ABSTRACT
As far as the circulation of academic knowledge is concerned, the invention of mechanical printing was a “revolution”. It allowed the reproduction of works of knowledge in a short time in comparison to the manual copying method of former epochs. The reproduction of academic knowledge became much cheaper, and it could be easily disseminated. These changes coincide with important educational developments of the Renaissance and Humanism, which started spreading in Europe in the thirteenth century and pushed enormous cultural and scientific processes. This had important impacts on the religious, social and political status of human beings and led to a new understanding of mankind. The transformation of the oral society to a literal society and the widespread accessibility of academic information to an educated mass of people led directly to the modern information society.
