§ majority of the population was illiterate
§ no standard for what proper writing was
§ ppl divided into upper class and lower class
§ knowing how to read did not mean that you knew how to write
§ knowledge limited to memory-- mnemonics & abrv.
§ books were rare and expensive
§ travel was dangerous - no maps
§ sense of time based on nature--no calendars, no clocks
Brief history:
§ china made paper money and playing cards - block-printed
§ every word, phrase & pic was on a different block -- new block carved each time
§ imported block-books and paper from the east
§ Johannes Gutenberg -first to demonstrate moveable type press
§ used an alloy: cast well in die; durable in press; could be reused
Impact:
§ at first--used to print religious texts
§ spread the Bible--ppl had more direct connection with god
§ Gutenberg printed bible--each bible cost 3 yrs pay for the avg clerk
§ scientists could share ideas
§ language standardized - dialect & spelling of printings became standard
§ most dialects died down
§ middle class emerged: ppl in lower class could afford books; gained status thru education
§ new ideas spread more quickly
§ prevented corruption of texts
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