This comprehensive study of rituals in early modern Europe draws on extensive historical research to argue that between about 1400 and 1700 a revolution in ritual theory took place that utterly transformed concepts about time, the body, and the presence of spiritual forces in the world. The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century constituted a massive theoretical assault on many ritual practices as reformers attempted to replace sacraments with the authority of scripture. However, while intellectuals came to disparage their power, ritual practices endured as much as ever.