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Before the invention of the printing press, anyone wishing to read or disseminate texts had to rely on handwritten books. These were produced over weeks of labour using parchment and expensive materials. Initially, manuscripts were produced mainly in monasteries and at the courts of kings and princes. In the late Middle Ages, workshops in towns began to produce them as well. Extremely rare and precious in both materials and craftsmanship, these books were guarded like great treasures.