«Quin mal és lo besar». (Literatura i moral al voltant de la quarta línia de l'amor)

Abstract

After a quick survey of the rules about the art of kissing in the courtly love tradition and in the French artes amandi of the Middle Ages, this paper focuses on the moral rules about the kiss diffused in the books by the grey friar Francesc Eiximenis (1327-1409). The discussion about the kiss in chapter 176 of the Tirant lo Blanc –a me­dieval chivalric romance written by Joanot Martorell between 1460 and 1468– is approached through the contrast between Eiximenis' moral rules and the profan rules. As a result of this analysis a better understanding of the ideas and attitudes of the romance heroes is achieved.