The Invention of the Printing Press
Would the world look the same today without the invention of the printing press? The printing press has affected billions of people's lives throughout the centuries since it was invented in 1440. The printing press was invented by a man named Johannes Gutenberg sometime around 1440. He was a Christian man whose goal was to spread the scriptures to the common people and to help bring the Bible to other parts of society so many others could read it. In a famous quote Gutenberg said “Religious truth is captive in a small number of little manuscripts which guard the common treasures, instead of expanding them. Let us break the seal which binds these holy things; let us give wings to truth that it may fly with the Word, no longer prepared at vast expense, but multitudes everlastingly by a machine which never wearies to every soul which enters life.”- Johannes Gutenberg The printing press was no doubt an early influence from and of the renaissance and an early influence for the reformation. An invention that changed the world and the history of humanity as we know it. Before the printing press, books were written and accessed in a different way. The printing press changed the attitudes of the commoner, the intellectual thought of academia and the religious undercurrent. Let us explore the pages of history and learn of the inception of the printing press.
Before the printing press, knowledge was available to people if they sought after it. However for thousands of years books were written by hand and copies of copies were made and distributed among people. The most ancient writings were written on papyrus and later parchment. Then in the middle ages people started using rag paper made from linen rags. People also used parchment as well as paper made from a variety of substances during this time, however linen rag paper was popular. It was scribes that would write the books and as such only certain people had access to them. In 1440 everything changed, with the invention of the printing press, Books, particularly the Bible, now became available to a lot more people. Mass production of the Bible, then later secular writings and many other types of literature were available. People started to learn new things regarding the Biblical text because they could read it themselves instead of relying on what the church leaders said about it. They certainly could have had access to a Bible before hand but the printing press made it widely available. Even ideas within secular thought could now be printed and distributed such as the sciences. The printing press tremendously contributed to the renaissance and expansion of knowledge for the whole of society.
The printing press also benefited the academic and scholarly fields of study. With the mass production of books and research papers, those in academia were now able to have their material published and seen by a much larger amount of people. Topics such as theology, science, philosophy, math and art were now becoming known to more people and even academics themselves could learn new things. In a quote by a known American attorney, he had this to say “What gunpowder did for war the printing press has done for the mind.”- Wendell Phillips (1811-1884) The university's now had easier access to books in greater quantity and quality. The academic establishment was forever changed. The printing press changed the way writing books were viewed. It became viewed much like the way modern scholarly articles are written, that is with multiple sources and comprehension of the knowledge being presented. Overall a beneficial change to the academic environment for most.
The changes and attitudes within the church, especially that of Rome and the Vatican changed, even though this took time to manifest. The printing press paved the way for the Protestant Reformation and the inventor of the printing press did not even have Protestant ideas. Whether Johannes Gutenberg intended it or not, his invention created problems for the Roman Catholic Church later, even if they themselves did not realize this at the time. Ever since the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church they attempted to maintain control of the scriptures. Gutenberg having had access to the Bible himself, read it and translated the version known as the Gutenberg Bible. It's not exactly known how many copies were made but sources suggest somewhere between 158 to 180 copies. Even after the Gutenberg Version, the printing press would play a key role in helping Martin Luther and the Reformation nearly 8 decades later. The printing press allowed people to read the Bible for themselves and thus they were able to compare the Catholic Church's teaching and practices to the scriptures. A revolution in thought like this would have been very hard to arise had the printing press not come into existence. The religious undercurrent and spiritual atmosphere was forever altered.
If we look at the history leading up the printing press and after it, we can clearly see its effects on society. It was one of the key aspects of the Renaissance, it was a contributing factor to the Reformation and it was a great element in the overall expanding of human knowledge. In summary the printing press brought knowledge to the people, helped the academic and scholarly fields and changed the established religious climate. Johannes Gutenberg, a smith and publisher from Germany invented one of the most remarkable devices throughout all human history. In a quote by the famous writer Mark Twain, he had this to say "What the world is today, good and bad, it owes to Gutenberg. Everything can be traced to this source, but we are bound to bring him homage, … for the bad that his colossal invention has brought about is overshadowed a thousand times by the good with which mankind has been favored."- American writer Mark Twain (1835−1910) The world as we know it today has never been the same. Inventions such as the wheel, electricity, the telephone and the internet have changed humanity and the printing press deserves its place among the greatest of them. Books have always been apart of humanity and the printing press has made that aspect flourish. From the great stories of the Bible to other types of literature, from nonfiction novels to fiction books the printing press has changed many lives. The printing press is an example of the brilliance displayed from the human mind and will. Humanity will forever be changed and impacted for the greater good.The printing press changed history and led humanity into greater knowledge of the truth. As we move into the future, let us understand and remember the past, whatever the future may hold.
Written by James Peter
Works Cited and Sources
"Books Before Gutenberg." Harry Ransom Center. Accessed October 27, 2017. http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/educator/modules/gutenberg/books/before/. - University of Texas At Austin
Arthur, Peter. "The Impact of the Printing Press." The Printing Press. Accessed October 27, 2017. http://courses.educ.ubc.ca/etec540/Sept04/arthurp/researchtopic/index.htm. Affiliated with University of British Columbia
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Printing press." Encyclopædia Britannica. April 07, 2017. Accessed October 27, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/technology/printing-press.
Lehmann-Haupt, Hellmut E. "Johannes Gutenberg." Encyclopædia Britannica. June 08, 2017. Accessed October 27, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Gutenberg
"Quotes - Johannes Gutenberg." Quotes - Johannes Gutenberg. Accessed October 27, 2017. https://sites.google.com/site/johanngutenbergper5/q.
"Printing press." Wikipedia. October 20, 2017. Accessed October 27, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press.
"Johannes Gutenberg." Wikipedia. October 26, 2017. Accessed October 27, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg.