At the crossroads of biblical reading and commentary, mysteries and liturgical celebrations, literary traditions of classical Romanity, the Latin poetry of Christian antiquity attests, in a time of profound changes which alternates rebirths and crises, a new conception of the aesthetic, spiritual and militant issues of poetic creation. Far from an aesthetic entertainment of which, with a few rare exceptions, it does not however deny the formal excellence, the poetry of the Latin Christians reinvents the great genres and the poetic images of antiquity ?for the better? to clarify if not ?to reenchant? the Scriptures, to honour the heroes of the Bible and the faith, to serve doctrinal orthodoxy, discipline and moral values proclaimed by the Roman Church. Through a selection of twenty-four studies, all revised, updated and accompanied by an unpublished epilogue, this book illustrates different aspects of the way in which ancient Christianity thus went to ?the conquest of its poetry?. la crois e de la lecture et du commentaire bibliques, des myst res et des c l brations liturgiques, des traditions litt raires de la romanit classique, la po sie latine de l?antiquit chr tienne atteste, dans un temps de profondes mutations qui alterne les renaissances et les crises, une conception nouvelle des enjeux esth tiques, spirituels et militants de la cr ation po tique. Loin du divertissement d?esth te, dont, quelques rares exceptions pr s, elle ne renie cependant pas l?excellence formelle, la po sie des chr tiens latins r invente en mieux les grands genres et les images po tiques de l?antiquit pour expliciter sinon r enchanter les critures, honorer les h ros de la Bible et de la foi, servir l?orthodoxie doctrinale, la discipline et les valeurs morales proclam es par l? glise romaine. travers une s lection de vingt-quatre tudes, toutes revues, mises jour et accompagn es d?un pilogue in dit, ce livre illustre diff rents aspects de la mani re dont le christianisme antique est ainsi all la conqu te de sa po sie .