Many of the traditions which we think of as very ancient in their origins were not in fact
sanctioned by long usage over the centuries but were invented comparatively recently. This
book explores examples of this process of invention - the creation of Welsh and Scottish
'national culture' the elaboration of British royal rituals in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries the origins of imperial rituals in British India and Africa and the attempts by
radical movements to develop counter-traditions of their own. It addresses the complex
interaction of past and present bringing together historians and anthropologists in a
fascinating study of ritual and symbolism which poses new questions for the understanding of
our history.
