Manuscripts were copied by medieval scribes. During the Middle Ages, all books were handcrafted. Monks with special training cut the paper, manufactured the ink, wrote the scripts, bound the pages, and designed the covers. They also painted pictures if required. Women performed some of these tasks too. Books from the 13th century on are called "incunabula" (inky-noob-ah). These are the first printed books. The term comes from Latin incunabula meaning "little rolls". Incunabula were produced in small numbers and often included works by a single author. They were made up of sheets which were pasted together with animal glue. The sheets came from old vellum manuscripts that had been used as the basis for new ones. The quality of the work was not very good yet it showed an enthusiasm for printing that is evident today. The first printers were monastic institutions such as churches or universities. They needed to produce copies of holy texts that could be distributed among their members. As time went by they began to print other materials too. First there were religious books, then historical accounts, and finally novels. The end of the Middle Ages marks the beginning of modern history. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, Europe didn't have a system of writing until the 11th century.