Book Burning and Censorship

Johannes Gutenberg had also published a Bible - the first book ever printed with movable type - on his printing press. The Gutenberg Bible was not burned because it was printed in Latin, not in the vernacular (everyday language of people). Gutenberg's heavily illustrated Bible was both beautiful and expensive. It cost about three year's pay for an average clerk.

Book burning was not unique to Europe during the Middle Ages. As missionaries ventured to the "New World," they exported theological correctness. Their zeal in converting others helped to destroy important aspects of ancient cultures - like the Mayans.