Assess the impact of printing in early modern Europe, with specific reference to Elizabeth Eisenstein’s arguments about a ‘printing revolution’
Name of Author: Elizabeth O’ Dwyer
Course: First Year BA
Student ID number: 15173399
Module Code: HI4721
Mary Immaculate College
University of Limerick
Lecturer: Dr. Liam Chambers and Dr. Clodagh Tait
Submitted to Mary Immaculate College: 27/10/2015
Word Count: 1476.
This essay will discuss the impact of printing in early modern Europe, with specific reference to Elizabeth Eisenstein’s argument about a ‘printing revolution’. When Johannes Gutenberg invented printing in Mainz in the 1440s/1450s it set the platform for great change in Europe and the wider world. This new invention had such
…show more content…
It is ludicrous for us to think of our lives now without the printed word yet it was the stark reality prior to the printing presses invention. It, no doubt, had a huge impact on the world yet some historians believe that it was not a revolution. Some make the valuable point that the impact of printing was made possible by a much broader communications revolution, which allowed books and printed document to be transported all over the world. While others believe that print did not just overtake manuscripts overnight. This of course is highly credible as people at the time people at the time especially conservative and wary of new ideas. This would have meant that people would have taken quite some time to accept printed works. Many historians have made the case that printing made great strides in dispelling illegal ideas from circulating as to have a document printed an author’s name needed to be provided. However, others have criticised this saying that these idea were still spread by written manuscripts. Others believe that printing shops were used by states to regulate authority. There printing press of course had its downfalls, however it proved to be very useful in many areas, making huge impacts in the sectors of education, religion, exploration, employment, science, law and politics. The printing revolution caused great change in Europe, change that is still evident to this day. The impact that the invention of the printing press had was so great that it is perfectly acceptable for Elizabeth Eisenstein to label it a printing
In this essay, I will outline the details and advancements of the Reformation and Exploration, along with my view on which was the most important consequence of the printing press. Document A shows two maps of Europe. One of the maps shows how many printing presses there were and where they were located in 1471. The second map also shows how many and where printing presses were, but during 1500. The first map has very few dots indicating that during
(Hook) There have been many milestones that have changed human communication, from the invention of sign language to the development of the internet. (Bridge) One of those milestones was the Printing Press. (Background) The Printing Press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in Germany during the year 1450. By 1500, more than 20 million books were printed.
The working areas in the building industry were much better in the medieval period than in the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries and strikes were not rare. Also included in the book are chapters concentrating certain parts of medieval technology. One is the great architect-engineers and its construction of the cathedrals and in the development of the clock.
The presses helped spread ideas and thoughts of people, with great minds and beliefs. It has been debated which of these consequences is more important in the history of man. The Exploration period is a greater consequence because of how it affected the world, and how the long term effects were greater than that of the Reformation. The Reformation had many great effects on the church.
Author, J. Baldius firm in William of Ockham, created an advertisement expressing the way scribes, people who make copies of documents, hand wrote before the Printing Press was created.(Doc 1) Prior to the Printing Press, people hand wrote books and drew illustrations that took many years to complete.When the creation of the moveable type took place, it allowed for people to create books at a much faster rate and it enabled for more jobs to be available. Moreover, the development of this invention spread all across Europe between the years of 1471 and 1500. In maps displaying the spread of the Printing Press from 1471 and 1500, the location from where they started were mainly in Germany, Netherlands, and Italy.(Doc 2) In 1500, there were nine times more printing press’ then there were in 1471 and in that year there was one printing press in every major city. The popularity of the printing press spreads knowledge throughout Europe and makes people realize that this invention was not only a necessity, but it was not even counted as a luxury. The development of the printing press was the most important of all the consequences because although it was the beginning, it sparked a new and easier way for people to spread their knowledge and ideas quickly but
Coyotes may be encountered throughout the year. Raptors include red-tailed hawks, northern harriers, and American kestrels. During winter they may be joined by prairie falcons and rough-legged hawks. During spring and summer watch for upland sandpipers, common nighthawks, eastern meadowlarks, loggerhead shrikes, and grasshopper sparrows. These hills also harbor the largest population of greater prairie chickens in the world. Other than just grass the Kansas prairie has hundreds, nearly a thousand different species of wildflowers. The flowers are often abundant in the roadside ditches and may sometimes be found growing in the middle of the road! In the fall, the bluestem grasses show their subtle hues of blue and red.
