Peran Mesin Cetak Johannes Gutenberg dalam Penyebaran Humanisme pada Masa Renaisans di Eropa

Abstract

This study examines the role of Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press in the dissemination of humanism during the European Renaissance. It employs a historical method with a qualitative descriptive approach, using library research. Relevant literature on Renaissance humanism, early printing, textual criticism, and book circulation is examined through heuristic source collection, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The analysis indicates that printing did not create humanism, which had developed before Gutenberg’s printing technology spread widely across Europe. Rather, it expanded the reproduction and circulation of classical works and humanist writings. The availability of printed copies also supported textual comparison and editing, while strengthening connections among scholars, students, printers, booksellers, and readers. Nevertheless, the wider circulation of books did not ensure equal access to knowledge, as literacy, costs, distribution networks, and institutional controls continued to limit their use. The study concludes that printing served as an important medium that strengthened and transformed the conditions under which humanist ideas circulated, rather than acting as the sole cause of the rise of humanism in Europe.