1. The Printing Press and the Spread of Ideas

2. Life before the printing press
Education
Books had to be hand copied, so they were very hard to come by
Extremely expensive
Only the wealthy and those in the clergy could afford them

3. Life before the printing press
Religion
Catholic Church dominated Europe
Average person didn’t have access to the Bible
They relied on clergy experts

4. Life before the printing press
Literacy
Most people couldn’t read
Everything was read out loud
Poems were praised over novels

5. What was it?

6. Gutenberg Son of a wealthy merchant Growing up learning metal making
Professional goldsmith
Researched previous presses
Revolutionized the modern press

7. Gutenberg’s contributions
He didn’t invent the press, just revolutionized it
New type of alloy
Strong and versatile
Printing matrix
Made better stamps
Oil ink
Lasted longer

8. Influx of books

9. Life after the printing press
Education
Price of books fell and became more available
Literacy rates went up
Influx of science and technology because it was easier to write down their findings and spread their ideas

10. Life after the printing press
Religion
Paved way to Protestant Reformation
Bible became the center of religion, not the church
Church couldn’t stop it from happening

11. Life after the printing press
Literacy
With the higher literacy rate, came different views on reading
Increase of novels and larger readings
People could discuss the ideas they read about at home

12. Spread of ideas Between classes, groups, cultures
Brought about the scientific revolution
Authorship became important
Invention of text aids
Decline of Latin

13. Church’s reaction Positive Negative
Spread their religious views and ideas
Communicate easier between churches and monasteries
Negative
Increase of non-religious works
People could read the Bible on their own
Led to the decline of the Church