Political Ceremonies and Rituals in the Early Modern World

Abstract Rituals display, legitimize, and sometimes question existing power relations in public settings. At the same time, recent research has shown that ceremonies and rituals help various actors and groups establish and re-establish their roles in social and political systems. Indeed, rituals construct new power relations rather than merely re-affirm previously existing ones. As such, they constitute new social realities and establish new social contracts, fostering debates about political authority, religious belief, cultural identity, tradition, and history. The articles gathered in this volume draw on this latter strand of scholarship. They take political ritual as constitutive of political and social relationships and explore its relevance at a particular time and place, drawing larger conclusions about the social and political environment. Together, they investigate the work of ceremonies and rituals, with a particular focus on the early modern period.