In the mid-fifteenth century, the book market was doing very well. As more and more Aristocrats began to collect books, their need for more scribes and booksellers began increasing. Scholars, students, theologians, government employees, and the literate public all required books. Soon the supply of the raw material, parchment, could not keep up with the need. Parchment was not only expensive but it was in short supply because there were only so many suitable animals to be skinned.
Paper had already been used for centuries in the Eastern cultures. But in the twelfth century, the process of manufacturing paper had come to Europe through Spain.Before paper was manufactured from wood pulp in the nineteenth century, it was made from linen rags. Old rags were fairly accessible, unlike the skins of animals. The rags were collected and then mashed together into a pulp that was mixed with water. The pulp was then put through a rectangular griddle. When the water in the pulp eventually dried up, a thin sheet of paper was left. It wasn't an easy process. It took great skill to get the thickness just right.
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, this new process of making paper began to spread into northern Italy, southern Germany, and parts of France. Paper mills were soon popping up close to the major urban centers that had previously produced parchment. Paper became an acceptable substitute for parchment, paving the way for the printing press.
As inventions come about, in my lifetime, I always wonder why someone didn't think of that before. History helps us to see the sequential order of things. Each time period brings about not only new inventions but new people who are sent here to create just what is needed next.
Amy S. Johnson
Your post has helped me understand more of why paper is so important. Paper and the printing press helped in so many ways. General circulation of texts I'm sure must have skyrocketed along with literacy and education afterwards. Without something easier and more accessible than papyrus, the printing press might not have made the impact that it did. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI especially liked you last sentence when you said "each time period brings about not only new inventions but new people who are sent here to create just what is needed next." There are many inventions that I do believe were inspired God to help us advance forward. President Monson has said, "God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things. He leaves the pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved, that man might know the joys and glories of creation." I think your ideas go hand in hand with this quote. Thanks for writing!
ReplyDelete