Editing Lady-in-waiting (section)

==History==
In Europe, the development of the office of lady-in-waiting is connected to that of the development of a royal court. During the [[Carolingian Empire]], in the 9th century, [[Hincmar]] describes the royal household of [[Charles the Bald]] in the ''De Ordine Palatii'', from 882, in which he states that court officials took orders from the queen as well as the king. [[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]] queens are assumed to have had their personal servants, and in the 9th century it is confirmed that Carolingian queens had an entourage of guards from the [[nobility]] as a sign of their dignity, and some officials are stated to belong to the queen rather than the king.{{sfn|Kolk|2009}}

In the late 12th century, the queens of France are confirmed to have had their own household, and noblewomen are mentioned as ladies-in-waiting.{{sfn|Kolk|2009}} During the Middle Ages, however, the household of a European queen consort was normally small, and the number of actually employed ladies-in-waiting, rather than wives of noblemen accompanying their husbands to court, was very small: in 1286, the queen of France had only five ladies-in-waiting in her employment, and it was not until 1316 that her household was separated from that of the royal children.{{sfn|Kolk|2009}}

The role of ladies-in-waiting in Europe changed dramatically during the age of the [[Renaissance]], when a new ceremonial court life, where women played a significant part, developed as representation of power in the courts of [[Italy]], and spread to [[Burgundy]], from Burgundy to France, and to the rest of the courts of Europe.{{sfn|Kolk|2009}} The court of the [[Duchy of Burgundy]] was the most elaborate in Europe in the 15th century and became an example for France when the French royal court expanded in the late 15th century and introduced new offices for both men and women to be able to answer to the new renaissance ideal.{{sfn|Kolk|2009}}

From small circle of married ''Femmes'' and unmarried ''Filles'', with a relatively humble place in the background during the Middle Ages, the number of French ladies-in-waiting were rapidly expanded, divided into an advanced hierarchy with several offices and given an important and public role to play in the new ceremonial court life in early 16th century France.{{sfn|Kolk|2009}} This example was followed by other courts in Europe, when courts expanded and became more ceremonial during the 16th century, and the offices, numbers and visibility of women expanded in the early modern age.{{sfn|Kolk|2009}}

During the late 19th century and the early 20th century, however, most European courts started to reduce their court staff, often due to new economic and political circumstances which made court representation more questionable.