Hajnal proceeds to another basic aspect:

     There can be no doubt that one of the essential reasons 
     for the custom of dictation finds its explanation in the 
     fact that, before the era of printing, schools and scholars 
     had no adequate supply of texts. A manuscript book cost 
     much; the simplest way of getting them was for the 
     teacher to dictate the texts to his pupils. It is possible 
     that there were students who wrote by dictation texts for 
     commercial ends. Yes, in a certain degree, dictation would 
     have been a commercial affair, both on the part of the 
     student who wrote and sold the book and on the part of 
     the teacher who by this means was assured of a large 
     audience, and, by the same token, substantial revenue. 
     The manual was necessary to the student, not only so far 
     as it served for his university courses, but also because it