Detailed Information

AE-LN331 - The Print Revolution in Europe, 1450-1750

This course begins with the invention of print by moveable type around the year 1450 and traces the influence of this ""Print Revolution" upon the people and nations of Europe over three centuries. It examines the changes brought about by the spread of print across the continent: increasing literacy, a culture of argument and disputation, and the rise of men (and some women) who could aspire to earn their living by writing. It will examine different types of books and printing, including science books, cookery books, novels and newspapers. It will ask what part books and printing played in the great transformations of this period, beginning with the Reformation and ending with the Enlightenment. 


A unique feature of the course is that each week we will examine rare original books from the collections of Marsh's Library which illustrate the themes of that week's class.

Dates Schedule Time Venue/Location Fee €
28 Sep 2022 to 16 Nov 2022 Sessions:
Sept 28, Oct 05, 12, 19, 26, Nov 02, 09, 16
14.00 - 16.00pm
8 Wednesdays
14:00 Marsh's Library, St Patrick's Close Dublin D08 FK79

185.00



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Sept 28, Oct 05, 12, 19, 26, Nov 02, 09, 16
14.00 - 16.00pm
8 Wednesdays

Jason McElligott is the Director of Marsh's Library, which was founded in 1707. A native of Cabra in Dublin, he did History at UCD before reading for a Ph.D. at St John's College, Cambridge. A former Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, he has written widely about books and the culture of printing in the 17th century.

- The world in 1450: medieval manuscripts versus the new technology of print
- The first 100 years: boom and bust
- Expensive, beautiful books for wealthy readers
- Books for the lower end of the market: New audiences and new languages.
- The Reformation: Did books cause the split?
- Readers: how can we tell what men and women read?
- The rise of news, magazines and newspapers
- The world in 1750: books everywhere?

Andrew Pettegree, The Book in The Renaissance (2011). Paperback.
Andrew Pettegree, The Invention of News: How the World Came to Know About Itself (2015). Paperback.

At the end of this course, a student should be able to outline the broad contours of the Print Revolution across Europe and recognise different forms of printing. Having seen a range of rare texts, they will understand the effect of the huge explosion in the amount of printing on the great social and cultural changes that took place in Europe in the three centuries after 1450.