Johann Gutenberg Johann Gutenberg Gutenberg Johann (1399 1468) German typographer, inventor of the European method of printing. In the middle of the 15th century. first printed a 42-line Bible () in the city of Mainz. Released the so-called Mainz Psalter,... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of World History

Gutenberg, Johann- Johann Gutenberg GUTENBERG (Gutenberg) Johann (circa 1399 1468), German typographer, inventor of the European method of printing. In the middle of the 15th century. first printed a 42-line Bible in Mainz (recognized as a masterpiece of early printing). Released like this... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (about 1399-1468) German typographer, inventor of the European method of printing. In the middle of the 15th century. first printed a 42-line Bible in the city of Mainz (it is recognized as a masterpiece of early printing). Released the so-called Mainz Psalter, textbooks,... ... Historical Dictionary

Gutenberg Johann- (Gutenberg, Johann) (c. 1398 1468), German. master printer, European inventor. printing method. In 1438 he entered into an agreement with three partners to develop printing methods. In 1450 he received money from a merchant from Mainz... ... The World History

- (Gutenberg, Johann) JOHANN GUTENBERG (between 1397 and 1400 1468), a German artisan who is considered to be the inventor of printing using a set of movable type cast from a metal alloy, as well as the printing press and... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

- [between 1394 1399 (or in 1406) 1468], German inventor of printing. In the middle of the 15th century. in Mainz he printed the so-called 42-line Bible, the first full-length printed edition in Europe, recognized as a masterpiece of early printing. * * * GUTENBERG... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Gutenberg Johann [b. between 1394≈99 (or in 1406) ≈ died 3.2.1468], German inventor who created the European method of printing, the first typographer in Europe. ═ The G. method (printed typesetting) made it possible to obtain an arbitrary number of identical ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

The request for "Guttenberg" redirects here. See also other meanings. Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gutenberg Date of birth: between 1397 and 1400 ... Wikipedia

- [between 139499 (or in 1406) 1468], German inventor of printing. In the middle of the 15th century. in Mainz he printed the so-called 42-line Bible the first full-length printed edition in Europe, recognized as a masterpiece of early printing... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (present family name Gensfleisch; b. 1394/99 or 1406 – d. 1468) – German. inventor of printing in Europe. I chose femme. mothers, because fem. father, Gensfleisch, was dissonant and meant goose meat. All R. XV century in Mainz published the so-called. 42 lowercase... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Pseudonyms

Books

• Johann Gutenberg. Personality in history (gift edition), Albert Capr. Stylish gift edition. The book is decorated with gold embossing and ribbon. The study of the famous German typographer and book historian Albert Capra is one of the most authoritative books on…
• Johann Gutenberg. Personality in History, Capr Albert. The study of the famous German typographer and book historian Albert Capra is one of the most authoritative books about the famous German cultural figure Johannes Gutenberg. Book author,…

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Biography

Due to the very limited number of documentary sources about Gutenberg's life, it is impossible to reconstruct his coherent biography. During the years of his life, as a rule, only biographies of prominent political figures and church leaders received the honor of being included in reliable sources. In this regard, Gutenberg was like many others, that is, he was not of particular interest. His invention nevertheless contributed to the fact that some facts of his life were reflected in the book responses of his contemporaries.

1400-1448. Early activity

Johann (Johann - Henne, Hengin, Hanssen) Gutenberg was born into the family of the Mainz patrician Frile Gensfleisch and Elsa Wirich. Patricians in Medieval Germany were citizens belonging to the highest strata of the urban burghers. The mother belonged to a family of cloth merchants, so the marriage of Johann’s parents, concluded in 1386, was a misalliance. Mainz was a very important city, since it was here that the archbishop of the German church, the elector, was elected. The city was one of many cities where clashes occurred between the patriciate and the guilds, which forced Johann's family to temporarily leave the city during periods of defeat for the patriciate.

Authorship of the invention

Gutenberg studies

A very significant number of scientific and popular works are devoted to the study of Gutenberg’s life, his personality, the facts of his biography and his significance for the history of printing and history in general. By the middle of the twentieth century, the number of works on the Gutenberg theme already exceeded three thousand, and subsequently only increased. The revolutionary nature of Gutenberg's invention made him, on the one hand, a popular subject of research, which contributed to the development of knowledge about him and the historical period in which he lived. On the other hand, the extraordinary importance of the moment of the beginning of printing has encouraged some researchers to interpret the facts in an inappropriate way in an attempt to attribute the invention to others, to dispute the origin of printing and other distortions, in the hope of capitalizing on such an important event in world history.

