Printing Press
The printing press played a major role in the distribution of information and literature. It also made a difference in social aspects, education, and independent thinking. Before Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, people couldn’t read, all books were handwritten and very few of them existed. All news and information was verbally presented from the church therefor they had control over what information went where. Oral communication was the only communication and there were no schools.
Once the printing press was invented in 1450, everything changed. The invention allowed for large quantities of identical books to be produced in a small amount of time so the number of reading materials available multiplied greatly. People learned to read and had access to a lot more information so the church attempted to maintain control through the use of licenses. That was not enough, though, and people started to develop independent thinking and perceptions as they noticed contradictions among texts. Identities were adopted and power was challenged; they realized that they had the power to publish their own thoughts and the church lost its authority.
Besides major changes in knowledge and thinking, many concepts were standardized due to the printing press. Latin was replaced by national languages, regional dialects were established, and the formatting of books was also regulated including title pages, page numbers, table of contents, index and footnotes. Grammar, spelling and punctuation were also standardized due to the new abundance of written texts.
Once the printing press was invented in 1450, everything changed. The invention allowed for large quantities of identical books to be produced in a small amount of time so the number of reading materials available multiplied greatly. People learned to read and had access to a lot more information so the church attempted to maintain control through the use of licenses. That was not enough, though, and people started to develop independent thinking and perceptions as they noticed contradictions among texts. Identities were adopted and power was challenged; they realized that they had the power to publish their own thoughts and the church lost its authority.
Besides major changes in knowledge and thinking, many concepts were standardized due to the printing press. Latin was replaced by national languages, regional dialects were established, and the formatting of books was also regulated including title pages, page numbers, table of contents, index and footnotes. Grammar, spelling and punctuation were also standardized due to the new abundance of written texts.