All language subtitles for Les.Rois.Maudits.1972.S01E01.PAL.DVDRip.AC3.x264

A family tableau.

The period: The 14th century.

The place: France.

The king: Philip IV.

At this time, France is the most
powerful realm in Western Europe.

The king is renowned for
his legendary handsomeness.

He will go down in history
as Philip the Fair.

At his side, his 3 sons,
all in young manhood:

The eldest, Louis of Navarre,
also known as the Headstrong.

Philip, count of Poitiers.

And Charles of France.

Their wives are in
the second row:

Marguerite, daughter of the duke of
Burgundy, behind her husband Philip.

Jeanne, heiress to the county of
Burgundy, later to become...

...Franche-Comte, behind
her spouse Philip of Poitiers.

Lastly, Blanche, Jeanne's younger
sister, the wife of Charles of France.

These two are the daughters
of Mahaut of Artois,

...widow of the count
palatine of Burgundy.

For there are two Burgundies:
the duchy, and the county.

There is Mahaut of Artois.
She ranks with the greatest.

There are twelve peers of the
realm, and she is one of them.

Her nephew Robert,
always easy to recognise.

Dressed entirely in scarlet,
from head to feet.

The colour of blood,
and he is hot-blooded indeed.

All descend in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th degree
from king Louis IX, or his father.

They are of the blood of St. Louis.

Here now are the King's two brothers:
The impetuous Charles,

...count of Valois, count of Romania,
and titular emperor of Constantinople.

The wise Louis, count of �vreux.

The rest are less exhalted. Among
them are the great men of state:

The coadjuteur of the kingdom,
Enguerrand de Marigny.

The keeper of the seal,
Guillaume de Nogaret.

Also barons, counsellors, and bisshops.

And a Lombard banquer,
Spinello Tolome�,

...who keeps one watchful eye
on the affairs of the kingdom.

For Philip the Fair, the greatness
of France comes before all else.

He has dealt with
his enemies abroad.

At home, no wealth
escapes his grasp.

The coinage is debased,
fortunes are despoiled,

...taxes are crushing.

All must bend or break
before the royal will.

He has even had a French pope elected
and installed by force at Avignon.

The idea of the nation is lodged
in the mind of this cruel...

...and dispassionate king, for whom
reasons of state outweigh all else.

Only one authority had dared to oppose
him: the Order of the Knights Templar.

A vast organisation, at once
military, religious, and commercial.

It owed its riches and reknown to
the crusades which had spawned it.

Philip subjected the templars to the most
extensive prosecution known to history.

There were 15 thousand accused,
7 years of trials, tortures, infamy.

Finally, the blonde princess there is
Isabel, wife of Edward II of England.

Isabella is Philip's only daughter,
later known as the she-wolf of France.

She's an unhappy queen from
the other side of the channel.

But see, Robert of Artois
has left his place.

He is about to join her.
He is on his way to Westminster.

The Accursed Kings

'Speak softly, when
you speak of love,

For I have nor some,
nor none of it.'

'For I have nor some,
nor none of it.'

One might almost think those
words had been written for me.

Madam! Your son has talked.
- What did he say?

He banged the table,
and he said "I want".

Good. His first words
are the words of a king.

I do not wish him to be encouraged in the
usual childish prattle like other children.

He must learn, too, that he belongs
to France as much as England.

Each night you will repeat before
him the prayer to King Saint Louis.

Monseigneur Robert of Artois!

Well, cousin, did you
have a good crossing?

Abominable, madam.
An atrocity!

A storm to make
you spew your soul.

I believed my time had come.

But I had so many
sins to confess,

...that we had docked,
before I had even finished.

But I have enough left for the return.

I came to inform you that your
sisters-in-law are whores.

Is it true, then?

Jeanne, and Blanche as well?

Blanche, certainly.
As for Jeanne...

...she is more artful,
but I think no less guilty.

Your three brothers are cuckolds,
like any country bumpkin.

Have you names?

Shadows. On nights when your
brother Louis is away...

...the Tower of Nesle
is lit up till morning...

...and the men who leave,
are assuredly no monks.

And jewels from your cousin
Marguerite's casket...

...have been traded for Damascus
blades with a Lombard banker.

If what you say is true,
I shall not tolerate it.

I will not have my
family a laughing stock.

The barons will not
tolerate it either.

Have you spoken to the king?

My dear cousin, you know
the king better than I do.