Attempts to “take away” the authorship of the invention from Gutenberg began almost during his lifetime. From the very beginning, there was a debate about which city should be considered the cradle of printing: Mainz or Strasbourg? Who actually made such an important shift in world history: Johann Fust and Peter Schaeffer, Johann Mentelin? Or was it someone in China who discovered the printed book?

In Germany, for a long time, Gutenberg was considered only an assistant to the supposedly true inventors - Fust and Schaeffer. This view was supported by many (notably Johann Gottsched). Despite the fact that Gutenberg's primacy was confirmed back in the eighteenth century (D. Koehler, D. Schepflin), both Mentelin and Fust are still mentioned in this regard, although mainly in a non-scientific environment.

The main problem in Gutenberg studies is the lack of books published by Gutenberg that contain his colophon (a mark on old books about the author, time and place of publication). The fact that the book was published by Gutenberg is confirmed only by secondary features, of which the key is the font used in printing. To this main problem there are also secondary ones: a small amount of documentary evidence (there are only 34 certificates of record about Gutenberg), a lack of personal correspondence, records, and a lack of a reliable portrait.

Identification of ancient printed books by font is a well-known practice in the field of historical bibliology. At the beginning of printing, almost every publisher found his own font, thanks to which it is possible to find out, even from nameless fragments, which typographer’s hand belonged to this or that page. In Gutenberg studies, the fontological method played a crucial role. It was with his help that Gutenberg's legacy was established.

Another significant factor in attempts to study the history of the famous German was the desire to create a kind of “legend” out of him, to build his image in such a manner that it corresponded to the role assigned to him in history. In the nineteenth century, such a legend was successfully created. Gutenberg was presented as an educated member of the elite, passionate about the idea of ​​enlightenment, who, looking after his financial interests, devoted his energy to the development of printing. However, compiled under this legend, the image did not stand the test of time, which led to a split in Gutenberg scholarship at the beginning of the twentieth century. Excessive concentration of attention on various aspects of the inventor’s life led to distortions: sometimes the question of a mercantile nature was put at the forefront of research, only the monetary aspects of the activity were taken into account, sometimes all attention was focused on issues of origin, confirmation of Gutenberg’s belonging to the elite classes. Some researchers focused entirely on the analysis of fonts, which bore fruit, but, again, led to too narrow a view of the problem as a whole.

Research team ( Otto Hupp, Paul Schwenke) saw in Gutenberg only a talented practitioner, the creator of the first skillful typefaces, who was only a typographer and was not in any way concerned with the goals of enlightenment. Johann Zedler viewed Gutenberg even more limitedly. In his mind, he was only a technically educated person who created some of the first printed books, and, due to the novelty of technology for his time, Zedler considered these publications to be very imperfect, especially in comparison with further developments in this area. This point of view fit well into the idea of ​​Gutenberg as an instrument, an integral part in the mechanism of historical development, the appearance of which was predetermined by the laws of history.

“... the long and bitter dispute about the real inventor of printing will never be resolved... Gutenberg took the last decisive step in this direction with the greatest courage and clarity and because of this with the greatest success... This only means that he was the best able to sum up the accumulated experience and all unsuccessful or semi-successful attempts of their predecessors. And this in no way detracts from his merits; his merit remains immortal... but he did not plant a new unknown plant in the earth’s soil, but only successfully picked a slowly ripened fruit.” Franz Mehring. From the work “On Historical Materialism”

Viewing Gutenberg's contribution in this light has stimulated the development of research into the technical background of the invention, and this aspect has been adequately explored (works by Victor Scholderer) Helmut Lehmann-Haupt etc.), although this required almost a hundred years of research. However, shifting the emphasis from personality to historical reasons again led to involuntary distortions.

