Ritual in Early Modern 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.