He believes so firmly in
the virtue of women...

...that I would have to show him
the ladies in flagrante delicto!

Besides, since losing my suit
I am not much in favour.

The one thing kings have in
commong with the bourgeois...

...is that their feelings are some-
times governed by land disputes.

By awarding the county of
Artois to my aunt Mahaut...

...and marrying his sons to
my... whorish cousins...

...the king has plucked the county
of Burgundy for the crown.

And I am the nuisance who
has been dispossessed.

I know you have been wronged.

For that very reason, might you not
be held to be acting out of revenge?

Of course I am!

Though I find this business
painful, it serves my purpose.

My inheritance has been stolen,
and given to my aunt Mahaut.

May she rot from leprosy!

You who are a queen...

...do you know what a county means?

It means land...fat earth,
that sticks to your hands,

...rich and fertile,
black with seed and game.

I want that land.

You were speaking
of my sisters-in-law...

Yes, through them I shall
revenge myself on the mother.

I do not care for that word.

Which one? Revenge?
- Yes.

Only a king may call it "justice".

They hate you.

Find out the names of these men,

...and I shall come to Paris
to end this licence.

You must help me.
- How?

Send gifts in secret to
your brother's wives.

Some trinket that would
as well suit a man.

Let neither the king nor
their husbands know of this.

I warrant these gifts
will change hands,

...and you will have your names.

This purse I got this morning.

Just the thing a young gallant
loves to display at his belt.

I shall have three more
made exactly like it.

You shall have them delivered
privately to the princesses.

My husband, the king.

For the six years of my marriage,
I've lived between trowels and mortar.

Westminster is a building site.

They are always pulling down
what they have just finished.

The king likes masonry?

It's not the masonry
he likes, but the masons.

Evidently.

Here the barons say 'sire',
and the workmen 'Edward'.

Sweet cousin, let me serve you.

More wretched than any
subject, is an unloved queen.

All that was expected of me,
was to ensure the succession.

Nothing more.

Now the king's favour is shared
by the barons Despenser.

The father governs, the son
serves as my husband's wife.

Other men would praise heaven for
the perfection spurned by a king.

When I think of what I deny myself...
- Isabel...

No, Robert.

I leave to my cousins of Burgundy
what they doubtlessly call happiness.

How like him you are.
- Like whom?

Your father, king Philip.

I shall await your word as to
whether I must leave for France.

Adieu, cousin.

Neither of these two noble
personages could have guessed...

...that the sequence of events
they were to set in motion,

...would make them the begetters of
a war between France and England.

A war which would last
for a hundred years.

March 18, 1314
Notre-Dame, Paris

They will not condemn us,
we are the only four left.

They must be tired of killing,
and we are no longer dangerous.

Whereas the brother Guy
Dauphin was instructed...

...to submit to all that
was required of him...

...if one if his superiors wished
to satisfy the desires of the flesh,

Lies!

Whereas the brother Hughes
de Payraud recognizes...

...that he obliged initiates
to deny Christ thrice.

Considering that the accused
have admitted their sins...

...they are condemned to solitary
confinement for the rest of their days,

...so that they may seek remission
through repentance for their sins.

I hardly dare believe it.
Aren't they going to kill us?

Did you hear?
They are going to spare us.

Be silent!

Blessed be your shameful joy, for
it has done what no torture could:

It has restored my faith.

I protest!

I declare before god that
our order is innocent!

You confessed to sodomy!
- Under torture. I take it all back!

I am Jacques de Molay, Grand
Master of the Templars.

We have all fought to guard
the Holy Places in Palestine.

We have always observed
chastity, poverty and obedience.

We have fought only against superior
odds, and hunted only the lion.

You have taken
everything from me.

You have even tainted
my soul with your pain,

...but I retract!

I declare before my god that my only
fault is to have lied under torture.

We are innocent!
Who says otherwise is a liar!

Two of the condemned have relapsed.
They reject the justice of the church.

The church rejects them, and sends
them back to the justice of the king.

Of course Marguerite
has no other lovers!

Tell him, Jeanne.

You're all insane. This will
come to a bad end some day.

You'll see, Blanche.

Anyway, why should I go on
compromising myself for nothing.

It could easily be for something.

Your husband is away
more often than ours.

If only Marguerite
and I had your luck.

I've not taste for it.
- Or no courage.

But I don't lie so readily as you.

I'm sure I would give myself away.

You hear what your sister says:

You are skilled in deceit, madam.
So is Marguerite.

Truly, your brother Gautier
is much nicer than you.

No doubt because he is more kindly
treated, and I'm happy for him.

But I am a fool to let
myself be humiliated...

...by a woman who
treats me as a lackey...

...summoning me to her
bed when she wishes...

...then leaving me without
word for five days.

What a fuss about five days!

Good morning, daughters-in-law.

What were you talking about?

Forgive us, sire...

...but our words are not
an easy thing to repeat.

Why is that?
- We were speaking ill of you.

Who is this young man?

Messire d'Aunay, equerry
to our uncle Valois.

Haven't you a brother?

Yes, sire, in the service
of monseigneur of Poitiers.

I always confuse you two.

What ill were you saying of me?

Jeanne and I are agreed
that we owe you a grudge.

For five nights we have had
no husbands at our service,

You keep them discussing affairs
of state, or send them away.

What does the third one say?

Marguerite?
She's shut herself up to sulk,

...and says, that you are as
nasty as you are handsome.

Well, you may both be reassured.

Louis and Charles can keep
you company tonight.

It is a good day for the kingdom.

The episcopal tribunal has dealt...

...with the matter of the Templars.

The work of seven
years is completed.

There will be no council tonight.

Sire, the grand master
has recanted.

Follow me!

That was a narrow escape.
- I thought I should die.

He has the sharpest
ears in the kingdom.

Let's look at the merchandise,
and stop looking like conspirators.

The count of Poitiers is in Burgundy.
Monseigneur Charles is hunting.

Neither will be present
at the council.

As for the count of Valois...

I have sent for him.
But time is short. Let us begin.

The grand master of the templars
and the preceptor of Normandy...

...have been delivered into
your hands by the church.

You are at liberty
to dispose of them...

...without reference to anyone.
Not even to the pope.

What could be better?

What is this I hear, sire?

Messire de Marigny claims
that things couldn't be better?

Your counsellors are
certainly optimists.

Four half-dead old men, thought
taken care of, defy the royal will.

The people howl for blood
against the clergy...

...against the watch, against you.

Yet things couldn't be better!

Let us rejoice, then, since
things couldn't be better.

Monseigneur of Valois is misinformed.
- No doubt you know more than I do:

I do not have the advantage
of an archbishop as brother.

Of the four old men
monseigneur referred to...

...only two have protested
against their sentence.

As for the people, I am assured
that their opinion is divided.

Divided? What right have
they to be divided?

Who asks their opinion?
You do, messire de Marigny.

If you and the great barons
had submitted more willingly...

...we should not need the support of
the people to enforce royal edicts.

This is the fruit
of your innovations.

You have subjected the
royal will to the people.

Now they take it upon
themselves to judge.

My brother, we are not concerned
at present with assemblies...

...but with the templars.

Let us deal with them, then.

Sire, this monstrous
occurence before Notre Dame...

...proves that any clemency shown
to these agents of the devil...

...is a weakness that
rebounds upon yourself.

They do not deserve to live.

Instead of blessing their judges,
they insult church and king.

The templars are heretics.
- Heretics?

Messire De Nogaret, are you not your-
self the grandson of a catharist?

And did you not once depose
a pope by striking him?

I say the templars are heretics!

Were heretics.
I believe of the many thousands...

...whom you banished, burned,
or broke, only four remain.

An embarrassing quartet, I
grant you, since they still...

...proclaim their innocence
after seven years of trial.

Your championship of the
templars is well known.

Doubtless you hoped they
would help you recover...

...even at the cost of France's ruin,
that throne of Constantinople...

...upon which it seems
you have scarcely sat.

By thunder!

Be silent, Louis.

God is my witness...

...that I have had naught
but your interests at heart.

My brother, again, it's the templars
that we are concerned with here.

What is your advice?

You ask my counsel?

Well... Let those who have conducted
the affair hitherto so well...

...offer suggestions as to
how it may be resolved.

Not I.
- Louis, your counsel?

Suppose we delivered
the templars to the pope?

Be silent, Louis.
Bouville?

I am considering, sire.
- Nogaret, your counsel?

Let those who fall back into
heresy, suffer the heretic's fate.

The People?
- They await the royal will, sire.

The very people who acclaimed
the templars today,

...will rejoice at their punishment.
The royal will?

Don't forget, the grand master
ranks as a sovereign prince.

He should be treated with the
deference accorded to royalty.