Often the main reason for the emergence of printing was said to be the predetermination of economic development. The emergence and development of capitalism required an increase in the level of knowledge, the instrument of which was printing. When the image of Gutenberg, the public educator, showed his one-sidedness, the image of Gutenberg, the businessman, appeared. In an attempt to answer the question of what motivated this man, the understandable desire for personal gain was cited as justification for his motives: new times dictated new mores, and the idea of ​​a businessman trying to use a fresh invention for his own benefit found its supporters. Considering the fact confirmed by documents that Gutenberg’s business was not going well at all, and bankruptcy subsequently followed, Gutenberg as a person began to be assessed in a noticeably belittling manner, as an unsuccessful businessman or as an insolvent artist who was unable to achieve the slightest degree of success.

The image of Gutenberg as a businessman was able to resolve the contradictions caused by the fact that his heritage included publications of a very wide range, from highly spiritual to “fair literature”. However, this approach cannot give an acceptable answer to the key question. The opinions expressed that Gutenberg might not even have realized the significance of his invention are hardly true, since any major personality who has brought about revolutionary changes in the history of mankind is, as a rule, the concentration of the main conflicts of his time and, therefore, cannot be a limited person, confined to narrow personal interests.

Russian (Soviet) Gutenberg studies began to develop largely in connection with the 500th anniversary of the invention of printing (celebrated in 1940) both in public life and in the scientific world. Until this time, there had been no serious research; Gutenberg and his invention were mentioned only for popularization purposes. The first story about Gutenberg was information from the book “On the Inventors of Things” (De Inventoribus Rerum), translated in 1720.

15th century The invention of Johann Gutenberg contributed to the spread of education, culture, books as the basis of knowledge so necessary for humanity for the development of society, the formation and improvement of national and international literatures, literacy in general, writing, and this in turn - the entire system of education and upbringing of man.

There is no exact answer to the question “Who and when was printing invented”, and there cannot be, at least until the corresponding documents are discovered. Not a single source that has reached us gives a direct answer to this question, forcing researchers to build their hypotheses only on the basis of indirect evidence. Most researchers and ordinary people attribute the invention of printing to Gutenberg, however, skeptics argue that this is more of a tradition than an immutable truth - Johann Gutenberg hides too many mysteries. The exact date of birth is still unknown
Johann Heinsfleisch (his real name, Gutenberg, is just a nickname, a nickname derived from the estate in one version of his father, in another - of his mother).
The historiography of the problem is full of contradictions caused by different interpretations of sources. The bulk of materials on Gutenberg are related to descriptions of trials involving him. But the subject of the process is not always clear in the protocols, since the cases that Gutenberg was involved in were not subject to publicity due to their secrecy and non-disclosure agreements with partners.

It was he who managed to find the best technical forms of implementing ideas that were partially expressed before him. There is no reason to believe that Gutenberg was familiar with the experience of the Chinese and Koreans, and, obviously, came to a solution to the problem of movable type on his own. Thus, Gutenberg’s merit comes down to the generalization and systematization of the inventions that existed before him, putting into practice the idea of ​​​​printing books, and showed the world the first, and immediately perfect, examples of publications.
Gutenberg's invention was revolutionary because it solved a problem making books of any volume speeded up the printing process many times over; it ensured reasonable prices for books and profitability of work.
This invention completely changed printing technology and restructured the structure of the printing process.
Gutenberg dissected the craft unity of the simplest printing into separate specialized types of work: type making, typesetting and printing, which may have foreseen the emergence of manufacturing forms of organization of production, which from the 17th century were supposed to defeat craft.
Gutenberg's students spread movable type printing throughout Europe.
From all the extremely numerous printing houses that arose back in the 15th century in different cities and countries, invisible threads stretch to a single center - the Mainz printing house of the master Johann - he and only he is the true founder of this wonderful art.

With his discovery, the creator of printing technology, Johannes Gutenberg, made a real revolution, thanks to which books and knowledge became accessible to the widest segments of the European population. His invention turned out to be one of the main symbols of the new era.

Childhood

The exact date of birth of Johannes Gutenberg is unknown. Biographers of the inventor place it around 1398. Johann Gutenberg belonged to a family of wealthy citizens of Mainz, who, in the Roman manner, were called patricians. There is also virtually no confirmed information about the boy’s childhood. However, as the son of a wealthy family, he no doubt received a good city education.

