Latin was the language of the monks and the surviving texts were rewritten in abbreviatedmedieval style of Latin, often based on poor translations from Greek. Over time the curriculum of medieval learning became set, based on large compendiums of simplified Greek knowledge compiled by encyclopedists such as Boethius (480-524). Medieval learning was based on the seven liberal arts. The quadrivium (four) were mathematically based, comprising arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy, but these were much less popular than the linguistic trivium (three) of grammar, rhetoric, and logic, which led to further study in theology, philosophy, medicine, and law. The main demand for higher education was within the church, and the majority of students were clergy, as were their teachers.
In the eleventh century new contact with the East, in the form of the Crusades, helped to recover lost ancient knowledge. While the Crusades were mainly destructive and religious-driven wars, there were some positive outcomes for European society. Western scholars came to realize that Islamic intellectuals had a storehouse of ancient learning wider than their own. The Arabic scholars had added new material to the classics, either on their own, or by absorbing the intellectual traditions of nearby cultures such as Hindus and Babylonians.
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