Assertion (A): In the early years of print in Europe, luxury editions of books were still handwritten on vell…

Question

Assertion (A): In the early years of print in Europe, luxury editions of books were still handwritten on vellum, and elites looked down on printed books.
Reason (R): Print was associated with the masses and commercial trade, while manuscripts were seen as objects of prestige, produced by skilled scribes and sometimes embellished by hand — qualities that gave them higher status among the elite.

Options:
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true but R is false.
(D) A is false but R is true.

Accepted Answer

## Model Answer **(A)** Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A. Elites preferred hand-illuminated, unique manuscripts as prestigious objects, while printed books were seen as mass-produced commercial items — this directly explains why luxury editions remained handwritten. *Source: Chapter 5, Section 2.1 – Gutenberg and the Printing Press* --- ## Explanation The textbook states that elites preferred the lack of uniformity in hand-illuminated books because each copy was unique. Printed books, produced in large numbers at lower cost, were associated with mass readership and commercial trade. The Assertion is clearly true, and the Reason correctly and directly explains *why* elites looked down on printed books — making Option A the right choice. Avoid Option B; R is not just a separate true fact, it causally explains A.

Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question