reason for the Protestant Reformation was the desire to interpret documents , like the Bible , independently without following the Church ’ s interpretation ( Wilkinson ). Although the Church had placed Valla ’ s work on the Index of Prohibited Books , Martin Luther referred to the church document several times to highlight the Church ’ s corruption ( Mark ). The adoption of Valla ’ s work by the Protestant reformers shows how his critical thinking was becoming more accepted over the years and gradually replacing medieval thought . In addition , Valla ’ s work was officially published and distributed among Protestants beginning in 1517 , the same year Luther ’ s 95 Theses were publicized ( Harrison ). The Protestant Reformation mostly took place outside of Italy , and the wide distribution of Valla ’ s work during this period shows how his critical theory had become influential not just in Valla ’ s home country , but in the entire European movement towards modernized thought . Although the Catholic Church had worked to suppress Valla ’ s writings during his lifetime , his work was used throughout the Protestant Reformation to demonstrate the corruption of the Church , and discussion of the document even continued into the Enlightenment Period in the 18th century . Valla ’ s work had gained acceptance and moved society further away from medieval thought .
Despite the Church ’ s efforts at covering up much of Valla ’ s work , his use of critical humanist philology present in both his criticism of Aristotelian scholasticism and his refutation of foundational church documents served as a precursor to the Reformation and were a major guide in furthering the advancement of modern critical thinking . Valla attacked the foundations of Aristotelian scholasticism using both his critical analysis of language and his humanist ideals , which set the foundation for the critical thinking that arose
4