At least from the middle of the twentieth century the so-called third cycle of poems of Western literature, flanking the Homeric and the Carolingian-Arthurian cycles, i.e. biblical poetry in classical metres, has become an attractive field of study for scholars interested in late antique literary culture and its reception in the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, even though in recent decades much scholarly attention has been devoted to biblical epic and literary paraphrase, a number of texts and poetic phenomena still merit discovery and discussion. Therefore, the editor and the contributors of the volume under review are to be thanked for such an ambitious project, covering Latin (and occasionally Greek) poetry from Juvencus to Jean Gerson. As Cutino states in the introduction (p. v), the chronological order prevails in the organisation of the material in the volume, so as to enable the presentation of the meaning and role played by the poems discussed in individual chapters in shaping Christian theological discourse and biblical exegesis. It can be noted, however, with no intention of criticising the approach (being myself a Classicist interested specifically in the transformation of poetic genres), that the dominant view throughout the volume is that of a literary scholar, not of a theologian or historian of religion. What we are offered are studies of certain forms and, more frequently, of single texts representing several more or less definable genres rather than analyses of some theological problems on their own. This is clear from the structure of the volume, divided logically into three parts: ‘The Greek-Latin Biblical Epic in Late Antiquity’; ‘Biblical Poetry and Theological Aims in Other Poetic Genres between Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages’; and ‘The Versification of the Bible in the Latin West in the Middle Age’ (sic: the main language of the volume is French, English being used only in a few contributions as well as the contents, the introduction and the abstracts). The contributors often stress the fact that the poets practising this kind of writing rarely take part in theological debates sensu stricto, but rather tend to insert moral and exegetical comments into their works while exploiting varied poetical themes and strategies, attractive and appreciated among their audience; see in particular the chapter by S. Labarre or the monographic contributions on Avitus (N. Hecquet-Noti; L. Furbetta), Cyprian the Gaul (R. Lestrade), Arator (B. Bureau) and, which complies with the label ‘Greek-Latin Biblical Epic’, Nonnus of Panopolis (F. Doroszewski; A. Rotondo; S. Costanza). Yet in a volume offering a diachronic view the process of how (rather than just the fact that) exegesis has gradually become a distinctive trait of the (Latin) biblical epic should also be demonstrated, and this is best done in the comparative article by D. De Gianni treating the theme of the withered fig tree in Juvencus, Sedulius, Avitus of Vienne and Severus of Malaga(?). As he shows, whereas Juvencus adds only some minor changes to the biblical ‘original’, Severus is attentive to the exegetical and theological implications present in the hypotext. In this reading De Gianni appears to differ slightly from F.E. Consolino's opinion on Severus’ reluctance to stray too far from the letter of the Gospels expressed in her contribution dedicated to the motif of the healing of Bartimaeus, but both chapters highlight Sedulius as a turning point in the history of the relationship between Latin Christian poetry and exegesis. As such, they tally with the opening remarks by M. Roberts on the exegesis being consistent with, and even necessary to, the narrative and on the roles of instructor and narrator often overlapping in Sedulius’ poems.

In Part 2 other late antique poetic genres exploiting biblical themes are addressed, from diverse laudatory (Carmen de laudibus Domini, see D. Shanzer) and apologetic pieces (Prudentius’ Contra Symmachum, see M.J. Crespo Losada) through hymns (by Synesius of Cyrene, see J.F. Polo; Gregory of Nazianzus, see M. Herrero de Jáuregui; Prudentius, see P. De Navascués) and quasi-epic stylisations (again by Gregory, see J. Prudhomme) to a protreptic verse letter by Paulinus of Nola (A. Leflaëc) and the verse lists of the Apostles in Paulinus and Venantius Fortunatus (C. Guignard).

Nevertheless, the inclusion in Part 2 of two contributions on centos may be questionable, i.e. the Homeric centos (A. Lefteratou) and the cento Probae (G. Aragione and A. Molinier Arbo). The cento Probae is usually classified as biblical epic, and the label would not be inappropriate in reference to the Homeric centos, either. In fact, most scholars consider the cento not a genre on its own, but (merely) a technique used to produce various generic compositions. It is true that Lefteratou's chapter is part of the ‘Greek subsection’ of the volume, following G. Agosti's discussion of Greek biblical poetry in fourth-century Egypt, but considering its topic, i.e. the narratorial voices in the first edition of the Homeric centos, it could/should have been juxtaposed with other treatments of the speaking ego(s) in biblical epic in Part 1. The diachronic viewpoint is best applied in the contribution by R. Ricceri who compares two metrical rewritings of Greek psalms, by (Ps.-)Apollinaris of Laodicea and Manuel Philes. Ricceri is very successful at demonstrating differences in aesthetic preferences between the late antique literary audience, who still expects allusions to the classical tradition and even to the Homeric language, and Byzantine readers, already well acquainted with prose paraphrases and willingly accepting metaphrastic rewriting.

