Spread Of The Reformation Research Paper

How important were printed media to the spread of the Reformation?

Introduction

The advent of the printing press was instrumental in the spreading of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. However, there were other factors which were also vital in ensuring the spread of the Reformation. The arrival of the renaissance inspiring Humanist ideas, an increase in German nationalism, economic difficulties and rising anti-clericalism were all essential factors in the spreading of the Reformation through Europe.

Social factors

The availability of printing media as a medium to spread the ideologies of the Reformation was an important factor in its eventual spread. Bohemian church reformer Jan Hus in the fifteenth century had similar teachings to Martin Luther, protesting

However, although the Church and the aristocracy across Europe knew about Jan Hus’ teaching; Hus received archiepiscopal orders and a papal directive to quit his regime of reform which he defiantly ignored, Hus was unable to receive the widespread support across Europe on the scale that Martin Luther had, his powerbase only being parts of Bohemia and Moravia. This was partially due to the difficulty of spreading his ideas to the masses. Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press was invented around thirty years after Jan Hus’ eventual demise. Luther’s access to the printing press allowed facilitation of the ‘mechanical standardisation and the reproduction’ of his manifesto. The printing press was a revolutionary enterprise that Jan Hus and John Wycliffe would not have access to. Luther was able to produce his ideas for reform en masse in German and distribute it with greater ease than his reformer predecessors, his writings reached England, France and Italy by 1519, two years after he nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg. Although