hy were manuscripts so expensive in the early fifteenth century?

A.
the printing press was very costly to use

B.
ink was very expensive and very scarce

C.
it took a very long time to copy the text

D.
the purchase tax the government charged was very high

Question

hy were manuscripts so expensive in the early fifteenth century?	
 
 A.
the printing press was very costly to use
 
 B.
ink was very expensive and very scarce
 
 C.
it took a very long time to copy the text
 
 D.
the purchase tax the government charged was very high

kohai · Answer

Because until GUtenberg invented the printing press (in europe - china was lightyears ahead) all books had to be written by hand. Coping one book took month if not years.
In addition paper was unknown in large parts of europe and not used for books in those areas it was known. Instead they used parchment - the skin of animals. Parchment was so expensive the raw material of a book alone made it unaffordable to anyone but the really rich ones.