Question

Why 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.

Answer 1

The correct answer is C. It took a very long time to copy the text.

Explanation:

Before the printing press was created by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-fifteenth century texts had to be copied by hand to create new copies from the original text or printed with wooden blocks with also took a very long time and therefore was more expensive. Due to this, before the creation of the printing press manuscripts or documents copied were highly expensive and it was common they could only be afforded by wealthy people or the clergy. Thus, the reason manuscripts were so expensive in the early fifteenth century was because it took a very long time to copy the text.