Medieval Mainz was torn apart by internal conflicts. Power in it belonged either to the patricians or to their opponents, the artisans. Armed clashes between different social strata were considered commonplace. One of them occurred when Johannes Gutenberg was in his teens. Craftsmen attacked the rich people's quarter and destroyed their houses. The pogrom forced the Gutenberg family to emigrate to Strasbourg. Johann did not return to his hometown for a long time, despite the fact that in 1430 the political pendulum swung in the opposite direction, and an amnesty was declared to all fleeing patricians.

Jeweler career

After many years of prosperity, the Gutenbergs had to adapt to new difficult living conditions. Johann spent his youth in poverty. Lack of income taught him to be independent and hard work. Traditionally, patricians disdained to engage in crafts, considering such an activity ignoble. Johannes Gutenberg thought differently. He made acquaintances with skilled jewelers in Strasbourg and began to learn their craft. Having received an appropriate education, the young man began working in a company engaged in polishing precious stones and producing mirrors.

Gradually, Johann Gutenberg became more and more famous and eminent master. His first students began to appear. History has preserved the name of one of these apprentices - Andreas Dritzen. In 1435, Gutenberg entered into a contract with the student and created a joint venture with him. Historians attribute the emergence of the idea of ​​book printing to this time, which sparked the passion of the Strasbourg jeweler. Throughout his life, he tried not to make the secrets of this art public. That is why, even when concluding a contract with Dritzen, Gutenberg did not directly say that their company would print books. Another workshop for the production of mirrors was publicly created.

Creating letters

Johannes Gutenberg's revolutionary printing press did not appear overnight. First, he came up with the idea of ​​depicting letters on wooden posts and combining the resulting letters into a convenient set. Today this idea seems simple and obvious. However, this was a great breakthrough for the Middle Ages.

In 1438, the Aachen fair, where Gutenberg's workshop sold most of its mirrors, was postponed for two years. The inventor took advantage of the resulting free time to continue working on his secret machine.

On the way to discovery

The epoch-making invention of printing by Johannes Gutenberg was delayed somewhat due to the death of his student and partner Andreas Dritzen. The workshop fell apart. Moreover, Gutenberg was sued by Dritzen's heirs. The protracted process distracted the inventor from his life's work. The court was hearing a dispute over property. Andreas's heirs demanded part of the workshop. Therefore, in the court papers there were references to the press, type forms, lead, etc. Nevertheless, Gutenberg managed to keep the secret of the not yet ready invention a secret.

In 1439, the goldsmith won the lawsuit. After that, he single-handedly plunged into work on the printing design. By creating movable type, Gutenberg was able to move it in countless combinations. The German indulged in his cherished idea in a workroom in a country Strasbourg monastery on the banks of the Ile River, until he finally brought the prototype to a working version. Historians date this event to 1440.

Financial difficulties

Even after the invention of type and the prototype of the press, books by Johannes Gutenberg printed using the new technology did not appear immediately. Experimenting, he worked with wooden molds. However, they were not suitable for regular work, since the images of letters quickly deteriorated.

To improve the machine, it was necessary to continue experiments with other materials. Such research cost a lot of money. Having abandoned mirrors and jewelry work, Johann Gutenberg, in short, was left without serious funds. He began searching for creditors, but no one in Strasbourg dared to invest money in the inventor’s venture. The mistrust of rich people who knew him was intensified by the fact that the father of printing did not reveal all his cards and did not talk in detail about his press.

Collaboration with Fust

In 1445, Johann Gutenberg, whose biography was again connected with Mainz, finally returned to his hometown. Here he relied on the help of his family. However, for five years the inventor made no progress in his main enterprise. The theoretical idea of ​​book printing was ready, but its implementation was delayed.

In 1450, luck finally smiled on Gutenberg. He met the wealthy businessman Johann Fust. The businessman entered into an agreement with the inventor, according to which he gave him a loan of 800 guilders. The amount was issued in installments over several years. Thanks to Fust's capital, the father of printing finally perfected his technology.

With the money he lent, Gutenberg hired several workers, purchased paper and paints, and rented a spacious room. But most importantly, he cast high-quality and reliable type, which was based on an alloy of several metals. When the printing house began to operate at full capacity, Fus, as its main owner, understanding the value of the unique technology, forbade the workers to tell anyone about the secrets of printing. The typesetters swore this to the merchant, swearing on the Gospel. Until that moment, books were copied in monasteries. Manually they multiplied extremely slowly. For a long time, the monks refused to believe that books could be printed using Gutenberg’s invention without resorting to diabolical magic.

