Leadership and Legacy
How was Gutenberg a Leader?
Many may not see how Johannes Gutenberg was actually a leader. It comes down to what did he do to help and inspire other people? Today, he could be compared to Bill Gates or Steve Jobs of the 15th century. This one of a kind technology opened up new doors into different ways of life. The printing press allowed the spread of Christianity, a new form of entertainment, the creation of the protestant division, and provided literature to the poor.
Impact on the Protestant Reformation
The protestant reformation was lead by Martin Luther and started in the year of 1517. Luther was never a rebellious person and followed the rules. He left his family and decided that he wanted to become a monk for the Roman Catholic Church. Through his years of being there, he tried to figure out what to do with his life and where he was in his relationship with God. The church was selling indulgences and Martin Luther did not feel this was right and decided to write the 95 Thesis. The 95 Thesis was a document which protested the sale of indulgences to members of the church in order to forgive their sins. Indulgence sales were a way for the Roman Catholic Church to make money.
Martin Luther went on to post the 95 Thesis on the door of the Church. This pamphlet was mass printed through models of the Gutenberg Printing Press and passed out to the public. Over 50 printing companies in Germany can be traced back to printing some form of Martin Luther’s work. The public supported him on the idea that buying forgiveness was wrong and that going to church made you a Christian. Martin Luther believed that having a relationship with God and asking for His forgiveness is what makes an individual a Christian. Members of the Roman Catholic Church did not approve of what Martin Luther was doing and excommunicated him. In this banishment, he went on to translate the Old and New Testament of the Latin Bible into German. The Bible that may have been used for this translation, would have been a copy from a printing press which was now being copied in large quantities for the common people. Through Gutenberg’s invention, Martin Luther was able to spread the Gospel of Jesus and distribute Bibles. For many years, the Bible was only to be read by the Priest of the church, and because of this many members were not receiving the whole truth. Through the Printing Press, the Bible was made available for all people to have a copy and read for themselves. Through Protestant Christianity, many well known denominations such as the Baptist, Pentecostal, and Methodist along with many others have come out of this revolution. The 95 thesis went on to have aftershocks around the world, revealing the truth about Christianity.
Discovery of The New World
Christopher Columbus set out to discover the new world, on August 1492. He was inspired to do so by reading and owning Marco Polo’s book, “The Travels of Marco Polo”. The book was written in 1298 and known to be one of the first books printed through a model of the printing press in Europe. This book talked about the treasures a merchant would long for such as money, gold and spices. "The Travels of Marco Polo" was a popular book in Europe that most people had read. This book only existed in print because of Johannes Gutenberg's printing press. Without the mass production of this book, it would have never been accessible to Columbus.
“What the world is today, good and bad, it owes to Gutenberg. Everything can be traced to this source, but we are bound to bring him homage ... for the bad that his colossal invention has brought about is overshadowed a thousand times by the good with which mankind has been favored.” — Mark Twain
How does this Impact Today's World?
Through this extraordinary invention, scientific publishing was now possible, leading to the development of the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution. This allowed for the development of new music, the advancement in education, and philosophy from scientists to be published all at an affordable price. Galileo Galileo built the telescope and created the laws of motion by using this new found technology that allowed him to make multiple copies of his work. The access to literacy opened a portal to modern thinking and education. Libraries and studies used to be elite information to select wealthy people who could afford it. Today, libraries are public and allow any race, income class, and school to freely engage in a form of textual entertainment or informational knowledge. Books and information have now moved into the world of the internet. The internet would have never been invented for public use if Johannes Gutenberg did not make literacy more accessible to the common people.
The Gutenberg Mueseum
The Gutenberg Museum was built in honor of Gutenberg's carrer in the 1900's. It is located in Mainz, Germany and displays his work, the Movable Type printing Press and how it works, the Gutenberg Bible, and many other books that were printed through his model of the Movable Type Printing Press. The books have been donated from large companies and publishers and put on display for all to see this beautiful work of art.
The Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
The University was founded in 1477 and went back and forth between what courses were offered and who were omitted to attend. This was determined by the government at the time. In the year of 1946, the current University of Mainz was re opened and has added classes that students can study including the history of books, visual arts, theater, athletics, and film. The invention of the printing press went on to effect the generations long after Gutenberg's life.