The Reformation of Ritual: An Interpretation of Early Modern Germany / Edition 1

by Susan Karant-Nunn

Overview

In The Reformation of Ritual Susan Karant-Nunn explores the function of ritual in early modern German society, and the extent to which it was modified by the Reformation.
Employing anthropological insights, and drawing on extensive archival research, Susan Karant-Nunn outlines the significance of the ceremonial changes. This comprehensive study includes an examination of all major rites of passage: birth, baptism, confirmation, engagement, marriage, the churching of women after childbirth, penance, the Eucharist, and dying. The author argues that the changes in ritual made over the course of the century reflect more than theological shifts; ritual was a means of imposing discipline and of making the divine more or less accessible. Church and state cooperated in using ritual as one means of gaining control of the populace.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415113373
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/22/1997
Series:	Christianity and Society in the Modern World
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Engagement and marriage ceremonies: taming the beast within 2. To beat the Devil: baptism and the conquest of sin 3. Churching, a woman's rite 4. Repentance, confession, and the Lord's Table: separating the divine from the human 5. Banning the dead and ordering the living: the selective retention of catholic practice 6. Ritual change: conclusions

Editorial Reviews

Karant-Nunn (history, Portland State U.) employs anthropological insight and draws on archival research to explore the function of ritual in early modern German society and the ways in which it was modified by the Reformation. She takes into account emerging Calvinism as well as the early Lutheran Church, and considers regional variations in religious practice, comparing Protestant observances to the widespread Catholic ones of the Middle Ages and describing to what extent official views were adopted by the laity and the people. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

'The title of this excellent book suggests the scope of it's author's ambitition... That Susan Karant-Nunn has succeeded so well is a tribute to her scholarship and erudition.' - German History

From the Publisher