Technology

The printing press was invented around 1450, and was used in over two hundred cities throughout Europe by 1500, with Wittenberg being one of the leading publishing centers (Edwards, 1994). Luther might not have been the first to be condemned for his works, but he benefited greatly by using print as a medium for his writing. After publishing the 95 Theses, Luther published 65 original works, with most being less than eight pages long (Pettegree, 2017).  Luther’s popularity grew due to tremendous increase in the number of his works published. By April 1521, Luther had published 615 editions of his works (Pettegree, 2017). Working with Carnach, Luther developed his own branding and original pamphlets. Using pamphlets made it easier to distribute, as a single copy could be sent to a new location to be printed and distributed in a short period of time (Pettegree, 2017).  The woodcut method used for pamphlets by Cranach and Luther was relatively cheap and convenient to produce due to the small size and modest decoration of pamphlets allowed for efficient printing (Bagchi, 2016).  

“Printing, Propaganda, and Public Opinion in the Age of Martin Luther” explains how the printing press played a significant role in spreading Luther’s Protestant views. Although the pamphlets were written in support of the common people, they were used as propaganda by educated reformists to gain public opinion. The writer of this article concludes that we should be wary of assuming the texts reflect the common people as a whole, as education changes perspective and expectations.