20-02-2026, 07:47 PM
Here are the key aspects of the status of this book in the 15th century:
Lost and Forgotten: While the book was known and quoted in the early church (1st-3rd centuries), it was later excluded from the biblical canon. In the West, it was lost for centuries and was not part of common medieval Bibles.
Status in the 15th century: If the text had reached them, 15th century church authorities would have considered it uninspired and dangerous because of its content (detailed descriptions of angels, demons, and apocalyptic visions).
Exception (Ethiopia): The only church to retain the Book of Enoch as canonical (sacred) was the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which was not affected by the Western/Roman ban.
Content and "heresy": The book tells of angels (Guardians) who descended to earth, had sex with human women, and fathered giants (Nephilim), which was problematic and mystical from the point of view of the theology of the time.
Rediscovery: The entire text was rediscovered in Europe only in the 18th century (brought from Ethiopia), so in the 15th century it was a book that did not exist in Western consciousness, or was considered apocryphal (outside the canon).
In the 15th century, you would probably not have come across the 1st Book of Enoch in a regular European library or in heretical writings of the time.
Lost and Forgotten: While the book was known and quoted in the early church (1st-3rd centuries), it was later excluded from the biblical canon. In the West, it was lost for centuries and was not part of common medieval Bibles.
Status in the 15th century: If the text had reached them, 15th century church authorities would have considered it uninspired and dangerous because of its content (detailed descriptions of angels, demons, and apocalyptic visions).
Exception (Ethiopia): The only church to retain the Book of Enoch as canonical (sacred) was the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which was not affected by the Western/Roman ban.
Content and "heresy": The book tells of angels (Guardians) who descended to earth, had sex with human women, and fathered giants (Nephilim), which was problematic and mystical from the point of view of the theology of the time.
Rediscovery: The entire text was rediscovered in Europe only in the 18th century (brought from Ethiopia), so in the 15th century it was a book that did not exist in Western consciousness, or was considered apocryphal (outside the canon).
In the 15th century, you would probably not have come across the 1st Book of Enoch in a regular European library or in heretical writings of the time.