Courtier

Courtier

A courtier (play /ˈkɔːrtiə/; French: [kuʁtje]) is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage.[1] Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together. A female courtier was called a courtesan, although today this name has come to include sexual connotation.

Contents

Description

Monarchs very often expected the more important nobles to spend much of the year in attendance on them at court. Courtiers were not all noble, as they included clergy, soldiers, clerks, secretaries, and agents and middlemen of all sorts with regular business at court. Promotion to important positions could be very rapid at court, and for the ambitious there was no better place to be. As social divisions became more rigid, a divide, barely present in Antiquity or the Middle Ages, opened between menial servants and other classes at court, although Alexandre Bontemps, the head valet de chambre of Louis XIV was a late example of a "menial" who managed to establish his family in the nobility. The key commodities for a courtier were access and information, and a large court operated at many levels - many successful careers at court involved no direct contact with the monarch himself.

The largest and most famous European court was that of the Palace of Versailles at its peak, although the Forbidden City of Beijing was even larger and more isolated from national life. Very similar features marked the courts of all very large monarchies, whether in Delhi, Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Ancient Rome, Byzantium, or the Caliphs of Baghdad or Cairo. However the European nobility generally had independent power and was less controlled by the monarch until roughly the 18th century, which gave European court life a more complex flavour.

In literature

In modern literature, courtiers are often depicted as insincere, skilled at flattery and intrigue, ambitious and lacking regard for the national interest. More positive representations of the stereotype might include the role played by the court in the development of politeness and the arts.[citation needed]

In modern English, the term is often used metaphorically for contemporary political favourites or hangers-on.

Examples of famous courtiers in fiction

Examples of famous British and French courtiers

See also

References

  1. ^ Courtier

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • courtier — courtier, ière [ kurtje, jɛr ] n. • 1538; corretier 1241; de l a. fr. corre « courir » 1 ♦ Dr. comm. Personne dont la profession est de servir d intermédiaire entre deux parties contractantes dans des transactions commerciales, financières (⇒… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • courtier — COURTIER. s. m. Entremetteur. Qui s entremet des ventes et achats de certaines marchandises, principalement de vin ou de chevaux, ou de faire prêter de l argent sur la place. Maître Courtier. Courtier juré. Courtier de change. Courtier de vin.… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • courtier — Courtier, voyez Courretier. Un courtier et faiseur de messages, qui va et vient à la poste, et volonté d autruy, Emissarius. Un courtier de quelque chose que ce soit, qui moyenne et va et vient de l une partie à l autre pour faire quelque marché …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • Courtier — Court ier (k[=o]rt y[ e]r), n. [From {Court}.] 1. One who is in attendance at the court of a prince; one who has an appointment at court. [1913 Webster] You know I am no courtier, nor versed in state affairs. Bacon. [1913 Webster] This courtier… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Courtier — Porté notamment dans la Meuse et la Seine et Marne, c est souvent un toponyme, avec le sens de terrain clos, jardin potager. Autre possibilité, le mot courtier est attesté au Moyen Âge avec le sens de juge . Enfin, il n est pas interdit de penser …   Noms de famille

  • Courtier — (fr., spr. Kurtich), Makler, Sensal …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Courtier — (franz., spr. kurtjē), Makler oder Unterhändler (s. Courtage) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • courtier — early 13c., from Anglo Fr. *corteour, from O.Fr. cortoiier to be at court, live at court (see COURT (Cf. court)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • courtier — is pronounced with initial kort …   Modern English usage

  • courtier — ► NOUN ▪ a sovereign s companion or adviser …   English terms dictionary

  • courtier — [kôrt′ē ər, kôrt′yər] n. [ME curteour < OFr cortoier, to frequent the court < court, cort,COURT] 1. an attendant at a royal court 2. a person who uses flattery to get something or to win favor …   English World dictionary

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