Donatien Alphonse François (known as the Marquis de Sade) is a French politician, writer, philosopher, and nobleman active primarily in the 18th century. De Sade was known for his sexual deviance and insatiable desires for pushing the limits of what was acceptable in public life. He apparently pursued sexual (and often abusive) relationships with men and women alike, occasionally at the same time, and the word sadismapparently derives from his exploits. In Assassin’s Creed: Unity, De Sade’s backstory is altered a bit but his interest in sexual depravity and anti-monarchy views are present.

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. Various. (n.d.). Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade. Assassin’s Creed Wiki. Retrieved from http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Donatien_Alphonse_Fran%C3%A7ois,_Marquis_d e_Sade
2. Various. (n.d.). Donatien Alphonse François de Sade. TV Tropes Wiki. Retrieved from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/AssassinsCreedUnityOtherCharacters
3. Various. (n.d.). Marquis de Sade. Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Sade
4. Tony Perrottet. (2015, February). Who was the Marquis de Sade?. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-marquis-de-sade-180953980/