The cultural manifestations of the Christian nuclei of the Iberian Peninsula were extremely poor, especially if we compare them with those of al-Andalus at that same time. The culture, completely dominated by the ecclesiastics, had purposes of a religious nature . In the Asturian kingdom, the influence of the Visigothic culture was very notable, and above all of the works of Saint Isidore, beginning with his Etymologies. In this kingdom the main centers of culture were the monasteries, including that of San Millán, in which the copyist Eximeno stood out in the 10th century, but also the cathedral churches, particularly those of León and Oviedo. The most original work produced in the Asturian kingdom in those centuries was known as Commentaries on the Apocalypse , of which the Blessed of Liébana was the author. Historiographic production was also greatly enhanced, of which it is worth mentioning the Crónica de Alfonso III . In any case, texts by classical authors were hardly preserved in the Asturian-Leonese kingdom. Knowledge of Latin was interesting, since it was the language of the Church, but the content of classical authors was viewed with disfavor. The oldest manuscript of the classical period preserved in that territory before the middle of the eleventh century was, it seems, a text by the Latin Terence. In another order of things, it is necessary to remember two texts from the 10th century, the Glosas Emilianenses and the Silent Glosses , in which we find the oldest testimonies of the incipient Castilian Romance language.
Cultural manifestations of the eastern territories of Christian Spain
The eastern territories of Christian Spain, in contrast to the Asturian-Leonese kingdom, were characterized by the direct influence of the Carolingian world, while the weight of the Visigothic and Mozarabic was less . This explains why the Carolina letter and the monastic rule of Saint Benedict penetrated there early. Another characteristic feature of these territories, and above all of the Hispanic March, was the close connection maintained with al-Andalus, where various monks went to copy manuscripts of philosophical or scientific interest. The most significant centers of cultural activity in the future Catalonia were the monasteries, above all that of Ripoll, and secondly that of Eixalada-Cuixá, but also some cathedrals, such as that of Vic. In these centers there were important works by authors classics, including Cicero and even Aristotle, as well as scientific texts of Arabic origin. Unquestionable proof of the prestige enjoyed by the Ripoll monastery is the fact that at the end of the 10th century, the monk Gerberto de Aurillac went to the monastery to study disciplines such as mathematics, astronomy and music. future pontiff Sylvester II .