This shift away from Latin, the language of scholarship and the Church, was driven by several factors:
* Increased literacy: As literacy spread beyond the clergy and aristocracy, people wanted to access literature in a language they could understand.
* Rise of national identity: The development of national identities led to a desire for cultural expression in the vernacular.
* Economic growth: The growing middle class had disposable income and leisure time, which they could use to read and patronize authors writing in their own languages.
This shift led to the flourishing of vernacular literature in countries like England, France, Spain, and Italy. It also contributed to the development of standardized national languages.