A book by Valla, a humanist, that showed the papal claim to complete authority was based on Constantine's moving of the capital of the Roman Empire and bestowing charge on the Pope in the Eighth Century. This was a contradiction to the Catholic Church's claim that they were a mediary between God and mortals.

This along with The Doctrine of the Trinity are considered causes behind Martin Luther's reformation along with the debate over indulgences, questions about the authority of the clergy over sacraments, and intellectual, political, and economic developments.