Hi Robert, Helen and Michael.
Alison and I have just visited the city of Mainz, the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg who invented the printing press.
The city centre is dominated by a cathedral built between 1180 and 1240. It is huge building: it has several imposing towers, is built of a warm pinkish-coloured stone, and it has a vast interior with arches that reminded me of a Roman aqueduct. It still towers above a city with many multi-storied buildings: in the medieval period it would have seemed even bigger, a mighty testament to the power of the church.
Just beyond the east end of this cathedral is the Gutenberg Museum, a modern museum devoted to the history of printing since 1450. On the lowest level is a re-creation of Gutenberg’s workshop. Several of the bibles he printed are on display in a vaulted room with subdued lighting, so as not to destroy these precious artefacts. The rest of the museum is dedicated to the history of printing: the development of the printing press over the centuries, the rise and recent decline of newspapers, the art of bookbinding, the publication of fine books, the reproduction of art works, and so on.
Alison and my lives have revolved around language and literacy. Language makes learning possible. Education is fundamentally the transmission of valued knowledge from one generation to the next; this learning process is mediated through language. Further, it is the printed word that has made mass education possible in the last 200 years. Gutenberg’s invention started a revolution that continues even now, as developed societies strive to create a totally literate population. The museum thus serves as a symbol: it represents the beginning of the creation of literate societies.
As I walked out of the museum I was again confronted by the huge edifice of the cathedral, at which point I realised that the invention of the printing press put an end to the power of the church. Up to that point in western European history the Catholic church controlled literacy: the power of the written word was confined to a very small number of educated people, mainly monks, who were able to read and who wrote mainly by copying manuscripts. The printing press offered the possibility to many more people of being able to read and to have their writing made available.
But the printing press was really just a tool. A huge change in human thinking was required to realise its potential. And that change in thinking was brought about by one man: Martin Luther. Of whom, more shortly…
In a campground in Wurzburg last night we met a choral conductor and his wife, who sings in his choir. They were doing a cycling tour of Franconia. We sheltered from a torrential downpour under a marquee and talked about music and their lives in Munster. Alison had been there with the Dorian choir about 35 years ago. It is a small world.
Malcolm
Tuesday 21 July 2015
