Previously published by Harvard University Press, this book charts changing conceptions of Orpheus and different uses made of his myth in Western Europe between Rome's fall and the death of the Middle Scots poet, Robert Henryson (1424?-1506?). In the Middle Ages, Christ and Adam, for example, are shown with Orphean traits, Orpheus as a pagan model for Christian innovation that can indicate medieval attitudes toward pagan myth in general. Works examined by Friedman (English, Kent State U.) are Clement of Alexandria's Exhortation to the Greeks ; the Jerusalem Orpheus mosaic of the sixth century; Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy and its medieval commentators; the Paris Psalter; and a host of lesser known works. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)