A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly , wealthy, or upper-class clientele. In European feudal society , 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. Prior to the Renaissance, courtesans served to convey information to visiting dignitaries, when servants could not be trusted. In Renaissance Europe, courtiers played an extremely important role in upper-class society.
As it was customary during this time for royal couples to lead separate lives—commonly marrying simply to preserve bloodlines and to secure political alliances—men and women would often seek gratification and companionship from people living at court.
In fact, the verb 'to court' originally meant "to be or reside at court", and later came to mean "to behave as a courtier" and then ' courtship ', or "to pay amorous attention to somebody". In Renaissance usage, the Italian word cortigiana , feminine of cortigiano "courtier" , came to refer to a person who attends the court, and then to a well-educated and independent woman, eventually a trained artist or artisan of dance and singing, especially one associated with wealthy, powerful, or upper-class society who was given luxuries and status in exchange for entertainment and companionship.
A male figure comparable to the courtesan was the Italian cicisbeo , the French chevalier servant , the Spanish cortejo or estrecho. The courtesans of East Asia, particularly those of the Japanese empire , held a different social role than that of their European counterparts. Examples of Japanese courtesans included the oiran class, who were more focused on the aspect of entertainment than European courtesans. Courtesans or dancers of ancient India known as ganikas were the center of city life.
According to historian Sanjay K. Gautam, the courtesan in India was "a symbol of both sexual-erotic and aesthetic pleasure". One type of courtesan was known in Italy as the cortigiana onesta , or the honest courtesan, who was cast as an intellectual. Another was the cortigiana di lume , a lower class of courtesan. The former was the sort most often romanticized and treated more-or-less equal to women of the nobility.
