Whereas italian humanists had been mainly interested in secular subjects, especially mastering classical texts, northern humanists, called Christian humanists, focused on Biblical study. Within Christian humanism, this encouraged attempts to render more accurate translations of manuscripts in the ancient Biblical languages. Christian humanism movement of reform rather than protest, but it ed to major fights between church scholars over translations of texts, and undermined the unity of the priestly community. Humanist-trained scholars believed that men trained in languages could use their own critical faculties to determine the authority of a text tended to place the scholars above the book, and above the authority of the high church officials. The official church text, the Vulgate, was by this time a thousand years old.
Calls rang out for a revised edition.
The growth of universities and spread of educational texts had led to a better-educated clergy. Europe in the 17th century was becoming more religious, not less so, but its people were also more willing to question authority. Since it was so dependent on the print medium, Protestant reformers needed the money and the independence of the towns, their customer bases, and their anonymity. In the German principalities and in urban areas throughout Europe, local elites were also struggling to break away from larger powers and establish independence and Protestantism gave them ammunition. Town elites often resented that church officials paid no taxes on their property, demanded high tithes which went to pay for elaborate buildings in Rome, and objected to interference from church officials in town government.