Modern European study of mediaeval views on Islam began with 1944 Italian scholarship

Evidence

The recent revival of interest in this field of study seems to date from the publication of Ugo Monneret de Villard’s Studio dell’ Islam in Europa in 1944. This scholar’s work ranged widely in search of material and it is an invaluable guide. He was not greatly interested in the opinions expressed by mediaeval writers and was more concerned with historical, geographical and linguistic aspects. Miss d’Alverny thereupon published two works of crucial importance. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 85