How did the print revolution lead to the development of a reading mania in Europe?
Answer:
- As literacy and schools spread in European countries, there was a virtual reading mania that
- developed.
- New forms of popular literature appeared to target new readers.
- There were ritual calendars along with ballads and folk tales.
- 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, these low-priced books were called ‘Biliotheque Blene’, as they were bound in cheap blue covers.
- There were romances, histories, books of various sizes, serving different purposes and interests.
- Periodical press developed to combine information on current affairs with entertainment.
- The ideas of scientists and scholars had now become more accessible to the common people.
- Scientists like Isaac Newton began to publish their discoveries. Writings of thinkers like
- Thomas Paire, Voltaire and Rousseau also affected the thinking of the people.