Final answer:
Before the 12th and 13th centuries, learning largely took place in monasteries and was preserved by monks. Cathedral schools then emerged as new learning centers, later evolving into universities across Europe. Significant centers of learning and translation also existed, such as the House of Wisdom in Baghdad and the Toledo School.
Step-by-step explanation:
Before the 12th and 13th centuries, most learning took place in monasteries and in the eastern Roman Empire. Monasteries became centers of learning after the collapse of the western Roman Empire, where monks preserved scholarly works and copied books, many about Christian theology but also some classical Greek and Roman texts. Gradually, cathedral schools emerged in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, shifting learning from the monastic setting to these institutions. By the late 12th century, this evolved into the establishment of universities in major European cities. In parallel, centers such as the House of Wisdom in Baghdad and the Toledo School played crucial roles in preserving and translating ancient Greek knowledge, which was then reintroduced to Europe.