The study isolates three elements of (polite) direct discourse in the five Arthurian romances by Chretien de Troyes, Ille et Galeron and Eracle by Gautier d'Arras, L'Escoufle and Guillaume de Dole ou le roman de la rose by Jean Renart, as well as Guillaume d'Angleterre.
Chapter I is primarily a semantic survey of the three elements of polite language under scrutiny: vocatives (e.g., dame, biaus sire chiers, seneschals), allocutive pronouns (tu and vous), and relatively fixed formulas of politeness (e.g., Dex vous saut, la vostre merci). Customary literary usage of these three elements of polite language is retraced, and their sometimes unclear semantic values are elucidated.
The handling of the elements by the authors of the corpus is examined in some detail in Chapters II-IV. Chapter II is devoted to Chretien de Troyes, Chapter III to Gautier d'Arras, and Chapter IV to Jean Renart. One section of every chapter is devoted to each of the three elements of polite discourse. The ranges of vocatives and formulas of politeness, and the uses of tu as opposed to singular vous are focused upon. In the last major section of Chapters II-IV, sustained passages of direct discourse are analyzed from the standpoint of the protagonists' selection of vocatives, tu and singular vous, and formulas of politeness. In this manner, gradual changes as well as sudden shifts in the social and emotional relationships shared by various interlocutors can be seen. In Chapters III and IV, authorial differences emerge in the handling of forms of address.
Chapter V summarizes the findings of the preceding chapters and discusses in general fashion the interest of spoken passages in Old French rhymed narratives of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The usefulness of stylistic studies of this kind for establishing critical editions and author identification is emphasized. The attribution of Guillaume d'Angleterre is discussed in the light of the findings of the study; close parallels are perceived between the undisputed romances by Chretien de Troyes and Guillaume d'Angleterre.
Tables of vocatives and a catalogue of formulas of politeness are provided in appendices.