The first comprehensive study of rituals in early modern Europe, this book argues that between about 1400 and 1700 a revolution in ritual theory took place that utterly transformed concepts about time, the body, and the presence of spiritual forces in the world. In this work of synthesis Professor Muir draws on the extensive anthropology-inspired historical research that has been published during the past twenty years, and emphasizes the persistence of traditional Christian ritual practices even as educated elites attempted to privilege reason over passion, textual interpretation over ritual action, and personal moral rectitude over gaining access to supernatural powers. The themes discussed by Professor Muir are wide-ranging and include rites of passage, carnivalesque festivity, Protestant and Catholic Reformations, and the alleged anti-Christian rituals of Jews and witches.
- ISBN13 9780521409674
- Publish Date 28 August 1997
- Publish Status Inactive
- Out of Print 24 June 2005
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Cambridge University Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 303
- Language English