The Studia Linguarum were the first attempt to study oriental languages

Oriental studies

Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...

 by the Roman Catholic Church.

The need to study oriental languages was affirmed by the General Chapter of the Dominican Order

Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in 1236. The objective of the schools was to help the Dominicans liberate Christian captives in Islamic lands.

The first school of the Studia Linguarum was established in Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

 by Raymond of Peñafort

Raymond of Peñafort

Saint Raymond of Penyafort, O.P. is a Dominican friar who compiled the Decretals of Gregory IX, a collection of canon laws that remained part of church law until the Code of Canon Law was promulgated in 1917...

 in the early 13th century, where it was also designated as the Studium arabicum. It is known that in 1250, the Provincial Chapter of Toledo

Toledo, Spain

Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...

 sent 8 friars to the Tunis institute to study Arabic, including the famous Arabist Ramon Marti

Ramón Martí

Ramón Martí was a 13th century Catalan Dominican friar and theologian. He is remembered for his polemic work Pugio Fidei . In 1250 he was one of eight friars appointed to make a study of oriental languages with the purpose of carrying on a mission to Jews and Moors. He worked in Spain as a...

. The school permitted some students to learn Arabic during the second half of the 13th century.

As a side effect of the establishment of these institutes, some Arabic scientific works were also translated in European languages, such as the ophthalmological work Liber Oculorum of Ali Ibn Isa (Jesu Haly) by Friar Dominicus Marrochini of the Studium of Murcia

Murcia

-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...

.

In 1311, the Council of Vienne

Council of Vienne

The Council of Vienne was the fifteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church that met between 1311 and 1312 in Vienne. Its principal act was to withdraw papal support for the Knights Templar on the instigation of Philip IV of France.-Background:...

 further decided to create schools for the study of oriental languages in the universities of Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

, Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, Salamanca

Salamanca

Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...

 and Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.