The German Johannes Gutenberg, whose biography is described in this article, had a tremendous impact on the whole world around him. His invention truly changed the course of history.
Ancestors of Johannes Gutenberg
Since the famous inventor was born and lived in the fifteenth century, there is very little information about him. In those distant times, only prominent political and church figures were honored to be included in documentary sources. However, Johann was lucky. Contemporaries appreciated his work, information about him is found in various historical descriptions of that time.
It is known for certain that Johannes Gutenberg was born into a we althy family of Friel Gensfleisch and Elsa Wirich. This happened around 1400.
His parents were married in 1386. Mother came from a family of cloth merchants, so their union was considered unequal. In the city from time immemorial there has been a struggle between the patricians (the upper strata of the burghers, the father's family) and the workshops (artisans, the mother's family). When the confrontation in Mainz escalated, the family had to leave in order not to endanger the children.
In Mainz, the family had an estate named after their father Gensfleisch, and a farmstead Gutenberghof.
The inventor may have had a knighthood, although his mother's background and his own activities contradicted this. However, there is an ordinance signed by the French king Charles the Seventh, in which the name of Gutenberg appears.
Childhood and youth
A short biography of Johann is not contained in any of the ancient sources. It can only be restored from fragmentary data. That is why reliable information about the first years of his life simply does not exist.
There are no records of his baptism. However, some researchers believe that his birthday is June 24, 1400 (the day of John the Baptist). There is also no exact information about the place of his birth. It could be either Mainz or Strasbourg.
Johann was the youngest child in the family. The eldest son's name was Frile, there were also two girls - Elsa and Patze.
After leaving school, the young man studied handicrafts, deciding to follow in the footsteps of his mother's ancestors. It is known that he achieved the highest skill and received the title of master, since he later trained apprentices.
Life in Strasbourg
Johannes Gutenberg lived in Strasbourg from 1434. He was engaged in jewelry business, polished precious stones and produced mirrors. It was there that the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a machine that would print books was born in his head. In 1438, he even created an organization under the mysterious name "Enterprise with Art". The cover was the manufacture of mirrors. This partnershipwas organized jointly with his student Andreas Dritzen.
About this time, Gutenberg and his team were on the verge of a brilliant discovery, but the death of a companion delayed the publication of his invention.
Invention of printing
The starting point of modern typography is considered to be 1440, although there are no printed documents, books and sources of that time. There is only circumstantial evidence that a certain Waldfogel has been selling the secret of "artificial writing" since 1444. It is believed that it was John Gutenberg himself. Thus, he tried to get funds for the further development of his machine. So far, it was only raised letters, made of metal and carved in its mirror image. In order for the inscription to appear on paper, it was necessary to use special paint and a press.
In 1448, the German returns to Mainz, where he makes a deal with the usurer I. Fust, who paid him eight hundred guilders annually. The profit from the printing house was to be divided by percentage. But in the end, this arrangement began to work against Gutenberg. He stopped receiving the promised money for technical support, but still shared the profits.
Despite all the turmoil, Johannes Gutenberg's machine by 1456 found several different fonts (five in total). At the same time, the first grammar of Elias Donatus was printed, several official documents and, finally, two Bibles, which became historical monuments for printing.
The 42-line Gutenberg Bible, printed no later than 1455, is considered Johann's main work. It has survived to this day and is kept in the Mainz Museum.
For this book, the inventor created a special font, a type of Gothic writing. It turned out to be quite similar to handwritten and due to the many ligatures and abbreviations that were commonly used by scribes.
Because the existing colors were not suitable for typography, Gutenberg had to create his own. Due to the addition of copper, lead and sulfur, the text in the book turned out to be blue-black, with an unusual sheen, red ink was used for headings. To match two colors, one page had to be passed through the machine twice.
The book was published with a circulation of 180 copies, but not many have survived to this day. The largest number is in Germany (twelve pieces). There was one copy of the first printed Bible in Russia, but after the revolution, the Soviet government sold it at an auction in London.
In the fifteenth century, this Bible was sold for 30 florins (3 grams of gold in one coin). Today, one page from the book is valued at $80,000. There are 1272 pages in the Bible.
Litigation
Johannes Gutenberg was twice called to trial. This happened for the first time in 1439, after the death of his friend and companion A. Dritzen. His children claimed that the machine was actually their father's invention.
Gutenberg easily won the case. And thanks to his materials, the researchers learned on whichstage of readiness was an invention. The documents contained such words as "stamping", "printing", "press", "this work". This clearly indicated the readiness of the machine.
It is known for certain that the process stopped due to the lack of some details that Andreas had left. Johann had to restore them himself.
The second trial took place in 1455, when the inventor was sued by I. Fust for non-payment of interest. The court ruled that the printing house and all its components pass to the plaintiff. Johannes Gutenberg invented printing in 1440, and fifteen years later he had to start from scratch.
Recent years
Having survived the aftermath of the trial, Gutenberg decided not to give up. He came to the company of K. Gumeri and published in 1460 the work of Johann Balbus, as well as a Latin grammar with a dictionary.
In 1465 he entered the service of Elector Adolf.
At the age of 68, the printer died. He was buried in Mainz, but the location of his grave is currently unknown.
Distribution of printing
What made Johannes Gutenberg famous attracted many. Everyone wants easy money. Therefore, there were many people claiming to be the inventors of printing in Europe.
Gutenberg's name was recorded in one of his documents by Peter Schaeffer, his apprentice. After the destruction of the first printing house, its workers dispersed throughout Europe, introducing new technologies in other countries. Their teacher wasJohannes Gutenberg. Typography quickly spread in Hungary (A. Hess), Italy (Sweichnheim), and Spain. Ironically, none of Gutenberg's students went to France. Parisians independently invited German printers to work in their country.
The final point in the history of the creation of printing was put in his work by Anthony van der Lind in 1878.
Gutenberg studies
The identity of the European printing pioneer has always been popular. Researchers in many countries did not miss the opportunity to write any work about his biography or activities. Even during his lifetime, disputes began about the authorship of the invention and the place (Mainz or Strasbourg).
Some connoisseurs called Gutenberg an apprentice of Fust and Schaeffer. And despite the fact that Schaeffer himself called Johann the inventor of printing, these rumors did not subside for a long time.
Modern researchers call the main problem that in the first printed books there is no colophon, that is, a mark of authorship. By doing this, Gutenberg would have avoided a lot of problems and would not have allowed his legacy to vegetate.
A little more is known about the identity of the inventor, because there is no personal correspondence, a reliable image. The amount of documentary evidence is insufficient.
Johannes Gutenberg invented unique typefaces, thanks to which it was possible to establish and confirm his legacy.
In Russia, interest in studying the life of a printing pioneer appeared only in the middle of the twentieth century. It was the 500th anniversary of the inventiontypography. The first researcher was Vladimir Lyublinsky, a representative of the Leningrad scientific community.
In total, more than 3,000 scientific papers have been written and published in the world (including a brief biography of Gutenberg).
Memory
Unfortunately, no lifetime portraits of Johann have been preserved. The first engraving, dated 1584, was made in Paris from a description of the inventor's appearance.
Mainz is considered not only Johann's hometown, but also the place where the printing press was invented. Therefore, there is a monument to Gutenberg, his museum (opened in 1901).
An asteroid and a crater on the Moon are named after him.
