Cassiodorus—famed throughout history as one of the great Christian exegetes of antiquity—spent most of his life as a high-ranking public official under the Ostrogothic King Theoderic and his heirs. He produced the Variae, a unique letter collection that gave witness to the sixth-century Mediterranean, as late antiquity gave way to the early middle ages. The Variae represents thirty years of Cassiodorus’s work in civil, legal, and financial administration, revealing his interactions with emperors and kings, bishops and military commanders, private citizens, and even criminals. Thus, the Variae remains among the most important sources for the history of this pivotal period and is an indispensable resource for understanding political and diplomatic culture, economic and legal structure, intellectual heritage, urban landscapes, religious worldview, and the evolution of social relations at all levels of society during the twilight of the late-Roman state. This is the first full translation of this masterwork into English.
By:
Cassiodorus
Translated by:
M. Shane Bjornlie
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 30mm
Weight: 771g
ISBN: 9780520389700
ISBN 10: 0520389700
Pages: 530
Publication Date: 15 February 2022
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction Italy in the Sixth Century Cassiodorus as Statesman and Author The Variae as an Epistolary Collection Nachleben The Variae in Translation Chronology of Key Events Indictional Years Relative to Cassiodorus’s Tenure in Public Offices Maps THE VARIAE Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5 Book 6 Book 7 Book 8 Book 9 Book 10 Book 11 Book 12 Bibliography of Related Reading Index of Individuals Index of Concepts, Peoples, and Terms Index of Places
M. Shane Bjornlie is Professor of Roman and Late Antique History in the Department of History at Claremont McKenna College.
Reviews for The Variae: The Complete Translation
Bjornlie's translation is fluid and excellent. . . .this is a much-needed and masterfully crafted addition to the historical corpus, of interest to historians, Byzantinists, and scholars of the ancient world interested in the Ostrogothic Court, Justinian's conquest of Ravenna, and the early Byzantine world. * Reading Religion *