Jacques de Molay and
Geoffroy de Charnay...

...shall be burned tonight
on the Isle of Jews.

Their rebellion was public,
so shall the punishment be.

Messire de Nogaret will
draft the act. I have spoken.

I wish all of you here to
attend the punishment.

Those who command,
must also witness.

Let my son Charles be informed
that his presence is required too.

Nephew, we have just been
present at the death of chivalry.

Lormet, right-hand man
to monseigneur of Artois.

The wind's getting up,
air is coming in.

Those two priests
should burn quite nicely.

The spectators may find the
smoke a little troublesome.

I have a matter to attend to.

A right-hand man, with such
hands, is tempted to use them.

Bless the heretics
for letting us be here.

Who told you?
- Jeanne, as usual.

They're young, handsome,
and they're sweet-smelling.

You learned nothing else?
- No.

Is everything ready?
- Yes.

Look, sir. The H�tel de Nesle.
There's a light in the Tower.

All's well.

It feels like the first time.
I still can't believe it.

Did Jeanne say Blanche agreed?
- Yes.

One look at Louis and it's obvious,
why Marguerite chose her lover.

But Blanche?
Why me?

She has a handsome husband,
who will one day be king.

She doesn't really love me;
she's just imitating her cousin.

And you, dear Philip.
Aren't you pleased to see me?

I am, madam.

What new admirer
gave you that purse?

You wear it to annoy me, I suppose.

How silly, how jealous,
how sweet you are.

Do you think it's
a token of love?

I give it to you.
So now it is.

Marguerite...
Isn't that unwise?

But no... Nobody knows
where the purses came from,

...and we've never worn them.

We must simply warn Jeanne.

I don't want my handsome lover
to be less favoured than yours.

The Templars.

They're being led to the stake.

Come and look.

I'm much too comfortable.

Why are you laughing?

Because Louis is down there;
if it were light he could see me.

They're going to burn...

They're going to roast...

While we...

Your hands...
Hold me tight.

Gently...

Harder!

Pope Clement!

Guillaume de Nogaret!

King Philip!

I summon you to God's
Judgement within the year!

Cursed!
You shall all be cursed...

...to the thirteenth
generation of your lions!

It smells.
The smell is really frightful.

So, my brother, I imagine
that you are content now?

No, my brother, I've
committed an error.

Truly, so you admit it?

I should have had their tongues
torn out, before burning them.

How strange...
A boat doesn't untie itself.

Someone going to
the burning, perhaps.

We'll have to walk to the bridge.

It's a small price to pay for
the pleasure we've just had.

Who's there!

Watch out for the
purses, Gautier.

Don't call!
Not here!

Stop that!

Down, you gallow dogs!

Watch out, my fellows!

Clods!
Cripples!

You don't even know
your own trade!

In truth, there are no
craftsmen left in France.

No police, either, to judge by
the absence of Nogaret's sergeants.

Not hurt, I hope?

No, thanks to your help.

Damned if I don't know you, too!

The d'Aunay brothers!

I didn't expect to see here the
handsomest young men at court.

We can never thank you enough.

A petty matter!
Small fry! Child's play!

It's lucky you were able to help out.
With two you were outnumbered...

...but from the moment
there were three of us...!

I am delighted to have saved for
my cousins of Valois and Poitiers...

...their best equerries.

But tell me, gentlemen:

...what the devil were you
up to in this muddy hole?

We were taking a walk.

Taking a walk!
At this hour, and in this mud!

Ah, youth!

Always looking for love!

Breeches afire with passion!

Now that's a handsome trinket!

You, too?

I warrant your mistresses are sisters,
and great and generous ladies.

Sir is mistaken, our
family sent these purses.

Well, well, let's say no more.

The honour of the ladies
one lays must be respected.

God be with you...
brothers d'Aunay.

You may count on my friendship.

A word of advice.

Don't walk the night
with such jewellery,

...keep it for the court in daylight.

Will he keep his big mouth shut?

I think so, he's not a bad sort.

But for him, we wouldn't be here.

What was he doing here?

Looking for whores;
there are plenty about here.

I know what I wanted to know.

Share this between you, lads!

You hit me pretty hard!
- That was part of our bargain!

Amazing how one can find
a county in a woman's skirts!

Would two thousand livres suit you?

It would. I wish the matter
to be settled quickly.

A thousand each.

If you would sign this receipt...

I would rather...

