Print Essay Draft

Misa Morreall

Professors Burton and Petersen

Honors Civilization 201

6 December 2011

Print Distribution: Religious and Scientific Texts during the Renaissance Era

            Although the printing press was most notably used to distribute the King James Bible which influenced various religious sects during the Renaissance era, the scientific works and discoveries which were brought about through religious efforts were more effective at stimulating and accelerating European unification than the actual Bible itself because these scientific texts allowed scholars and scientists to establish scientific standards and communicate knowledge throughout various European nations, regardless of their religious beliefs.

 

            The distribution and dissemination of books began in 1440 when the printing press was first invented by Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany. The most popular book printed during the Renaissance era was the King James Bible (1611), which was an English translation of the Christian Bible by the Church of England. This Protestant translation was used mostly by the Anglican and Catholic churches members in England and Italy, and the Bible was “directed to the laity as well as to the clergy” (Gerulaitis 93). As a result, the commoners, or the body of religious worshippers, were now able to read and understand the Bible for themselves, allowing them to decide how they wanted to interpret the text.

Thw distribution of the Bible led to differences of opinion, because not everyone in Europe was Anglican or Catholic at the time. Lutherans, Calvinists and Anabaptists ranging from Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland were also established throughout Europe as a result of the Protestant Reformation of the 16^th century. Although all these sects believed in and strictly read the Bible, they had different beliefs and views regarding the interpretation of the religious text. Rather than uniting Europe under one religion, productions of the Bible actually made it easier for different religions to contend with one another based on different interpretations of the same book.

However, all sects could agree on one thing based on one passage of scripture in the Bible: obtaining and communicating knowledge. Many religious followers turned to the biblical text of Daniel, which states that faithful religious followers should increase their knowledge. As a result, this passage “came to play a fundamental role in an imminent restoration of knowledge” (Webster 9) and influenced the expansion and standardization of scientific discoveries and texts throughout Europe.

This new interest in learning and studying was evident in the study of the human body. This particular scientific progress “was more deeply typical of the Renaissance than any other—artistic reverence for the human body, and appreciation of its beauty…The Renaissance artists rediscovered the nude statues of the ancient world and resolved to emulate them. This implied the study of the human body and even some knowledge of its superficial anatomy” (Sarton 120).

Scientists and artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Mondino de Liuzzi, Alessandro Achillini, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and Nicolaes Tulp studied and documented the anatomy of the human body. It was by the well-kept personal notes of these men that books documenting the human anatomy and other sciences were written. “The main purpose of [these] learned physicians was to establish the text of their authorities as exactly as possible” (Sarton 49). Although most of these scientists documented their ideas through written texts, their works were later printed, published and distributed amongst all the European countries.

This allowed for new discoveries to be shared all throughout Europe at a faster rate and comparisons amongst scientific discoveries could be made and confirmed to be true across various European nations. These texts made it possible and more rewarding to study science for the benefit of the human race and for the obtaining and communicating knowledge, which unified Europe as a whole.

In fact, many of these printed texts even became more widely printed than the Bible at one point during the Renaissance era. The King James Bible which was printed during this time only had “eighty editions” (Gerulaitis 93), whereas books about the medicine field and anatomy had “ninety-five editions” (112), thus showing that scientific texts were in higher demand and were more affective at uniting and connecting Europe.

Although the King James Bible was very influential amongst religious sects during the Renaissance era, it was being interpreted in various ways and was, therefore, not the text that unified Europe. It was through the Bible, however, that scientific works and discoveries were brought about which were more effective at stimulating and accelerating European unification than the actual Bible itself. These recorded scientific discoveries were then printed and distributed which allowed scholars, scientists and artists to confirm and establish scientific standards and communicate knowledge throughout all of Europe, ultimately unifying Europe during the Renaissance era.

Works Cited

Gerulaitis, Leonardas Vytautas. Printing and Publishing in Fifteenth-Century Venice. Chicago:

            American Library Association. 1976. Print.

Sarton, George. The Appreciation of Ancient and Medieval Science During the Renaissance

            (1450-1600). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1955. Print.

Webster, Charles. The Great Instauration: Science, Medicine and Reform (1626-1660). Great

            Britain. The Anchor Press Ltd. 1975. Print.