Manuscript production in Europe by century and region 500-1499

Before the invention of the Gutenberg printing press in Germany in the mid-15th century, almost all manuscripts in Europe were hand written. In the Middle Ages, the majority of manuscripts were written on parchment, made of animal skins (especially calf, sheep, and goat), and were usually collected in the form of books (also called codex), which had largely replaced scrolls by the early Middle Ages. Paper was then introduced from China to Europe via the Islamic world in the 14th century, and had mostly replaced parchment by the time of the Printing Revolution. Papyrus, the paper format popularized in Ancient Egypt, was known in Europe and used around the Mediterranean region until the Middle Ages, however it was very susceptible to the humidity of Northern regions and, even in dryer regions of the Middle East, it rarely survived beyond one or two centuries.Estimates regarding the number of manuscripts produced in Europe during the Middle Ages are largely speculative and it is believed that a considerable share of the total manuscripts produced were not preserved. Based on the given figures, Italy and France were the regions where the largest number of manuscripts were produced during the Middle Ages - this is indicative of the strong influence of the Catholic Church on literary production during this time, as it is believed that the Christian Bible was the most produced and studied work of the Middle Ages.

在德国于15世纪中叶发明古腾堡印刷机之前，欧洲几乎所有手稿均为手工书写。在中世纪，大多数手稿均书写于羊皮纸上（羊皮纸由动物皮制成，尤以小牛皮、羊毛皮和山羊皮为主），通常以书籍（亦称卷轴本）的形式集结，这些书籍在早期中世纪时期已基本取代了卷轴。纸张于14世纪由中国通过伊斯兰世界传入欧洲，并在印刷革命时期基本取代了羊皮纸。纸莎草纸，这一在古埃及流行的纸张格式，在欧洲及地中海地区已知并被使用，直至中世纪，然而它对北方的湿度极为敏感，即使在干燥的中东地区，也很少能够保存超过一两个世纪。关于中世纪欧洲制作的手稿数量的估计大多为推测性，并认为相当一部分的总手稿并未得以保存。根据所提供的数字，意大利和法国是中世纪制作手稿数量最多的地区——这表明天主教会在当时的文学创作中具有强大的影响力，因为人们认为基督教圣经是当时制作和研究的最多作品。