The Courtiers: Who they were, What they did, and How they did it.
(These are notes for a class given as part of the Virtural RUM of the Midrealm. The class is available at the RUM YouTube channel)
According to Wikipedia: A courtier is a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life was often completely mixed together. 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.
Among the most important of the continuities with the Classical period was the concept of the Great Chain of Being. Its major premise was that every existing thing in the universe had its "place" in a divinely planned hierarchical order, which was pictured as a chain vertically extended. ("Hierarchical" refers to an order based on a series of higher and lower, strictly ranked gradations.) (Borrowed from "The Renaissance" at CUNY: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/ren.html)
The courtiers attempted to move themselves up “The Great Chain of Being” by attaching themselves to someone above them. Thus ennobling themselves in the process.
I will break them down into 5 main types, although many courtiers may fit more than one of these:
1) Lesser Nobles
2) Attendants, such as ladies in waiting, or gentlemen of honor. Most of these will be from noble families. Some of these would receive a stipend; some would live in the Nobles residence.
3) Officials, clerks, and secretaries; these are the people who earned their living working at the court or for those who attended the court.
4) Artists. These people would include jewelers, tailors, poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, etc.
5) Guests of the noble would also be included as courtiers. Due to the time required for travel it was not unusual for guests to stay a month or more. These courtiers not only provided services for the noble but also provide companionship.
What the Courters Received:
1) Access to the Noble
2) Prestige
3) Authority
4) Advancement in Society
5) Compensation (this could be in the form or a stipend, gifts, or room and board).
Several people wrote books on how to be a good courtier. These quickly became instructional material for young nobles and for those wishing to enter court life. In my opinion there are 3 main works on what a courtier should know and how they should behave.
1) The Book of the Courtier, by Baldassare Castiglione (1528). Castiglione’s book is a discussion between several Courtiers of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino about what makes a good courtier. It became the authority on how to become a renaissance gentleman. Castiglione thought the courtier must be well rounded with a good education, well versed in war and use of arms, as well as able to dance, sing, and play an instrument. In the English translation of the book they produce a list of the 95 qualities of the perfect courtier. One of the things that differs Castiglione’s courtier from other such works is that he felt the courtier had an obligation to give good advice to his noble including letting him know if he is doing an ignoble act in order to save the noble from themselves. An online copy of Sir Thomas Hoby’s translation (1561) can be found herehttp://www.luminarium.org/renascence-editions/courtier/courtier.html.
The final end of a Courtier, where to al his good condicions and honest qualities tende, is to beecome an Instructer and Teacher of his Prince or Lorde, inclininge him to vertuous practises: and to be francke and free with him, after he is once in favour in matters touching his honour and estimation, alwayes putting him in minde to folow vertue and to flee vice, opening unto him the commodities of the one and inconveniences of the other: and to shut his eares against flatterers, whiche are the first beeginninge of self leekinge and all ignorance. (Fron Hoby’s A BREEF REHERSALL OF THE CHIEFE CONDITIONS AND QUALITIES IN A COURTIER)
2) The Prince, By Niccolo Machiavelli published in 1532. Machiavelli is accredited by some to be the founder of modern political science. His work focuses more on the behavior of the prince or noble than the courtiers who serve him. He seems to imply that these methods would work for the courtier as well as for the noble. Machiavelli has a succeed at any cost mentality, and states several times in his work that the prince must be ruthless if he is to succeed and that sometimes it is necessary to be brutal in order to maintain order. An online copy of The Prince can be found herehttp://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1232/pg1232.txt.
“it
is much safer to be feared than loved because ...love is preserved by
the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken
at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a
dread of punishment which never fails.”
― Niccolò
Machiavelli, The
Prince
“How
we live is so different from how we ought to live that he who studies
what ought to be done rather than what is done will learn the way to
his downfall rather than to his preservation.”
― Niccolò
Machiavelli, The
Prince
3) The Book of the Treasure of the City of Ladies, or the Book of Three Virtues, by Christine de Pizan published in 1405. This work is much earlier than the other two. Pizan’s work focuses on the women of courtly life in France, from the Princess all the way down to the peasant. Most of her book will talk of the women of the upper nobility, and this portion of the book agrees very much with Castiglione’s version of the female courtier. However when Pizan begins to discuss the Country Baronesses and those nobles living on estates she then gives her women the same qualities and duties as the men. Pizan points out that while her husband is away in service to the King, the Baroness must be able to defend her lands and people, dispense justice and see to the day to day affairs of her lands. There is a French version of the book on line athttp://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26608/pg26608.txt. I have not been able to find an English version of the book on line. There is a paperback version from Penguin Classics available though Amazon.
