Final answer:
During the Middle Ages, monasteries were the primary sites for the creation and preservation of literary texts, particularly illuminated manuscripts.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the Middle Ages, literary texts were created and preserved primarily in monasteries. Monastic communities served as critical centers of learning and were responsible for the copying and illustrating of books. The painstaking process included the hand-copying of scriptures, commentaries from Christian leaders, and classical texts from Greek, Roman, and Islamic sources. Monasteries were a hub for the preservation of knowledge and are known for producing beautiful, illuminated manuscripts, which were artistic as well as textual records of the period. Parchment made from animal skins was used for writing these texts before the illustrations were added.
It's important to note that while universities and royal courts played roles in the dissemination and creation of texts, especially as literacy and the trend toward urbanization increased with the arrival of the Gothic period, monasteries remained the primary site for the preservation and creation of literary texts throughout much of the Middle Ages.