Complex sentence: Entertainers and courtiers were often dependents upon the wealthy or were associated with the often-percieved immoral pleasure grounds of urban entertainment districts, so to give them official recognition would have given them more prestige.
Split into simpler sentences: Entertainers and courtiers were often dependents upon the wealthy or were associated with the often-percieved immoral pleasure grounds of urban entertainment districts. To give them official recognition would have given them more prestige.