During the middle ages which group was generally responsible for the preservation of learning and ancient literature

a.) nobles and kings
b.) priests & monks
c.) doctors and lawyers
d.) traders and businessmen

What does the quote describe? “the closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us….the shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable.”