[jude24]

It should be also pointed out in the eight century the Catholic Church mandated Bibles be only in the Latin Vulgate format. Latin was only taught through the Church. Even if the Bible would have found its way into the hands of the masses, many of them wouldn't have been able to read it.

If a vernacular Bible found its way into the hands of the masses, most of them couldn't read that either.

Universal literacy is an outgrowth of the Reformation (e.g. the "Old Deluder Satan" laws in Massachusetts Colony). Before that late date, if you could read, you could read Latin. It was only after the Reformation that vernacular written languages took hold.

[HarleyD]

Good point. What is interesting is how desperately poor people were during this time. People rarely could afford food. Even if they could read and the Bible was available in their language, people would have spent their money on food.

For some of us, we have become so accustomed to having disposable cash that it is difficult to fathom the hard choices of the poor.