Semantic and Connotations of the Word “Surplus” in French and Provencal Literature of the 12th Century

Abstract

The article examines the semantic transformations of the Old French word surplus in French and Provencal literature of the 12th century. In the dictionaries of Godefroy and Tobler-Lommatzsch, surplus is defined as “the rest,” “what is left,” “(all) the rest.” It is in this sense that the word appears in historiography, and then in courtly literature. However, when analysing the novels of Chrétien de Troyes and lais of Marie de France, a semantic shift is revealed: in some fragments, the word surplus becomes an erotic euphemism, denoting “the highest favour of a lady.” There is reason to believe that the origins of this euphemistic meaning go back to the lyrics of the troubadours, in which the words plus and sobreplus were used to denote the highest erotic pleasure. In lai of Nightingale, Marie de France places in a similar context not surplus, but plus. Thus, it can be assumed that the poetess was the first to discover the euphemism among the troubadours, and Chrétien used it under the influence of lais. In the prologue to the lais, written after all twelve texts, Marie de France gives the word surplus a new meaning. It turns into a metaphor of cognition and interpretation, introducing new, additional meanings in the ancient text.