 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Courtier" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Acourtier (/ˈkɔːrtiər/) is a person who attends theroyal court of amonarch or otherroyalty.[1] The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of theretinues of rulers. Historically, the court was the centre ofgovernment as well as theofficial residence of the monarch, and the social and political life were often completely mixed together.
Monarchs very often expected the more important nobles to spend much of the year in attendance on them at court. Not all courtiers werenoble, as they includedclergy,soldiers,clerks,secretaries, agents and middlemen with business at court. All those who held acourt appointment could be called courtiers but not all courtiers held positions at court. Those personal favourites without business around the monarch, sometimes called thecamarilla, were also considered courtiers. As social divisions became more rigid, a divide, barely present inAntiquity or theMiddle Ages, opened between menial servants and other classes at court, althoughAlexandre Bontemps, the headvalet de chambre ofLouis XIV, was a late example of a "menial" who managed to establish his family in the nobility.[2] 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.
The largest and most famous European court was that of thePalace of Versailles at its peak, although theForbidden City ofBeijing was even larger and more isolated from national life. Very similar features marked the courts of all very large monarchies, including inIndia,Topkapı Palace inIstanbul,Ancient Rome,Byzantium or theCaliphs ofBaghdad orCairo. Early medieval Europeancourts frequently travelled from place to place following the monarch as they travelled. This was particularly the case in the early French court. But, theEuropean nobility generally had independent power and was less controlled by the monarch until around the 18th century, which gave European court life greater complexity.
The earliest courtiers coincide with the development of definable courts beyond the rudimentary entourages orretinues of rulers. There were probably courtiers in the courts of theAkkadian Empire, where there is evidence of court appointments such as that ofcup-bearer, which was one of the earliest court appointments and remained a position at courts for thousands of years.[3] Two of the earliest titles referring to the general concept of a courtier were likely theša rēsi andmazzāz pāni of theNeo-Assyrian Empire.[4] InAncient Egypt a title has been found that translates tohigh steward or great overseer of the house.[5]
The courts influenced by the court of theNeo-Assyrian Empire, such as those of theMedian Empire and theAchaemenid Empire, had numerous courtiers.[6][7] After invading theAchaemenid Empire,Alexander the Great returned with the concept of the complex court featuring a variety of courtiers to theKingdom of Macedonia andHellenistic Greece.[8]
Theimperial court of theByzantine Empire atConstantinople would eventually contain at least a thousand courtiers.[9] The court's systems became prevalent in other courts such as those in theBalkan states, theOttoman Empire andRussia.[10]Byzantinism is a term that was coined for this spread of the Byzantine system in the 19th century.[11]
In modern English, the term is often used metaphorically for contemporary politicalfavourites or hangers-on.
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 include the role played by members of the court in the development of politeness and the arts.[citation needed]
Examples of courtiers in fiction:
