Question

Explain the role that the Muslim scholars of Toledo played in bringing about the Renaissance. How are their efforts an example of cultural diffusion?

Answer 1

The Muslim scholars of what historians call the School of Toledo (12th century) were responsible for the translation of many Greek texts to the Arabic and then to Latin. Because of these translations, the studying of those texts increased and they started to be read on European universities.

Many Toledo translations were important for major Renaissance scientists as Roger Bacon (c. 1219/20 – c. 1292) and Copernicus (1473-1543), for example.

The re-discovery of ancient Greek texts due to their translation from the School of Toledo is an example of cultural diffusion. The work done in Toledo kept those texts alive and being read until they found interested audiences in the rest of Europe.