* Latin: Latin was the language of scholarship and the Church during the Renaissance. It was used for writing scholarly works, religious texts, and official documents.
* Vernacular Languages: These were the everyday languages spoken by people in different regions of Europe. Some of the most important vernacular languages used during the Renaissance included:
* Italian: Used by Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and Machiavelli.
* French: Used by François Rabelais, François Villon, and Marguerite de Navarre.
* English: Used by William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Edmund Spenser.
* Spanish: Used by Miguel de Cervantes and Lope de Vega.
* German: Used by Martin Luther and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (although Goethe wrote during the later period of the Renaissance).
The use of vernacular languages was a significant shift during the Renaissance. It allowed writers to reach a broader audience and helped to develop national literatures.