The difference can be explained, at least in part, by the fact that on the Continent the classical revival of the Renaissance had caused or was causing medieval tradition to be replaced by that of classical antiquity. The Renaissance represented an effort to revive the spirit and interests of the classical world, and classical antiquity had been much interested in the structure of man. Especially important was the recovery of the Greek language and literature since it made possible the recovery of the writings of the great classical physicians, notably Hippocrates and Galen, for generally speaking classical Greece had shown more interest in human anatomy than had classical Rome. This recovery had occurred first in Italy, then moved northward across the Alps and only in the early sixteenth century did it reach England. While even earlier some Englishmen had travelled to Italy to study the classical revival at its source, and even to study the more advanced Italian medicine of Padua, it may be said that Thomas Grocyn was the first significant leader of the new classical movement in England, in particular the recovery of Greek. He had managed to learn some Greek even in England, but it was not until after a trip to Italy in 1488, where he spent two years, that he returned to instil Oxford with an enthusiasm for classical Greek humanism.[16] But if Grocyn is of importance as an English pioneer in the recovery of Greek and Hellenic studies, of far greater importance for the present subject was Grocyn’s lifelong friend and ultimately the executor of his estate, Thomas Linacre. Linacre looms very large in the revival of classical medicine which gave a general impetus toward a better and more modern medicine. Born at Canterbury about 1460 he was led ultimately by his studies to Oxford where he became a fellow of All Souls College in 1484.[17] Although by this time he could make some beginnings of the study of the revived classical literature, and even Greek, at Oxford, nevertheless it was still desirable if possible to pursue such studies in Italy, and with the opportunity offered him, Linacre travelled to that land about 1487, remaining at least until 1496,[18] in which latter year he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Padua.[19] Returned to England, Linacre taught Greek at Oxford. Grocyn was his friend, Sir Thomas More his pupil, and upon the arrival at Oxford of Erasmus, that great classical scholar likewise became an intimate, all of them enthusiasts and promoters of Greek studies.