Darcy Tuttle, completing her second year in the AHMA program, has been awarded the Joan B. Gruen Essay Prize for 2021. In a paper entitled, “'Dutifully They Were Crucified': The Moral and Legal Redemption of the Sabine Women in Augustine's City of God," Darcy examines Augustine's treatment of one of the most famous episodes in the Roman mythical tradition, the violent abduction of the Sabine women during the reign of Rome's legendary first king, Romulus. She shows how Augustine refigures this canonical narrative in light of the sack of the city of Rome in 410 CE, reinterpreting the suffering of the Sabine captives through a Christian lens in order to reinforce his larger argument that all Romans are enslaved until they enter the city of God.
Congratulations, Darcy!