Print Culture-4 Flashcards
what happened to european literacy rates through the 17th and 18th c
Through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries literacy rates went
up in most parts of Europe. Churches of different denominations
set up schools in villages, carrying literacy to peasants and artisans.
By the end of the eighteenth century, in some parts of Europe
literacy rates were as high as 60 to 80 per cent. As literacy and schools
spread in European countries, there was a virtual reading mania.
People wanted books to read and printers produced books in everincreasing numbers
New forms of popular literature appeared in print, targeting new
audiences. explain
i)Booksellers employed pedlars who roamed around
villages, carrying little books for sale. There were almanacs or ritual
calendars, along with ballads and folktales.
ii) But other forms of reading
matter, largely for entertainment, began to reach ordinary readers as
well. In England, penny chapbooks were carried by petty pedlars
known as chapmen, and sold for a penny, so that even the poor
could buy them. In France, were the ‘Biliotheque Bleue’, which were
low-priced small books printed on poor quality paper, and bound
in cheap blue covers.
iii)Then there were the romances, printed on
four to six pages, and the more substantial ‘histories’ which were
stories about the past.
what is a chapbook
A term used to describe pocketsize books that are sold by travelling pedlars
called chapmen. These became popular from
the time of the sixteenth-century print revolution
explain rise of periodical press
The periodical press developed from the early eighteenth century,
combining information about current affairs with entertainment.
Newspapers and journals carried information about wars and trade,
as well as news of developments in other places.
how did printing press help scientist and philosophers
Similarly, the ideas of scientists and philosophers now became more
accessible to the common people. Ancient and medieval scientific
texts were compiled and published, and maps and scientific diagrams
were widely printed. When scientists like Isaac Newton began to
publish their discoveries, they could influence a much wider circle
of scientifically minded readers. The writings of thinkers such as
Thomas Paine, Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau were also widely
printed and read. Thus their ideas about science, reason and rationality
found their way into popular literature.
what was a common conviction abt print and literature
By the mid-eighteenth century, there was a common conviction that
books were a means of spreading progress and enlightenment. Many
believed that books could change the world, liberate society from
despotism and tyranny, and herald a time when reason and intellect
would rule.
what did louise-sebastien mercier pose
Louise-Sebastien Mercier, a novelist in eighteenth-century
France, declared: ‘The printing press is the most powerful engine of
progress and public opinion is the force that will sweep despotism
away.’ In many of Mercier’s novels, the heroes are transformed by
acts of reading. They devour books, are lost in the world books
create, and become enlightened in the process. Convinced of the
power of print in bringing enlightenment and destroying the basis
of despotism, Mercier proclaimed: ‘Tremble, therefore, tyrants of
the world! Tremble before the virtual writer!’
t print culture created the conditions
within which French Revolution occurred. 1st point
print popularised the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers.
Collectively, their writings provided a critical commentary on tradition,
superstition and despotism. They argued for the rule of reason rather
than custom, and demanded that everything be judged through the
application of reason and rationality. They attacked the sacred
authority of the Church and the despotic power of the state, thus
eroding the legitimacy of a social order based on tradition. The
writings of Voltaire and Rousseau were read widely; and those who
read these books saw the world through new eyes, eyes that were
questioning, critical and rational.
t print culture created the conditions
within which French Revolution occurred. 2st point
: print created a new culture of dialogue and debate. All
values, norms and institutions were re-evaluated and discussed by a
public that had become aware of the power of reason, and
recognised the need to question existing ideas and beliefs. Within
this public culture, new ideas of social revolution came into being.
t print culture created the conditions
within which French Revolution occurred. 3rt point
: by the 1780s there was an outpouring of literature that mocked
the royalty and criticised their morality. In the process, it raised questions about the existing social order. Cartoons and caricatures
typically suggested that the monarchy remained absorbed only in
sensual pleasures while the common people suffered immense
hardships. This literature circulated underground and led to the
growth of hostile sentiments against the monarchy.
did print change people minds completely. in the case of french revln
There can be no doubt that
print helps the spread of ideas. But we must remember that people
did not read just one kind of literature. If they read the ideas of
Voltaire and Rousseau, they were also exposed to monarchical and
Church propaganda. They were not influenced directly by everything
they read or saw. They accepted some ideas and rejected others.
They interpreted things their own way. Print did not directly shape
their minds, but it did open up the possibility of thinking differently