"Latin Grammar" and Indulgences

Having taken a new loan from Fust (the previous money was no longer enough), Johannes Gutenberg invented printing. The path to a stable working machine was long, but in the end the design was ready. The first book created using the new technology was “Latin Grammar,” authored by Elius Donatus. Not a single complete copy has survived to this day. Only individual sheets of paper remain, stored in the Paris National Library.

Gutenberg's invention quickly found profitable use. Pope Nicholas V, fearing the Turkish threat, declared a Crusade against the Turks and promised absolution to those who donated money for the upcoming war. In 1453, the Ottomans captured Constantinople, and the Germans rushed to buy indulgences en masse. A huge number of copies of this receipt were required. This is where Gutenberg showed up. On his press, indulgences were printed at a speed unimaginable for its time. Some copies of that edition have survived and belong to museums today.

Gutenberg Bible

Grammar and indulgences were for Gutenberg reconnaissance before the battle. His lifelong dream was to establish a mass printing of the Bible. Preparation, typesetting of the book and other preliminary work took almost five years. The famous 42-line Bible appeared in 1455. It was published in the form of a two-volume folio (the first part contained 324 sheets, the second - 317 sheets).

The Bible was called Gutenburg's. Capital letters were omitted from it. They were drawn by hand by a calligrapher. There was also no page numbering, which is common today. This is not surprising, since printing had just appeared. Johannes Gutenberg published this Bible on parchment and paper (parchment versions were more expensive). Nevertheless, the books were immediately sold out.

Last years and death

The printing house in which Gutenberg printed his Bible and other books that immortalized his name was closed due to debts to Fust. The inventor was unable to pay the interest due to the moneylender and lost to him in court. Fust became the sole owner of the printing house. He sold books all over Europe and became fabulously rich.

Left with nothing, Gutenberg did not give up. With new partners, he opened another printing house. It published a new Latin grammar, the Catholicon, as well as a book by the Dominican priest Johann Balbus. In 1465, the publisher, as a chamberlain, entered the “eternal service” of the Archbishop of Mainz and Elector Adolf of Nassau. Since then, Gutenberg forgot about material hardships and was able to fully concentrate on what he loved. By that time the inventor was already an old man. He died in 1468, fortunately, having seen the beginning of the success of printing technology. Gutenberg was buried in Mainz, but his grave was forgotten and its location is unknown today.

The publisher's secret technology could not remain secret forever. After the death of the master, his faithful students spread the most valuable knowledge throughout Germany, and from there to other countries. Already in modern times, the name of the founder of book printing caused controversy and doubt among historians. The Gutenberg version triumphed only at the end of the 19th century, when his court papers and other documents were discovered, confirming that he was the first to create a printing press.

For centuries, the knowledge contained in books was the property of a few, mainly monks and priests. Each book was unique, but for most people in the Middle Ages this was not a problem - they were illiterate. In the Middle Ages, books were copied by hand, usually in monasteries. Often monks spent years on one book. In 1450, one invention changed the world.

Portrait of Johannes Gutenberg by an unknown artist in the 17th century

In the German city of Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg invented the technique of printing using movable letters. It was now possible to print books in large quantities and relatively cheaply. The technical foundation was laid for future changes in the fields of science, politics and religion.

Johann Gensfleisch, who later changed his name to Gutenberg, was born in Mainz around 1400. His father was a rich merchant. Young Johann went to a monastery school. This is what we know, but then its trace is lost for a long time.

He reappeared only in 1434 in Strasbourg. Here he founded a factory for the production of mirrors for pilgrims. They were very popular among believers, who hoped to capture in the mirror a piece of God’s spirit from each temple and the relics stored in it. Gutenberg's business flourished.

At that time, trade in religious objects brought great income. Engravings depicting saints were especially popular. Woodcut is one of the first printing techniques, but it came to Europe only in the Middle Ages. It was used mainly for replicating paintings and texts. But cutting out page-sized blocks was time-consuming. First, I had to draw a mirror image of the page on the block, then cut out individual letters. Finally, the block was smeared with ink, paper was placed on it and rubbed with a bone tool to absorb the ink.

