[1] Pagans and Philosophers covers what John Marenbon calls the "Long Middle Ages", spanning from the 5th to early 18th centuries.

[1] The book is about how Christians received and treated pre-Christian material, notably that of Aristotle, Cato the Elder and indigenous peoples of the Americas.

The third section addresses contacts with non-Christian populations outside of the Old World and how the previously developed views continued through Christian humanism and Protestantism.

Lionel Wickham reviewed the book in The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, calling it "erudite, informative, stimulating and interesting to read".

[3] Alfonso Herreros Besa wrote in Medievalista that the subject gives justification to Marenbon's conception of the Long Middle Ages.