The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

THE BOOK OF TELLS
convey messages of friendship and equality. In medieval
times, men and women would pay homage to their overlord
by kneeling on one knee. Later on the bow was
introduced for men. This was done by drawing back the
right leg so that both knees were bent, and by leaning
forward. Removing or doffing the hat was also part of the
greeting ritual and this was done either before or during
the act of bowing. The corresponding salutation for
women at the time was the curtsy, which involved
genuflecting both knees and lowering the body. 2 All these
greetings of respect involved body lowering. They were
also distinguished by asymmetry, which meant that the
subordinate person greeted the superior while the superior
effectively did nothing.
Greetings of solidarity, on the other hand, were
symmetrical - they consisted of a mutual kiss, and sometimes
an embrace. Kissing was used as a gesture of
affection as well as a sign of goodwill between men and
women, and between members of the same sex. Although
the handshake was around at the time it was not used as a
greeting. Instead it was employed to seal agreements.
Writing during the seventeenth century John Bulwer
described how the handshake was used to secure financial
agreements and how the language of the handshake
differed from one London market to another. The 'fish
dialect of Billingsgate', he tells us, was very different
from the 'Horse Rhetorique of Smithfield'. 3 It was
only much later, towards the end of the Victorian era,
that the handshake was employed as a greeting of
solidarity.
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