In class the other day, a question was posed about whether or not there was a correlation between the development of patents and the Reformation, since both took place at roughly the same time. Dr. Burton said that there probably wasn’t much of a correlation, but how about a correlation between the Reformation and the development of the Gutenberg Press? Sie glauben ihm besser (German for “you better believe it“).
As we have been learning in our unit on written knowledge, in order to copy manuscripts or any sort of text, it was a painful process that required immense amounts of time and perfect concentration. I’m sure those of you who are working with stone as your medium for our project have a little more sympathy for those who considered stone the standard! As has been the theme throughout this course, we have to ask ourselves, “there has to be a better way!“ This was the inquiry of Johannes Gutenberg in the mid 1400’s.
Gutenberg grew up reading books made from block printing. Block print was done by first making a block of wood that was the same size as the piece of paper that you would be printing on. The printer would then carve the letters onto the block of wood; yes, all of them! Then they would have to carve around those letters in order to “raise“ them from the surface of the wood. Ink was then applied and the paper pressed, leaving the imprints of the letters. Buying books made in this form was very expensive. Gutenberg enjoyed reading and determined that he was going to develop a quick and easy way to print books that would be affordable for all. (Check out this video to see this method applied to playing cards) (Source)
Gutenberg set up a small, private workshop and set off after his dream. He failed many times at developing a new method for print and eventually became bankrupt. He met a wealthy goldsmith and lawyer named Joahann Fust who provided funds for Gutenberg to continue his work. With time, the Gutenberg Press, a system of moveable types, was created. It revolutionized the world of print; it reformed the world of religion.
The Gutenberg Press developed quickly and became the mainstay for printing. It was the Gutenberg Press that allowed Martin Luther to publish his 95 Theses quickly and widely. The Reformation was underway and there was little that could stop it. As copies of the 95 Theses were distributed, the fire of the Reformation intensified. If Martin Luther had been born 100 years earlier, the Reformation may have happened in local units, but it would have been much more difficult to make it widespread. (Source)
What other influences has the Gutenberg Press had on society? What else happened with it that couldn’t have happened without it?
Wow, the woodcutting process actually looks a little fun! It might have been a lot of work for the first one, but you could make so many really easily after that! It's like a huge stamp! It's great that books and things like Martin Luther's 95 Theses were able to be distributed so easily and were more affordable to produce. Here's one that might not have happened if the Gutenberg Press wasn't invented...Christopher Columbus probably wouldn't have had the type-written geography book that inspired him to explore! Wow, think about that, we've got the Reformation and the discovery of the New World that might not have been possible without the Gutenberg Press. Sound like God's hand may have been in that? I think yes!
ReplyDeleteIt does say in the Book of Mormon that God's hand was in the inspiration of Columbus to come to America. It does seem like these strain events was not coincidental. But yeah Iove to attempt this fun looking process if we could find an expert at the craft. Once again the theme of the importance of accessibility for communication comes up regarding printed forms of knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the Reformation could not have occurred, at least as swiftly as it did, without the invention of the Gutenberg Press. When everyone was able to have a readily available copy of the Bible, they could form their own ideas about the doctrines that they read. The priests in the Catholic Church must have been very frightened by this. When William Tyndale translated the Bible into English and made it widely available to the masses, its interesting to remember the words he once said to a priest: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!"
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