This volume investigates the complex history of how Latin literary works survived from antiquity through the medieval period to the modern era. Authors Leighton D. Reynolds and N. G. Wilson, both distinguished scholars in the field of classical philology, provide a systematic examination of the manuscript traditions that preserved these texts. By documenting the transmission history of individual authors, the work establishes a framework for understanding the physical and intellectual survival of the Latin canon.

Experts and classicists widely recognize this work as a foundational reference for the study of textual criticism and paleography. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as an essential resource for students and researchers navigating the history of classical texts.