From the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, the epic tradition resonates with the influence of the Aeneid. Yet Virgil's long shadow falls across a territory marked by Christianity. Both epic poets and their commentators, writing in a Christianised age, felt the need to account for the pagan origins of epic heroism, which, whether as the wrath of Achilles or the unforgiving patriotism of Aeneas, could be perceived as cruel and unchristian. These needed to be reconciled with the demands of a Christian moral system, with its attendant emphases on compassion and kindness.