By the early 15th century, more and more of these pages were hitting the market. Sometimes several pages were bound into a book. The success of these books gave impetus to an increase in the production of manuscripts - they had long been made not only in monasteries, secular scribes also flourished.

The founding of the first universities increased the demand for books. Libraries were created to increase the availability of books. Cheaper, more accessible books were needed. But that is not all. Scientists, for example, needed identical copies. There was a desperate search for new technology.

Gutenberg also participated in this search. In 1448 he returned to Mainz. Here he found financial support and was able to start his own enterprise. A brilliant idea occurred to him. He divided the text into components: letters, punctuation marks and their frequent combinations - ligatures. They were combined into blocks, typing words, lines and pages. Cast letters could be reused in different combinations.
This is how letter is made. An inverted letter is engraved on the end of the metal rod. It is dipped in softened copper, leaving an imprint in it. This matrix acts as a mold for the actual type, which is cast from lead.

To be able to produce letters quickly and in sufficient quantity, Gutenberg took another important step - he invented a tool for hand casting. It consists of a rectangular gutter. A matrix is ​​inserted into one end and molten lead is poured from the other. When the mold is opened, the finished lead letter lies inside. The matrix can be used to produce an unlimited number of characters.

Finally, the typesetter begins to assemble the letters into a layout. Lines are inserted into the form so that they form the desired sequence. The result is a mirror image of the page. The form is coated with printing ink. Gutenberg used a mixture of soot, varnish and egg white. Now you can start typing. Gutenberg had a special machine, but he borrowed the principle from a wine press.

Printing house from Gutenberg's time

Gutenberg's first works were official documents, papal decrees and textbooks. But soon he took on a gigantic work - the Bible in Latin. For this purpose, he cast more than one hundred thousand letters. For more than two years, Gutenberg's typesetters and printers worked on the first edition of one hundred thousand copies. The text was printed in a Gothic font based on handwritten letters. Finally, the artist decorated the text with colored initial letters and drawings. With his Bible, one of the most beautiful printed books in the world, Gutenberg proved that a printed book can be as beautiful as a handwritten one.

Soon the edition was sold out. Gutenberg's contemporaries were amazed. For the first time, so many copies of a book were on sale, and completely identical ones. The printed word has become authoritative.

Word of the revolutionary technology spread quickly. Soon printing presses appeared in Cologne and Basel. In Venice, the enterprising publisher Aldus Manutius began publishing works by classical authors. Among his clients were the entire European intellectual elite.

20 years after Gutenberg's invention, the new technology was firmly established. Thousands of books were published in print runs of up to thousands of copies. Books became available to ordinary people, literacy rates grew, and the number of potential readers increased.

Gutenberg Bible

One of Gutenberg's greatest admirers was Martin Luther. The art of printing gave him a bold idea - a layman need not wait for a priest to tell him what the Bible says. He can read it for himself and make a choice between the true text and the false interpretations of the church. Luther printed half a million copies of his translation of the Bible into German - a huge circulation at that time. To convey his ideas to people, he distributed hundreds of thousands of pamphlets.

But it was not only Luther who used the new medium of information. The emperor, the kings, and the free cities of the empire did this. Soon one-page pamphlets, leaflets, as we would say, became a means of transmitting news. When the unusual positions of the planets were predicted for 1524, the leaflets predicted a second global flood.

The first daily newspaper was born in Leipzig in 1650. It was called "Einkommende Zeitungen" ("Fresh News") and was published six times a week.

Today, offset is the most common printing method, but despite all the improvements, it was Gutenberg who laid the foundations of the modern press world. His invention is considered one of the most important in history.

Gutenberg himself did not get rich from his invention. He did not even have time to finish printing the Bible when his creditor demanded repayment of the debt. In the subsequent legal war, Gutenberg lost both the press and all the printed Bibles.

Soon after this, Mainz was captured by enemy troops. Gutenberg was expelled. Three years later he was allowed to return and work for the new archbishop. On February 3, 1468, Johannes Gutenberg died.

He was buried in the Franciscan church in Mainz. But his invention - printing with movable type - changed the world forever.