Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The Gutenberg Bible (named for the printer Johannes Gutenberg) is famous because it was one of the earliest publications produced (in the 1400's) with the use of a printing press (rather than through having to be slowly and meticulously copied by hand). This made the Bible available for reading by a much wider audience, rather than being limited only to priests who would then serve as the interpreters of Scripture for the common people.

After printed Bibles became available, public literacy also dramatically increased (due to people wanting to read the Bible for themselves), along with questioning of the church's interpretation and application of the Bible's teachings. This, coupled with the translation and publication of Bibles in languages other than Latin or Greek (such as German and English), greatly influenced the occurrence of the Protestant Reformation.

The printing press also allowed any other type of written information to be rapidly produced and disseminated, which affected all other areas of society.

May 04 2022 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report