In Germany around the year 1540, a man named Gutenberg created an invention responsible for changing the course of history and propelling knowledge. Gutenberg, of course, had created the printing press. After its creation, Europe quickly began to change and the renaissance began to take form. Before the printing press came around, books were made by hand. It could take years just to reproduce a book. This meant that mainly only wealthier families could afford to commission someone to write these books. But with books being able to be reproduced at only a fraction of that time with the printing press, virtually anyone now had access to books. A printed book was much cheaper than hand written ones, meaning that the common man now has readily available information. One of the first books printed using the press was the Gutenberg Bible. This book has the old and new testament in it, but its contents are not so important. Rather, its significance is held in what it represents. This book marks the beginning of printed books dominance throughout the world and “essentially introduced the printing press as it was to be known for hundreds of years to follow” (Gutenberg and the Book that Changed the World). The press also had a major impact on the renaissance and created many new possibilities during that time period. 

The renaissance took place in 15th century Europe. This was a time where there were many changes in ideologies and society as a whole. The beginning of the renaissance started with the black plague, which left the population of Europe in only fractions of what it used to be. But along with this huge population loss, everyone who was left was able to thrive because of a new abundance of resources and land due to such a massive decline in the population. This also fostered and created a new found concern for self and others, scientific advancements, new cultures, and different religious views. And one of the most important outcomes was a huge advancement in education, with an exuberance of newfound ideas arising during this time. The major reason for advancements in the sciences and education was the printing press. Since books were now so much more accessible, this meant that knowledge was as well. People began to educate themselves through reading. 

With many people now wanting to better themselves, there was a newfound sense and concern for self, which was supported by the humanism movement. People also began to think for themselves much more and actually understand what these classical writings, resurfaced through the renaissance, really meant, as opposed to, for example, a doctor who doesn’t have any scientific evidence for their claims. No longer did people take things on word, people wanted to discover the world for themselves and better understand it. From this arose the study of anatomy, the in depth description of the body. Having an understanding of the body opened up the door to so many other studies too. It created an early scientific basis of how the body functions, which can help to create medicines and understand how to better take care of our bodies. This just shows how people now wanted an accurate representation of the world and how it works. 

The printing press has made its impact in the long run, but it also very quickly shaped how Europe and the renaissance were. First of all, the printing press meant that newspapers could now easily be made and distributed (The Invention of the Printing Press). This helps to spread knowledge of events throughout cities. The printing press also had a great economic impact too on Europe. Books held information that people could use to learn or invent certain jobs which meant there was an increase in the working population. The printing press also helped to draw immigrants into cities and this helped cities grow and increase in population because during this time there were generally higher death rates than birth rates. 

The printing press is clearly one of the most important inventions made throughout time. It was able to propel so many walks of life and created countless new fields of studies. In our modern era, the creation of the printing press is comparable to the creation of computers, that’s how significant it was during the time. The course of history would have been drastically changed if not for the printing press and the Gutenberg’s bible.