The Latin West from 500 to 1500 ce

Abstract This chapter presents an account of the knowledge of and interest in Philo’s writings and thought in the Latin west in the period from 500 to 1500 ce. What was known about Philo was quite limited, mainly based on the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, and the writings of Cassiodorus, Isidore of Seville, and the venerable Bede. Two of his writings were preserved, albeit in a mutilated form, in a slender volume called the Liber Philonis. This also contained the Pseudo-Philonic Liber antiquitatum biblicarum, which was much more widely known in the medieval period. In addition, Philo was widely regarded as the author of the biblical book of Wisdom. The essay then discusses use of Philo as a historical figure and as a source for the early history of the church. Finally, special attention is given to his standing as a theologian and a philosopher during this period, and also to his status as a Jew in an era when there was much hostility to the Jewish religion and its adherents.