Old-French Titles of Respect in Direct Address offers a clear look at how honorifics shaped medieval speech.
This scholarly guide analyzes how terms like dame and vassal were used to address or flatter people across centuries in Old French.
Readers will see how titles carried authority, signaled status, and could shift in meaning over time. The book traces when certain forms reserved for nobility became general, colorless terms used by many social groups, and how authors used direct address to reveal social dynamics.
- How a single word can reflect power, hierarchy, and social flattery.
- Patterns of usage across chapters and periods within Old French texts.
- Examples from a wide range of medieval works illustrating shift in meaning.
- Methodology for studying titles that clarifies linguistic and social context.
Ideal for readers of historical linguistics, medieval literature, and social history, this edition provides a precise, well-supported view of long-standing speech patterns.