Who was Victor Mattaritanus (Cassiodorus, Institutiones 1,29,2)? A Note on the Contribution of Exiles from Vandal Africa to the Reception of the Augustinian Doctrine of Grace

Abstract This article proposes a hypothesis about the identity of the Victor Mattaritanus who, as attested by Cassiodorus, produced a “corrected Augustinian edition” of a work by John Cassian, most probably Collatio 13. He would have been a bishop of Mactaris (Maktar, Tunisia) in the province of Byzacena, deported to Sardinia under the reign of the Vandal king Thrasamund, who joined the monastic community established by Fulgentius of Ruspe in Cagliari. This community housed a rich library and an active scriptorium and soon became a stronghold of Augustinianism, but it is very likely that the works of Cassian, an author dear to Fulgentius, were also widely read, copied, and edited there.