The origins of the curtsy can be traced back to
royal court customs in
Medieval Europe. Courtly dance and etiquette manuals from the
Renaissance describe movements of "women dipping one knee and lowering the body" that evolved into the curtsy.
Italy and
France under the Valois were central in codifying this gesture. According to
Desmond Morris, the motions involved in the curtsy and the
bow were similar until the 17th century, and the sex differentiation between the actions developed afterwards. The earlier, combined version is still performed by
Restoration comedy actors. By the 1600s, during the
Baroque era the curtsy became more widely codified in monarchies like France, Britain, Spain, Austria, or Russia, particularly under monarchs like
Louis XIV and
Charles I. At
the Palace of Versailles, rituals of etiquette including deep curtsies to royalty were embedded into daily life as part of a strict court hierarchy. In 18th-century Britain, during the
Georgian era, the curtsy had become a standard part of feminine etiquette. Girls from aristocratic and upper-middle-class families were trained in
deportment schools, where curtsying was taught alongside posture and comportment. In
Colonial America, American colonist women of elite families were taught the curtsy. Diaries and etiquette manuals from the colonial period mention young girls practicing the “courtesy” (older spelling) when being introduced or attending church. Further, some female
domestic workers curtsy for their
employers. In the United States,
enslaved African and African American women were often expected to curtsy when addressing or passing white masters, mistresses, or other figures of authority until the
abolition of slavery in 1863. Enslaved people were compelled to use body language and curtsying was one of the expected gestures, especially when entering a room, serving food, or greeting a white mistresses. By the 18th–19th centuries, outside formal court culture, the practice in everyday life was less rigid. People still curtsied/bowed to landlords,
patrons, and social superiors, but it might be more of a polite nod or small dip than a dramatic movement.
Decline The
French Revolution (1789-1799) and later
World War I (1914–1918) destroyed much of Europe’s traditional class order. Aristocratic households shrank or disappeared and the elaborate codes of conduct associated with courts and the
landed elite became less relevant as the political power of the nobility eroded. In the
interwar years, combined with
women’s suffrage movements, a democratic ethos in social life was on the rise. Domestic service lost prestige and manpower since many women entered factories, offices, and nursing. The idea of visibly "submitting" to another person began to feel inappropriate in more middle-class and professional settings. By the mid-20th century,
handshakes and verbal greetings had largely replaced bows and curtsies in Western social life. == Today ==