Max Harris is the author of five previous books, including Sacred Folly: A New History of the Feast of Fools (2011) which won the Otto Grundler prize. He has served as Executive Director of the Wisconsin Humanities Council and has taught at Yale University and the University of Virginia

Max Harris’ extremely well-researched book confronts the general understanding of Christ on a donkey "as a sign that he came neither as a warrior nor as one drawn to the trappings of power, but in peace and humility" (p. 2) with the various ways in which the image was used in medieval and early modern theatrical tradition. His findings are stunning. The book analyses both the development of Palm Sunday processions, and the use of Palm Sunday elements in other processions. [...] The book is extremely informed and informative; it collects enormous amounts of original documents, and in a very impressive way compares phenomena of different cultures and times.

• Introduction: From Pomp to DonkeysPart One: PompI. Triumphal Entries: From Charlemagne to Oliver Cromwell1. Charlemagne’s Birthday Pomp2. Kings Dead or Alive3. Warrior Popes4. Mud, Plague, and the Lord ProtectorII. Palm Sunday Processions: From Egeria to Peter the Great5. Palms of Victory6. Exalted and Eccentric Images7. Crusaders, Patriarchs, and Emperors8. The Horse with Donkey’s EarsPart Two: Parodies / James Nayler and Jesus of Nazareth9. James Nayler’s Royal Progress10. Jesus on a JackassPart Three: DonkeysI. A Scarcity of Donkeys: From Udine to El Alto11. Under Muslim Rule12. White Horses and Imagined Donkeys13. Live Donkeys at LastII. Wooden Christs on Wooden Donkeys: From Augsburg to Chiquitos14. An Image of the Lord Seated on an Ass15. The Lord God Belongs to the Butchers16. The Persecution of the Palmesel17. Baroque Splendor and Catholic Enlightenment18. The Donkey that Walked on Water19. Survivals and RevivalsConclusion: Christ Dismembered and the Bombing of Lübeck

Max Harris is the author of five previous books, including Sacred Folly: A New History of the Feast of Fools (2011) which won the Otto Grundler prize. He has served as Executive Director of the Wisconsin Humanities Council and has taught at Yale University and the University of Virginia

Max Harris’ extremely well-researched book confronts the general understanding of Christ on a donkey "as a sign that he came neither as a warrior nor as one drawn to the trappings of power, but in peace and humility" (p. 2) with the various ways in which the image was used in medieval and early modern theatrical tradition. His findings are stunning. The book analyses both the development of Palm Sunday processions, and the use of Palm Sunday elements in other processions. [...] The book is extremely informed and informative; it collects enormous amounts of original documents, and in a very impressive way compares phenomena of different cultures and times.

• Introduction: From Pomp to DonkeysPart One: PompI. Triumphal Entries: From Charlemagne to Oliver Cromwell1. Charlemagne’s Birthday Pomp2. Kings Dead or Alive3. Warrior Popes4. Mud, Plague, and the Lord ProtectorII. Palm Sunday Processions: From Egeria to Peter the Great5. Palms of Victory6. Exalted and Eccentric Images7. Crusaders, Patriarchs, and Emperors8. The Horse with Donkey’s EarsPart Two: Parodies / James Nayler and Jesus of Nazareth9. James Nayler’s Royal Progress10. Jesus on a JackassPart Three: DonkeysI. A Scarcity of Donkeys: From Udine to El Alto11. Under Muslim Rule12. White Horses and Imagined Donkeys13. Live Donkeys at LastII. Wooden Christs on Wooden Donkeys: From Augsburg to Chiquitos14. An Image of the Lord Seated on an Ass15. The Lord God Belongs to the Butchers16. The Persecution of the Palmesel17. Baroque Splendor and Catholic Enlightenment18. The Donkey that Walked on Water19. Survivals and RevivalsConclusion: Christ Dismembered and the Bombing of Lübeck