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).

• Introduction: what is ritual?; Part I. The Ritual Moment: 1. Rites of passage; 2. The ritual calendar; Part II. Rituals of the Body: 3. Carnival and the lower body; 4. Manners and the upper body; Part III. Ritual Representation: 5. The Reformation as a revolution in ritual theory; 6. The Reformation as a ritual process; 7. Government as a ritual process; Epilogue: mere ritual.

'… coherent, readable, and stimulating … The book is just the right length for its intended student readership.' Economic History Review

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).

• Introduction: what is ritual?; Part I. The Ritual Moment: 1. Rites of passage; 2. The ritual calendar; Part II. Rituals of the Body: 3. Carnival and the lower body; 4. Manners and the upper body; Part III. Ritual Representation: 5. The Reformation as a revolution in ritual theory; 6. The Reformation as a ritual process; 7. Government as a ritual process; Epilogue: mere ritual.

'… coherent, readable, and stimulating … The book is just the right length for its intended student readership.' Economic History Review

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).

• Introduction: what is ritual?; Part I. The Ritual Moment: 1. Rites of passage; 2. The ritual calendar; Part II. Rituals of the Body: 3. Carnival and the lower body; 4. Manners and the upper body; Part III. Ritual Representation: 5. The Reformation as a revolution in ritual theory; 6. The Reformation as a ritual process; 7. Government as a ritual process; Epilogue: mere ritual.

'… coherent, readable, and stimulating … The book is just the right length for its intended student readership.' Economic History Review