Vergil in the Middle Ages depicts a comprehensive history of the medieval conception of Vergil. It follows Vergil's various evolutions and vicissitudes, and determines the nature and causes of these and their connection with the general history of European thought. The author divides the book into two main parts. The first studies the vicissitudes of Vergil's fame in the medium of the literary tradition during the whole period prior to the Renaissance, a period which closes gloriously with the Vergil of Dante. The second examines the aspect which this fame assumes, after the appearance in it of the popular legends, in the medium of the new popular literature, which was independent of the classical tradition. Long before its translation into English, Vergil in the Middle Ages secured its author a permanent place in the ranks of European philologists.