Johannes Gutenberg Research Paper
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg, more commonly known as Johannes Gutenberg, was a man of the Renaissance. Johannes was born in approximately 1400 in Mainz, Germany into an upper-class family. His father was named Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden. According to some, he was a goldsmith for the bishop at Mainz, but most believe he was involved in the cloth trade. Johannes did many things to help the Renaissance times, and also to help us today. He invented the Printing Press and was also a goldsmith. Once he had invented the Printing Press, he created what is known today as the Gutenberg Bible, or the 42-line Bible. The world would be much farther back in technology if it weren’t for this man. Johannes moved away from his hometown of
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In Mainz, Gutenberg started his own printing business. In 1446 and 1448, Johannes printed two things, “Poem of the Last Judgment” and “Calendar for 1448”. In 1450, Johannes acquainted the very wealthy, Johann Fust. Fust gave Johannes the money to start making/printing his Bibles. Right away, Johannes started making Bibles, and he had finished his work on up to 200 Gutenberg Bibles in 1455. It took Johannes five years to make these Bibles, making approximately one Bible every nine days. In 1454, Johannes printed Indulgences for Pope Nicholas V. Indulgences are “tickets” from the Catholic Church that supposedly forgave all sins. These indulgences were sold to Europeans that wanted their sins lifted so they could go to Heaven. Johannes’ business soon started to fall after 11 years of service. In 1455, after he had completed his Bibles, Johannes became effectively bankrupt. His old business was taken over by Johann Fust. Later in 1460 however, Johannes got back into the Printing business with the help of Conrad Humery. Little more is known of the last eight years of Gutenberg’s life. The one thing that is known is that he was appointed to the court of the Archbishop Adolf of Nassau on January 18th, 1465, yielding income and various unknown privileges. Three years later, Johannes Gutenberg died. The exact date is unknown but evidence shows that it was sometime in late 1467 to
In Mainz, Gutenberg started his own printing business. In 1446 and 1448, Johannes printed two things, “Poem of the Last Judgment” and “Calendar for 1448”. In 1450, Johannes acquainted the very wealthy, Johann Fust. Fust gave Johannes the money to start making/printing his Bibles. Right away, Johannes started making Bibles, and he had finished his work on up to 200 Gutenberg Bibles in 1455. It took Johannes five years to make these Bibles, making approximately one Bible every nine days. In 1454, Johannes printed Indulgences for Pope Nicholas V. Indulgences are “tickets” from the Catholic Church that supposedly forgave all sins. These indulgences were sold to Europeans that wanted their sins lifted so they could go to Heaven. Johannes’ business soon started to fall after 11 years of service. In 1455, after he had completed his Bibles, Johannes became effectively bankrupt. His old business was taken over by Johann Fust. Later in 1460 however, Johannes got back into the Printing business with the help of Conrad Humery. Little more is known of the last eight years of Gutenberg’s life. The one thing that is known is that he was appointed to the court of the Archbishop Adolf of Nassau on January 18th, 1465, yielding income and various unknown privileges. Three years later, Johannes Gutenberg died. The exact date is unknown but evidence shows that it was sometime in late 1467 to