How quickly did the VMS leave the possession of those who understood it?

[Jorge_Stolfi]

This was a period when a catholic european, even an educated one, would have had very little access to information about other cultures, philosophies or ideas.

That may have been true for the vast majority of the people.  But surely, at any point in time since Antiquity, there have been thousands of Europeans who traveled much beyond the confines of "Europe", and thousands of non-"Europeans" living in Europe.

On a few of those long-range travelers would have bothered to write about their experiences.  Christian missionaries felt compelled to write reports for the Church, that would help it spread the Word to the Heathens. Maybe some scholars did so.  The others probably did not bother. (We only know that Marco Polo existed because, the story goes, he spent some time in prison, together with someone who happened to be a writer.)

And only a small fraction of whatever they wrote has survived.

All the best, --stolfi.