The influence of the printing press in western civilization

The Influence of the Printing Press
One of the biggest inventions in the human history was the printing press. This artifact was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in around 1440. It made easier thefabrication of books, and therefore increased the knowledge among the people in Europe. Before the printing press books were made by hand, this aspect made them very expensive and not common for thesociety. The common people did not have access to them, so they depended from the knowledge shared by priests in Catholic Churches. The creation of the printing press changed the curse of the Europeanhistory, opening opportunities to the common men to get informed and to empower religious and political reforms.
The Renaissance was a movement where new ideas and studies emerged in Florence, Italy;and later were spread all over Europe. This movement was characterized by the creation of humanism, different perceptions in arts, advances in science, and the creation of a new point of view ofreligion. The printing press allowed the rapid transmission of these ideas. As the Renaissance spread across Europe, its ideas diversified and change being adapted to local cultures. The art in theRenaissance in Northern Europe, unlike than in Italy, kept being focused on religious subjects until the works of Pieter Bruegel influenced art to be about daily scenes. Albrecht Durer was the first majorartist to intensively study Italy’s renaissance. His interest was the artistic potential of the printing press. He filled files with detailed sketches of plants, animals, and people worked theseelements into inexpensive enough that common people could purchase his work. Also, in Portugal the Renaissance ideas promoted studies of mapping the world. They made huge advances in mathematics, astronomy,and naval technology. Because of the spread of the Renaissance ideas, by the printing press, the cultural and intellectual level increased in Europe.
The printing press was a powerful and vital...