That these "relics"
were not sold in France?

Naturally! I am not crazed,
as we say in Lombardy.

No, I meant...

Must we state the provenance
of these objects?

Why not? No one but I
will ever see this receipt.

Our two professions
have secrecy in common.

You confess souls,
we confess purses.

Both are solemn charges.

The foreign buyer must be assured
that the articles are genuine.

The Templars are known
for their business acumen.

Will they be too heavy?

My servants are waiting below.

By the way, do you happen to know
how the king, whom god preserve...

...received the greyhounds
I sent him two days ago?

So you sent him that dog that follows
him everywhere, that he calls Lombard?

So he calls it Lombard?
I'm delighted to hear it.

My nephew Guccio Baglioni,
newly arrived from Sienna.

Accompagny monseigneur de Marigny
and carry these downstairs for him.

There's someone...

Monseigneur Robert of Artois
wants to see you.

I'd rather not meet him.

Naturally; he is a great talker.

Take care that the
archbishop meets no one.

When I think of the charity this money
will enable you to dispense...

...I almost envy your poor.

Coglione! Peacock! Pilferer!

But above all...gullible fool.

Monseigneur has need of me?

Yes, I have two things to ask you.

The first, I Imagine, is money.

Must everyone know
that I owe you a fortune?

Let's go and talk in your office.

We'll begin with the second matter...

...or else I warrant that
you'll refuse me the first.

So... You must be very
pleased this morning?

Why, monseigneur?

Come now, the Templars...

Yes and no, monseigneur.

Oh, Tolome�...

Who told you seven years ago
about the trap set for the Templars?

Who advised you to borrow money from
them, that you now need never repay?

Note, note, that I quite
understand your caution.

"Yes and no."!

You Lombard bankers also lent
money to the king, didn't you?

Our good king Philip was also
indebted to the jews and templars.

He roasted them one after another,
and you are third on the list.

Soon I may not be on the list at all.

And how is that?

France has treated me well.

I might offset the king's debts.

How? With what?

With the debts I shall
not repay the templars.

You see that I make good
use of your information...

...even if I do not always profit by it.

And your affairs?

This time I've got my aunt Mahaut.

So you said before...

...when you sued your aunt over the
inheritance of the county of Artois.

You lost the suit,
I paid the costs.

By rights I should be a peer of the
realm, and richest baron in France.

And I shall be, do you hear
me Tolome�? I shall be.

In the meantime you need money
for your followers in Artois.

Those friends will help me
win my cause some day...

...by force of arms, if need be.

But this time I've got Mahaut...

...because I've got her
daughters and their cousin.

I'm going to wring their necks...

...like weasels.

Well, what has happened?

The little bitches have got lovers.

That is scarcely news.

Yes, but last night I, yes
I, learned their names.

How will that serve you?

Serve me?
Tolomei!

The future queen of France
caught like a common whore!

Both families of Burgundy
in the mire up to their necks!

Mahaut discredited at court,
the marriages are dissolved...

...their inheritance no longer
within reach of the crown!

Then I reopen my case; and with the
king on my side this time, I'll win it.

You'll tell the king?

Me? No. He wouldn't listen to me.

But I can send for someone.
Someone he will listen to.

What do you want of me?
- A discreet man.

A rare commodity.
What for?

To take a message to England...
To queen Isabella.

Why not send one of your own men...

...or one of monseigneur
de Valois' couriers?

Because everyone watches
everyone else at court.

The whole matter would
soon be compromised.

No, I thought a merchant would
answer better than a gentleman.

Once again I shall
endeavour to be of service.

A handsome lad!

Fine leg, slender waist, poet's eyes;
He's the messenger, I presume?

If king Edward claps eyes
on this young beauty...

...you may never see him again!

Tomorrow at dawn you leave for England.
Go to our cousin Albizzi in London.

He is the jeweller to queen Isabella.

Albizzi will secure an appointment
with the queen...

...and into her, and her hands
alone, you will deliver...

...the note monseigneur is going to write.

I dictate, I do not write.

I know too many men who have
ended under six feet of earth...

...because they were indiscreet enough
to write notes in their own hand.

So I avoid.

But the signature?

The queen will understand.

And now, banker...
- And now what?

Open your purse.

How much?

Five hundred livres:
Just between friends!

If you will dictate the note...

London Bridge.
It's quite something.

The Ponte Vecchio in Florence
is a mere toy in comparison.

