The Printing Revolution

Question 1

invention of the printing press

Answer 1

Johannes Gutenberg in 1440s, first book printing is Gutenbuerg’s Bible

Question 2

invention of Greek and Latin typeset to print new edition of classics

Answer 2

Aldus Manutius

Question 3

spread of printing

Answer 3

1450-1500 c.20 million books printed
1500-1550 c.150-200 million books printed
by 1500 Venice had 150 publishers

Question 4

literacy rates

Answer 4

in 1580 illiteracy in England still very common but by 1680 England was mostly literate
in 1640 1/3 of men and 1/6 of women could sign their names

Question 5

printing mistakes

Answer 5

The Wicked Bible in 1631 misprint of King James’ Bible, ten commandments read “thou shalt commit adultery”

Question 6

Columbus and Ptolemy

Answer 6

Ptolemy’s work ‘Geographia’ disappeared in the c.6th century and reappeared in c.1400 and repined in 1474, influenced Columbus’ voyage to the New World, Columbus’ 1494 letter printed in 6 different countries and 17 editions

Question 7

Elizabeth Eisenstein

Answer 7

argues the printing press is an agent of change giving rise to transformations of the Renaissance, Reformation and the scientific revolution, argues its impact is an ‘unacknowledged revolution’

Question 8

Steinberg

Answer 8

argues the history of printing as ‘an integral part of the history of civilisation’

Question 9

Copernicus

Answer 9

influence by reprint of Ptolemy’s ‘Astologia’ in proving the Earth revolved around the sun, it was put on the index of forbidden works by the Catholic church in 1616 and reminded there until the 19th century
he influenced other scholars like Tycho in Denmark, Kepler in Germany, Galileo in Italy

Question 10

Eisenstein on the scientific revolution

Answer 10

argues this new mass medium was used more by pseudoscientists and quacks than professional Latin-writing scientists and scholars, when they did publish their work they rarely achieved status of bestsellers and were difficult for the general population to understand
the publishing of old, outdated medieval works meant the printing revolution had a more negative, retrogressive role on scientific revolution

Question 11

Antonia McLean

Answer 11

argues there is no evidence that printing hastened the spread of new ideas and that “the printing of medieval scientific texts may have delayed the acceptance of Copernicus”

Question 12

Eisenstein on the Renaissance

Answer 12

within 50-60 years of the invention of the printing press, the entire classical canon had been reprinted and widely disseminated throughout Europe
argues however that the impact of the printing revolution came too late to be part of the transformation from medieval to modern in Renaissance Europe

Question 13

Dawthrop and Strauss

Answer 13

Protestantism as a religion of the word and advanced literacy, people were encourage to read and connect with God for themselves

Question 14

Arthur Dickens

Answer 14

agues the Reformation could not have happened without the printing press, Luther used it for propaganda, ability to make exact, standardised and ineradicable impression on Europe’s population, for the first time in history people could judge the validity of religion and revolutionary ideas for themselves

Question 15

Martin Luther

Answer 15

in only 3 years in the early 1520s more than 300,000 copies of 30 publications by Luther were printed

in Luther’s 1520 pamphlet ‘On the Liberty of the Christian’ he argues “we are also priests forever… for as priests we are worthy to appear before God to pray for others and to teach one another divine things”