Alongside the standardization of the French language, the 17th century in France experienced a cultivation of non-verbal communication practices which can be explored on the grounds of a wide-ranging corpus. The author describes and compares codified manners and simulation methods as well as detection methods of emotional body movements. Along with relevant pieces of the French literary canon, such as "La Princesse de Cleves" by Madame de Lafayette and the "Britannicus" by Jean Racine, portrait collections, memoirs as well as medical-philosophical treatises and art theory lectures form the textual basis for this study.