Book excerpt: The essays in this volume transcend Eastern and Western geographical boundaries during a loosely defined medieval and early modern period, ranging from Carolingian Europe to Qing China, and pull rituals out of their geographical contexts. Cultural history binds these essays together. This volume permits readers to compare ritual in religious and secular contexts, in the East and West, and to focus on the purposes of ritual, without being caught up in localism or historical jingoism. The various essays are organized chronologically and thematically; they focus on ritual and gender, law, identity and political legitimization. They cover topics as varied as the spatial appropriation of surfaces and territories, charity, carnival, women's magic, the Jesuits, graffiti, theater, business, medicine, Qing imperial ceremonies, Chinese princesses coming of age, spiritual reconciliation, and the Great Western Schism. Contributors include: Catherine Bell, Virginia A. Cole, Andrée Courtemanche, James L. Hevia, Michael W. Maher, S.J., Véronique Plesch, Marguerite Ragnow, Martha Rampton, Eric C. Rath, Dylan Reid, Kathryn Reyerson, Joëlle Rollo-Koster, and Ann Waltner.