Church & Revolution...

If you think about our digital/internet revolution in historical terms, contemplate this. Gutenberg's invention of moveable type revolutionized literacy but had the Catholic Church not suppressed learning, perhaps the reason to read might have made the press an insignificant blip rather than a revolutionary  matter.

This church, St. Bridgid's (better known as  St. Bride's), left, still sits on a narrow path off of Fleet Street in London, the famous street known for publishing influence and power for hundreds of years (until it fell as digital publishing rose).  It is believed to have been a place of worship dating back at least to the Celts during the sixth century.  After printer William Caxton died in 1491, his assistant transferred Caxton's press, which was the first in England, to a building beside St. Bridgid's churchyard (hence the root of Fleet Street).  When Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church by making himself head of the church in England, literacy was freed from the yoke of the earthly church leaders.  If you think of Caxton's press next to the church at the time Columbus "discovered" America, the timing of the need to be competitive in the race for owning resources spurred learning outside of Catholic channels as Henry VIII took over the collections of the monasteries and the elite could begin to think outside of church-sanctioned teachings.  It was Henry VIII's daughter, Elizabeth, who allowed Shakespeare to publish in English, not Latin.  Literature and learning in English thrived and printing made access to knowledge possible for the masses.

I have this print hanging on my wall.  Printing presses spurred the mass production of art.  I've also written about how this church steeple was the inspiration for the layered wedding cake.

This church was rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666 by legendary architect Christopher Wren. By then publishing was thriving and knowledge was no longer containable and the boldness of producing cultural elements outside of the church meant by then the real Shakespeare's pseudonym had been set in stone and others could publish and not fear retribution for challenging the elite (only now it was Anglican, not Catholic). The simplicity of the village church (the only noteworthy element is the layered steeple which is how Bride's Church is the basis for the traditional layered wedding cake) is a design echoed in America's simpler church designs. Wren's steeples and belfries came to America as well. 

The first European child born in colonial North America, in 1587, was Virginia Dare, whose parents had been married in St. Bride's. Diarist Samuel Pepys was baptized here (if born today, he'd be a natural blogger, giving peeps into his daily thoughts online).  A German bomb gutted the church in World War II, leaving only the steeple.  In the rebuilding process a Roman pavement dating from AD 100 was found in the crypt.

Words, revolutions, cultural and historical shifts.  Ideas and knowledge: the yearning to be free versus the need for control and power. We're in a second Renaissance now, with the digital revolution.  I wonder how the internet will impact religion.  Will it have the same impact as books did on Christianity in other places?

Comments

[Les Becker]

Wow! Great post! Even with all the history I've delved into over the years, it's you that made the "evolution" of writing and its impact really hit home. Can't you just imagine being able to comment on PEPYS' BLOG?! Woah! What I wouldn't do for that chance.

[SusieJ]

I remember that Wedding Cake story -- and I want to know more 8 things you know. So, I tagged you for a meme.

[SusieJ]

I remember that Wedding Cake story -- and I want to know more 8 things you know. So, I tagged you for a meme.

[tut-tut]

Well, you may find Krista Tippett grist for your mill:

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/

[Old Horsetail Snake]

Whoa, MP, I don't know how much more learnin' I can force into my headbone. But thanks. I didn't know any of this.