Ritual in Early Modern Europe (New Approaches to European History, Series Number 11) - Hardcover

Muir, Edward

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521401690 ISBN 13: 9780521401692

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1997

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Book Description

This comprehensive study of the rituals of early modern Europe argues that the period 1400 to 1700 witnessed a revolution in ritual theory. While reformers sought to replace sacraments with the authority of scripture, and despite attempts by intellectuals to dismiss their power, ritual practices endured as much as ever.

About the Author

Edward Muir is Professor of History of the Northwestern University. His publications include Civic Ritual in Renaissance Venice (1981) and Mad Blood Stirring: Vendetta in Renaissance Italy (1998).

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521401690
• ISBN 13: 9780521401692
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 303