The Latin nations, Italy and France, lay nearest the heart of civilization.

But slightly less advanced in culture and in the amenities of life, and superior in some respects, were the Netherlands, Switzerland, England and the southern and central parts of Germany.

In partial shadow round about lay a belt of lands: Spain, Portugal, Northern Germany, Prussia, Poland, Hungary, Scandinavia, Scotland, and Ireland.
[Sidenote: Scotland] Scotland, indeed, had her own universities, but her best scholars were often found at Paris, or in German or Italian academies.

Scotch humanists on the continent, the Scotch guard of the French king, and Scotch monasteries, such as those at Erfurt and Wuerzburg, raised the reputation of the country abroad rather than advanced its native culture.

Printing was not introduced until 1507.