This is what greets you at the gates.

A head.
Yes, a human head, all bloody.

"The English way of
informing the traveller...

...that he is not entering a
city of tenderness and light."

So our cousin Albizzi says.

Anyway, I have here a
flat, brass-bound box.

My credentials, Albizzi says...

...as a jeweller.

He's a trusting man, is
Albizzi, but a cautious one.

Let us see the jewels this
young Italian has brought,

...and if they are as
exquisite as they say.

They are very fine indeed, madam...

...but we are in no
position to buy them.

Why did your father-in-law
send him, then?

To oblige Albizzi, I imagine.

But we owe him too much
already to buy again.

I know that your family takes
great care of the royal finances.

But permit me to spend my
own money as I choose...

...such as it is.

I imagine that your
husband and mine...

...would be delighted to offer
these jewels to each other.

If you would be so kind as to
examine this ring, madam...

...the design is interesting.

It pleases me.

Have you other things
from the same hand?

At your service, madam;
the prices are noted here.

Do you return to Paris?
- At your command, madam.

Tell monseigneur of Artois that I
shall come to France next month...

...and that we shall
proceed as agreed.

I shall also have him reward you more
generously than is in my power now.

The honour of serving you
is reward enough, madam.

I shall let Albizzi know
my decision about this ring.

So. With England behind me,
I gallop accross France...

...and arrive at Neauphle-le-vieux.

My uncle Tolomei instructed me
to collect an old debt there.

Me, Guccio Baglioni,
heir to the company,

...yet I must collect
debts personally!

Who are these gentry who
owe us 300 livres, anyway?

The father is dead? Two sons?
What do they do? They hunt.

I'll be hunting them, watch me!

How much is their manor worth?

Some 800 or 900 livres?

What's the provost's name?

Portefruit? Nice name.

I'll find him, go to Cressay,
and settle the matter.

"My gold, or the bailiffs",
that's my motto.

What? A daughter?
How old is she? Sixteen.

And ugly, I expect.
What is her name?

I've come...

...on business.

My brothers are here,
and so is my mother...

...but they're rather busy just now.

Messire Portefruit! Your family
went barefoot and stole our apples!

Now you are provost,
are you trying to rob us?

What else have you done
but fleece honest folk...

...while my husband ruined
himself for the king...

...going off to war and
leaving our lands to rot?

I'm obeying the king's orders.

No! The king would not treat
a family steeped in chivalry...

...as malefactors.

Allow us time to pay.

You've had time and still not paid.
You still owe 300 livres.

Pay what you owe,
or I take possession.

But that means starvation.

Orders are orders;
I shall sell you up.

That's all he can think of.
What do you owe him for?

I don't know; it's something
to do with death duties.

He wants three hundred livres?

Yes, and we've already
paid him three hundred.

We borrowed them from some
rogue of a Lombard banker.

Mister provost, aren't you
engaged in a spot of thievery?

Who are you?

You'll find out quickly,
if you're embezzling.

It so happens I also have an
interest in the Cressay estate.

What is it valued at?
- It's none of your business!

Oh, but it is!

I'll fetch the police.
- I shouldn't.

As lately a guest of
the queen of England...

...I might interest messire
Enguerrand de Marigny...

...in the affairs of his provost.

What is this domain worth?

Cressay is estimated in the
bailiwick at 3000 livres.

That seems remarkably high.

There are the lands...
- At most it's worth nine hundred.

Now, what is the rate
of tax in the bailiwick?

Four sous to the pound.

You lie, Portefruit.

It is 2 sous for nobles everywhere.

Is it not?

So let's start again.

Very well. Shall we say,
900 livres, at 2 sous per livre.

With interest, I make that a
hundred livres, and a few sous.

Let's say 100 livres?

So you must return an
overpayment of 200 livres.

A tax collector return money?
Never!

Your name is Portefruit, isn't it?

Tomorrow, messire De Marigny
shall hear of your practices.

Your very nefarious practices,
messire Portefruit.

Who are you, messire?

We owe everything to you.

My name is Guccio Baglioni...

...I'm the nephew of
the banker Tolomei.

I've come about your debt.

You would honour us by
sharing our humble repast.

You must have had important
reasons for so perilous a journey.

When a queen awaits...

You saw the queen?

As close as you are now.

Queen Isabella?
Isabella of France?

Herself.
A private audience.

I had a secret message.

The way Marie listened, lips
parted, like a luscious fruit...

