User:Aza24/Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (c. 1393–1406 – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced large-scale printing to Europe with a mechanical movable-type printing press. Though not the earliest of its kind, Gutenberg's method of printing was the first to be available to Europeans, [something impressive sounding].

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Early life
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Eltville and Strasbourg
Since later German printers were of a university education, it is often assumed that Gutenberg was as well. Sufficient academic knowledge would have been essential to his developments in printmaking: his later works demonstrate a considerable understanding of Latin, and university would have offered

"John from Eltville"

He is assumed to have studied at the University of Erfurt, where there is a record of the enrollment of a student called Johannes de Altavilla in 1418—Altavilla is the Latin form of Eltville am Rhein.

Nothing is now known of Gutenberg's life for the next fifteen years, but in March 1434, a letter by him indicates that he was living in Strasbourg, where he had some relatives on his mother's side. He also appears to have been a goldsmith member enrolled in the Strasbourg militia. In 1437, there is evidence that he was instructing a wealthy tradesman on polishing gems, but where he had acquired this knowledge is unknown. In 1436/37 his name also comes up in court in connection with a broken promise of marriage to a woman from Strasbourg, Ennelin. Whether the marriage actually took place is not recorded. Following his father's death in 1419, he is mentioned in the inheritance proceedings.

Sources and historical context
Much information concerning Gutenberg's life is only known from contemporary records of financial transactions. Local tradition holds its own account of certain events and dates of his life, often without any extant evidence. Many historical documents pertaining to Gutenberg's life were not available to historians until the 18th-century. Upon their analysis, the scholarly account of his life eventually shifted from relaying on tradition to following primary sources. On his printing achievements, scholar Sigfrid Henry Steinberg noted that in general "the available evidence about the invention of printing with movable types cast from matrices is unfortunately less conclusive than might be wished".



"The archives do not indicate that Gutenberg himself was a goldsmith; his affiliation with the Strasbourg goldsmiths' guild is no proof, since at the time the guilds in the town on the Upper Rhine already had a predominantly social function and no longer exclusively a professional one" –

Also

 * Refer to
 * Peter Schöffer the Younger
 * (source as well)


 * Notes
 * Childress is not a high-quality source!
 * Catholicon (1286)
 * Add unused sources from the Grove Art article to further reading
 * Karl Franz Otto Dziatzko important early scholar (maybe needs info in sources/historical context section of further reading)


 * Other references
 * 
 * The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History
 * The Oxford Companion to German Literature (3 ed.)
 * Talks about the impact of the 'man of the millennium' designation
 * Good article on attribution dispute (Coster Britannica article also has information on this)


 * Images
 * Solid 1660 etching portrait
 * Great image of Gutenberg and his contemporaries (use it!!!)
 * Other images
 * Possibly contemporary portrait
 * Add Jean Antoine Laurent's portrait to the legacy section eventually

Use this: