Renaissance & Printing Press: Impact on Reformation & Exploration

The most important consequence of the printing press was the Literature of the renaissance, it also impacted the Reformation and the Age of Exploration. The printing press was one of the first machines to print books. It allowed more books to be made and more people to learn how to read and write. The printing press gave many people great fame the printing press influenced many time periods in its time, but the most important was the literature of the renaissance time period, the most important consequence of the printing press was the Literature of the Renaissance .

Many of the booked printed were medieval or classical, “In the 50 years following Gutenberg's invention, three-fourths of the 20 million newly printed books were classical or medieval works”. Although in modern opinion the printing press spread ideas slowly compared to today, in its time it was a completely new idea on information and how it travels, several thousands of books were brought to the general public within decades of the first printing.

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Another consequence of the printing press was the Reformation Martin Luther’s 95 theses were posted on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The 95 Theses were spread throughout Germany in a less than a period of two weeks and throughout Europe in a month because of the printing press, “...Gutenberg’s invention probably contributed more to destroying Christian concord and inflaming religious warfare than any of the so-called arts of was ever did” (Doc 4). The printing press allowed many religion and religious issues to spread causing the religious mix of Catholic and Protestant t Between 1500 and 1560 England , Norway, Sweden, Denmark, most of Scotland and many small German states becarne mainly Protestant (Doc 5) the printing press allowed many religious beliefs to spread leading into the Reformation.

An additional consequence of printing press was the Age of Exploration. The printing press allowed cartographers to make more accurate maps to be printed after the new land was found, this gave investors hope in finding new land to claim and gold, “when Waldseernuller changed his mind and decided that after all Amerigo Vespucci should not be credited as the true discoverer of the New World , too was too late. The Printing Press , still only and half-century old revealed its unprecedented power to diffuse information and — misinformation” (Doc J). The printing press allowed things to spread so quickly there was almost no room for error the printing press had a large impact on the Age of Exploration by allowing accurate maps to be printed.  In Conclusion the most important consequence of the printing press was the literature of the Renaissance time period. It provided many medieval and classical authors famed the printing press inspired many people to read and write and started to evolution and books as we know them.