This new interpretation of the baffling Latin grammars of the seventh-century writer Virgilius Maro Grammaticus sets aside conventional readings that see them as flawed or parodic. Vivien Law's analysis moves through the broader context of patristic biblical exegesis and early medieval wisdom literature to the ill-documented reaches of heterodox initiatory practices. She situates Virgilius in his intellectual context, and opens important new perspectives for our understanding of medieval literary culture.