Sure, but Greek (not a dead language BTW :) ) was not made into a subject of European interest by the acquisition of that knowledge. Aquinas, for instance, did not know Greek. It was Luther, largely, who is responsible for that awakening of interest.
--- andie nachgeborenen <andie_nachgeborenen at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> The main nations responsible for the rediscovery of
> classical antiquity were the Arabs (duh). Italian
> and French scholars would copy raid and steal
> manuscripts preserved and extensively commented on
> by the great Arab scholars like Averroes and
> Avicenna, as we know them. This was centuries before
> Luther. The classic work (fascinating reading) is
> L.D. Reynolds, Scribes and Scholars, 3d ed,
>
Mataiotes mataioteton, eipen ho Ekklasiastes, mataiotes mataioteton, ta panta mataiotes.