The Gutenberg Press and Its Impact on the World

Johannes Gutenberg and the Invention of the Printing Press

Johannes Gutenberg was born around 1395, with his birthplace being Mainz, Germany. He was a goldsmith who was skilled in metalworking. Gutenberg’s father was a metal smith, and he was acquainted with the business of printing at a tender age. Gutenberg invented the moveable type press which made books production a reality that changed the world. Gutenberg’s printing press has been extensively known to be the most significant innovation of the recent era since it significantly impacted knowledge transmission. His invention started operating by 1450 although it was not a smooth journey for him. He faced a lawsuit with regards to payment of the funds he had gotten for the printing business. But before the finalization of the lawsuit he had already printed a Latin Bible known as the Gutenberg bible containing 42 scripture lines in every page. Gutenberg lost his masterpiece with a second Psalms Bible during the court case to the accuser. Although the court case affected Gutenberg financially, he went ahead and set up a different printing press where he continued printing, but he never put his name in those books and the papers that he had printed. The printing press had a substantial effect on the spread of concepts in Europe as well as beyond. The technology for printing moved quickly through Europe and, at an era of tremendous religious change, played an essential part in the accomplishment of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther who was a reformation leader only preached to a small number of individuals, but the word which was printed spread the message to a lot of people more ( Sayre, 2015).

Gutenberg’s Innovation and the Availability of Books

It is through Gutenberg’s innovation that books became more obtainable for once in history. Gutenberg’s invitation of movable printers ensured that books could be printed rather than handwriting them. Through this innovation, the bible was more available, and people started translating it from Latin to other languages. The purpose of the printer invention was to help the Catholic rebels spread the word of God in a way which they felt was correct and just. Johannes Gutenberg was one of the people who disagreed strongly with the Catholic Church and thus spread reformation. Protestant preachers helped with translating the Bible into different languages thus leading to reform of the church also known as the Reformation. Gutenberg’s printing press played a significant part in spreading concepts related to the novel Protestant faith in the European Reformation, permitting the press in shaping and channeling a mass movement. The press also allowed mass-produced of manuscripts at relatively affordable costs thus promoting reformation. The printing press was used by Protestant thinkers in spreading their ideas all over Europe, mostly via pamphlets. During the very early Reformation years, the printing presses in the German language made a lot of pamphlets by Martin Luther who was a Reformation leader, and they outnumbered the Catholic writers. The printing press innovation got rid of printed material control from the Church of the Catholics and made it hard for the Catholics to prevent the spreading of what it considered as unconventional ideas (Sayre, 2015).

Reference

Sayre, H. M. (2015). Discovering the humanities. Upper Saddle River : Pearson.