A courtier is someone who attends upon, and thus receives a privileged position from, a powerful person, usually a head of state. In the United States, the term has taken on negative connotations as a synonym for favorite or hanger-on.

It is usually also used in an historical context, especially to describe the attendants of a luxurious autocrat such as Louis XIV of France. This context is used by many to make the word quaintly old-fashioned and irrelevant in contemporary circumstances, although the placemen and rewarded campaign-donors in the American political system are contemporary examples of de facto courtiers.

Examples of famous courtiers

• Anne Boleyn
• The princesse de Lamballe
• The Duc de Luynes
• The marquis de Cinq-Mars

See also

• The Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione

Occupations