Re: MR: Variants of Hand-Kissing

[Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>]

Poster: Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>

Alfredo wrote:
> 
>    "K: When a lady offers her hand, bowing low and placing her
>        hand on the top of my head."
> 
> There were some very interesting responses to this activity:
> 
>    "Is this an action that would be found in period?
>     It sounds a trifle showy to me."
> 
>    "Is this a period practice for a certain culture?"
> 
> Are these questions relevant?  On another thread several people
> stated that the existance of assassination in the Period doesn't
> make it acceptable.  Do these responses mean you'd frown when
> you saw me do it, but smile when I say, "Hey, it's Period, folks"
> and start passing out the documentation?

Not necessarily. It may simply mean these people are genuinely
curious as to where you got the idea for this rather different
way of greeting a lady. I have not heard of it, and I have
studied a bit on the particular topic of handkissing (a practice
that is overly abused and misused throughout the SCA).

> I don't mean the above to sound sarcastic.  I really want to know.

At first I took your statement as sarcasm, but upon reading the
one immedtiately above and rereading the other, I realized that
maybe we're all a bit twitchy after the UBAG thread. I hope we
can all lighten up a little.

In any case, I am curious about where you came up with this
practice. Is it something you read in a history book? A Victorian
romance (where so many people in the SCA get their ideas about
the behaviour of people in the middle ages)? Did you simply make
it up one day? IMWTK.

> Try this: when a lady offers her hand, lean forward and kiss her
> on the lips.  This may cause confusion.

This may also get you slapped by the lady or brusquely removed
from the site by her lord. Do *not* try this. It is not only
inappropriate from a period perspective, it is plain bad manners
with a woman you do not know. As a further caution, a lady
friend of mine who is proficient in Wu Shu Kung Fu has been
known to take the wind out of men who attempt to give her back
rubs without a) identifying themselves, and b) asking first.
Never, never, never lay hands on a lady or attempt an intimacy
like a kiss on the lips without her express permission! Again,
with respect to handkissing, I refer you all to the article
written by Ioseph of Locksley. If you want a copy, I have it
stored somewhere on a hard disk. I once published it (with
permission as it's copyright material) in the Drekkar when
I was Storvik's Chronicler.

>   "Michael, remember that you're dealing with a jester here. It's not
>    merely his *job* to cause confusion, it's his solemn (all right, maybe
>    solemn isn't the right word to use with Alfredo) duty to do so."
> 
> Thank you, Corun.  (BTW, why do you call him "The Ecclectic One"?)

You're welcome, Oh Jocular One. I call Michael that because he
goes by the name of Michael the Ecclectic. (It's your own damn
fault, Michael. ;-)

> Perhaps I should have asked a more general question about whether
> people find some degree of confusion desirable.  I myself find that
> I don't learn something new without first experiencing some confusion,
> although I certainly can feel confusion without learning anything.

This is a subjective thing. If you, in your role as a jester, add
some confusion and mirth to the evening's festivites, this is what
I would term a Good Thing<tm> as it adds to the overall ambience
of the event (provided it's done as a period jester would have and
meets the overall theme of the event). However, if the goal is to
teach something by generating unwarranted confusion, then first I
would suggest you ask the people involved if they in fact want to
learn this thing. As we've discovered in the UBAG thread, it is
not considerate to make people play a game they have no desire to
do, nor if they have no knowledge that this game is going to occur.

I think if I saw a fellow in bells and motly meeting a lady, and
he took her hand and placed it on his head, and she looked very
confused by this, I'd laugh. It's a funny situation. No gets hurt
or humiliated even though some embarrassment due to being confused
may occur. When we had our Never Too Early For Love event (which
will be Never Too Late For Love next year), Mistress Keilyn, now
our Kingdom Seneschal, played the Baronial Foole. She was a hoot,
especially when, unbeknowst to me or anyone else at Hig Table,
she suddenly started scurrying the length of the table underneath
it, occasionally nipping at a bared knee. This was fun and in
keeping with what we know of the behaviour of a Court Jester.

I hope this helps.

In service,
Corun

-- 
===============================================================================
   Corun MacAnndra   |  You just gotta learn to dance while life is throwing
 Dark Horde by birth |  chainsaws and chickens at you...after the first few 
   Moritu by choice  |  cuts and pecks, it's easy.   ---   jms
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