Effects Of The Printing Press During The Renaissance

The Renaissance was a period of time during which a number of revolutions occurred. However, it was the events that happened during the late middle ages, which created the conditions for the Renaissance. Some of these events include the development of the printing press, the breaking away from the church, the period of enlightenment, and the plague and the aftermath of that.

The plague or black death, was one of the biggest events that occurred during the middle ages, and it easily sets the grounds for the beginning of the Renaissance. After the plague wiped out an estimated 30-60% of Europe’s population, there was a desperate need and want for change. There was also a large need for labour and an increase in wages, and more and more people

The printing press had a huge effect during the middle ages, as it allowed for an immensely increased production of literature and a new source of spreading information. It also vastly increased the amount of literate people, as before the printing press very few were literate, usually only the royals and the church. But by increasing the literary skills of the population and the spreading of information, it changed how people thought and view the world. This was key a key point leading to the Renaissance, as the Renaissance was largely based on the changing of perspective with the people. The printing press contributed to the changed viewpoint of the population through the spread of literature; the spread of an individual’s view to the mass. It was also what was printed that greatly contributed to this change. It wasn’t just that literature was now being printed a lot more, it was the fact that the main form of writing was no longer religious, but a form of humanity instead. This also contributed to the people moving away from the church, and becoming more concerned with humanity than religion. This new genre of literature also began to create the idea of an individual, a notion that was not largely around before and throughout the middle ages. This notion came about in many different ways, one of which through authors. Before the Renaissance, authors did not matter as such, because most of the text around was religious. But through literature, authors began to receive recognition for their work, rather than readers just caring about the actual work. This development also led to authors being characterized and given an identity; which was a huge stepping stone in the idea of individualism. Similar things also occurred with art and artists, with it changing from works of art for royals or God, to works of humanity and