Courtesans
Magdalena Lucia
Ramberti
I. What is a
Courtesan?
Courtesans
were not looked at as women nor were they as valued as men, instead
they found
themselves
in a grouping of their own. Within the male dominated society of 16th
century Venice
courtesans
were able to move outside the confines of the believed place reserved
for women. “The
use
of the term cortigiana (courtesan) confirms the recognition of a new
category of public women.
Strictly
speaking, of course, it simply means court lady- the female
counterpart of cortigiano or
courtier.”
(Brown, 2004)
Courtesans,
came into being because of many social, political and religious
influences. Italy proved to be the perfect breeding ground for their
creation. The separate governing bodies, the lack of an overall
monarch and the melting pot of cultures caused by trade opened the
doors for this new class of women. Venice, being my main focus of
study, had all of these factors and more. The dowry wars had grown to
such an extreme that the price to be married became outrageous and
out of reach for many middle and lower middle class women. Without
marriage, income was limited, status difficult to come by and some
women learned to use their minds and bodies for financial gain.
Yes, this sounds
exactly like prostitution “the
act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money.”
(Prostitution, 2012) Yet it was more then just sex, while it might be
a tool in their toolbox it wasn't always a part of a working
relationship. Courtesans offered social and intellectual refinement
in return for patronage, very much in the same manner as the
geisha before World War II in Japan. The
courtesan
fulfilled societies need for a refined yet sexualized version of the
noblewoman. Like her male counterpart the courtier, a courtesan had
to be educated in playing music, singing, writing poetry, all the
courtly graces, dancing, chess playing, current events, the classics
and witty banter. This education and the fact she was also paid for
these skills separate her from the lower classes of prostitutes. From
the lowest class, the meretrice, picture a streetwalker type, to the
cortigiana di lume (courtesan of the lamp) who worked in inn houses
and brothels. Both solely dependent on selling sexual favors for
their income. The cortigiana onesta (honest courtesan or honored
courtesan) sold her intellectual and literary skills thus earned her
income “honestly”. Cortigiana onesta never really dismiss the
sexual aspects of their profession but it is far from the focus of
it.
In same vein they
were not classified as noblewomen, it was rare for a noblewoman to be
educated beyond the basics. Rosenthal (1992) says of noblewomen,
“Their education consisted of elementary reading and writing in the
vernacular, rudimentary arithmetic, and also handiwork, such as
embroidery and weaving.” For noblewomen it was also believed that
“Woman’s voice lead to sexual temptation; eloquence in a woman
lead to promiscuity.” (Masson, 1975) This belief most likely had
ties to the first temptation of Adam in Eden, thus creating a society
that felt the need to protect it's noblewomen from further education
and sheltering them from perceived threats of corruption from
outsiders. Libraries were closed to women as a whole but courtesans
were seen as intellects and were granted access. Courtesans were able
to afford many luxuries and dressed accordingly.
Identifying a
Courtesan.
Imagine
you are a male tourist in 16th century Venice; you have traveled here
for business or a
pilgrimage,
and you have high hopes of seeing one of the honest courtesans Venice
is so well known
for.
As you walk the canals you come upon a woman; she is lavishly dressed
, obviously a woman of
money.
Since courtesans dressed in a similar manner to a noblewoman, how
would you know if this
woman
was a courtesan or the doge's wife? The difference between the
noblewoman and courtesan
of
the 16th century were not often easy to spot with the eyes. Unless
the courtesan was openly
advertising
her presence, which could be very dangerous as they were often a
target of violence,
she
would often dress like a noblewoman. This caused many issues, making
a senator in 1564 state:
“The
prostitutes in this city of ours have so excessively increased in
number, and having cast aside all modesty and shame, they publicly
frequent the streets, churches, and other places, adorned and
dressed so handsomely that often our noblewomen and our citizens are
dressed in much the same way, so that not only foreigners but local
people as well are unable to tell the good from the bad, thus
setting a bad and most pernicious example for those who cross their
paths and see them, in view of the many advantages enjoyed by such
persons of a low and abject standing.” (Barzaghi, 1980)
This
lead to the passing of sumptuary laws which were difficult to enforce
and easily side stepped by bribery or paying a fine on the off chance
they were caught. These laws tried to prevent prostitutes and
courtesans alike from wearing silk, gold, silver, pearls, jewels-
real or fake, and earrings. Sometimes the laws were written in such a
way that they only referred to prostitutes giving courtesans a
loophole as their profession was considered much more dignified. When
the laws restricting what a could wear failed there was an “attempt
to have courtesans identify themselves by require the wearing of a
yellow veil.”(Robin, Lawson & Levin, 2007) Again this was
easily side stepped by paying a fine.
So
how would a courtesan advertise themselves? Often it came down to
subtle signals and word of mouth. While it would be logical to think
they would wear taller chopines, have longer trains or more lavish
dress, this was not always reliable as Noblewomen tried to draw the
eye in the same manner. The only sign I can trace is a move I have
coined as the “courtesan peak”. Women when outdoors often wore
veils that covered their faces, thus giving them protection not only
from the sun but also gave them anonymity thus protecting them from
them tempting influences. Yet we see time and time again drawings
showing some women lifting and peaking out from under their veils.
