Cicisbeo, male courtesans
   by Shella Longclaw
The renowned courtesans of Braavos are the beauties of ballads and stories. Men fight and die to attain their favor. They’re well known, though the cicisbeos aren’t. These handsome men are elusive and exclusive to mostly the Braavosi nobility and wealthy merchants. They have interesting tales to tell as well.
According to legend, two Braavosi women actually created the first cicisbeos. One was a widow of a keyholder, and the other woman was a wealthy merchant. It was said that they were vexed by the Braavosi men, who engaged in pitiful wooing attempts of them. When they saw the same men stumbling over each other to flirt with a courtesan, they fumed. Instead of pouting, the two women decided to get even. They found two handsome peasant men, clothed them and taught them etiquette. The men accompanied them on all their social affairs.
It ruffled the men’s pride. They probably thought it was merely a short diversion by the women. After a month, the handsome men were still by the women’s side. The Braavosi men confronted the Sealord on the matter. They feared other women might follow their example. To everyone’s utter shock, the Sealord sided with the women and allowed the cicisbeos to remain. Two attempts were made on the Sealord’s life after his decision.
The conflict between the Braavosi men and women only subsided once they both found a common ground. The daughter of a prominent family had been wooed by a pirate who stole not only the daughter but half the family’s wealth. The young maiden wasn’t fair and was easily swayed by the pirate’s pretty words. This event worried the Braavosi noble class. Anyone of their poor daughters could be preyed on unless … they used a trusted handsome man to counteract it. Thus, cicisbeo was accepted into Braavosi society.
A few courtesans noticed the wealth that these two peasant men had earned. They had handsome bastard sons of their own. It must have pleased them to finally help all their children attain work. So, their sons came to work as cicibeos. Still to this day, some cicisbeos descend from courtesans, and others are trained peasants. Their colorful names correspond to the courtesans: Shadowhawk to Nightingale, Poetess to Poet, Veiled Lady to the Masked Man, Merling Queen to Triton. Only cicisbeo Jaguar seemed to not match any courtesan names. They do have young men apprentices like the courtesans do.
Despite having the same beauty and training, cicisbeos aren’t highly regarded by most of Braavos like the courtesans are. It is a pity, since this means learning more about them will be hindered. Outside of one former cicisbeo apprentice, the rest have been silent upon my inquiries. I think they are uncomfortable discussing their work. Some might do more than mere seducing. They might be spies for the Sealord. It’s even possible that some courtesans have been spies too for Sealords. It’s not known for certain if this just occurred once or has secretly been going on for years. Though the practice isn’t unheard of in Nefer, they’re rumored to have courtesan spies.
I entreated any respectable maesters to investigate this matter further. Perhaps, the cicisbeos might be more willing to divulge their secrets to a fellow man.
