Roman Catholic Rites and Local Cultures

This book offers an analysis of early modern Catholic rituals and festivities, namely coronations of the Marian images that were believed to be miraculous. It looks at how these week-long events, which attracted people in their thousands, included the rite of crowning the Madonna, the ceremonial liturgy, panegyrics, administering the sacraments, processions, fireworks, military salvoes, and music.

Occurring in Italy at the end of the 16th century, this ritual first crossed borders in 1715, when it took place in Dalmatian-Croatian Trsat (Rijeka). Roman Catholic Rites and Local Cultures examines and compares coronations performed outside of Italy between 1715–51, when they were carried out almost exclusively on the territory of the Habsburg monarchy and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Eleven significant cases are included, representing diverse cultural areas, from the bordering regions between the Habsburg monarchy and Italy, to confessionally unified Czech lands, to the multi-confessional territory of today’s Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus.

The book traces the intersection of the prescribed Roman rite with local traditions, ideas, and representations. It also vitally places the coronations in the context of discussions about Catholic religiosity, the early modern rituals, and the role of sacred images.