Historiae Ecclesiasticae Tripartitae Epitome, the abridged history (in twelve books) of the early Christian Church

Christian Church

The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...

 known as the Tripartite History, was the standard manual of Church history in Medieval Europe.

The work was compiled, under the direction of Cassiodorus

Cassiodorus

Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank.- Life :Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in...

, in about 510

510

Year 510 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severinus without colleague...

 CE, by his assistant Epiphanius Scholasticus

Epiphanius Scholasticus

Epiphanius Scholasticus was a sixth-century translator of Greek works into Latin.Little is known of his life, aside from his works. It seems he bore the name Scholasticus "not so much because of any devotion to literature or theology, but in the sense that that word frequently had in the Middle...

. Epiphanius was assigned the translation into Latin of the Greek church histories of Socrates Scholasticus

Socrates Scholasticus

Socrates of Constantinople, also known as Socrates Scholasticus, not to be confused with the Greek philosopher Socrates, was a Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret, who used his work; he was born at Constantinople c. 380: the date of his death is unknown...

, Sozomen

Sozomen

Salminius Hermias Sozomenus was a historian of the Christian church.-Family and Home:He was born around 400 in Bethelia, a small town near Gaza, into a wealthy Christian family of Palestine....

 and Theodoret

Theodoret

Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...

, written in the previous century. He would probably have used the library assembled by Cassiodorus at Monasterium Vivariense, the monastery of Vivarium on his family estates at the foot of Mount Moscius on the shores of the Ionian Sea. Cassiodorus revised and corrected the work and arranged it into one continuous history of the church. His scriptorium

Scriptorium

Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...

 then published it for the use of the clergy.

The book attained a high reputation. Only Eusebius

Eusebius of Caesarea

Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...

' History, in a Latin translation by Rufinus

Tyrannius Rufinus

Tyrannius Rufinus or Rufinus of Aquileia was a monk, historian, and theologian. He is most known as a translator of Greek patristic material into Latin—especially the work of Origen.-Life:...

 competed with it as the official version of church history in the West, until original sources began to be rediscovered, edited and printed by humanist

Humanism

Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....

scholars in the 15th century.