Question

Discuss the growth of printing presses in europe from 15th to 16th century.

Answer 1

The printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450. The first book he printed was the Gutenberg Bible. This book proved to be immensely popular because of the high quality of its printing and the relatively low price. After this, the printing press spread rapidly all over Europe. As early as 1480, printing was active in a range of countries like Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, England, Bohemia and Poland. People began to read books by authors like Erasmus and Luther. These authors started writing in the vernacular languages like Dutch and German instead of Latin. People could, therefore, read them directly and understand their arguments. The printed book began to universally available all over Europe.

The spread of reading habit in the 15th and 16th centuries led to the reformation in Europe. People began reading religious texts like the Bible themselves instead of relying on priests as had been the case before. They also became familiar with the interpretations of the Bible by authors like Luther who questioned the authority of the Catholic church.