How widespread was literacy in classical Greek in Europe during the medieval period?

Question

How widespread was literacy in classic Greek in Europe during the medieval period? I assume "every" (?) educated person, such as clerks, monks, nobility, judges, doctors and similar knew Latin at the time, but how many knew classic Greek? By Europe I do not mean to include Byzantium. I am mainly referring to central, south and western Europe (todays Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Spain and UK).

Answer 1

I don't know how widespread the knowledge of the language of Greek was in Europe outside of the Byzantine Empire during the Middle Ages. Indeed, its unlikely that anyone can know in the statistical sense how many people in the Medieval Europe could read, write, or speak Greek. Moreover, the Middle Ages lasted roughly 1,000 years. Change may have taken more time during the Middle Ages than today; nevertheless, over a period of 1,000 years a great deal of change did take place, so that the degree of familiarity with the Greek language undoubtedly changed.

However, I can at least relate the familiarity with the Greek language of some Early-Medieval Irish scholars. The surviving works of the 9th century scholars, John Scottus Eriugena and Sedulius Scottus, both of whom pursued their studies in the Carolingian Empire, demonstrate a firm knowledge of Greek.