The Gutenberg Bible: A Literary Analysis

Words: 475
Pages: 2

Created by Johannes Gutenberg in 1455, The Gutenberg Bible is the first mass produced book through the use of a moveable printer. Known for its artistic Latin writing, it has forty-eight copies remaining, one residing at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. The Gutenberg Bible exhibited religious qualities in various forms as well as confronting the iconoclastic movement in Christianity.
The Bible incorporates religious elements, drawn from the contents and scale of it. In The Gutenberg Bible, the calligraphic font was used to demonstrate the beauty of God’s superiority. Following the reveal of the sculpture, Sweet Jesus outrage followed, because Jesus, part God, shouldn’t have been subjected to human form through his nakedness. The regular font would have
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There were two fundamental thoughts in Europe in the 15th century regarding iconography. The first is that images and icons of Christ represented a presence in a realistic fashion. The second field of thought was individuals, as described by the Icon reading, “realize[d] power of images to incite religious devotion.” Frames, just as many of those against icons believed they were too powerful and strong faith didn’t need images. The Gutenberg Bible was a showcase of the word of God that could not be misrepresented, but instead a material presence that was not available beforehand. Unlike images, the Bible had a solid foundation of holiness that was true to the religion of Christianity and was not a creation of cultural norms. Before the mass production of the Bible, it would have to be hand written that could take years to complete, but due to it a large amount of them were available that led to the tangibility of religion, the main argument that iconoclast had been providing. Due to this Bible, it revolutionized the religious argument between allies and opponents of