Leonardo da Vinci and Salaì in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Leonardo Entry image_preview

Image credit: Leonardo da Vinci. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

In Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, the player-character Ezio is an old friend of Leonardo da Vinci who plays a major role in the plot of the game. Based on the historical figure of the same name, it is heavily implied that da Vinci is a homosexual man from instances of him joking that women provide little distraction to his interactions with his apprentice Salaì. In the DLC expansion, The Da Vinci Disappearance, more about their relationship is revealed as Salaì implores Ezio to find out what happened to Leonardo. Later on in the game, Ezio remarks to Leonardo that he approves of Leonardo’s relationship with Salaì to which Leonardo looks mildly shocked. Some fans have discussed their relationship and whether or not Leonardo was actually written to be gay in the series. A video of all the dialogue between Ezio, Leonardo, and Salaì in Brotherhood can be viewed here.
Salai Entry image_preview

Image credit: Salaì. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Sala%C3%AC

LGBTQ references in this game series:

Assassin’s Creed (2007): Abu’l Nuqoud

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (2010): Leonardo da Vinci and Salaì

Assassin’s Creed III (2012): Harlan Cunningham and Arend Schut Cunningham

Assassin’s Creed: Unity (2014): Marquis de Sade, Chevalier d’Éon

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (2015): Jacob Frye, Maxwell Roth, Ned Wynert, Lewis

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (2018): Romance Options and Controversy

See QRM’s entry for this game. Citations
  1. Jack Flanagan. (2014, May 16). The complete history of LGBT video game characters. The Daily Dot. Retrieved from https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/gay-characters-video-games-history/
  2. Various. (n.d.). List of video games with LGBT characters. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_with_LGBT_characters
  3. Various. (n.d.). Leonardo da Vinci (character page). Assassin’s Creed Wiki. Retrieved from http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci
  4. Various. (n.d.). Salai (character page). Assassin’s Creed Wiki. Retrieved from http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Sala%C3%AC
  5. David Hussey. (2013, April 3). The Assassin’s Sidekick: Is Leonardo da Vinci Accurately Depicted in Assassin’s Creed? Retrieved from https://thegaminghistorian.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/the-assassins-sidekick-is-leonardo-da-vinci-accurately-depicted-in-assassins-creed/
  6. Various. (2011, July 13). Is Leonardo da Vinci gay? (Possible Spoilers). GameFaqs Forum. Retrieved from https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/628358-assassins-creed-revelations/59718408
  7. Various. (2013, March 27). A small line you might have missed in AC Brotherhood. Reddit. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/comments/1b4gp6/a_small_line_you_might_have_missed_in_ac/#bottom-comments
  8. Jim Hargreaves. (2011, March 14). Review: Assassin’s Creed: The Da Vinci Disappearance. The Sixth Axis (Blog). Retrieved from http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/03/14/review-assassins-creed-the-da-vinci-disappearance/
  9. Various. (n.d.). Assassin’s Creed II (Characters). TV Tropes Wiki. Retrieved from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/AssassinsCreedIIOtherCharacters
  10. Sevvina. (2015, April 29). Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – Leonardo da Vinci and Salaì. Youtube Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPJkZralcJ8