The Most Important Invention Of The Middle Ages | The Machine that Made Us

Stephen Fry takes a look inside the story of Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the world's first printing press in the 15th century, and an exploration of how and why the machine was invented.

Welcome to Chronicle; your home for all things medieval history! With documentaries covering everything from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the beginnings of the Renaissance, from Hastings to Charlemagne, we'll be exploring everything the Middle Ages have to offer.

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[gerardkiff]

Stephen Fry makes everything entertaining and enjoyable.

[onepouchman]

This was absolutely wonderful to watch. Thank you!

[jpkatz]

What the BBC can do so well! THANKYOU.

[johnbanka]

A very good chronicle with one modest flaw. There is no mention on how he made his ink. Ink normally does not stick evenly to metal. Unless compounded in a particular way, the printed pages would have come out with blotches of text in some places and no text in others.

[uweinhamburg]

Stephen could read out the telephone directory of Birmingham and it would sound interesting!!

[jcristi]

I got one of those little printing kits when I was a kid too! Ended up with a Journalism degree.

[rocwould]

Guttenburg did not in vent the press! He invented movable type .

[neilgoodman]

Mr. Fry, This is third time I've watched this production of yours. Like you, I am fascinated by the invention; each time. In middle school I took printing classes and learned (though now forgotten) how to set type. I love this art/trade.
Respectfully, NHG

[roberttelarket]

I had no idea Stephen Fry was Jeeves, of Jeeves and Wooster which I watched on pbs in the U.S. decades ago.

[wbymag]

I would never dispute the value of the printing press, but it was the invention of papyrus that really changed the world. Prior to papyrus, writing was done on clay tablets and velum paper made from animal hides. It might require an entire flock of sheep to provide enough velum for just one book, and not all ink was well-suited for writing on the animal hides. Only the most wealthy could purchase books. When the Egyptians began producing papyrus, paper became cheap and easy to produce. It was easy to write on and could be made into books easily. Papyrus was the invention that changed the world, bringing mankind out of the Dark Ages and into the Age of Enlightenment.

[williamrobinson]

Good this! Thank you Mr Fry and all concerned. 🌟👍

[FutureMythology]

Wow, this video brilliantly explores the significance of the most important invention of the Middle Ages.

[wehojm]

I enjoyed this story of Guttenberg and the origins of the printing press. Last summer I was on a river cruise and visited Mainz and the Guttenberg Museum where they had a replica of the printing press which a demonstration of how the press worked. This documentary with Mr. Fry made the history more interesting.

[craigdutton]

I used to have a really nice book binding press from London yrs ago ❤I wished I still had it, the brass handles were so worn from use 🎉

[larryscott]

34:43 is he handling lead and near molten lead without PPE?

Hardly any ventilation visible.

[jonathanfriedlander]

Watching this has made me more aware of questioning everything we are told .Really english texts need to be rewritten .

[alfabsc]

Thanks for sharing this documentary. Movable type printing fueled literacy, which led to democratic revolutions and protestant denominations.

[tombrunila]

I had one of those printing sets sometime in the late 60's.

[youtubehatesus]

That was very interesting. I liked your first piece of paper and first letter. Thank you, .

[heikestucke]

An illumination, it was a treasure hunt …..exceptionally researched, thank you Mr. Fry❤️🧑‍🎨🦋