Ritual in Early Modern Europe [Paperback]

The 2005 second edition of a comprehensive study of the ritual practices in traditional Christian Europe.The first comprehensive study of rituals in early modern Europe, this new and expanded edition argues that between about 1400 and 1700 a revolution in ritual theory took place that transformed concepts about time, the body, and the presence of spiritual forces. Edward Muir discusses wide ranging themes such as rites of passage, carnivalesque festivity, and the alleged anti-Christian rituals of Jews and witches. The new edition examines the impact on the European understanding of ritual from the discoveries of new civilizations in the Americas and missionary efforts in China.The first comprehensive study of rituals in early modern Europe, this new and expanded edition argues that between about 1400 and 1700 a revolution in ritual theory took place that transformed concepts about time, the body, and the presence of spiritual forces. Edward Muir discusses wide ranging themes such as rites of passage, carnivalesque festivity, and the alleged anti-Christian rituals of Jews and witches. The new edition examines the impact on the European understanding of ritual from the discoveries of new civilizations in the Americas and missionary efforts in China.This new and expanded edition of the first comprehensive study of rituals in early modern Europe examines the impact on the European interpretation of ritual from the discoveries of new civilizations in the Americas and missionary efforts in China. It also adds more material about rituals peculiar to women. Edward Muir draws on extensive historical research to emphasize the persistence of traditional Christian ritual practices, even as enlightened elites attempted to choose reason over passion, textual interpretation over ritual action, and moral rectitude over gaining access to supernatural powers of anti-Christian rituals. First Edition Hb (1997) 0-521-40169-0 First Edition Pb (1997) 0-521-40967-5Introduction: what il“¡