Rituals of Royalty
Rituals of Royalty
$50.00
USDHeads of state today mark their rites of passage with splendid ceremonial, from Reagan's inaugural to Andropov's funeral. Such spectacles continue to be a prominent part of modern political systems, of varied ideological hue, but their precise meaning and importance often remain unclear.
These specially commissioned essays address the central problem in the understanding of royal rituals, the relation between power and ceremonial. These contributions, from historians and anthropologists, examine a wide range of societies.
Reviews & endorsements
"This is a collection of fascinating studies, ranging from Babylon to 20th-century Ghana, from China to Madagascar...Professional historians of the modern period, as well as others, would do well to take ritual seriously." The London Review of Books
"Such a diverse collection of essays on so rich a subject can only be welcomed." Times Literary Supplement
Product details
May 1993Paperback
9780521428910
364 pages
217 × 139 × 26 mm
0.478kg
Available
Table of Contents
- List of illustrations
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction: divine rites of kings David Cannadine
- 1. Usurpation, conquest and ceremonial: from Babylon to Persia Amélie Kuhrt
- 2. From noble funerals to divine cult: the consecration of Roman emperors Simon Price
- 3. The construction of court ritual: the Byzantine Book of Ceremonies Averil Cameron
- 4. The Lord's anointed and the people's choice: Carolingian royal ritual Janet L. Nelson
- 5. Bureaucrats and cosmology: the ritual code of T'ang China David McMullen
- 6. Gifts to the gods: power, property and ceremonial in Nepal Richard Burghart
- 7. The ritual of the royal bath in Madagascar: the dissolution of death, birth and fertility into authority Maurice Bloch
- 8. The person of the king: ritual and power in a Ghanaian state Michelle Gilbert
- Index.
