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).

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

• 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.

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).

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

• 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.