“The
man or the woman in whom resides greater virtue is the higher;
neither the loftiness nor the lowliness of a person lies in the body
according to the sex, but in the perfection of conduct and
virtues.”
― Christine
de Pizan, The
Book of the City of Ladies
“If
it were customary to send little girls to school and teach them the
same subjects as are taught to boys, they would learn just as fully
and would understand the subtleties of all arts and
sciences.”
― Christine
de Pizan, The
Book of the City of Ladies
Historical Resources on Courtiers:
1) Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans. There is an online version athttp://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/674/pg674.txt.
2) The Heptameron Margaret, Queen of Navarre. There is an online version athttp://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/28858/pg28858.txt.
3) The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio. There is an online version athttp://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/23700/pg23700.txt.
4) The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini. There is an online version athttp://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4028/pg4028.txt.
This class is still a work in progress. If you have any sources, suggestions or questions please feel free to contact me at mandritta@yahoo.com. You can also visit my webpage atwww.mandritta.com.
Maitre Philippe de Lyon
A BREEF REHERSALL OF
THE CHIEFE CONDITIONS AND QUALITIES
IN A COURTIER
TO be well borne and of a good stocke.
To be of a meane stature, rather with the least then to high, and well made to his proportion.
To be portly and amiable in countenance unto whoso beehouldeth him.
Not to be womanish in his sayinges or doinges.
Not to praise himself unshamefully and out of reason.
Not to crake and boast of his actes and good qualities.
To shon Affectation or curiosity above al thing in al things.
To do his feates with a slight, as though they were rather naturally in him, then learned with studye: and use a Reckelesness to cover art, without minding greatly what he hath in hand, to a mans seeminge.
Not to carie about tales and triflinge newis.
Not to be overseene in speaking wordes otherwhile that may offende where he ment it not.
Not to be stubborne, wilful nor full of contention: nor to contrary and overthwart men after a spiteful sort.
Not to be a babbler, brauler, or chatter, nor lavish of his tunge.
Not to be given to vanitie and lightnesse, not to have a fantasticall head.
No lyer.
No fonde flatterer.
To be well spoken and faire languaged.
To be wise and well seene in discourses upon states.
To have a judgement to frame himself to the maners of the Countrey where ever he commeth.
To be able to alleage good, and probable reasons upon everie matter.
To be seen in tunges, and specially in Italian, French, and Spanish.
To direct all thinges to a goode ende.
To procure where ever he goeth that men may first conceive a good opinion of him before he commeth there.
To felowship him self for the most part with men of the best sort and of most estimation, and with his equalles, so he be also beloved of his inferiours.
To play for his pastime at Dice and Cardes, not wholye for monies sake, nor fume and chafe in his losse.
To be meanly seene in the play at Chestes, and not overcounninge.
To be pleasantlie disposed in commune matters and in good companie.
To speake and write the language that is most in use emonge the commune people, without inventing new woordes, inckhorn tearmes or straunge phrases, and such as be growen out of use by long time.
To be handesome and clenly in his apparaile.
To make his garmentes after the facion of the most, and those to be black, or of some darkish and sad colour, not garish.
To gete him an especiall and hartye friend to companye withall.
Not to be ill tunged, especiallie against his betters.
Not to use any fonde saucinesse or presumption.
To be no envious or malitious person.
To be an honest, a faire condicioned man, and of an upright conscience.
To have the vertues of the minde, as justice, manlinesse, wisdome, temperance, staidenesse, noble courage, sober-moode, etc.
To be more then indifferentlye well seene in learninge, in the Latin and Greeke tunges.
Not to be rash, nor perswade hymselfe to knowe the thing that he knoweth not.
To confesse his ignorance, whan he seeth time and place therto, in suche qualities as he knoweth him selfe to have no maner skill in.
To be brought to show his feates and qualities at the desire and request of others, and not rashlye presse to it of himself.
To speake alwaies of matters likely, least he be counted a lyer in reporting of wonders and straunge miracles.
To have the feate of drawing and peincting.
To daunce well without over nimble footinges or to busie trickes.
To singe well upon the booke.
To play upon the Lute, and singe to it with the ditty.
To play upon the Vyole, and all other instrumentes with freates.
To delite and refresh the hearers mindes in being pleasant, feat conceited, and a meerie talker, applyed to time and place.
Not to use sluttish and Ruffianlike pranckes with anye man.
