Printing revolution

The rapid expansion of printed books and print culture in Europe after the adoption of movable-type printing, beginning in the mid-fifteenth century.

Printing press: A machine that presses inked type or images onto paper or another surface. The press transferred ink from assembled type to sheets, enabling repeatable production.
Johannes Gutenberg: A German goldsmith associated with developing European printing with movable metal type in the fifteenth century. His Mainz workshop produced the landmark Bible associated with early European printing.
Protestant Reformation: A sixteenth-century movement that challenged Roman Catholic authority and created Protestant churches. Pamphlets and vernacular texts helped reformers circulate arguments rapidly.
Pamphlet: A short, unbound printed work addressing a particular subject or argument. Low-cost pamphlets made brief polemics and news easier to circulate.
Print culture: The practices, institutions, and social meanings associated with producing and using printed materials. The revolution describes a transformation in reading and communication as well as book production.
Movable type: Reusable individual characters arranged to form text for printing. Rearranging reusable letters made new pages without carving each page anew.
Gutenberg Bible: A Latin Bible printed in Mainz around 1454–1455 using movable metal type. Its production demonstrates the technical and visual achievement of Gutenberg's press.
Martin Luther: A German theologian whose criticism of church practices helped initiate the Protestant Reformation. Printed editions spread his writings far beyond their original audience.
Broadside: A large single sheet printed on one side, often for public display or distribution. Broadsides carried announcements, ballads, and political messages beyond book buyers.
History of reading: The study of how people in different periods acquired, interpreted, and used written texts. More printed books did not automatically mean that people read them in the same ways.

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