How provocative this might have been for a gentleman on the street, a
touch forbidden, all the while revealing herself to be a courtesan in
a subtle manner.
The drawbacks
While
it may seem that courtesans led a charmed life, it was not without
it's drawbacks. Courtesans like the male counterpart the courtier
sought political and social advancement within the feudal system
during the renaissance, thus facing them off to battle for the
attentions of the same patrons. This made courtesans a target to
their male counterpart, who wrote nasty satire about courtesans,
endangering their reputations and thus their livelihoods.
Violence
against courtesans could come in many forms, a jealous lover, a
refused man, those who believed she was immoral and need to be
punished just to name a few. One of the most shocking and distasteful
violent acts dolled out upon a courtesan would be a tentuno
(thirty-one) a gang rape that would then have the details of the
attack spread around the court. Besides the physical nature of the
attack, it also served to humiliate and increase the chance to
contract a venereal disease
The
noblewoman had no power over her own social advancement, whereas the
courtesan had more freedom. Before a noblewoman married, her life and
money were governed by her father or
brothers.
Once married, all her property transferred to her husband. “From
about 1100, the position
of
property-holding males was enhanced further. Inheritance was confined
to the male, or agnate line- with depressing consequences for women.”
(Jones & Rosenthal, 1998) During the renaissance, a person was
born and died in the same social class, there was very little
movement nor was such movement expected. Courtesans were able to
rise from the lower middle classes up into the aristocracy. The
Courtesan made enough money to advance her class status and because
she was outside of the bonds of
marriage
she could manage her own money. In response sumptuary laws were
passed in attempts
to
recreate the social boundaries. Such laws were easily overcome as
they were often not enforced.
In
order to move into such circles an up and comer needed to be able to
participate in social
networking.
The women of respectful families found themselves shut away from the
world around
them.
Women found themselves to be “assigned to subordinate positions in
the household and the
church,
they were barred from significant participation in public life.”
(Jones & Rosenthal, 1998) If you look at the design of homes in
Venice you will discover often they contained amazing gardens that
could only be entered by going through the house. This way the women
and daughters of noble families could enjoy the outdoors without
exposing them to the corrupting forces of the outside world.
Courtesans,
on the other hand, depended on social networking. One of their key
roles was to set up social exchanges for their clients to not only
advance the clients standings but also themselves.
Courtesans
were able to exert a significant amount of control over their own
person. “Women possessed virtually no political power of their
own, owing to an
oligarchy
dominated by men, and the laws passed by men reveal not only a class
bias but a special
arrogance
towards women” (Rosenthal, 1992). Whereas a woman had no control
over whom they would marry, courtesans could
pick and choose their clientele. If a courtesan wished she could use
the wealth she had amassed
and had control over to choose her own husband. If marriage was not
something she
wished
to invest her time into she could invest her own money and live quite
happily on her own
wealth.
As a true mistress of her own house a courtesan made all the
decisions of her own home
and
she was subject to no man's whim unless that of her own choosing.
While
the noblewoman did lead the rich life of the upper crust, it is the
ability to be so educated and
being
able to move within the class structure which makes the courtesan a
fascinating
subject.
There is much a modern woman can learn from the women of the past.
Whereas the
noblewoman
was the glue that held her household together; the courtesan was
truly the first
feminist
voice in a male dominated society. New documents are being found
every day and as
scholars
and translators decipher these documents our knowledge of these
enigmatic women can
only
grow.
References
Brown,
P.F. (2004). Private Lives in Renaissance Venice. New Haven:Yale
University Press
Barzaghi,
A.(1980) Donne o courtigiane?. Verona: Bertani
de
Heere, L. (Artist). (1584). Théâtre de tous les peuples nations et
de la terre et avec leurs ornemens diverse habits: Venetian
courtesan. [Drawing]. Retrieved from
http://lib.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/000/794/288/BHSL-HS-2466_2009_0001_AC.pdf
Jones,
A.R. & Rosenthal, M.F. (1998). Veronica Franco: Poems and
Selected Letters. Chicago: The University of Chicago.
Masson,
G. (1975). Courtesans of the Italian Renaissance. London: Martin
Secker & Warburg Limited
Robin,
D.M., Larsen, A., & Levin, C.(2007). Encyclopedia of Women in
the Renaissance: Italy, and England. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Rosenthal,
M.(1992). The Honest Courtesan: Veronica Franco, Citizen and Writer
in Sixteenth Century Venice. Chicago: The University of Chicago.
Rosenthal,
M, & Jones, A.R. (2008). The Clothing of the Renaissance World:
Europe,
Asia,
Africa, The Americas; Cesare Vecellio's Habiti Antichi et Moderni.
London: Thames & Hudson.
unknown.
(Artist). (1595). Album amicorum of a german soldier: Venetian
courtesan. [Drawing]. Retrieved from
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/wardrobe/ManuVen5.JPG
Vecellio,
C. (Artist). (1585). De gli habiti antichi et moderni di diverse
parti del mondo: Venetian courtesan outdoors. [Drawing]. Retrieved
from
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/wardrobe/Vecellio15.jpg
