In the early classical world, epic poetry was how history was remembered. Epic poets would spend years memorising the stories and the tropes and improvising a performance on cue.

Some performances lasted for hours (there being no Internet to distract anyone.)

The tradition started changing when poetry started to be written and published - by hand, initially - and then, as you say, it changed again when the printing press made it easy to distribute.

But it's worth remembering that it's basically an oral performance art, not just something to be read.

Live, it's a completely different experience, and can be far more powerful.