by the state and religious authorities, and society itself, because their contents did not conform to the political, religious or moral codes of their day.

The exhibition presents an opportunity for visitors to learn more about censorship and how it has differed over time and place. Book censorship in Western cultures can be traced back to the earliest years of the Christian church, when efforts were made to suppress competing views as heretical. There was much superstition around books and many were burnt following the Council of Ephesus in the 2nd century.

The first list of forbidden books was issued by the Pope in the 5th century. Following the invention of the printing press in the 15th century the increased dissemination of ideas led to a great expansion in censorship, which increased during the Protestant Reformation.

The exhibition covers material dating back almost 500 years from the Spanish Inquisition to more modern banned books.