printing. Some books were printed in in-
stallments, in which a short section of the
work was printed each time. Installment
printing spread out the cost of printing
and reduced the financial risk. Specialty
printing houses created journals, calen-
dars, almanacs, illustrated prints, political
broadsheets, and the first newspapers.
Printing spread literacy and specialized
knowledge to a wider cross section of Eu-
ropean society. It allowed scientists to
share ideas and challenge concepts that
had been accepted for more than a millen-
nium. Books allowed thinkers to openly
question the authority of the Catholic
Church, and unite with like-minded writ-
ers across the continent. No longer iso-
lated by long distances and difficult travel,
Europeans could garner larger followings
for their ideas, and take part in open
scholarly and religious debates. By the end
of the Renaissance, thousands of books
were being printed every year, the first
public libraries were operating, and books
had moved from a preserve of the aristoc-
racy to the common possession of the
middle class.
SEEALSO: Gutenberg, Johannes; Venice
Prussia .............................................
The kingdom of Prussia had its medieval
origins in the conquest of pagan tribes by
the Order of Teutonic Knights in the thir-
teenth century. The Knights established
their own state in what is now northern
Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and the Baltic
coastal region of what is now northeastern
Germany, and built a seat of power at
Königsberg. The Knights paid homage to
the Holy Roman Emperor, but they also
contended with the kings of Poland, who
commanded a powerful medieval army
and who defeated them at the Battle of
Grunwald in 1410. By the middle of the
fifteenth century the Teutonic Knights had
come under the authority of the king of
Poland.
The duchy of Prussia was organized
among the territories of the Knights in
1525 by Albert of Brandenburg, a Protes-
tant and a member of the Hohenzollern
dynasty, rulers of the duchy of Branden-
burg and the city of Berlin. In 1618, Prus-
sia and Brandenburg were united. The Ho-
henzollern domains were scattered
throughout northern Germany and were
the scene of invasion and fighting during
the Thirty Years’ War. In 1701, Frederick I
crowned himself as the first king of Prus-
sia, and the realm remained one of the
strongest military powers in Europe until
the unification of Germany in the late
nineteenth century.Prussia