WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Scribes and illuminators made each book by hand. Manuscripts (handmade books) were often written and illuminated by monks in monasteries.

Detailed explanation-2: -The earliest illuminated manuscript is the Vergilius Augusteus of the 4th century CE which exists in seven pages of what must have been a much larger book of Virgil’s works.

Detailed explanation-3: -Monks copied Jerome’s Latin Vulgate Bible and the commentaries and letters of early Church Fathers for missionary purposes as well as for use within the monastery.

Detailed explanation-4: -Monastery libraries housed most books and all books were copied by hand, usually by monks. This process of copying and disseminating books was essential to the preservation of knowledge.

Detailed explanation-5: -Parchment Making Most medieval manuscripts were written on specially treated animal skins, called parchment or vellum (paper did not become common in Europe until around 1450).