So, basically, the development of the printing press changed everything. Too bad poor Gutenberg wasn’t able to reap the benefits of his perfected combination invention since copyright or patents weren’t around then. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to ignore the huge impact the printing press had on the world.
When the first printed books hit the shelves in 1450 and the availability of the written word exploded, so did literacy. Before, just the elite and the clerical could read, and even then the test for literacy was the ability to write your name. But as more and more books were mass produced and there was more and more to be read beyond the Bible and sermons, the ability to read soon dripped down to the middle class and, eventually, the lowest class.
Literacy meant an increase in upward mobility, increased communication channels, and made the Protestant movement entirely possible. The class system, rather than being a pyramid, became more bulbous as the middle class expanded. A primarily oral culture became a written culture, ancient stories finally written down and posterity possible. People were learning much more and education became a priority.
Of course, true universal literacy didn’t really happen until the early 1900s.
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