Johann Gutenberg
	Click on image below to view a sample of Gutenberg's first work.

   In the early 1450's rapid cultural change in Europe fueled a growing need for the rapid and cheap production of written documents. Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith and businessman from the mining town of Mainz in southern Germany, borrowed money to develop a technology that could address this serious economic bottleneck. From its European debut in the 12th century, paper gradually proved to be a viable alternative to the animal-skin vellum and parchment that had been the standard means of carrying written communication. Rag paper became increasingly cheap and plentiful while literacy expanded; the two processes accelerated, in part, by stimulating each other. The need for documentation continued to increase with expansions in trade and in governmental scope and complexity. Scribal monks sanctioned by the Church had overseen the maintenance and hand-copying of sacred texts for centuries, but the secular world began to foster its own version of the scribal copyist profession. The many new scriptoria, or writing shops, that sprang up employed virtually every literate cleric who wanted work.
Gutenberg foresaw enormous profit-making potential for a printing press that used movable metal type. Despite their rapid growth in numbers, secular scribes simply could not keep up with the commercial demand for books. Gutenberg also saw strong market potential in selling indulgences, the slips of paper offering written dispensation from sin that the Church sold to fund crusades, new buildings and other projects devoted to expanding its dominance. In fact, press runs of 200,000 indulgences at a time were common soon after the handwritten versions became obsolete.
Gutenberg developed his press by combining features of existing technologies: textile, papermaking and wine presses. Perhaps his most significant innovation, however, was the efficient molding and casting of movable metal type. Each letter was carved into the end of a steel punch which was then hammered into a copper blank. The copper impression was inserted into a mold and a molten alloy made of lead, antimony and bismuth was poured in. The alloy cooled quickly and the resulting reverse image of the letter attached to a lead base could be handled in minutes. The width of the lead base varied according to the letter's size (for example, the base of an "i" would not be nearly as wide as the base of a "w"). This emphasized the visual impact of words and clusters of words rather than evenly spaced letters. This principle lent an aesthetic elegance and sophistication to what seemed to many to be the magically perfect regularity of a printed page. Gutenberg designed a Latin print Bible which became his signature work. He launched a run of some 300 two-volume Gutenberg Bibles which sold for 30 florins each, or about three years of a clerk's wage. Despite the dramatic success of his invention, Gutenberg managed to default on a loan and lost his whole printing establishment. His techniques were made public and his creditor won the rights to the proceeds from the Gutenberg Bibles.
The clergy were eager to take advantage of the power of print. Printed indulgences, theological texts, even how-to manuals for conducting inquisitions became common tools for the spread of the Church's influence. But the Church had even more difficulty controlling the activities of printers than they had with the secular scribes. The production and distribution of an expanding variety of texts quickly became too widespread to contain. Printed copies of Martin Luther's theses, for example, were widely and rapidly disseminated. They prompted far-reaching discussions that became the foundation for mounting opposition to the Church's role as the sole custodian of spiritual truth. Bibles printed in vernacular languages rather than Latin fueled the Protestant Reformation based on the assertion that there was no need for the Church to interpret scripture--an individual's relationship with God could be, at least in theory, direct and personal. A fundamental shift in power was taking place: From the hands of the few (an institution, the Church) into the hands of the many (the people).
That shift led to political and social tidal waves. Access to the printed word launched human potential into the stratosphere, fostering intellectual growth to depths of the social pyramid that had never been seen before. Gutenberg inadvertently began an information revolution that created institutions of education, industry and government as we know them. For example, democracy in America would not be possible without it. The Greeks, because of their small size, found the distribution of knowledge, an important part of participatory government, relatively easy. But large empires or nations, could pull the same thing off. That is, until Gutenberg opened the floodgates.
That democratic government also had ripple effects. The United States became one of the most innovative peoples since Rome, using knowledge to improve the lives of its citizens. While the first millennium was dominated by powers that held a majority of the population in their control, Gutenberg began what might become the hallmark of the third millennium: Power in the hands of individuals who each control their own personal destiny, as guided by the knowledge they've acquired during their lifetime.

Assignment

Time Magazine recently named Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, their Person of the Year. We can trace the reasons for this honor back to Gutenberg. Below, fill in the flow chart that traces the revolution begun by Gutenberg and ends (at least during this millennium) with Bezos. To do this, you must think about cause and effect relationships and how they occur in steps or stages. For example:

Rome Falls >> Society needs structure >> Christianity >> Papal power grows >> Corruption increases >> Indulgences sold >> Luther protests >> Christian church splits >> State authority overpowers Church

Now, apply what you know (and what you can figure out based on that knowledge) about Gutenberg and today's world. There is no exact answer - It's what you think.