Printing Press
The Printing Press was first developed in the Pallathantic Region by an Ebinóëse engineer in the 200's. Due to the lack of interest, his invention was not pursued until the 2400's when dwarves re-developed it to create tracts to entice humans to the side of law during the struggles of the Isbajutha. Some scholars believe that there is evidence it was used in secret during the Middle Ages of Chaos to disseminate chaos tracts, but this is greatly disputed in academic circles.
At the Accord of the Princes of Law, the signatory rulers agreed to regulate and even abolish the printing press at the discretion of the ruler, citing the evils of subversive chaos tracts and the reckless dissemination of magical spells as the motivations.
Today, the printing press is not abolished, but is heavily regulated. Owners of the printing press must pay an annual fee for a license to use it and books printed with it must show the license of the publisher and other information for purposes of compliance with the law. In principle, the regulation prevents the printing of books with the ostensible purpose of converting souls to the gods of Chaos and the imprudent dissemination of magical knowledge, particularly pensatory notation. Spellbooks are particularly restricted and each book requires a special surcharge, raising the cost of technical magical books. The individual book must show the number in sequence and bear a stamp that indicates the tax has been paid. For this reason, many magical tracts even today are beautifully handwritten by a scribe and handed down through families.
Political activists say the whole matter is about political control and designed ostensibly to limit the number of practitioners of magic and to punish anyone whose publications threaten the status quo, even if the material has nothing to do with chaos. Political activists state that most wizards are in collusion with the government as they have a professional interest in keeping the numbers of magic practitioners artificially few.
In 2604, an independent inventor in Gonsk developed the Pantypos, a titancraft-powered printing press. At that time in Gonsk, regulations on the printing press were present, but less severe and less thoroughly enforced than elsewhere in the world. Gonsk became a bastion of free-thinking and free speech.
Sources
The Anti-Printing Press Statutes and the Accord of the Princes of Law (Book)
See Also
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