...made me want to talk, on and on.

And the next morning...

You're here at last.

April 4th, 1314

A date to remember,
and a wonderful day.

On this morning, half a league
from Clermon-de-l'Oise...

...monseigneur of Poitiers, 2nd son
of the king, and his uncle of Valois,

...have come to welcome
in the king's name...

...their sister and niece,
Isabella of England.

And not alone.

Look there... the purses!

Yes, the d'Aunay brothers.

Smile, my pretties, while you
think of your ladies' breasts.

I wager that you won't
touch them anymore.

Enjoy this day, for it
is one of your last.

You grow more beautiful,
madam, on every meeting.

Madam, here are messires
Gautier and Philip d'Aunay,

...the most loyal equerries
to your bother, and uncle.

See how they have dressed
their best to welcome you.

They are my prot�g�s, in a way.

You seem to like this room, father.

Yes, here I take counsel of myself.

Father?
- Yes?

I'm unhappy.

Was it to inform me so,
that you travelled so far?

To whom should I say I am not
happy, if not to my father?

Happiness...

What did you expect my child?
What concern of royalty is happiness?

Yes.
I am a queen.

But do you think I'm
treated as one there,

...by the man you wed me to?

I did not wed you to a
man, but to a king.

A king who left my
bed from the first day.

A king who miraculously
gave me a child.

A king who shuns me like a leper.

The favours he denies me, he
grants to common labourers.

I did not sacrifice
you lightly, Isabelle.

Surely I do not have to
remind you of our royal duty?

We are not born to indulge
in our personal sorrows.

So it's true you have no heart.

The iron king, they call you.

You, too?

The iron king!

I have hidden my
weaknesses well.

Power is a bitter
thing, Isabelle.

In the nine years
since your mother died,

I have paid dear in
solitude, and austerity.

Why did you come?

Speak frankly.

I came because... I have learned
that my brothers married sluts...

...and you have taught me
to defend our honour.

Do you know a messire
Gautier d'Aunay?

Two brother I always confuse. Their
father fought with me in Flanders.

But the one you speak of is
attached to my son, Poitiers.

His attachment is rather to
your daughter-in-law, Blanche.

His brother Philip is
Marguerite's gallant.

Marguerite, whom you chose
to become queen of France...

...and will soon be called
Marguerite the whore!

You have proof?

How nice to see you,
messire de Marigny!

My only friend!

I'd really, really like to...

Do not call your ladies.

I am not alone, as you see.

You often say your sister-in-law
does not love you.

Yet I learn she sent you gifts.

Will you show me the purses
she sent you from England?

Why do you not answer?

I left mine in Paris.

So did I.

And I.

Though you knew queen
Isabella was to arrive...

...you did not pay her the
courtesy of wearing them?

Very well, since the
purses are in Paris,

...let us send two equerries
to go and fetch them.

Send for Philip and Gautier d'Aunay!

Where are your husbands?
- In the armoury, sire.

Father, these gentlemen seem to
have forestalled your command,

...for they are already wearing on
their belts the purses you asked for.

Perhaps you will explain how equerries
come to possess these purses?

Guard!
Fetch your captain!

Arrest these equerries.

Put them in irons to
await my sentence.

It is to messire de Nogaret
that you must answer now.

The princesses will remain
here until further orders.

You will see that they do not leave
or communicate with anyone...

...not even their families, servants,
or husbands may enter this room.

For this you will answer to me.

Pray to god, Philip.
All is lost.

I'm not afraid to say, Lormet,
when I started this affaire,

...I was afraid my whole plan
might crumble like the others.

But this time, god was with me!

To saddle now, for
my aunt Mahaut's!

I want to tell that fat
bitch the news myself!

I want to see her ruin her chances
by going whining to the king!

And you know what?
I want her to die of mortification!

We, Guillaume de Nogaret,
secretary-general of the kingdom,

...by the grace of our beloved
sovereign, king Philip IV,

...have by his order
put on the rack,

...with the assistance of the
executioners of the city of Paris,

...Messires Gautier d'Aunay, squire to
monseigneur Philip, count of Poitiers,

...and Philip d'Aunay, equerry to
monseigneur Charles, count of Valois.

Considering the matter
sufficiently clarified,

...and the voices of the prisoners
becoming inaudible,

...we've decided to close the matter
and report to his majesty, our king.

Messire Guillaume, we are
about to come to judgement.

