<P> Their main role within the Renaissance humanism was the teaching of the Greek language to their western counterparts in universities or privately together with the spread of ancient texts . Their forerunners were Barlaam of Calabria ( Bernardo Massari ) and Leonzio Pilato , both drawn from culturally Byzantine Calabria in southern Italy . The impact of these two scholars on the very first Renaissance humanists was indisputable . </P>
who was the source of the many writings and texts the renaissance scholars studied
Barlaam of Calabria ( Bernardo Massari ) Leonzio Pilato