The first attempts to study oriental languages were made by the Church in Rome, with the establishment of the Studia Linguarum in order to help the Dominicans liberate Christian captives in Islamic lands. The first school was established in Tunis by Raymond Penaforte in the 12th and early 13th century.McCabe, p.29 In 1311, the Council of Vienne decided to create schools for the study of oriental languages in the universities of Paris, Bologna, Oxford, Salamanca and Rome.
