SOURCE: “The Influence of Cassiodorus on Mediaeval Culture,” in Speculum, Vol. 20, No. 4, October, 1945, pp. 433-42.

In the following essay, Jones surveys the literary and cultural impact of Cassiodorus from the years following his death through the end of the thirteenth century, observing that he systematized the process of producing multiple copies of the Scriptures and that he helped to transform the monastery into a theological school.

That Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator was indeed a remarkable man I hope to make clear in the introduction and notes of my forthcoming translation of his Institutiones. [The translation is now in the hands of the publisher.] His career as a statesman and scholar is in its length and industry almost without parallel. From 503 to 539 a.d., [See my translation for a discussion of C.'s dates and for numerous other Cassiodorian problems.] the period during which he held a succession...