Technological Advances During the Renaissance

1. Shipbuilding

• The use of oars for propulsion began to give way to the exclusive employment of sails.

• New ships, called caravels, were more maneuverable and could carry heavy cannon and more goods.

2. Weapons Industry

• The English longbow, the pike employed by massed infantry, and the introduction of gunpowder finally forced the armored knight from the field.

3. Printing Press

• A machine that presses paper against a tray full of movable type. Invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1450.

Impact of Printing Press on Society

• Johann Gutenberg printed a complete Bible in 1455.

• Printers could produce hundreds of copies, all exactly alike.

Impact of Printing Press on Society

• By 1500, there were over a thousand printers in Europe.

• Almost 40,000 titles had been published.

• Most were religious books.

• Other works included Latin and Greek classics, legal and philosophical works, and romances.

Impact of Printing Press on Society

• The printing of books encouraged scholarly research and increased the public’s desire to gain knowledge.

• The printing press was vital to the spread of new religious ideas during the Reformation in the 16th century.

Assignment:

• Select a partner.

• Both copy the follow Bible verses by hand.

• Record how long it takes each of you to copy the page.

GenesisChapter 1

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Assignment

• This is just one-sixth of the first page of the Bible.

• Record how long it would have taken you to complete the page.

• There are 1108 pages in the Bible.

• Record how long it would have taken you to complete the entire Bible.

• Record how long it would have taken to reproduce a set for the entire class.

The Invention of the Printing Press

• How did the invention of the printing press make bookmaking dramatically faster?

• Why did learning and new ideas spread quickly?

• Why did more people learn how to read?