Part 3 addresses biblical inspirations in medieval poetry. As the texts discussed vary in form and structure, the common denominator used in the title of the section is ‘The Versification of the Bible in the Latin West’, possibly under some influence of G. Dinkova-Bruun, who applied a similar solution to the problem (Dinkova-Bruun spoke of ‘Biblical versifications from late antiquity to the middle of the thirteenth century’, in: W. Otten and K. Pollmann [edd.], Poetry and Exegesis in Premodern Latin Christianity [2007], pp. 315–16; her interpretative proposals are referred to in more detail in the contribution by D. Nodes). The opening chapter, by V. Zarini, on two sixth-century poems exploring the motif of Apocalypsis, Verecundus of Junca's Carmen de paenitentia and the anonymous Ad Flavium Felicem de resurrectione mortuorum, indicates how flexible the division between late antiquity and the Middle Ages is. Next, C. Urlacher-Becht concentrates on hymnography in Visigothic Spain. P. Bourgain focuses on the dramatisation, or indeed theatralisation, of the eschatological message in Carolingian poetry. K. Smolak shows the Aurora by Petrus Riga as a creative continuation of late antique biblical epic, with more emphasis placed on the exegetical presentation of selected passages. Worthy of attention is F. Ploton-Nicollet's chapter on the Apocalypsis Goliae as an example of biblical parody, modelled on the Apocalypse by John. A comparative perspective is offered by D. Nodes, who discusses the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as elaborated by four authors: Petrus Riga, Giles of Paris, an anonymous poet preserved in a thirteenth-century anthology from York Cathedral, and the anonymous author of the Dyalogus de divite et Lazaro. The volume closes with two chapters devoted to a verse commentary and an epic poem by Jean Gerson, both composed in the fifteenth century. Unlike the vast majority of the contributions, the aim of which was to reveal the theological message behind various poetic works, I. Fabre's goal is to obtain the reverse by conducting a detailed stylistic analysis of a section of Gerson's Super Cantica Canticorum. Finally, I. Iribarren examines selected passages of Gerson's epic poem Josephina to elucidate his view on the relationship between the Bible, poetry and doctrinal development.

Varied and rich in topics and approaches as the volume is, what it appears not to propose to its prospective readers is general conclusions concerning the evolution (if any) of the interactions between poetry and theology as noticeable in the various genres and forms of late antique and medieval Latin poetry. Easy (and obvious) statements would probably be of scarce value, but the lack of any final remarks or (even provisional) proposals to summarise some points does not facilitate the task of those readers who are less interested in single works and authors and more focused on the basic question why and in what aspects poetic language was considered supportive of theological content. To such readers two chapters in particular might be recommended, in lieu of more general treatments. The first one is by Cutino and addresses the problem of the legitimacy of inserting poetic fictions within biblical paraphrases (considered to convey the truth). As such, it constitutes a sort of methodological foundation for Part 1, devoted to biblical epic, as its aim is to explain how the literary – and classical – theme of the progressive degradation of humanity turned out to be fully included into Christian narratives due to its ideological neutrality. It is a telling example of the fusion of classical and doctrinal elements, so typical of the Christian literary culture in late antiquity. The other one, in Part 3, is by F. Stella and concentrates on the relationship between theology and poetry as viewed in the late Middle Ages. What Stella shows is that, while for some polemists of the time (like Friar Giovannino), still in accordance with the scholastic tradition, poetry did not seem an appropriate means for expressing theological truths, others, notably the Italian proto-humanist Albertino Mussato, spoke vehemently for its defence and its sacral character, promoting the idea of the poet-theologist. In this respect, the topic of Stella's contribution appears to epitomise best the major problem posed in the volume, i.e. that of the ‘theological poetics’ (to cite E.R. Curtius's famous expression in European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages. Transl. from the German by W.R. Trask [2013], p. 216).

The volume offers a comprehensive study, somewhat too comprehensive (if not overwhelming) to those who intend to read it in its entirety, especially if hoping to be guided towards some general conclusions, but certainly worthy of attention if one is interested in specific examples (i.e. particular authors, texts and motifs) of the encounters of poetry and theology from late antiquity to the later Middle Ages.