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There were no computers or printers. Writers, scribes, journalists, (especially monks) would have only one chance to make one. If they messed up they would have to start over. They would usually only make a few copies because of the time and patience it took for just one. That means the books would be considered rare and most of the time when something is rare it won't be cheap.

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Because the cost of paper wasn't at its cheapest and not many people could actually read, and if they could read , they normally couldn't read the language written on the manuscipts because the church had everything written in Latin passed down to them

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Because they were hand written.

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Q: Why were books so expensive in the middle ages?
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Why were electronic payment systems preferred in the Middle Ages?

Electronic payment systems were not preferred in the Middle Ages. The middle Ages did not have any computers, so electronic payment systems were not invented yet.


What were books made of in the Middle Ages?

During the entire Middle Ages, books were copied by hand, and this was laborious and very expensive work. In the Early Middle Ages, books were originally on papyrus or vellum and in the form of scrolls. Later on, but still in the Early Middle Ages, books took the more modern form of folded pages sewn into gatherings and bound together. Some large books were bound in wooden covers, and the really expensive ones were jewelled. The Book of Kells was of this form, though was stolen at one point, and the thieves took the cover for the jewels, abandoning the content pages, which were recovered. Later on, some smaller books were made, bound in lighter materials. During the High Middle Ages, real paper was introduced, made of flax or cotton fibers, and these displaced papyrus for the less expensive books. It outlasted the vellum, however, and many later medieval manuscripts remain in very nice condition.


Does the term 'medieval' refer to both the middle ages and the Renaissance?

No, the term medieval refers to the middle ages. One thing to understand, however, is that the Renaissance began before the Middle Ages ended, so there was a time of about a hundred years that were in both.


Was the medieval times the 14th century?

The 14th century was in the Middle Ages or medieval times, but the Middle Ages lasted from the 5th century to the 15th, and so included much more.


Whats so important about middle ages and lord and serfs?

a serf is a person who worked on the lord manor and make food