Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400- 1468)
the invention of the printing press
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Gutenberg:
statue in Mainz
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Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz
(founded 1946, before: 1477-1816)
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Mainz: map
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Mainz (Mohuč)
Roman origins of the town:
Römersteine
(Roman stones)
- Remnants of a Roman
aqueduct, northmost from
Rome
Römisches Theater
Roman theatre
(10 thousand people)
Discovered 1914-1916
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Mainz (Mohuč) up to Gutenberg‘s lifetime
Port on Rhine
Opposite Wiesbaden
- Celtic settlement
- Romans: 14-9 BC,
until 451 AD
1244 –free imperial city
„Golden Mainz“, Center of
Rhenish towns
14th century – archbishops of
M. chancellors and electors of
Holy Roman E.
1440- book printing
1460s – economic decline,
citizens deprived of privileges
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Johannes
Gutenberg
Born:
Between 1394 and 1404
Johannes Night:
24 June
(summer solstice)
Arbitrary day of birth:
24 June 1400
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Johannes
de Altavilla
(Eltville)
studied in Erfurt
Was it the same person?
(no portrait of him from his
time is preserved, anyway)
Father died 1418
Mother died 1433
Strassbourg
Holland:
wooden block printing?
Not durable
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Book by
Diana Childress
(Twenty-First Century
Books, MN, 2008)
Interesting:
American perspective
What do we need to explain?
Where Germany is
The notion of Central Europe
(universities: Charles U.)
Pilgrimage badges
(tourist bumpers)
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Map of Germany today
Rhineland
Frankfurt (am Main)
Mainz - Mohuč
Aachen - Cáchy
Cologne – Kolín (nad Rýnem)
Erfurt
Nuremberg - Norimberk
Augsburg
Munich - Mnichov
(Berlin)
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Medieval scribes (monasteries)
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Remarks on language
⚫ Monastery
⚫ Nunnery
⚫ Novice
⚫ Religious order
⚫ Jesuits
⚫ Franciscans
⚫ Benedictines
⚫ …
⚫ Pope
⚫ Archbishop
⚫ Bishop
⚫ Parish
⚫ Church
⚫ Cathedral
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Paper- making: handmade paper
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Printing
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⚫ Vellum
⚫ Durable, reusable material
⚫ Stamping – known
⚫ How else / Where else do we press?
⚫ Wine press
⚫ Oil press
⚫ Did he also invent punch-matrix system
for casting metal type?
Artist‘s interpretation: first prints by JG
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What would you print, if you lived then?
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-
Gutenberg/images-videos
and a demonstration of the operation, live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLctAw4JZXE
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Gutenberg museum, Mainz
(founded 1900)
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