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Courtesans
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oiran
is a collective term for the highest-ranking courtesans in Japanese history, who were considered to be above common prostitution, prostitutes (known as ) for their more refined entertainment skills and training in the traditional arts. Divided into a number of ranks within this category, the highest rank of were the , who were considered to be set apart from other due to their intensive training in the traditional arts. Though by definition also engaged in prostitution, higher-ranking had a degree of choice in which customers they took; , in contrast, did not engage in sex work at all. The term originated in Yoshiwara, the Yūkaku, red light district of Edo in the 1750s, and is applied to all ranks of high level courtesans in historical Japan. The services of were well known for being exclusive and expensive, with typically only entertaining the upper classes of society, gaining the nickname for their perceived ability to steal the hearts and match the wits of upper-cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cora Pearl
Cora Pearl (born Eliza Emma Crouch; December 1836 – 8 July 1886) was an English courtesan or cocotte of the French demimonde who became most well known during the period of the Second French Empire. Early life Eliza Emma Crouch was born in Plymouth in December 1836, just a few months before the introduction of civil registration in England and Wales. She was baptised at St Andrew's Church, Plymouth together with her younger sister Hannah Lydia (born 30 November 1837) on 27 December 1837. Her subsequent use of her sister Louisa's birth certificate in her 1886 ''Mémoires'', amended to appear as if it were her own, led to over a century of confusion over her date of birth. The exact date of her birth in December is still unknown. Her father was the cellist and composer Frederick Nicholls Crouch, who married her mother, the contralto Lydia (née Pearson), at St Paul's Church, Covent Garden in 1832. By April 1841, Crouch had returned to London, leaving his wife and daughters in Pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catherine Walters
Catherine Walters (13 June 1839 – 5 August 1920), also known as "Skittles", was a fashion trendsetter and one of the last of the great courtesans of Victorian London. Walters' benefactors are rumoured to have included intellectuals, leaders of political parties, aristocrats and a member of the British Royal Family. Life Catherine Walters was born on 13 June 1839, the third of five children at 1 Henderson Street, Toxteth, Liverpool, grew up in the Liverpool area and moved to London before her twentieth birthday. Her father was Edward Walters, a customs official, who died in 1864. Her mother was Mary Ann Fowler. Her nickname is thought to have originated from her working at a bowling alley in Chesterfield Street near Park Lane. (Skittles is the game which evolved into bowling.) At other times, she was known as "Mrs Behrens" and "Mrs Baillie", even though she is not thought to have married. While not a classical beauty, she was generally considered pretty in her youth, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Splendeurs Et Misères Des Courtisanes
''Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes'', translated variously as ''The Splendors and Miseries of Courtesans'', ''A Harlot High and Low'', or as ''Lost Souls'', is an 1838-1847 novel by French novelist Honoré de Balzac, published in four initially separate parts: * ''Esther Happy'' (''Esther heureuse'', 1838) * ''What Love Costs an Old Man'' (''À combien l’amour revient aux vieillards'', 1843) * ''The End of Evil Ways'' (''Où mènent les mauvais chemins'', 1846) * ''The Last Incarnation of Vautrin'' (''La Dernière incarnation de Vautrin'', 1847) It continues the story of Lucien de Rubempré, who was a main character in ''Illusions perdues'', a preceding Balzac novel. ''Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes'' forms part of Balzac's ''La Comédie humaine''. Plot summary Lucien de Rubempré and the self-proclaimed abbey Carlos Herrera (Vautrin) have made a pact, in which Lucien will arrive at success in Paris if he agrees to follow Vautrin's instructions blindly. Esther v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphemism
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes to downplay. Euphemisms may be used to mask profanity or refer to topics some consider taboo such as disability, sex, excretion, or death in a polite way. Etymology ''Euphemism'' comes from the Greek word () which refers to the use of 'words of good omen'; it is a compound of (), meaning 'good, well', and (), meaning 'prophetic speech; rumour, talk'. '' Eupheme'' is a reference to the female Greek spirit of words of praise and positivity, etc. The term ''euphemism'' itself was used as a euphemism by the ancient Greeks; with the meaning "to keep a holy silence" (speaking well by not speaking at all). Purpose Avoidance Reasons for using euphemisms vary by context and intent. Commonly, euphemisms are used to avoid directly addressing sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general, Belisarius, swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa. Subsequently, Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the empire after more than half a century of rule by the Ostrogoths. The praetorian prefect Liberius reclaimed the south of the Iberian peninsula, establishing the province of Spania. These campaigns re-established Roman control over the western Mediterranean, increasing the Empire's annual revenue by over a million ''solidi''. During his reign, Justinian also subdued the ''Tz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodora (6th Century)
Theodora (; Greek: Θεοδώρα; 50028 June 548), sometimes enumerated as Theodora I, was Byzantine empress by marriage to emperor Justinian. She became empress upon Justinian's accession in 527 and had commanding or considerable influence over him; she was his most trusted adviser in directing all things pertaining to the empire and the terms of appointing and dismissing anyone in the empire. As empress, she had deep influence on the religious values of the time and played a key role in reforming the treatment and status of women within the Byzantine Empire. Along with her spouse, Theodora is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and in the Oriental Orthodox Church, commemorated on 14 November and 28 June respectively. Certain researchers have opined that she was the most powerful and influential woman in Byzantine history. Historiography The main historical sources for her life are the works of her contemporary Procopius. Procopius was a member of the staff of Belisarius, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nana (book)
''Nana'' is a novel by the French naturalist author Émile Zola. Completed in 1880, ''Nana'' is the ninth installment in the 20-volume ''Les Rougon-Macquart'' series. Origins A year before he started to write ''Nana'', Zola knew nothing about the Théâtre des Variétés. Ludovic Halévy invited him to attend an operetta with him there on February 15, 1878, and took him backstage. Halévy told him innumerable stories about the amorous life of the star, Anna Judic, whose ménage à trois served as the model for the relationships of Rose Mignon, her husband, and Steiner in Zola's novel. Halévy also provided Zola with stories about famous prostitutes such as Blanche d'Antigny, Anna Deslions, Delphine de Lizy, and Hortense Schneider, upon which Zola drew in developing the character of his title character. Yet it was Valtesse de la Bigne, painted by both Manet and Henri Gervex, who most inspired him; it is she who is immortalised in his scandalous novel Nana. Plot summary ''Nana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Émile Zola
Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism. He was a major figure in the political liberalization of France and in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted army officer Alfred Dreyfus, which is encapsulated in his renowned newspaper opinion headlined ''J'Accuse…!'' Zola was nominated for the first and second Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901 and 1902. Early life Zola was born in Paris in 1840 to François Zola (originally Francesco Zolla) and Émilie Aubert. His father was an Italian engineer with some Greek ancestry, who was born in Venice in 1795, and engineered the Zola Dam in Aix-en-Provence; his mother was French. The family moved to Aix-en-Provence in the southeast when Émile was three years old. Four years later, in 1847, his father die ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. Proponents of a "long Renaissance" argue that it started around the year 1300 and lasted until about 1600. In some fields, a Proto-Renaissance, beginning around 1250, is typically accepted. The French word ''renaissance'' (corresponding to ''rinascimento'' in Italian) means 'rebirth', and defines the period as one of cultural revival and renewed interest in classical antiquity after the centuries during what Renaissance humanists labelled as the "Dark Ages". The Renaissance author Giorgio Vasari used the term ''rinascita'' 'rebirth' in his '' Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' in 1550, but the concept became widespread only in the 19th century, after the work of schola ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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