ANNI MIRABILES: 1439
What was the most important year ever? Andrew Marr suggests it was probably 1776, but Ann Wroe, The Economist's obituaries editor, casts a vote for Gutenberg's breakthrough ...
From INTELLIGENT LIFE Magazine, Summer 2009
This is the year—as near as one can say—when Johannes Gutenberg, in his workshop in Mainz, first set movable metal types in a wooden frame, blacked them with ink from a roller, and saw them make words on a sheet of paper. No other single action has been so influential. A spoken word, even from the mouth of the greatest ruler, prophet or sage, dissolves into the air. Words that are printed survive, thrive and multiply.
Since 1439 words printed by Gutenberg’s process have driven every invention, change of thinking and political idea. And in Gutenberg’s type—if not in our uniform, lifeless electronic fonts—words also contain light and shade, and dance.
The same year that saw this inky, clumsy birth also saw the death of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick: warrior, pilgrim and tutor of the child-king Henry VI. His gilt-bronze effigy, in full armour, lies in St Mary’s church in Warwick. His eyes are open, and he raises his hands to the stained glass window above him, where the Virgin waits to receive him into Heaven at the Last Judgment.
That whole structure of certainty, hierarchy and faith, the closed medieval universe, was never more efficiently blown open than by the careful placing, many miles away, of little squares of metal in a press; even if printing the Bible was the first thing Gutenberg thought he would do.
In the coming days, other Economist writers will cast their votes for the most important year ever (eg, 5BC, 1204), and then you can cast your own (see poll at right).
Picture credit: threedots (via Flickr)
(Ann Wroe is obituaries and briefings editor of The Economist and author of "Being Shelley".)
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Most important year
July 30, 2009 - 01:42 — Clarence Fernandez (not verified)Really? Your choice of Gutenberg seems to showcase a very Western-centric point of view, although there is no denying the influence and impact of the invention. Yet the Chinese invented printing before Gutenberg, so if printing defines the most important year, then that year would have to be it.
I would say the year 1945 was the most important in our history, because that was the first time man demonstrated that he had the potential to eradicate the species from the planet with a single act. Besides, many of the other consequences of 1945 have not yet finished working themselves out. Some of your other important years stem from the events of that year (in a straight line, 1989, for instance) and arguably Mandela (the problem of the death throes of imperialism) And where would the Economist be without the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank, and the whole range of Bretton Woods institutions it has had such fun criticising (or alternatively, cribbing research from)? The DNA event of 1953 could arguably be said to have resulted from the greatly intensified focus of the Western democracies on proving their scientific and technological superiority to the Russians. Copenhagen 2009 is simply silly, given the complete diplomatic failure so far to secure agreement on any kind of meaningful joint international effort to tackle environmental problems. And 5 B.C. and 1204 both suffer from the same problem -- the figures involved, and the events, could have happened in some other religion, equivalently. You might as well have the date of Mohammed's flight from Medina or the dispute over the Caliphate that resulted in the split between Sunnis and Shias.
A bit more thought in generating influential dates seems to be indicated.
Printing
August 11, 2009 - 10:21 — History Nerd (not verified)Yes, that is quite a western-centric choice. If it is in fact the act of printing that changed the world, then why refer to the German and not Chinese? Much of what Europe learned and used to change the western world arrived from both the Middle East and Asia. The Mongols spread much information among that part of the world. I must say it is disappointing that not one year focuses on any other civilization that isn't western. What about Mesopotamia's invention of the alphabet? Or Egypt? Or China's invention of paper? I was hoping for more thoughtful suggestions of important moments in history.
style of substance?
August 11, 2009 - 16:19 — Jon Hunters Religious Rambleings (not verified)Does the elevation of Gutenbergs invention over many of the great events of history, show this ages fixation of style over substance, of communication over having something worth communicating?
Obvious Gutenbergs invention was of great importance, and opened up the realm of reading and education to the masses, It would be worthless if we didn't have anything worth saying.
Therefore I feel the need to agree with Gutenberg who set about printing the bible first, and place the birth of Christ as by far the most important event in history.
is the west wrong
August 12, 2009 - 11:25 — aibrean (not verified)This is a western article, in a western language, on western medium (the interent), or a site whihc audeince is predominatley geographically western.
Is wrong to view things from our own worldview ?
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