How Did The Printing Press And Movable Type Affect The Renaissance?

During the years of the 1300’s to the 1700’s, writing was privileged and rare. Writing only existed in the church and few other places fortunate enough to access literature and text. The invention of the printing press transformed the exclusiveness of writing and made it available to all of society while also creating a simpler way to replicate writings. The invention impacted the social order of Europe and changed European culture. The printing press was a revolutionary invention that transformed European society through efficient reproduction of literature, effective spread of ideas separate from religion, and the development of a growing literate generation. Before the invention of the printing press, the process of copying literature and writing was difficult

Handwritten copies of text were very costly due to the hard work involved and much effort required to complete the task. The printing press transformed this process of copying written material into an easy and inexpensive procedure. Beforehand, writing was often only available to owners of shops and merchants. However, with the invention of this advanced technology, modern writing was made “available for an entirely new audience” (How Did the Printing Press and Movable Type Affect the Renaissance?”). This excerpt exhibits the effects of the printing press on European society and European people. This new audience of literate people consisted mostly of those in the lower class. The lower class was now able to purchase writings and educate themselves, which resulted in a positive impact on Europe’s society. European society became largely literate and educated since the printing press opened up a whole new perspective to a different group of people. The printing press was a revolutionary creation which changed the whole of Europe’s society and