MDA02: CHAPTER 2 – Printing
Printing enabled mass education, began mass communication and publication created a sense of “the public”
A Chinese Invention
Wherever printing has gone it has been followed by censorship and propaganda
1486 – censorship of the printed work can be traced to Archbishop Berthold von Henneberg in the same
German city where Gutenberg had his printing shop
o He did not invent printing, before him ppl were carving things into wood, clay etc
o He didn’t invent the printing press…he came up with a superior printing press that used hard metal
punches to make soft lead type of a precise height and an oil based ink that stuck to the type -> he
began the process that moved the world into the Modern age
He must’ve known something about block printing
Missionaries and other travelers who returned to Europe w/ news of the Chinese invention of paper may have
reported a greater number of books were printed in china
Europe at the time was a diffusion of kingdoms and baronies but merchants still looked for trade and
beaurocrats needed records
o Printing came – first efficient way to spread info beyond the range of human voice
o Organized mail serviced took root, universities were more available, students sought books
Early Printing in Europe
Before Gutenberg’s printing press, most books in Europe were written in Latin and unavailable to an illiterate
public
Info came from preachers or balladeers = If something written needed to be revealed, on person could real
aloud to others (usually a local priest, monks)
Stained glass church windows carried the only history most ppl knew about
At the time book production existed in Europe was copied by hand, line after line
Printing and Literacy
Modern age – growth of literacy [printing + literacy came hand to hand]
Cheap books were coming off the press so a reading public grew
Printed books were smaller than manuscripts, easier to read printed texts promoted silent and quicker reading –
allowed people privacy and quiet (esp w/ the invention of the chimney which heated private rooms)
More merchants and artisans learned to read
o Merchants (middle class) arose to claim its place in society, ad literacy was a useful tool – they took their
children to school and stayed to learn themselves
When feudalism was dying out, birth didn’t dictate who sat in city govn’t, instead ability to read and write had
more power
The nobility insisted that their authority was a right bestowed by god – they made sure their sons became
educated
The Reformation
Before Gutenberg, books were costly – copying was careless and libraries were small and private
The church controlled nearly all education and was a tool used to spread faith
The pivotal religious movement was the Protestant Reformation, 16t c. as an effort to reform the dominant
roman catholic church, martin Luther made effective use of Gutenberg’s invention
o Pamphlets and posters were becoming widespread through the country from his campaign
1 Martin Luther
He translated the new testament into German vernacular so ordinary ppl can understand it.
Gutenberg’s invention allowed for 20 translations of the bible
By the end of the 16 c, the separation of many Christians from the established church had taken root this
led to new protestant faith throughout Europe
The Renaissance
Another great movement arose at the same time as the reformation
The renaissance introduced the classical literature of Greece and Rome to a western Europe that had been
unaware of the ancient books
The spread of secular books and humanism led to a new division from the Church, quite diff from the
Reformation
Access to the books stimulated individual scholarship
Inductive reasoning, ancient literature, secular moral thinking and political awareness of classical Greece further
demarcated the Modern Age from the middle ages
@ this time, explorers voyaged to Asia, Africa and the new world, where for good or ill they set down roots
o Printers produced engraved maps and geography texts; written tales of voyage gave ppl excitement
Some brought back a knowledge of astronomy, geo, medicine, mathematics + philosophy
Technologies newly invented/discovered from distant lands were described: the water wheel for driving forge
hammers, flour mills and mechanical saws, crane and paper
Medieval alchemy reluctantly gave way to authentic scientific inquiry the intellectual ferment would lead in
th th
the 17 & 18 c to the enlightenment, a revolution in human thought w/ a focus on the here, not the hereafter
Literacy enabled ppl to think rationally and conclude that change is possible
Printing would make the scientific revolution possible
Printing and Languages
Printing provided a sense of nationalism – once it was put in printing, it was more fixed w/ distinctive structures
Communication media became an element of all wars
Albert Einstein pointed out that the printing of music notation created a music revolution – a visual
representation of melody became the foundation of notation
Printing and Freedom
In the U.S. the bill of rights was being compromised by federalists and democrats – the very first of its
amendments called for freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, the right to assembly and
the right to petition the govt
Newspaper attacks against opposing politicians were used as principle tools of persuasion in resolving the many
issues that confronted the vigorous new nation
Congress passed the Alien and Sediation Acts threatening 2 yrs imprisonment and $2000 fine for anyone who
would “write, print, utter or publish any false, scandalous and malicious writing” against the govnt
Jefferson never abandoned the principle of a free press although in the years to come, he grew sick of the lying
and culminating of the federalist press that opposed him
o It built up its industry and divided into 2 bitter warring camps, north and south
The Industrial Revolution
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