'This book well represents some of the richness of recent work on ritual, ceremonial, pomp, or whatever other term one chooses to use … How power works is one of the oldest philosophical issues … one of its most essential aspects, its self-presentation, is greatly illuminated by the essays in this book.' History

'This is … a collection of fascinating studies, ranging from Babylon to twentieth-century Ghana, from China to Madagascar … Professional historians of the modern period, as well as others, would do well to take ritual seriously.' London Review of Books

Heads 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. The essays in this book - all specially written for it - address the central problem in the understanding of royal rituals, namely the relation between power and anthropologists, and the traditional societies examined range from ancient Babylon to nineteenth-century Madagascar, from medieval Europe to contemporary Ghana.
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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.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780521428910
Publisert
1992-04-23
Utgiver
Vendor
Cambridge University Press
Vekt
478 gr
Høyde
217 mm
Bredde
139 mm
Dybde
26 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
364