Dear Pippin,
As I understand it, joined hands as a prayer gesture derives from
the commendation ceremony; the ancient prayer posture was to
stand with both palms held on either side of the body upwards
towards the heavens. You might check the first volume of Marc
Bloch's _Feudal Society_ where he discusses vassal homage as a
first research gesture; sorry, but I don't have more specific
bibliographic references with me here. Hope this helps some...
Kathryn Karczewska
Harvard University
> Does anyone know where the hands together praying gesture came from and
> when?
>
> Pippin Michelli, Ph.D
> Assistant Professor of Art History, St Olaf College
> http://www.stolaf.edu/people/michelli/index4.html
>
>
>
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