Abstract EN:

This thesis aims at defining the concept of ceremonial eloquence (eloquence d'apparat) on the basis of its manifestations in the academies, the judicial institutions, and the civic life in france at the end of the 17th century. The work accounts for the intuitive recognition of ceremonial similarities governing various oratorical practices. A physical setting richly decorated and specifically organized for an occasion,a selcect yet numerous public these are among the elements that re-inforce the work of rhetoric. Ceremonial discourse must adapt itself to the social context and must meet the aesthetic expectations of the public and the institution from which it springs. In ceremonial discourse, each institution finds the expression of its values and a self-satisfying image that permits it to proclaim its own grandeur. The man of letters, the parliamentarian and the municipal magistrate all seek to found their social privileges on the concept of professional merit. From the point of view of language and politics, paris and the provinces diverge, but they remain united in an ideology of expansionism of french culture.