Birth, Marriage, and Death

Winner of the John Ben Snow Prize of the North American Conference on British Studies, for best book on British history published in 1997
Using fascinating first-hand evidence, Professor Cressy describes the ritual performance of childbirth, baptism, courtship, weddings, and funerals in England from c. 1500 to 1700, and reveals how these activities changed in response to the Reformation, the Revolution, and the Restoration. The result is a vivid picture of the classic rites of passage in Tudor and Stuart England.