The Impact of the Printing Press

In the 1450’s, Johannes Gutenberg revolutionized literature during the Renaissance with the invention of the printing press. Gutenberg’s invention encouraged cultural diffusion, advancements in math and science and made literature more accessible to the lower class. According to Chip Brady’s “What Was the Most Important Consequence of the Printing Press,” “...without his invention all of the above thinkers (Newton, Darwin, Einstein) and many more…would have never emerged” (Background Essay). Basically, Brady explains that many of the great minds of the time would not have emerged without the printing press because they would not have had access to the forefront of scientific literature and therefore; could not have built their theories around the discoveries of other scientists. In addition, the press allowed standardized ideas to be spread around Europe incredibly quickly without regulations from the church. The invention of the printing press had a lasting impact on not only literature, but Renaissance society, government and religion.

The printing press had a lasting effect on Renaissance society in many ways such as a divide in social class, the creation of new jobs, the unification of Europe and an increase in knowledge and curiosity. In “Negative reactions to Printing,” it states, "The Duke (Frederick) would be ashamed to have a printed book in his library” (Document C), meaning the upper class still desired handwritten books. This created a greater split between the upper and lower class because handwritten books became a sign of wealth due to the fact that they were unique and significantly more expensive. Also, “Scribe and Print Shop” (Document A) shows that the printing press both created and decimated jobs; new jobs app...

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...n, he did so drastically. Along with his changes in society, government and religion, he fueled cultural diffusion, innovation and advancement. Without his invention, many things we still use today would not exist, including Newton’s work in physics and math, Darwin’s theories and Einstein's work. As said in “What Was the Most Important Consequence of the Printing Press,” Johannes Gutenberg was ranked number one on A&E’s top 100 most influential people of the last 1,000 years for his invention. Many argue that he did not deserve this ranking, but when one stops to think about the effects it had on Europe and that without it, many other people on the list would not have become who they were; one begins to realize how influential he really was. The invention of the printing press was a vital in cultural diffusion and changed society, government and religion forever.