From Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages, Latin Christian poetry was criticized on the one hand for perpetuating pagan fictions, and on the other for not doing a very interesting job of it because it just paraphrased the Bible or other Christian literature. In June 2004, scholars of the classics, theology, cultural studies, and history gathered in The Netherlands to ponder these criticisms. All but two of the 17 essays here are from that conference. They cover theories of Latin Christian poetry, particular authors and works, and overviews and comparisons. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)