[Sidenote: Averroës and the Moorish colleges.]
=Hellenized Moslemism in Spain.=--But the masses of the Mohammedans were as suspicious of the Greek learning as the orthodox Christians had been, and toward the end of the eleventh century Hellenized Moslemism was driven from the Orient and found a refuge in Northern Africa and in Spain. Here the advanced Mohammedans became known as ‘Moors,’ and their works were destined to have a pronounced influence upon the Christians. There soon appeared such scholars as Averroës (1126-1198), who became the authoritative commentator on Aristotle for several centuries; and Moorish colleges were founded at Cordova, Granada, Toledo, and elsewhere. In these institutions, while learning was still at a low ebb in the Christian schools, were taught arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, surgery, jurisprudence, logic, and metaphysics. Arabic notation was also introduced in place of the cumbersome Roman numerals and many inventions and discoveries were made.
[Sidenote: Learning stimulated in Christian education.]
=Effect upon Europe of the Moslem Education.=--These schools and colleges of the Moslems soon had their effect upon Christian education. Through their influence, Raymund, Archbishop of Toledo, by the middle of the twelfth century had the chief Arabic treatises on philosophy translated into Castilian by a learned Jew, and then into Latin by the monks; and Frederick II had scholars render the works of Averroës into Latin. Such translations had, however, passed through several media--Greek, Syriac, Arabic, Castilian, Latin--and could not be at all accurate. But, stimulated by this taste of Greek learning, the Christians sought a more immediate version, and a half century later when the Venetians took the city of Constantinople, the works of Aristotle were recovered in the original and translated directly into Latin. Meanwhile the orthodox Mohammedanism had been coming to the front in Spain and overwhelming the Hellenized form, and it was left to Christian schools to continue the work of the advanced Moorish institutions. Moslemism had returned to its primitive stage, but it had helped bring back learning, especially the works of Aristotle, to Christendom. As the classical learning had been restored from the West during the revival of Charlemagne, it now returned from its refuge in the East through the coming of the Moslems.