In the Victorian and then Edwardian’s England, magazines directed to young readers had a central place in society. Reasons explaining this situation were numerous, for example the industrialization and the decreasing price of paper played an important part in the phenomenon. But one of the most important reasons was social reforms concerning education. Following a European global movement, the 1870’s Education Act in England had a strong impact to give and a universal and free access to primary school. This reform had important repercussions on publishers which seen in the juvenile market, a market in expansion ready to be exploited. Even before the 1870’s Education Act, religious structures and associations such as The Sunday School Movement were charged to teach young boys and girls to read. Therefore magazines and periodicals dealing with religious and evangelical contents appeared in the first quarter of the 19th century. For example in 1805, William Loyd created The Youth’s Magazine, or, Evangelical Miscellany. The aim here was to provide children of both sex with Christian and moral contents. William Lloyd asking the magazine’s contributors at the time to provide: "biographical communications, essays, obituaries of young people, extracts from scripture history, remarks on passages of scripture, anecdotes, poetry, or with
During the 1800’s Great Britain’s empire stretched around the world, and with raw materials easily available to them this way, they inevitably began refining and manufacturing all stages of many new machines and other goods, distributing locally and globally. However, despite being the central ‘workshop of the world,’ Britain was not producing the highest quality of merchandise. When comparing factory-made products made in England to surrounding countries, most notably France, those products could not compare as far as craftsmanship and sometimes, simply innovation. It was suggested by Prince Albert that England host a sort of free-for-all technological exposition to bring in outside crafts into the country and also
A critical point in European history was the Renaissance period, which took place between 1300-1700. The term Renaissance stands for ‘rebirth’, and in this context refers to the increased interest that was taken in learning from Greek and Roman classical writing. Recent exploration by historians into the Renaissance period has seen a fixation on the discussion of the role of gender during the Renaissance. A variety of historians, such as Joan Kelly and Merry E. Weisner, believe that women didn’t experience any form of a Renaissance during this period. It can be widely acknowledged that during this period society did experience a ‘rebirth’, especially in terms of the role of the men in Europe. Women, on the other hand, weren’t as fortunate.
Gutenberg’s printing press was one of the most important inventions of the renaissance, as it has had a major impact on both the Renaissance and todays world of printing. The Gutenberg Press, impacted the renaissance by, making books and information easier and cheaper to reproduce and print, spreading more information easier and faster to vast audiences eager for new information, helping advance science and technology, and also by helping the economy grow stronger through creating new industries and the constant purchasing of books.
The topic I have chosen to discuss related to the last 400 years in Western Civilization is the industrial revolution in Britain. The industrial revolution was what created the modern capitalist system. Britain was the first to lead the way in this huge transformation. Technology changed, businesses, manufactured goods, and wage laborers skyrocketed. There was not only an economic transformation, but also a social transformation. The industrial revolution is such an interesting subject to further explore, because it truly made a difference in Britain in the late 1700s. The industrial revolution brought an increased quantity and variety of manufactured goods and even improved the standard of living for some individuals, however, it resulted in grim employment and living conditions that were for the poor and working classes. The industrial revolution had a bright and dark side to it. It was dark due to all the horrible working conditions, crowded cities, unsanitary facilities, diseases, and unsafe work environment, but the bright side is that it was a period of enormous social progress.
Printing was introduced into England in the late 14th century (post-Chaucer). This fact contributed more than any single factor to the
Following the years of revolution, the eighteenth century was relatively stable and peaceful age. General improvement of life and urbanisation led to increase in the amount of spare time and money. The commercialisation of the leisure also made recreational activity more affordable, especially for the new middle class constituted by professionals. Their new vulnerable status in the society led them to seek their own culture, such as participation to society activities and enrolment to the subscription library. Subscription Library was first established in Liverpool in 1758, and it spread across Britain, growing the number of subscribers along the way. It was essentially a private library, requiring a payment of a guinea for entry and another ten shillings or so for the annual subscription fee. In turn, the members were allowed access to the permanent collection of the books. In this essay, I would like to discuss the possible purposes of the subscription library in the eighteenth century, by studying the library catalogues and regulations. Firstly the library’s role in the associationalism and the polite culture would be considered. Then I would like to discuss how the library served as a place of forming a uniformed society, offering useful knowledge and promoting equality. Lastly, its exclusiveness would be studied.
Voltaire was a rebellious and radical thinker, whose sharp wit and pointed satire drew the ire of critics who say he disrespected the orthodoxy of church and state, and won the respect of a growing rationalist movement that had emerged out of the public sphere in Europe between the 17th and 18th centuries. Although Voltaire is known today for being a philosophical powerhouse, whose writing is the stuff of legend, for most of his life he only wrote plays, poems, and novels. It wasn’t until he was almost forty in 1733 that he published his first major philosophical work, “Letters Concerning the English Nation.” This was a series of letters that describe the customs, cultures and great men of England, and even though his praise for England, a country “where all the arts are honored and rewarded,” and where one could think “free and nobly without being held back by any servile fear,” may be overblown, they are important nonetheless, because it highlights the virtues that an Enlightened society should strive for. (114) In many ways these were not so much love letters to England, as much as they were a call for the rest of Europe to progress in the rationalist movement that England had set the tone for.
If someone were to ask me, "What has the government done for you today?" I would most likely say nothing, but as I researched I have looked back on my past and my present. I have realized realized that through the years I have really noticed that laws do hold a foundation on my everyday life as well as others. Laws are principles and regulations that are established under the authority of the state and/or the nation. They help to form the foundation for a country that protects and provides for its citizens.