Not only did they not have the tools, but most were illiterate, anyway.
In this time of instant, global communication we simply forget that illiteracy was the state of the common man for many centuries.
It would have been most awkward for anyone to tote a hand-scripted Bible to church on Sunday, let alone being able to read it—such was the case until the phasing out of the feudal system, and the arrival of the printing press.
It would have been most awkward for anyone to tote a hand-scripted Bible to church on Sunday, let alone being able to read it—such was the case until the phasing out of the feudal system, and the arrival of the printing press.
Not just that, it's important to realize that the hand-scribed Bibles cost more money than the average person could be expected to earn in a lifetime.
This remained true until about the time of the Reformation; Gutenberg's Vulgate Bible was much less than a hand-scribed Bible, but still quite pricey (of those printed, only one is thought to have been owned by a private individual, though wealthy patrons did purchase some for churches, monasteries and universities ). But, like with all technology, the price dropped within a few decades and by the early 16th century Bibles were affordable for much of the emerging middle class.
It is important to realize that Protestantism is predicated upon the assumption that God is so cruel that He allowed FIFTEEN CENTURIES to elapse between the Resurrection and the development of the technology necessary for "sola scriptura" which Protestantism claims is critical for salvation.