The world of the 15th century had become a powder keg of ideas, commerce, invention and renaissance in the arts. The old world was being left behind as a new, more hopeful and brighter future dawned. The printing press of Johannes Gutenberg brought with it the ability to print books and pamphlets at a speed and in quantities never seen before. Information and ideas could circulate through Europe, gathering pace as they went. Gutenberg’s inventiveness brought together the right elements, in the right place, at the right time. But if that moment had never happened, the world could have remained trapped in time.
What might have stopped Gutenberg developing his invention?
Johannes Gutenberg’s invention, the printing press with moveable type, was the solution to a well-known problem: how best to exploit a growing market in books? It was a race, and in 1455, with the printing of his Bible, Gutenberg won. But it was a close-run thing.
In theand needed books to fill them. Similar demands came from new universities. Latin was the language of the Church, but increasingly people wanted information in their own language: instruction manuals, verses, histories, legends. Europe was on the verge of the Renaissance.
