This conference encourages cross-disciplinary approaches to worship practices in the contexts of both inter-confessional and intra-confessional transitions in Europe during the long Reformation (1500-1650).

Thinking of liturgical change as a process of transition invites new readings of a range of documents pertaining to the Reformation and helps us consider the determinants of the pace of change: material challenges, regional proclivities, local economic and social dynamics, the intensity of political pressure in different localities. Placing the focus at ground level of ritual practice and foregrounding instances of confessional hybridity will contribute to the recent rethinking of the continuity/rupture framework. Rituals are a complex combination of text, physical gesture and objects which produce a multisensory experience and embed within their aesthetic experience much theological content. As such they are of interest to scholars working in a variety of fields, including history, theology, musicology, literature, anthropology and art history.

Plenary speakers: Prof Marjorie E. Plummer, Prof. Magnus Williamson.

For more information, see the conference website.