Coach Sankhavaram ®The term “homme de lettres” evolved over time.
In prerevolutionary France, hommes de lettres were independent intellectuals who avoided integration into the state or society, maintaining disdain for social norms.
1/2
During the 17th and 18th centuries, they were part of the Republic of Letters, a network of literary and intellectual exchange often centered around salons.
By the late 19th century, the term broadened to include those writing intellectually about literature, such as essayists and critics, and was eventually replaced by “intellectual” in the 20th century.
2/2