The Librarian of Heretics: He Burned Books by Day and Saved Them by Night

Most men who served the Spanish Inquisition in 1492 were afraid of books.

Rodrigo de Carvajal was afraid of losing them.

He held his position as Librarian of the Inquisition's condemned materials for seven years, longer than any of his predecessors, longer than anyone expected a man of his intelligence to tolerate the work. He catalogued what others condemned. He prepared the pyres. He stood in the plaza with his ledger and watched the pages turn to ash, and then he walked home, and descended...