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Ritual Dynamics: Mayor Making in Early Modern Norwich

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 00:06 authored by Douglas EzzyDouglas Ezzy, Easthope, G, Morgan, V
Through a detailed analysis of a Guild Day ceremony in early modern England we demonstrate that liminal points in this ritual are interrelated to form a "pattern" or "dance" of liminal pulsations. We argue it is the felt necessity, on the part of participants, to complete that pattern that provides a dynamic to any ritual event. It impels participants to continue the ritual to its conclusion and leads them to resist any interference with the "flow" of the ritual. "Flow", we assert, is thus both an interior state of participants and an exterior social characteristic of a ritual. It is created by the structuring of liminal points in a ritual, the liminal pulsations, but it achieves its dynamic by affecting the interior states of participants so that they feel impelled to "close off" the ritual and complete it. © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

History

Publication title

Journal of Historical Sociology

Volume

22

Pagination

396-419

ISSN

0952-1909

Department/School

School of Social Sciences

Publisher

Blackwell Publ Ltd

Place of publication

108 Cowley Rd, Oxford, England, Oxon, Ox4 1Jf

Rights statement

The definitive published version is available online at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Understanding Europe’s past

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