How had the printing press created a new culture of reading in Europe

Print Culture and Modern World (10)

How had the printing press created a new culture of reading in Europe? Explain with examples.

Answer

  1. Access to books created a new culture of reading.
  2. Common people lived in a world of oral culture.
  3. Now the books were less expensive and could be produced in sufficient number.

Access to books created a new culture of reading. Earlier, reading was restricted to the elites. Common people lived in a world of oral culture. They heard sacred texts read out, ballads recited, and folk tales narrated. Knowledge was transferred orally. People collectively heard a story, or saw a performance.

Before the age of print, books were not only expensive but they could not be produced in sufficient numbers. Now books could reach out to wider sections of people. If earlier there was a hearing public, now a reading public came into being.

Exam Year: 2019