The appearances of medieval rituals

"This collection of eleven essays - which chronologically spans the period from the Carolingians to the Catholic Reform movement of the later sixteenth century - explores this double-edged potential in the appearance of medieval ritual practices; and, in this case, chiefly church rituals. It comprises a series of individual studies by scholars of literature, theology, music, and the visual arts. Each study examines a particular movement of change or transformation in ritual practices, illuminating, thereby, processes of ritualization. In this way, the book both provides an impulse to the recent renewal of methodological interest in ritual studies and presents individual contributions to specific scholarly discourses within this broad area."--BOOK JACKET.