courtly manners
Aristocratic social graces
Courtly manners are the formal, elegant behaviors associated with royal courts—graceful speech, deference to rank, and refined social conduct.
The phrase suggests old-fashioned politeness, sometimes with a hint of artifice or excessive formality: He greeted her with courtly manners that seemed out of place at a backyard barbecue.
- politenessCourteous, respectful conduct
- chivalryKnightly code of honor
- etiquetteRules of polite conduct
- civilityFormal politeness in conduct
- good breedingCultivated social refinement
refinement · knighthood · comportment · heraldry · propriety · tact · decorum · gallantry · deference · respectfulness · fealty · formality · white gloves · drawing room · high society · courtly love · fair lady · serenade
- knight trainingjousting, swordsmanship, horsemanship, combat training, weapons training
- social customshandshake, greeting, politeness, etiquette, formal address
- Bourbon FranceVersailles, the Sun King, Louis XV, Colbert, Edict of Nantes
- medieval romancechivalric romance, courtly love, Arthurian legends, Arthurian legend, knightly quests
- modern nobility customsetiquette, titles, heraldry, peerage, knighthood
- Tudor EnglandElizabeth I, Henry VIII, Tudor dynasty, Shakespeare, Spenser
courtly mannersvulgarity
Offensive coarseness in manner
boorishness · crudeness · coarseness · roughness · crassness
courtly mannersrudeness
Disrespectful social behavior
discourtesy · impoliteness · incivility · disrespect · bad manners