Ritualised action a " the use of gestures and ceremonial processes a " were a central means of creating and expressing social order in pre-modern societies in particular. The present volume is divided into the three core areas of liturgy, law and politics and presents an interdisciplinary view of selected aspects of the arrangement and effect of rituals. An introductory section uses exemplars to present fundamental methodological questions from the perspectives of art history, theatre history and historiology.