2.2.2

Institutions & Technology

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The Printing Press

The printing press was a new technology in towns that allowed ideas and theories to spread a lot faster across Renaissance Europe. Johannes Gutenberg started to build it in 1436.

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More efficient technology

  • Before the printing press, books had to be copied by hand.
  • This either took months for each copy or was not done because it took too much effort.
  • In 1480, there were 110 printers in Europe. By 1500 they were in 77 cities in Italy and by 1600, 151 cities had printing presses.
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Spreading ideas

  • Being able to print more books quickly meant that more people could read other people's ideas and theories.
  • The writings of Galen and Pare could be reprinted in lots of different languages for people all across Europe to read.
  • By 1500, 20 million copies had been made by Western European printing presses.
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Scientific process

  • If people do not fully understand a theory, it is hard to critique it.
  • Publishing lots of copies of a theory can mean that lots of people understand a theory in more detail and can then work out what is wrong with it and whether it is right.
  • Students studying medicine and other things could use books and textbooks for reference more often.

The Royal Society

The Royal Society was created with the support of King Charles II in November 1660. It is an institution whose job was to promote and support scientific research.

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The scientific process

  • The motto of the Royal Society was "Nullius in verba". This means "take nobody's word for it".
  • This motto sounds similar to the scientific process. Make observations and question assumptions underlying different medical treatments and scientific theories.
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Spreading scientific ideas

  • The Royal Society's journal was called "Philosophical Transactions".
  • This journal was well-respected and helped to spread scientific and medical ideas across Britain.
    • Isaac Newton's first paper "New Theory about Light and Colours" was published in Philosophical Transactions.

Jump to other topics

1Medicine in Medieval England

2The Medical Renaissance in England

3Medicine in 18th & 19th Century Britain

4Medicine in Modern Britain

5Treatment in WW1

6Themes in Medicine

7Some Extra Context (Not Compulsory for Exam)

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