Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


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1. Record Number: 11069
Author(s): Camille, Michael.
Contributor(s):
Title : Gothic Signs and the Surplus: The Kiss on the Cathedral [The kiss was a sign with many meanings, and its symbolic significance in medieval visual and verbal representations is manifold. A sculpture on the West Front of Amiens Cathedral depicts the sin of lechery through the image of a man and woman kissing, yet the kiss did not always stand in for representations of sexual intercourse (legitimate or illicit). The kiss could have spiritual and allegorical significance (e.g., visual representations of the Song of Songs), legal force (e.g., feudal and courtly rituals), treacherous or transgressive overtones (e.g., representations of Judas and Christ or other same-sex couples kissing), mystical meanings, or devotional purposes (e.g., the kiss of peace). Title note supplied by Feminae.].
Source: Yale French Studies (Full Text via JSTOR) (1991): 151-170. Special Editions: Style and Values in Medieval Art and Literature.Link Info
Year of Publication: 1991.