The Printing Press, the Renaissance, Humanism & the Protestant Reformation: How are they related?

There are many relationships between the invention of the printing press, Humanism, the Renaissance, and the Protestant Reformation. The printing press made it possible for ordinary people to become literate and to be educated. The press made communication a breeze compared to what it used to be. Humanism, the Renaissance, and the Protestant Reformation were influenced by the printing press.

The Renaissance came about when people saw the beauty of the human mind. From the Renaissance came the Humanists who held the human mind on a pedestal. Humanism is the will to learn. This was developed at the end of the middle ages and created the revival of classical letters. During the Renaissance, the printing press became exceptionally valuable; people began to have the determination to learn. They were able to have a copy of the Holy Bible in their home, and they were able to have books in their offices. These texts were not only owned by the rich or the churches anymore, ordinary people owned them. In the text, you can see an example of the exceptional presswork and admirable typography in the Gutenberg Bible on pages seventy-four and seventy-five.

Not only did people have Bibles in their homes now, but they could have it in their language; thanks to Martin Luther. Luther was a monk in the Roman Catholic Church. When he began to disagree with the ways of the church, he used to printing press to his advantage. He printed and posted the ninety-five thesis onto the church’s door and he translated the Holy Bible into German for others to read. On page ninety, figure six-nineteen, you can see the pages from Passional Christi und Antichrist. On these pages is where Luther makes a statement about the difference in how the Pope and Jesus travel.

The printing press, the Renaissance, Humanism and the Protestant Reformation are all intertwined. The printing press paved the way for a whole new world of communication.