Birth, Marriage, and Death

From childbirth and baptism through to courtship, weddings, and funerals, every stage in the life-cycle of Tudor and Stuart England was accompanied by ritual. Even under the protestantism of the reformed Church, the spiritual and social dramas of birth, marriage, and death were graced with elaborate ceremony. Powerful and controversial protocols were in operation, shaped and altered by the influences of the Reformation, the Revolution, and the Restoration.

David Cressy is Professor of History at California State University, Long Beach.

"Provide[s] current scholarly insights into early modern England. . . .Cressy's study of the life style in Tudor-Stuart England should be read by all serious students of the period interested in history from the bottom up. This work remains entertaining while depicting the pace of social change in the ordinary activities of real people and the divisive social issues that caused conflict among the 16th- and 17th-century English. Cressy provides solid evidence of the key importance ritual played as society coped with implementing the Reformation, and he demonstrates his scholarly depth by a judicious recognition of the diversity of experiences and viewpoints found in early modern England."--Library Journal
"[A] remarkable book....Highly recommended."--Choice
..".A masterly summary of the ways in which these past people are the same as us and separated from us..."--The Observer Review
"David Cressy has given us a blockbuster, which immediately becomes the staple work upon its