In the Middle Ages in France, Medieval Latin was the primary medium of scholarly exchange and the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church; it was also the language of science, literature, law, and administration. From 1200 on, vernacular languages began to be used in administrative work and the law courts, but Latin would remain an administrative and legal language until the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) prescribed the use of French in all judicial acts, notarized contracts and official legislation.