Final answer:
The Gutenberg Bible was the first significant book printed with movable type by Johannes Gutenberg around 1455, starting the printing revolution and increasing access to religious texts beyond the clergy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Gutenberg Bible is known as the first major book printed using mass-produced movable type. This was a revolutionary development in the history of printing and greatly impacted literacy and education. Invented by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany, around 1455, the Gutenberg Bible marked the start of the printing revolution in Europe. Gutenberg's invention of the printing press leveraged movable metal type blocks and a press mechanism modelled after wine or apple presses to create uniform and replicable pages of text. Approximately 180 copies of the Bible were printed, and the process combined machine printing with hand illumination, where the text was printed in black and the red decorations were later added by hand.
Before the Gutenberg Bible, books were typically handwritten by monks, making them rare and expensive. Gutenberg's invention diversified access to printed material, allowing the Bible, previously only available in Latin and restricted to clergy, to reach a broader audience in vernacular languages. By increasing book production and reducing illiteracy, the printing press effectively democratized knowledge and aided in the spread of the Reformation movement, where figures like Martin Luther emphasized 'Scripture Alone' as the source of religious instruction.