Katie Barclay's The Kiss traces the evolution of kissing from a formalized tool of diplomacy and political fealty to an intimate expression of romantic love.
The book successfully proves that a gesture modern society views as natural carries immense historical and political weight.
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A Fascinating Evolution of Public and Private Gestures
Barclay begins in medieval Europe, where the osculum pacis (kiss of peace) was a standard legal and diplomatic ritual between powerful men.
This practice stemmed from medical beliefs that the breath carried the spirit, meaning a kiss allowed souls to mingle and equalize.
Class dynamics eventually shifted this tradition.
As the wealthy grew uncomfortable locking lips with servants, churches introduced the pax, a physical object passed around to be kissed instead.
Symbolic acts like the foot kiss served to venerate or humiliate. In 911, a Viking proxy grabbed a Frankish king's foot so violently it tipped him backward.
By the 18th century, daily social kissing began fading from English society, replaced by handshakes among men. Close male friendships, however, retained affectionate lip-kisses.
By the late 19th century, kissing became almost entirely relegated to the private realms of romance and sex.
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The 20th century brought new public scrutiny, including a 1908 London school ban due to diphtheria and 1920s parental warnings from behaviorists like John Watson about the risks of motherly coddling.
Public anxieties also shaped media, leading to the 1934 Hays Code banning "excessive and lustful" kisses alongside interracial and same-sex pairings.
