ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC : SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRINTING PRESS DURING RENAISSANCE .

SUBMITTED TO
Dr. Payal Jain
Department of English
COTTON UNIVERSITY

SUBMITTED BY
Name: Hemanta Saikia
Roll No: 61
Enrollment No : ENG1761063
Subject : English
Class: MA 1st Semester
THE PRINTING PRESS

Introduction :- The significant technological advancement was the invention of the printing
press. Printing press is a machine by which text and images are transferred to paper . Before the
printing press was invented, any writings and drawings had to be completed by hand.

History and Invention of Printing Press:

The history of printing started around 3000 BCE with the duplication of images. Off the
northeastern corner of China lies the Korean Peninsula, and that is where the next major step in
printing was taken. During the mid 1400 century, a German named Johann Gutenberg used
movable type to invent a printing press. This printing press was a machine that pressed paper
against a full tray of inked movable type. Gutenberg used his machine to print a complete
version of the Bible in 1455. The book became to known as the Gutenberg Bible.

Printing began at Mainz, Germany, but it spread rapidly to other places. Printing presses
appeared in Strasbourg (1460), Cologne (1464), Subiaco, Italy (1465), Venice (1469), Paris
(1470), Barcelona (1473), Holland (1473), Hungary (1473), England (1476), Krakw (1475),
Stockholm (1483), Copenhagen (1489). All together, some 252 towns and cities recorded having
a printing press by 1501. In 1476 Fra Domenico began printing in the convent of San Jacopo di
Ripoli Italy. At the same time, an Englishman brought printing to his home country. He set up
shop in Westminster, on the bank of the Thames River, close to Westminster Abbey. He printed
a translation of Le Morte dArthur and brought Chaucers Canterbury Tales into print for the first
time. In 1501 he brought out a Latin edition of Virgils Aeneid. By about 1500, Venice had
become the city with the largest number of printing presses and the largest output of books per
year.

The printing press made books in a relatively short time. It allowed books to be produced cheaply and
quickly. It shaped a historical period of great importance that was flourishing at that time, the
Renaissance.

The Renaissance and The Printing Press

The term Renaissance, literally means "rebirth" and is the period in European civilization
immediately following the Middle Ages. The printing press had a huge impact on European
society and The Renaissance.
The Renaissance Moves North

During the late 1400s, Renaissance ideas began to spread north from Italy to countries such as
France, Germany, Spain, and England. The printing press fueled the spread of Renaissance ideas.
The Northern Renaissance produced talented painters, writers, and scholars. They made
significant advances in the arts and learning.

Moving Beyond Manuscripts

One of the most important aspects of the Renaissance in the fifteenth century in Italy was the Humanism
which refers to the return of the classical Greek. Humanists schoolers traveled across Europe in search of
manuscripts to study ancient Greek and Latin writers . The invention of the printing press made it
possible for ancient texts to be spread widely and without the errors native to scribal copying.

Reclaiming Lost Authors

The printing press changed the shape of knowledge. Before the Printing press ancient Greek
writers remained elusive. After the invention Greek philosopher Aristotle ,Plato and the
dramatist Sophocles texts became available and widely accessible.

Renaissance to Reformation :

In 1517 ,the religious reformer Martin Luther wrote Ninety Five Theses criticizing many of the
practices and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. A printed copy of this was posted on a
Church door in Wittenberg. It challenged the church to debate his ideas. Luthers writing were
immediately reproduced in vast numbers and read widely. This lead to a division within the
church and the beginning of Protestant Reformation.

Conclusion

Printed Press became a new way to spread information to vast audiences quickly and cheaply. A
new culture of reading developed. The rapid spread of Renaissance ideas was made possible by
the invention of printing press

Reference:
The Printing Press by Samuel Willard Crompton. Chelsea House Publishers, Philadelphia.
Trevelyan G.M. , English Social History. Penguin Books.
Choudhury Bibhash, English Social And Cultural History