Reformation

The Growth of the Reformation Movement

Print shops were something new at the time of the Reformation and it became a tool for the growth of the Reformation movement. People were interested to see what came out of the print shops whatever it was, but the fact that they were printing something interesting made it more attracting. Print shops also help the people to start reading and in a way it helped them to be literate. “It was this edition of Martin Luther's ninety-five theses against papal indulgences that Erasmus, then resident in the Low Countries, sent to More, a testimony to the burgeoning print culture of the sixteenth century and its role in the rapid dissemination of the ideas that drove the movement that eventually became known as the Reformation.” [1] Reading what came out of the print shops was more than just interesting, it became more like a culture. And what came out of them was rapidly spread. In the case of Luther’s theses, print shops was a great tool for its growth, which eventually came to be known as the Reformation. The fame of Luther’s theses made way for other types printing which was mobile, and at the same time, people were satisfied to get just a few pages and not the entire document.

This type of movement would not have been possible a few years back when there was no printing, and all the writing had to be done by hand. The problem is that in those days there were not many people that could read a write, and to write for other to read they need a certain level of education as well. All in all, printing made things very easy for propaganda to spread. “For many years after Gutenberg's innovation, handwritten manuscripts continued to dominate the established book trade, luxury items confined to the wealthy and academic and ecclesiastical settings.” [2] The ability to produce more books without so much effort made them affordable to people that could not afford them before. It was no longer that the wealthy or the upper class were the only ones that could have literature, it was not just books and letters that the printers could do they made literature fun as well. They made pamphlets with colors as well and innovated ways for easy reading. Moreover, it is hard to think that without the help of print the Reformation would have been possible. “printing was not only essential to the creation of Martin Luther as the dominant figure of the German Reformation, but Luther was a dominant force in shaping the German printing industry, which itself became a major factor in the German economy as well as in die development of German culture.” [3] The growth of print through the thing that Luther was printing had an impact on the economy as well as the German culture. 

Validity of print

Printing back in those days was not as strict as it is now, and the government had little to do with it or nothing at all. “Circulated with uncontrollable speed through a Germany whose political fragmentation and lack of copyright protection made suppression of printed works almost impossible.” [4] The uncontrollable speed of the printing that they were producing made the supervision of the documents almost impossible, and there were not many people that could do the Job. For the most part, some of the supervision was done by the authors themselves. Not to mention there was little cast for the production of the printing, and most of it was profit. “Luther was a regular visitor to the print shops of Wittenberg, closely supervising the production of his works both for design and textual errors. When he was away--as in his ten months exiled in Wartburg Castle--Luther's letters were replete with instructions about the printing of his works, despairing of the speed of one printer or the sloppiness of another.” [5] Luther was the son of a business person who wanted him to do the same instead of becoming a monk.  Now being involved in the printing business, he became what his father wanted him to be, at least in part. Because it is questionable how he profited from the print since he did not want to take money from his writings, and did not want to give the right for others to print his works. Moreover, he knew that printing had an impact on the economy, and he planned carefully where to locate them. He saw more need in small towns, so he put them there, instead of choosing larger cities like the competitors.          

Footnotes

[1] Arkin, Marc. Luther by the book. (May 2016). New Criterion, 07340222, Vol. 34, Issue 9. Retrieved from Holy Apostle library.  

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] Ibid

[5] Ibid