Not just a book: What is a Gutenberg Bible? And why is it relevant 500 years after its printing?
NEW YORK — It’s not just a book.
In the 1650s, when the Bible became the first major work printed in Europe with a movable metal type, Johannes Gutenberg was a man with a plan.
The German inventor decided to make the most of his new technology – the movable printing press – by producing an unprecedented version of Scripture for wealthy customers who could interpret Latin: leaders of the Catholic Church.
Although he planned to print 150 Bibles, increasing demand motivated him to produce 30 additional copies, leading to a total of 180. Currently known as the “Gutenberg Bibles,” approximately 48 complete copies have survived.
None are known to be held in private hands. Among those in the United States, a paper Bible is on display at the Morgan Library & Museum, in New York City. There are two more copies on parchment in the underground vaults, along with 120,000 other books.
Why would anyone – religiously observant or not – feel compelled to see a Gutenberg Bible up close? Here you can see how printing influenced the history of books and the religious landscape. And what a 500 year old book can still reveal.
The term refers to any of the two-volume Bibles printed in Gutenberg’s studio around 1454.
Previously, all existing Bibles were copied by hand. The process could take up to a year, said John McQuillen, associate curator at the Morgan Library. In contrast, it is believed that Gutenberg completed his work in about six months.
Each Gutenberg Bible has nearly 1,300 pages and weighs approximately 60 pounds. It is written in Latin and printed in double columns, with 42 lines per page.
Most were printed on paper. A few others about animal skin.
When a Bible came off the press, only the black letters were printed. Hand decorations and bindings were added later, depending on the taste and budget of each buyer.
In Germany some decorations have been added. Others in France, Belgium or Spain.
That’s why every Gutenberg Bible is unique, McQuillen said.
Gutenberg’s invention produced a vast proliferation of complete copies of Bible texts.
The initial impact was among scholars and learned priests who had easier access than ever before, says Richard Rex, professor of Reformation history at the University of Cambridge.
“This enormous multiplication even led to a wider acceptance of the term ‘Bible’ (Biblia) to describe the book,” Rex said. “Medieval authors and others sometimes speak of ‘the Bible’, but more often of ‘Scripture’.”
Psychologically, Rex said, the appearance of the printed text—its regularity, precision, and uniformity—contributed to the tendency to resolve theological arguments by referring only to the biblical text.
Later, the printing of vernacular Bibles—particularly from Luther’s Bible (early 1620s) and Tyndale’s New Testament (mid-1620s)—influenced the way ordinary parishioners interacted with religion and the clergy interacted.
The limits of literacy still meant that access to the Bible was far from universal. Gradually, however, religious leaders ceased to be its main interpreters.
“The phenomenon of laypeople questioning or interpreting the biblical text became increasingly common from the 1520s,” Rex said. “Although early Protestant reformers, such as Luther, emphasized that they were not trying to create an interpretive ‘free for all,’ this was probably the predictable consequence of their appeal to ‘Scripture alone’.”
Three times a year, a Morgan Library curator turns the page of the Gutenberg Bible on display. The leaves tell a story not only about the Bible, but also about those who owned the Bible.
A few years ago, McQuillen was the one who, by studying the handmade initials, discovered the origin of the decoration: a German monastery that no longer exists.
Similarly, a Japanese researcher in the 2000s found small marks on the surface of the paper copy of the Old Testament. Her findings showed that those leaves were used by Gutenberg’s successors for their own edition, printed in 1462.
“No matter how many times the Gutenberg Bible has been looked at, it seems like every time a researcher walks in, something new can be discovered,” McQuillen says.
“This book has been around for 500 years. Who are the people who touched it? How can we talk about these personal histories, alongside the bigger idea of what print technology means on a European or global scale?” he said.
Among the thousands of Bibles acquired by JP Morgan, the owners made several notes. Individual names, dates of birth, details that reflect a personal story.
“A Bible is now like a book on the shelf,” McQuillen said. “But at one point this was a very personal object.”
“In a museum setting they become art and a bit distant, but we try to break that distance.”
____
Associated Press religion reporting receives support through the APs cooperation with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.