willowfox
Solitaire* said:In the times these cards portray, kissing the hand most certainly was an intimate gesture. Even up to the present day, it can be done in an intimate relationship in some instances.
"The gesture was common in European upper class throughout the 18th and 19th century. It started to disappear in the 20th century. It is very uncommon today in Northern European contries. In its modern form, a man kissing the hand of a woman, the hand-kiss originated in the Spanish court ceremonies of the 17th/18th century and became common practice in European upper class in the 18th and 19th century. The gesture probably originated as a formal submission or plead of allegiance of man to man. The man would show his submission by kissing the signet ring (a form of seal worn as a jewelry ring), the symbol of authority of the dominant person."
Sorry, but I don't see it as an intimate gesture. Would you consider kissing the popes hand an intimate gesture as well?