Books
| Books were very expensive in the Middle ages.
A bible cost as much as an ordinary persons yearly wage (or about $15,000 today),
and took nearly a year to make. Until printing had become wide spread in the 15th
century scribes had to copy all books by hand. Books were also illuminated
(decorated with beautiful and colorful illustrations and designs). Another factor
that made them so expensive was that pages were not paper, but vellum or parchment which
had to be made form sheep or calfskin. Some inks took 4 weeks to make, while others
used gold as an ingredient. Finally a book could be bound with Gold lettering and
gems embedded on the cover. Many Nobel houses only had one book which was a bible,. While few people had more than a dozen in there possession. Books were considered so valuable that they were usually locked away to avoid theft. |