Nicolas Cleynaerts

In pursuit of this, he travelled to Spain in 1531, and after teaching Greek and Latin at Salamanca was summoned to the court of Portugal as tutor to Dom Henrique, brother of João III.

He tried in vain to gain access to the Arabic manuscripts in the possession of the Spanish Inquisition, and finally, in 1540, set out for Fez in Morocco to seek information for himself.

[3] Cleynaerts tried in vain to buy Arabic books at the bookstalls which were installed on Fridays by the Great Mosque as he claims that Christians and Jews were not allowed to enter this space.

Cleynaerts applied himself to the preparation of manuals of Greek and Hebrew grammar, in order to simplify the difficulties of learners.

He maintained a principle revived in modern teaching, that the learner should not be puzzled by elaborate rules until he has obtained a working acquaintance with the language.