Politeness, Civility, Gallantry, Courtesy and Honesty : Analysis of Lexical and Semantic Dynamics in French (1414–1630)
Politesse, civilité, galanterie, courtoisie et honnêteté : analyse des dynamiques lexicales et sémantiques en français (1414-1630)
Résumé
This article analyzes the semantic evolution of key terms in the French vocabulary of civility between the 15th and early 17th centuries, based on a corpus of 31 texts (3.2M words) including prescriptive works, moral philosophy, and narratives. Through frequency analysis and collocational patterns, it examines four central lexemes: politesse, courtoisie, honnêteté, galanterie and civilité. The study identifies significant semantic shifts occurring between 1530 and 1560. The analysis demonstrates how this lexical transformation reflected broader sociocultural changes in French elite society. Keywords: French Renaissance, court culture, civility, politeness, courtesy