Why was it important to be able to read, write, and speak Latin during the Renaissance?

2 Comments

1. aida says:

   November 12, 2009 at 2:07 pm

   It was the international language of diplomacy and scholarship. In addition, while it had occupied much of that role through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance was a time of rediscovery of classical culture that included Greek as well as Latin.
2. Howard H says:

   November 12, 2009 at 2:07 pm

   Very little was written in the vernacular, and you had a choice between translations of Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic into Latin, Latin books, or nothing.