According
to Wikipedia, “The
world's first known movable type printing technology was invented and developed
in China by the Han Chinese printer Bi Sheng between the years 1041 and 1048.
In Korea, the movable metal type printing technique was invented in the early
thirteenth century during the Goryeo Dynasty. The Goryeo Dynasty printed Jikji
in 1377 by using a similar method. . . The invention of movable type mechanical
printing technology in Europe is credited to the German printer Johannes
Gutenberg in 1450.”
The
latter, of course, is particularly important to Western Civilization, not to
mention historians and genealogists. The expansion and use of Gutenberg’s
printing press made for very quick set-ups of pages using moveable metal type
and allowed the printing of thousands of pages per day. Copies of inexpensive books
by leading scholars and religious leaders of the day, including the Bible, and
textbooks for many subjects, were produced in large quantities resulting in
widespread dissemination of knowledge and education of the masses, until then something
only available to a few in the elite classes.
The
first English-language book was printed in 1475. By 1500, printing presses in
use across Europe had produced tens of millions of copies of books of all
types.
 |
Woodcut
of a printing press in use around 1568; downloaded December 30, 2014 from Wikipedia:
“At the left in the foreground, a "puller" removes a printed sheet
from the press. The "beater" to his right is inking the forme. In the
background, compositors are setting type.”
What
was also made possible was the keeping and distribution of many types of
records, not the least was information about births, marriages and deaths.
While, for many decades and centuries afterward, parish records continued to be
the main source of genealogical information, over time such records could be
collated, printed, stored and made available to a large audience. Eventually
even the Churches had printed forms on which to record names and dates.
 |
The
diffusion of the moveable-type printing press; downloaded December 30, 2014 from
article
by Jeremiah Dittmar titled Information
Technology and economic change: The impact of the printing press. (2011).
Widespread
printing carried with it the need for standardization in the spelling of common
words and names and a consequent increase in literacy. People learned to
recognize (read) and reproduce (write) their own language and, of course, their
own names and with that, began to identify themselves on paper in a consistent
manner. The English language underwent significant structuring as a result of
the explosion of the printed word carrying with it the requirement for
regularity of spelling, grammar and definitions. The first Dictionary of the English Language was published by Samuel Johnson
in 1755, which became a hallmark in the organization of the language.
Most
genealogists may find that consistency in spelling of their family names began with the spread of printing presses, the profusion
of books available and the increase in literacy. What other aspects of normal lives might one envision
happened with people having increased access to books and newspapers?
Wayne
Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in
England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has
published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy and is a past
Editor of Chinook, the quarterly
journal of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Wayne also provides
genealogical consulting services through his business, Family History Facilitated.
