Gestures and Comportment at the Carolingian Court: Between Practice and Perception

The author of this essay in The Politics of Gesture: Historical Perspectives presents a re-reading of sources from the Carolingian era (9th-early 10th centuries) in search of descriptions of behavior & the expression of feelings to support an analysis of their gestural meanings & significance. After exploring the role of gesture in Carolingian court social relations, he discusses a number of references in the source literature that reveal the relative value of certain gestures of courtly etiquette, such as different types of kissing to welcome guests, seal a formal agreement, or demonstrate respect (eg, kissing the king's feet). A close look at different versions of the same anecdotes reveals the levels of respect (or lack of same) implied by words & gestures. On the occasion of the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Ept in 911, when an unwilling Rollo ordered one of his warriors to kiss the foot of King Charles the Simple in his stead, the man grabbed the king's foot & raised it to his mouth to kiss, thereby landing the bewildered Charles on his back. S. Stanton