Panel 10
Transition to Printing
The Nuremberg Chronicle (Liber Chronicarum)
Published in 1493, the Nuremberg Chronicle is one of the most famous and lavishly illustrated incunabula of early printing. The work was composed by the humanist and city physician Hartmann Schedel and funded by Nuremberg merchants. The chronicle offers a overview of world history divided into the medieval ages of the world, from Creation to the Last Judgment. The text relies heavily on older chronicles and was sometimes copied almost word for word. In the Middle Ages, however, copying carried no negative connotation: it was a normal and widely accepted method for transmitting knowledge.
The ongoing quest for efficiency
Today, we find information online in seconds. This digital revolution recalls the invention of printing in the 15th century. Even then, the need to spread knowledge faster and more widely was growing. Printing techniques already existed in Asia, but Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400–1468) achieved the great breakthrough thanks to movable metal type and the printing press. From then on, books could be produced faster, more cheaply, and in larger quantities.
Printing represented a revolution for Europe. Knowledge, ideas, and opinions spread much faster, while print shops expanded across the continent. The earliest printed books still resembled manuscripts, but gradually adopted their modern form. At the same time, book printing became a commercial activity. Where scribes previously produced only a few copies, print shops produced hundreds. The book trade flourished, and libraries became important repositories of knowledge.
Image captions:
The city of Lyon
Seneca
The death of Seneca
Incunabula
Although printing was a technical innovation, early printed books retained a strong resemblance to manuscripts. Initials, ornaments, and miniatures were often still added by hand, and a proper title page was generally lacking.
These early printed works are called incunabula: books printed before 1500. They were literally at the cradle of modern book production and represent the transition between the medieval manuscript and the printed book.
With a few refinements, Gutenberg's printing technique remained in use for nearly five centuries. It was only from the mid-20th century onwards that digital technologies brought a new revolution to the dissemination of information.
Caption for the last image:
Incunabulum printed in 1479 in Cologne by Conrad Winters von Homborch, one of the first German printers, featuring a beautifully executed (hand-painted) initial letter.
Archives of Sint-Truiden