Les Méthodes au XVIIe siècle

Seventeenth-century “Méthodes”, which aimed to present the French lan­guage, are more than simply grammars; they contain treatises on poetry, etymology, and rhetoric, and they even offer advice about social behavior. In the period 1656–1662, the Cartesian-Gallicanism of Port-Royal faced serious conflicts. “Les mé­thodes”, besides instructing students, were able to transform their pedagogical program into an ideological weapon. Such was the case for Irson’s “Méthode”, which aimed to offer the public both “les principes” and “la pureté” of the French language.

• Affiliations: 1: Laboratoire d’Histoire des théories linguistiques, CNRS; 2: Université Paris-Diderot