DBQ: WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCE OF THE PRINTING PRESS Short version Documents 1-10.

DBQ: WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCE OF THE PRINTING PRESS

Short version

Documents 1-10

Document 1: Two woodblock images. 1445 invention of printing press. Handwritten manuscripts continued to be

made into 16th century. Woodblock printing used for printing before

moveable type but impractical for carving multiple letters.

Consider this: By 1500, historians estimate European presses had produced 20 mil. Books and about 30,000 different titles.

Questions Doc. 1

Would you have rather worked as a scribe or printer?

Why is the date of ad of the Badius firm 1494, 50 years after the invention of printing press?

Doc. 2: Map “Spread of printing” Printing took 20 years to reach England but

when it did, they printed books in English not Latin, the language continentental books. They also printed non-religious books.

It took 400 years for the Muslim world to accept the printing press. Printing threatened the oral tradition of memorizing the Qur’an and was also a threat to authority.

Questions Doc. 2

What other industries were impacted by invention of printing press?

How could a sudden influx of millions of books affect people’s social life, politics, view of geography?

Doc. 3: Protestant Reformation Luther initially only wanted to challenge the

practice of selling indulgences. When the Church hierarchy ignored him, he challenged their teachings, especially criticizing the Pope, sparking a “revolution”

Some historians believe the printing press was a primary cause of the Protestant Reformation. Others say it simply speeded up the flow of ideas which were already circulating.

Questions Doc. 3

Can you think of a modern revolution or rebellion that started small but led to enormous changes?

Doc. 4: Different views on Reformation Reformation leaders defied the hierarchy of the Roman

Catholic Church. Finally, Protestantism itself fragmented into numerous sects - Lutheran, Calvinist, Baptist, etc.

The Press spread Reformation ideas in print and visual form. Reading of the Bible grew as exact copies were printed in the vernacular (native language). Bible reading encouraged the idea of a “singular truth” for all.

Conflict arose between King Henry VIII of England and the Church over Henry’s quest for a marriage annulment. This led to a complete split with the Church and Henry’s founding of the Anglican Church.

Doc. 4, cont’d. The Church took actions to reform, to unify

its message & doctrines and to punish heretics. This was called the Counter-Reformation.

For the first time, the Church created The Index of Forbidden Books in 1543. The list included immoral or heretical books, superstitious editions of Scripture by non-Catholics and any book on liturgy or church dogma not approved by the Pope.

Questions Doc. 4 Which is a more powerful attack against the

Pope, Luther’s words or the woodcut image entitled “Christ v. anti-Christ”.

Bloody wars & violent conflicts arose between 1562-1598 in Europe. Could the words of religious leaders have been partially responsible for the conflicts?

Doc. 5 Map, Spread of Protestantism Protestantism spread mostly in northern

Europe furthest from Rome. Today Scandinavia, England, Scotland,

Switzerland, Northern & Eastern Germany & parts of Eastern Europe remain mostly Protestant.

Questions Doc. 5 Has religious conflict in the world

become more or less intense since the 16th c.?

Can you think of anyplace in the U.S. or world today where conflicts between Christians and non-Christians, or Catholics and Protestants, affect where people live?

Doc. 6: Columbus’ letter This letter became a “best seller” in Europe. No

less than 11 editions were published in 1493 and 6 more between 1494-97.

Columbus mistakenly thought he had arrived in Asia. He was influenced by maps & ideas of Ptolemy, a 1st century Greek astronomer. He made 3 more trips & stubbornly refused to admit his mistake.

Norsemen had arrived on the North American continent long before Columbus (ca. 1000 C.E.) but the rest of Europe was unaware of this.

Questions Doc. 6 Is there any modern event that parallels

Columbus’ voyage? What are the similarities and differences?

The combination of printing & exploration had an impact on many fields of study. Can you think of some?

Doc. 7 Printing & Map making These maps show the progression of geographic

knowledge from the late 15th to late 16th c. The first map is a Renaissance recreation of

Ptolemy’s world. Waldseemuller’s World Map is the first known

map to record the existence of the American continents, although inaccurately.

Many printers resisted printing a new world map because it would destroy the market for their best-selling maps which had become outdated.

Questions Doc. 7 What were some of the social, economic and

political consequences of these more accurate maps?

In Ortelius’ 1570 World Map what areas or regions of the world remain inaccurate? Which have become more accurate?

Doc. 8, Classical & Medieval Books Great Classical & Medieval literature written BEFORE

the printing press, gained enormous new audiences as a result of their wider distribution once publishers printed copies.

Early printers are viewed by some historians as heroes because they “saved” many ancient works. Venice, at the crossroads of East and West, was of special importance in the acquisition & printing of such manuscripts.

The printing of classical & medieval literature dramatically increased the impact of the Renaissance by spreading humanist ideas.

Questions Doc. 8 Why do you think early printers focused

on known books that had been around for ages?

How many of these books are familiar to you? How many have you personally read? What conclusions could you draw from those results?

Doc. 9, Early Modern Books Many of these books were printed in the

vernacular (native language). This had the effect of standardizing the languages of Europe.

Questions Doc. 9 Compare and contrast this list with that

of Doc. 8. Explain as many similarities and differences as you can find.

How many of these books are familiar to you? How many have you personally read? What conclusions could you draw from those results?

Doc. 10, Newton’s bookshelf Sir Isaac Newton is often called “Father of the

Scientific Revolution”. He developed the principles of motion which guide modern physics and the rational empirical method of hypothesis and generalization. His findings were so revolutionary that they spread quickly.

The flow of ideas came not just through printed works but also through correspondence between scientists and thinkers of the time.

Questions Doc. 10 Explain Newton’s quote: “If I have seen

further than other men, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”

Was the spread of scientific ideas a more important consequence of the printing press than the spread of religious ideas?