Escorts’ great return
The
disappearance of escort profession and escort of girls lasted until the
renaissance and humanism. The age especially favoured the return of escorts, as
the spirit of the age – without the respect for the religion - began to explore
the pleasures of the material world.
The fine arts
and sciences once again become central and what is most important to us: prostitution
re-invigorated. While in the previous era (well before the 12th century)
prostitution had completely been on the periphery with escorts disappeared from
society, in Rome and Venice there were born world-famous brothels. The rise of
prostitution, along with escort girls, was largely helped by the Church's
tolerance, and that the morality that clutched society became completely
loosened. In addition, the Italian city states realized that by taxing
prostitution they could earn fabulous income. Another decisive reason why the escorts
industry could appear again in the streets is that the renaissance world view got
its ideology from the Greek spirit. Comfort women slowly became more and more
involved not only in social but also in economic life. Escort girls could
re-enter politics, be cultured and inspirational to different arts.
Well, escorts played
a major role in society, and after a while some sort of segregation began within
prostitution that classified the sex workers according to their type. At the
lowest level - as usual in all ages - cheap street prostitutes were found, and
then escort agencies appeared through from cheap brothels to delightful luxury
salons. These escort agencies were owned by rich nobles, and employed girls who
suited the ideal of the age. Since the female ideal had blond hair, escorts girls
were transported from Germany to Italy. With this, the first network of escorts
was born, where sex workers were very similar to the escorts today (touring)
who go abroad to do sex work. These luxury escort agencies did not employ
escort girls in brothels but provided sex workers at different events where
noble clients turned up, but there were numerous occasions when escorts were
allocated for weddings where they danced, sang and entertained audience with
their sexual charm, and of course if they agreed with any of the clients, they
could also give sexual service.
{Let's just take
a small diversion from our subject to give an explanation why we only talk
about girls in escort trade. Where are escort boys, escorts transvestites, or
escort ladiboys? Homosexuality, interestingly, was not uncommon at the age, but
it was still considered a major sin in the renaissance. Furthermore, male
prostitution and homosexuality in prostitution was completely forbidden due to the
Prostitution Act made by Emperor Fredrick (12-13th century). The punishment
could even be execution. Until the fifteenth century there is no credible
evidence that escort boys or male prostitutes operated in the profession. The
first credible records survived in the Ottoman Empire, where the Turkish bath
culture was in its golden age. In the famous Turkish baths the so-called
tellaks would work, who were young boys. They were responsible for washing and
massaging clients, and if there was demand, they could carry out sexual
services as well. }
Similarly to the
antique world, the Italian escorts of Renaissance times, apart from their
quality sexual services, also marked out with their intelligence. Escorts at
that time had musical education and skills, and were familiar with contemporary
fine arts and literature. These escorts were so-called "meretrix honest",
who resembled the hetairas of ancient Greece. The names of several famous and
popular escorts were recorded in historical sources. For example, one of them
was Imperia, and the other was Lucretia Scuarzia. In addition, there lived a
popular escort called Isabella, who was a wanderer sex worker who, according to
the famous Italian writer and poet Bandello, was Rome's most beautiful woman.
Such records
confirm that escorts went out of the dark after long centuries, creating a new
"sovereign" and increasingly distinct form of prostitution with
unique features.