The invention that changed the world. Although it seems unbelievable the printing press really did change society during the Renaissance. Before Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press it took an entire year just to make one book (“Gutenberg”). Ideas and opinions were communicated slowly from neighbor to neighbor. There was no reason for the average citizen to learn to read since only a few books were available and they were also expensive. However, the printing press made access to books easier and for written ideas to be communicated more quickly. The invention of the printing press inspired the most change in society during the Renaissance because it increased independent thinking, spread the Reformation movement quickly and brought …show more content…
Before the printing press a priest would need to tell the average citizen what the bible said because bibles were not easily available and most people could not read. Almost no one was able to read and those who did became masters (“Gutenberg”). People had to rely on a priest to interpret the Bible for them. People also relied on the educated elite who could read to give them information such as the best way to run society and government. After the printing press was invented many books could could be made much more quickly than before and they became less expensive. Printing presses began to be manufactured all over Europe. In 1471 there were only fifteen printing presses in Europe but in 1500 there were over 100(Document E) It also led to Latin becoming a dead language because books were now being printing in the spoken language (Butler). Since the amount of printing presses exploded during that time so did the amount of books. An example is “by 1500 there were about 40,000 different editions of book with over 6,000,000 copies printed” (Butler). With more and cheaper books available people had a reason to learn to read. Literacy rates increased. The printing press allowed the average person to read and make decisions for