Turning Points In History: Guttenberg Printing Press

My monthly study group through Brandeis University is something I really look forward to. I missed last month, but was there for the January lecture, pen and paper in hand. Johann Gutenberg, a goldsmith from Mainz, Germany, invented the printing press in 1455, after years of working on it secret. He soon took on a partner, Johann Fust, who turned out to be the big financial winner in this new discovery. Gutenberg was not a very good businessman, and Fust ended up profiting from the invention. Prior to this invention, the Chinese had developed block printing, a method that Gutenberg expanded.

Some scholars say that Gutenberg is the most important man of the 2nd millennium. The invention of a printing press with moveable type made the Renaissance, Reformation and the Scientific Revolution flourish. Martin Luther's message was broadly disseminated during the Protestant Reformation due to the printing press. During this time, 1/3 of all books were written by Martin Luther. Many religious pamphlets, indulgencies, and books endorsing a religious point of view were distributed by both Protestants and Catholics during the Reformation. Indulgencies were papers written by the Catholic Church to absolve people from sin, for a fee. The money was used to fund the crusades! All it took was enough money to buy the paper, and you were absolved.

Prior to the printing press, ideas were either spoken or remembered. Written text was for the elite, the few that could read Latin. Books were copied by scribes, and because of this, no two books were exactly alike. The shift from scrolls to codexes was a very significant change. With the printing press came an increase in speed and range of distribution of printed matter. Costs came down, and the masses began reading books printed in the vernacular, rather than Latin. The first public library opened in 1571 in Florence, and a large reading public followed.

Sadly, this invention, which made possible the dissemination of information to the masses, seems to be coming to an end. Recently I toured the UT newspaper in San Diego, and was told by our guide, that print media will be dead, or nearly dead, in 12-15 years. I will be sad to see newspapers, magazines and books disappear. You can always go to Mainz, Germany, where Project Gutenberg is located and see the interesting history of the printing press and how it influenced the world.