L.B. van der Meer, Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis. The Linen Book of Zagreb. A Comment on the Longest Etruscan Text. Monographs on Antiquity, 4. Leuven: Peeters, 2007. Pp. x, 210; color and b/w figs. 28, color pls. 12. ISBN 978-90-429-2024-8. €72.00.
Reviewed by Jean MacIntosh Turfa, University of Pennsylvania Museum (jturfa@sas.upenn.edu)
Word count: 4217 words
Most Classical authors respected the Etruscans for their skill in religious ritual and divination, but Etruscan religion can be a minefield for naive scholars, tempting many into flights of fancy. Now, however, many reliable works are available, and classicists and historians may safely venture forth, and with promise of great rewards. The main obstacles for outsiders to Etruscan Studies have been overcome: the Etruscan language is generally knowable, even for those who prefer to read in English (see G. Bonfante and L. Bonfante, The Etruscan Language. An Introduction, rev. ed., Manchester, 2002 --hereafter Bonfante-2; see this work for brief entries on all major epigraphic items.) And there is plenty of sound and cautious scholarship on Etruscan religion now available, from monographs to compendia such as the Harvard Guide and the ThesCRA.1 I offer some comments on recent works as background for readers in other fields who may benefit from a fresh look at some of this precious material. etc. at BMCR
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