Complex sentence: Had it not been for the monastic scribes of Late Antiquity, most literature of Greece and Rome would have perished in Europe, as it was, the patterns of textual survivals were shaped by their usefulness to the severely constricted literate group of Christians.
Split into simpler sentences: Had it not been for the monastic scribes of Late Antiquity, most literature of Greece and Rome would have perished in Europe. As it was, the patterns of textual survivals were shaped by their usefulness to the severely constricted literate group of Christians.