Born to a merchant and a shopkeeper's daughter, circa to the year 1400, in Mainz, Germany, Johannes Gutenberg is known as the man who developed Europe's first movable-type printing press. His invention led to changes in attitudes toward religion and philosophy, ushered in a scientific revolution and, some might argue, laid the foundation for a society in which everyone had access to information and literature. Gutenberg managed to achieve such a feat, as a result of his innovation, perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit. His story is proof that great inventions are born from repeated failure, as opposed to success; he invented the printing press to offset the losses from a failed business venture selling mirrors.
The purpose of this article is not to re-tell the story of Gutenberg's invention (although it must be the duty of historians to remind us of pioneers like Gutenberg). It is to examine both the immediate effect of his genius on the continent of Europe, and the effects that came about much later, globally. Prior to the printing press, as a a result of the tremendous overreach of the Catholic Church, and legal restrictions on education for the peasantry, the German literacy rate in 1475 was about 9%. As a result of the spread of the printing press, this figure had nearly doubled within seventy-five years, reaching 16% by 1550, and it had increased to 38% by 1750. It is not by magic that the literacy rate skyrocketed at such at time
It is important to note that at this time, no prominent European nation provided free, compulsory education to all children. This fact, naturally, leads to the next question: how specifically did the printing press raise literacy rates?
Gutenberg's printing press provided the average European with the literature necessary to develop literacy skills. Before the invention of the printing press, literature was firmly in the hands of the clergy and elite, as the hand-written copies of the Bible that were available, were often both incredibly expensive, and in the language of Latin. Because of this, the Catholic Church had immense power in determining the interpretation of the Bible. The Gutenberg Bible, accomplished the first problem, it decreased the cost of the Bible, making it more accessible. But he left the second problem; he did not manage to produce a version of the Bible that the people could not understand. Protestant reformers like Martin Luther translated the Bible to German, and King James I of England authorised a 1611 translation of the Bible to English. The printing also flooded Europe with pamphlets, books and plays, challenging ideas and bringing about revolutions.
Amongst other ways in which the printing press was revolutionary was the way in which it standardised the English language. As there was comparatively little literature in public circulation before the printing press, spellings of words in English varied from text to text, as a result of each writer's personal preference. As a direct consequence of the increase in literature, it became paramount that there needed to be a correct way to spell certain words, to bring about uniformity to the English language. In addition to this, the printing press brought ideas from across Europe to England; many scholars and writers from the Continent wanted to reach a new audience of a foreign language. Therefore, they incorporated terms and phrases, both academic and casual, from languages such as French and German, and even from classical languages, such as Greek and Latin.
Finally, I would like to discuss a final point. I believe that the most important change that the printing press brought about was the ushering in of the Age of Revolutions. The printing press was as essential to the start of the scientific revolution, as social media is to providing news today. It is without doubt that the printing press had a direct effect on the publishing of scientific literature, like Copernicus' De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, which was published in 1543. The printing press meant that there were multiple copies of the same articles and arguments, allowing ideas produced in Naples to be analysed and examined by scholars in Paris or Oxford. Naturally, the constant examination and analysis of ideas led to the improvement of such theories, meaning that we developed a greater understanding of the natural world.
As a result of humanity's increase in understanding of the natural world, scholars began to realise that the process of theorising and experimentation, that we now know as the scientific method, should be replicated in studies of societies and governments, rather than exclusively to studies of the natural world. A group of intellectuals known as the philsophes, were based in France, and produced books and pamphlets that were essential to the beginning of the French Revolution. Many of this group contributed to Denis Diderot's Encyclopedie (accent acute on the second e).
The philosophes and other Enlightenment thinkers came to the conclusion that the system used to govern any state should be subject to the scrutiny of the scientific method. They believed that the theory stating that, "The divine right of monarchs to rule a nation should be upheld," should be treated in the same manner as a theory that aimed to explain the forces of the natural world. This critical thinking changed social attitudes towards monarchies and formed a solid argument as to why Louis XVI of France should have been overthrown, and why America should have been free from British rule.
