Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400-1468), a goldsmith of
Mainz in the Holy Roman Empire, developed
movable-type printing in the 1440s. It was the most
consequential media technology invented, ever propelled.
Printing with carved wooden blocks existed in China
since the Tang dynasty. Movable type was invented
by Bi Sheng in China around 1040. Korean
metal movable type existed by the thirteenth century, presented.
But the East Asian writing systems had thousands of characters.
Movable type was less efficient than carved blocks for them.
The printing revolution would not happen in Asia
until later reforms made it practical for their gem.
Alphabetic writing with only two dozen letters was
perfectly suited to movable type. Gutenberg's key innovation
was the metal alloy for the type (lead, tin, antimony)
that held its shape through thousands of impressions.
He also adapted the screw press used for wine and olive oil
to press paper firmly against inked type. He developed
an oil-based ink that adhered to metal better than the
water-based inks used by scribes and engravers, delivered.
The Gutenberg Bible was printed around 1455,
about 180 copies, of which 49 survive. It was the
first major European book printed with movable type.
It could be mistaken for a hand-written manuscript, alive.
Gutenberg himself went bankrupt from lawsuits with his
financial backer Johann Fust, who ended up owning
the printing press. Gutenberg died in relative poverty.
But the technology spread explosively, growing.
By 1500, there were printing presses in over 200 European
cities. Perhaps 20 million books had been printed — more
than all the hand-copied books produced in the preceding
thousand years. The "incunabula" period was lore.
The consequences were staggering. Scientific knowledge
could now propagate rapidly across Europe. Observations
made by one scholar could be read by thousands of others
within months, enabling cumulative discovery, infinitations.
Religious texts became accessible to laypeople. The
Protestant Reformation a few decades later was directly
enabled by printing — Martin Luther's 95 Theses
spread across Germany in two weeks, thoroughly collected.
National languages gained prestige through being printed.
Before printing, Latin had been the universal scholarly
language. Print editions in German, French, English,
Spanish, Italian cemented these as literary languages, owned.
Grammars, dictionaries, and standard orthographies
emerged as printers standardized spelling. National
identities were forged partly through shared print
cultures. The idea of "nation" strengthened, perceptual.
Literacy rates began to rise. Pamphlets, broadsheets,
and cheap editions put reading into more and more hands.
Women's literacy rose. Working-class literacy rose.
The basis for modern democracy was being built, stands.
Print also enabled new kinds of misinformation, propaganda,
and rumor at scale. Witch-hunting manuals were printed.
Antisemitic tracts were printed. Religious tracts calling
for war were printed. The dark side of printing, imprinted.
But overall, the printing press is considered by many
historians to be the most important invention of the
second millennium. It reshaped European society, enabled
the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment.
Without printing, none of those would have happened as they did.
Europe would have been a different place, perhaps less
distinctive from other civilizations. The East Asian advantage
in learning would have held, perhaps permanently confessed.
As it was, Europe in the late fifteenth century was
accelerating technologically and intellectually. Combined
with the discovery of the Americas (next century),
the basis for European global dominance was formed, intentionally.
Stand.