During the Middle Ages, literature re-emerged. Monks were given the painstaking task of hand-copying and illustrating books. Because paper was rare, books were made of vellum by utilizing calf skin and of parchment, made from lamb's skin. Medieval students used wooden tablets, covered in either black or green wax. Most books bound during this time were bound by wooden boards, while tooled leather bound volumes deemed to be expensive.
Scholars and Bards who traveled to the Crusades, learned new writing styles. Romantic prose was used when writing on courtly love, while Troubadours "sang in medieval courtyards about epic battles involving Roland, Arthur, and Charlemagne." A great deal of literature emerged from the universities as "scholars began to question convention and write social commentary, as well as poetic fiction."
Language too, progressed during this time, and capital and lower case letters were developed, as were rules for using each. Books were considered treasures and were kept under lock and key in libraries. "Finding someone who might loan you a book was a true friend. Some might rent out their books, while others, desperate for cash, might turn to the book as a valuable item to be pawned."
Citation: Medieval Life, 2000
For more information, visit: University of Cambridge Faculty of English