In conclusion, it is clear to see that Gutenberg's printing press was a revolutionary invention that enacted a plethora of changes in a wide variety of fields, including literature and the sciences. Without his invention, the average citizen might still be illiterate and uneducated, and be without the knowledge necessary to change the social and political landscape. Gutenberg truly did change the course of world history.
The purpose of this article is not to re-tell the story of Gutenberg's invention (although it must be the duty of historians to remind us of pioneers like Gutenberg). It is to examine both the immediate effect of his genius on the continent of Europe, and the effects that came about much later, globally. Prior to the printing press, as a a result of the tremendous overreach of the Catholic Church, and legal restrictions on education for the peasantry, the German literacy rate in 1475 was about 9%. As a result of the spread of the printing press, this figure had nearly doubled within seventy-five years, reaching 16% by 1550, and it had increased to 38% by 1750. It is not by magic that the literacy rate skyrocketed at such at time
It is important to note that at this time, no prominent European nation provided free, compulsory education to all children. This fact, naturally, leads to the next question: how specifically did the printing press raise literacy rates?
Gutenberg's printing press provided the average European with the literature necessary to develop literacy skills. Before the invention of the printing press, literature was firmly in the hands of the clergy and elite, as the hand-written copies of the Bible that were available, were often both incredibly expensive, and in the language of Latin. Because of this, the Catholic Church had immense power in determining the interpretation of the Bible. The Gutenberg Bible, accomplished the first problem, it decreased the cost of the Bible, making it more accessible. But he left the second problem; he did not manage to produce a version of the Bible that the people could not understand. Protestant reformers like Martin Luther translated the Bible to German, and King James I of England authorised a 1611 translation of the Bible to English. The printing also flooded Europe with pamphlets, books and plays, challenging ideas and bringing about revolutions.
Amongst other ways in which the printing press was revolutionary was the way in which it standardised the English language. As there was comparatively little literature in public circulation before the printing press, spellings of words in English varied from text to text, as a result of each writer's personal preference. As a direct consequence of the increase in literature, it became paramount that there needed to be a correct way to spell certain words, to bring about uniformity to the English language. In addition to this, the printing press brought ideas from across Europe to England; many scholars and writers from the Continent wanted to reach a new audience of a foreign language. Therefore, they incorporated terms and phrases, both academic and casual, from languages such as French and German, and even from classical languages, such as Greek and Latin.
Finally, I would like to discuss a final point. I believe that the most important change that the printing press brought about was the ushering in of the Age of Revolutions. The printing press was as essential to the start of the scientific revolution, as social media is to providing news today. It is without doubt that the printing press had a direct effect on the publishing of scientific literature, like Copernicus' De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, which was published in 1543. The printing press meant that there were multiple copies of the same articles and arguments, allowing ideas produced in Naples to be analysed and examined by scholars in Paris or Oxford. Naturally, the constant examination and analysis of ideas led to the improvement of such theories, meaning that we developed a greater understanding of the natural world.
As a result of humanity's increase in understanding of the natural world, scholars began to realise that the process of theorising and experimentation, that we now know as the scientific method, should be replicated in studies of societies and governments, rather than exclusively to studies of the natural world. A group of intellectuals known as the philsophes, were based in France, and produced books and pamphlets that were essential to the beginning of the French Revolution. Many of this group contributed to Denis Diderot's Encyclopedie (accent acute on the second e).
The philosophes and other Enlightenment thinkers came to the conclusion that the system used to govern any state should be subject to the scrutiny of the scientific method. They believed that the theory stating that, "The divine right of monarchs to rule a nation should be upheld," should be treated in the same manner as a theory that aimed to explain the forces of the natural world. This critical thinking changed social attitudes towards monarchies and formed a solid argument as to why Louis XVI of France should have been overthrown, and why America should have been free from British rule.
In conclusion, it is clear to see that Gutenberg's printing press was a revolutionary invention that enacted a plethora of changes in a wide variety of fields, including literature and the sciences. Without his invention, the average citizen might still be illiterate and uneducated, and be without the knowledge necessary to change the social and political landscape. Gutenberg truly did change the course of world history.
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