BnF/Gallica make a 42-line Bible a French public and later digital object
The BnF holds Gutenberg Bible material and Gallica publishes related early-print digital objects. This Fact stores French public access, distinct from London and Washington copies. In the causal graph this event strengthens Digital Learning Access, a driver that weakens Learning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries) — an improving welfare path.
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The BnF holds Gutenberg Bible material and Gallica publishes related early-print digital objects. This Fact stores French public access, distinct from London and Washington copies.
Context
The so-called Mazarin Bible tradition is a Paris library story.
Johannes Gutenberg is not the sole author of every later object, law, or museum label that uses the name. Shared work with courts, excavators, printers, spouses, officials, and later states does not erase a documented role, and it does not make an ancient person the signer of a twentieth-century statute.
Why it matters
Access path. High confidence on a public French copy/scan culture.
A Paris shelf is not a Mainz sack. 1462 remains a war row.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Johannes Gutenberg
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.1 · verified
Complex: Mainz product; Paris public library and digital scan are later.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactBnF/Gallica make a 42-line Bible a French public and later digital object
- strengthensDriverDigital Learning Access
- weakensIndicators (3)Learning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries)
impact weight 0.55 · Effect from 1 January 1800 · verified
A French national-library copy plus Gallica scans increased copyability of the 1450s book without handling the vellum every time.
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.22 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.4)
Observed
70% of 10-year-olds · 70 above the normal line (2022)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 57% of 10-year-olds (2019) and 70% of 10-year-olds (2022).
20192022 Above normal = worse
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.19 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.35)
Observed
472 PISA score points · 28 below the normal line (2022)
Worse than normal7 readings, 2003–2022: fell from 499 PISA score points to 472 PISA score points.
Above normal = better
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.17 (weight 0.55 × strength 0.3)
Observed
11% of primary-school-age children · 11 above the normal line (2023)
Worse than normalAbove normal = worse
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Bibliothèque nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de France · High credibility · verified
- 2.Gallica — Bibliothèque nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de France · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
BnF and Gallica independently operate the French public holding and scans.
Established: BnF/Gallica public Gutenberg Bible access. Not established: that Mazarin printed it.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorJohannes Gutenberg
- contributed toFactBnF/Gallica make a 42-line Bible a French public and later digital object
- strengthensDriverDigital Learning Access
- weakensIndicatorLearning Poverty Rate (low- and middle-income countries)
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). BnF/Gallica make a 42-line Bible a French public and later digital object. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/gut-bnf-bible
https://factrail.ai/facts/gut-bnf-bible
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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