Jennifer Awes-Freeman: From Pastor Populi to Regula Pastoralis: The Waning of the Imperial Good Shepherd

This short communication will examine the waning of the post-Constantinian imperial use of the Good Shepherd motif in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. It is part of an in-process monograph, The Good Shepherd: Image, Meaning, and Power,which traces the Good Shepherd motif from its pre-Christian origins in the Ancient Near East to its decline in the Middle Ages. A pivotal image in this study is a mosaic from the fifth-century imperial Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy, which is the last pre-modern monumental depiction of Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd. Additionally, the image is distinct from other early Christian examples because the shepherd is dressed not in a humble tunic, but in purple and gold garments that invoke regal and divine attributes. By tracing the visual and textual appearances of the Good Shepherd in the fifth and sixth centuries, this paper will reveal that the imperial invocation of the motif was gradually replaced by increased ecclesial use, as in Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Rule.By way of conclusion, this communication will consider the implications of this shift for understanding the multivalent functions of religious and political images in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.