LAUSR

Dialogues, Livy’s History of Rome, the New Testament, mosaics, sculpture, and other archeological finds. Chapter 3 looks at the theme of the “shepherd-victim as lawgiver” (79) in the early Church, drawing on examples from early Christian art, hymns, Augustine’s City of God, and writings about emperors. Chapter 4 examines Old English, Carolingian, and Romanesque art and writing to lay out a case of the Good Shepherd as “guide, protector, and judge” (122), using art and literary examples. While few scholars could claim expertise in the many languages and cultures covered in this chapter, Awes Freeman demonstrates remarkable dexterity in surveying the relevant scholarship, much of it from the last decade, that describes and explains the examples she uses. She offers grounded examples that support her themes without losing the thread of a coherent narrative. Still, such an all-encompassing project tracing a single theme through history is likely to contain flaws in specific translations and to overlook important conversations that exist regarding the particular examples offered. It is a hazard of such a project. Nevertheless, the author creates her argument with care and through diligent citation. The book will hopefully prompt new discussion around the meaning of the Good Shepherd and inspire other scholars to resist inherited wisdom and recontextualize the things we think we know about early Christian art and ideas.