Not to beecome a jester of scoffer to put anye man out of countenance.
To consider whom he doth taunt and where: for he ought not to mocke poore seelie soules, nor men of authoritie, nor commune ribaldes and persons given to mischeef, which deserve punishment.
To be skilfull in all kynd of marciall feates both on horsbacke and a foote, and well practised in them: whiche is his cheef profession, though his understandinge be the lesse in all other thinges.
To play well at fense upon all kinde of weapons.
To be nimble and quicke at the play at tenise.
To hunt and hauke.
To ride and manege wel his horse.
To be a good horsman for every saddle.
Sildome in open syght of the people but privilye with himselfe alone, or emonge hys friendes and familiers.
To swimme well.
To leape wel.
To renn well.
To vaute well.
To wrastle well.
To cast the stone well.
To cast the barr well.
To renn well at tilt, and at ring.
To tourney.
These thinges in open syght to delyte the commune people withall.
To fight at Barriers.
To kepe a passage or streict.
To play at Jogo di Canne.
To renn at Bull.
To fling a Speare or Dart.
Not to renn, wrastle, leape, nor cast the stone or barr with men of the Countrey, except he be sure to gete the victorie.
To sett out himself in feates of chivalrie in open showes well provided of horse and harness, well trapped, and armed, so that he may showe himselfe nymeble on horsbacke.
Never to be of the last that appeere in the listes at justes, or in any open showes.
To have in triumphes comelie armour, bases, scarfes, trappinges, liveries, and such other thinges of sightlie and meerie coulours, and rich to beehoulde, wyth wittie poesies and pleasant divises, to allure unto him chefflie the eyes of the people.
To disguise himself in maskerie eyther on horsbacke or a foote, and to take the shape upon hym that shall be contrarie to the feate that he mindeth to worke.
To undertake his bould feates and couragious enterprises in warr, out of companye and in the sight of the most noble personages in the campe, and (if it be possible) beefore his Princis eyes.
Not to hasarde himself in forraginge and spoiling or in enterprises of great daunger and small estimation, though he be sure to gaine by it.
Not to waite upon or serve a wycked and naughtye person.
Not to seeke to come up by any naughtie or subtill practise.
Not to commit any mischevous or wicked fact at the wil and commaundesment of his Lord or Prince.
Not to folowe his own fansie, or alter the expresse wordes in any point of his commission from hys Prince or Lorde, onlesse he be assured that the profit will be more, in case it have good successe, then the damage, if it succeade yll.
To use evermore toward his Prince or L. the respect that beecommeth the servaunt toward his maister.
To endevour himself to love, please and obey his Prince in honestye.
Not to covett to presse into the Chambre or other secrete part where his Prince is withdrawen at any time.
Never to be sad, melancho[l]ie or solemn beefore hys Prince.
Sildome or never to sue to hys Lorde for anye thing for himself.
His suite to be honest and reasonable whan he suyth for others.
To reason of pleasaunt and meerie matters whan he is withdrawen with him into private and secrete places alwayes doinge him to understande the truth without dissimulation or flatterie.
Not to love promotions so, that a man shoulde thinke he coulde not live without them, nor unshamefastlye to begg any office.
Not to presse to his Prince where ever he be, to hould him with a vaine tale, that others should thinke him in favor with him.
To consyder well what it is that he doeth or speaketh, where in presence of whom, what time, why, his age, his profession, the ende, and the meanes.
The final end of a Courtier, where to al his good condicions and honest qualities tende, is to beecome an Instructer and Teacher of his Prince or Lorde, inclininge him to vertuous practises: and to be francke and free with him, after he is once in favour in matters touching his honour and estimation, alwayes putting him in minde to folow vertue and to flee vice, opening unto him the commodities of the one and inconveniences of the other: and to shut his eares against flatterers, whiche are the first beeginninge of self leekinge and all ignorance.
His conversation with women to be alwayes gentle, sober, meeke, lowlie, modest, serviceable, comelie, merie, not bitinge or sclaundering with jestes, nippes, frumpes, or railinges, the honesty of any.
His love towarde women, not to be sensuall or fleshlie, but honest and godly, and more ruled with reason, then appetyte: and to love better the beawtye of the minde, then of the bodie.
Not to withdrawe his maistresse good will from his felowlover with revilinge or railinge at him, but with vertuous deedes, and honest condicions, and with deserving more then he, at her handes for honest affections sake.
From http://www.luminarium.org/renascence-editions/courtier/courtier.html#brief
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