Week 10 Reading_Penner_Printing Press

Introduction to the Printing Press and Religion

  • Significance of the Printing Press:
    • Invented by Johannes Gutenberg, driven by social, economic, and political demands (Feather, 1986, p. 16).
    • Adaptation of existing technology; moved away from manual methods (Jennett, 1958).
    • Led to a transformation in book production techniques.
    • By early sixteenth century, established in key towns across Europe (Eisenstein, 1979).
    • Viewed as a revolutionary innovation (Dittmar, p. 1135) and an epoch-making event (Eisenstein, 1969, p. 19).
    • Martin Luther referred to it as "God’s highest and extremest act of grace" (Loach, 1986, p. 135).
  • Focus of the Paper:
    • Examination of the impact of the printing press specifically on the department of religion during the transitional years from scribal to print culture (1300-1600) (Eisenstein, 1969).
    • Note that this is a broad survey rather than an exhaustive examination.

Scribal Culture

  • Codex Manuscript Form:
    • Prior to printing, books were produced as codex manuscripts, meticulously copied by monks in scriptoria.
    • Literacy primarily confined to upper classes, with content strictly regulated by the church (Keep, McLaughlin, and Parmar, 1993-2001).
  • University Centers Emergence:
    • In the twelfth century, universities began to emerge, shifting book production from monasteries to university copying houses to meet rising demand for books (Febvre & Martin, 1976; Raven, 2008).
    • This shift involved breaking books into sections (quires) and employing a pecia system (loan) to increase efficiency.
  • Revival of Scribal Culture:
    • Eisenstein (1979) notes a revival of scribal culture by the early fifteenth century, likening the situation to "anarchic" conditions (p. 14).

Religious Culture Before the Printing Press

  • Role of the Catholic Church:
    • The Roman Catholic Church held a monopoly on the Bible, which was only available in Latin, strictly controlled, and owned by the Church.
    • Created a division between clergy and laypersons, who relied on priests to access scripture and religious knowledge, often through art and iconography within cathedrals (Bolter, 2011, p. 1).
  • University Learning:
    • Ecclesiastical control dominated university education, focusing on liberal arts, theology, medicine, and law (Bazerman, 2012, p. 25).
    • Texts used were mostly religious and Latin-based (Febvre & Martin, 1976).
  • Emergence of Reformers:
    • Reformers like Martin Luther critiqued the Church’s practices and sought personal access to scriptures in vernacular languages.
    • Preceding the advent of printing, handwritten propaganda against the Pope existed but failed to gain substantial traction (Eisenstein, 1979).

The Start of the Reformation

  • Martin Luther's Contribution:
    • Luther’s 95 Theses (1517) called for salvation through faith rather than through church-imposed works.
    • His ideas spread quickly, catalyzed by the printing press, first in German and then in other vernaculars (Dittmar, 2011, p. 1161).
  • Access to the Bible:
    • For centuries, the Bible was controlled by the Church, leading to a gap between the clergy’s access to scripture and that of the illiterate laity.
    • The Church's response included increasing repression, such as banning vernacular translations and book burnings (Newman, 1985, p. 97).

The Church’s Response to Innovation

  • Embracing the Printing Press:
    • The Catholic Church regarded the printing press as “divine art” (Loach, 1986, p. 135).
    • Issued Papal bull 1515 declaring benefits of printing for spreading faith and the arts (Loach, 1986).
  • Utilization for Control:
    • Church produced flyers to gain public support for its campaigns and instructional materials for clergy.
    • Focused on empowering educated priests to guide congregations (Loach, 1986).
  • Concern Over Unapproved Texts:
    • Printing facilitated unauthorized access to scripture, described metaphorically as "casting pearls before swine" (Loach, 1986, p. 138).
    • Jesuits expressed worry that the masses were not to be trusted with understanding scripture directly (Raven, 2008).
  • The Reality of Printing:
    • Printing empowered the preexisting demand for religious literacy and facilitated the spread of ideas (Dittmar, 2011).

Reciprocal Impact

  • Recognition of Reciprocity:
    • Eisenstein (1979) posits printing as both a “precondition” and a “precipitant” of the Reformation (p. 310).
    • Recognizes that existing religious sentiment created a demand for print and enhanced literacy.
  • The Church’s Counter-action:
    • Catholic authorities sought to control the vernacular translation of the Bible through councils.
    • Some regions banned Luther’s Bible, while contraband texts were destroyed (Raven, 2008).
    • Illustrated texts were added to curb radical departures from traditional interpretations of scripture (Eisenstein, 1979, p. 67).

The Trade-offs of Technological Change

  • Technological Change Considerations:
    • Postman (2008) describes all tech change as a trade-off, a 'Faustian bargain' (para. 4).
    • Both Catholics and Protestants utilized the printing press for their respective agendas.
  • Concerns of Textual Integrity:
    • Quick production led to potential inaccuracies; printers were often derivative and profit-driven (Raven, 2008, p. 229).
    • Complaints arose regarding poorly educated individuals publishing religious works (Erasmus, as cited in Raven, 2008, p. 110).
    • Luther lamented the distortion of his writings due to mass production of incorrect editions (Newman, 1985, p. 110).
    • Abbot of Sponheim called for the preservation of error-free texts through hand-copying (Eisenstein, 1979; Raven, 2008).