Cicisbeo

Common card · No. 385585

In 18th- and 19th-century Italy, the cicisbeo (UK: CHITCH-iz-BAY-oh, US: CHEE-chiz-, Italian: [tʃitʃiˈzbɛːo]; plural: cicisbei) or cavalier servente (French: chevalier servant) was the man who was the professed gallant or lover of a woman married to someone else. With the knowledge and consent of the husband, the cicisbeo attended his mistress at public entertainments, to church and other occasions, and had privileged access to this woman. The arrangement is comparable to the Spanish cortejo or estrecho and was influenced by the French petit-maître.

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