Afterwards you will destroy this, so that
no trace remains but in our memories.

My wife Blanche...
in bed with another man...

Charles, you have
been a weak husband.

Try now to be a strong prince.

Good god!

These are strange
events indeed!

Princes of the blood
discussing virtue,

...like peasants whose
wives have been tumbled!

Well, what can one expect
of times like these?

Bold spirits like Marigny have
brought chivalry to its knees.

Why should you be
surprised, brother,

...if it takes only two equerries
to cuckold your sons?

One of those equerries
belongs to your household.

And the other belongs to your son!

I have paid dearly for it.

We must act promptly.

The d'Aunay brothers have
committed the most heinous crime.

Why do we hesitate over them?

Consider them as dead, brother.

We are concerned with the fate
of the adulterous princesses.

Speak, Louis.

A bastard! That's what
they'll call my daughter!

Enough.

It's true, isn't it?

It need not be repeated.

Simply tell me what punishment
you think fitting for your wife.

Let her die.
All three of them!

Death!

You are distracted by grief.

Jeanne is certainly
culpable as a go-between.

But Nogaret found no proof
that she betrayed me.

Have her tortured and she'll confess.

She helped to defile my
honour, and Charles's,

...and if you love us, then
she deserves do die as they do.

Your honour is dear to me,

...but so, too, is the Franche-Comt�.

You hold Navarre through our mother.

You are already a king, and
one day will be king of France.

Blanche's death takes
nothing from you.

I have only the Poitiers
that our father gave me.

But through Jeanne I am
Count Palatine of Burgundy,

and Lord of Salins, which provides
the greater part of my revenues.

All this through marriage,

...inclines me to clemency.

Well? Your counsel?

Let Jeanne be sent to a convent,
but let her life be spared.

You, my brother.

My nephew is right.

Death is a solemn
matter to all of us,

...and we have no right
to dispense it in anger.

My brother Charles?

Death would be an error.

The convent too light a punishment.

Incarceration for life...
all three of them.

How could Blanche do it?

She always said she loved me.
And she proved it!

Charles...

What is your counsel?

I don't know, father.
I'm lost. I want to go away.

I want to enter a monastery.

Your counsel, Isabella?

A woman who has sinned must
not transmit the blood of kings.

And her punishment
must be made public,

...to show that the daughter of
a king can expect no privilege.

Well said.

Judgement will be made before vespers.

All is lost, aunt!

Lost another suit, Robert?

I would not joke at a
time like this, aunt.

We are in the king's hands.

Great, wicked, cunning wolf...

...what are you up to now?

What I have to say concerns
your honour alone, aunt.

My chamberlain
knows all my secrets.

Even shares my bed,
or so they say.

My nephew wishes to
inform us of a calamity.

We have had our
differences, aunt.

As god is my witness, I have even
wished you every possible ill.

But not this. Not this
stain on your honour.

Now you even have me worried.

You must be sure of yourself
to spin out the pleasure so!

Well, talk.
You're dying to tell me.

Your daughters...
my cousins...

...have been convicted of adultery,

...and arrested by order of the king.
And Marguerite, too.

Who told you this tale?

I was at Maubuisson when
it happened last night.

The whole court knows.

Do they confess it?

I don't know if they do.

But the d'Aunay brothers are being
confessed by your friend Nogaret.

I rode ten leagues
by night to tell you.

Does that sound like ill-will?

Are you hungry?

The sluts!

After all I did for them.
The marriages that I arranged!

To get caught like common whores!

Let them lose it all then.
Let them be hanged!

It's a poor return
for all you've done.

Robert! God didn't intend
you to play at piety!

You heard, didn't you?
- Yes, I was behind the door.

She's Thierry's niece,
my lady-in-waiting.

Used to spy, now
keeps an eye on me.

I must leave for Pontoise.

It's too late for that.
- I must see them.

- They are captive.
Then I'll see the king!

We leave at once.

How long has this gone on?
- Four years.

Almost queens! To have spent
my life's blood on those girls...

...all my cunning and my
patience, and for what?

So that a couple of
fly-by-night equerries...

...should strip them
of it all in a second.

And what were the cuckolds
up to all this time?

Why didn't the royal offspring
look after their sluts?

I know how delighted you
are, nephew, you show it.

Swift to strike,
quick to seize...

...the blood and guts
that have been spilled.

We are two of a kind, aunt.

Don't dream too many
dreams, my devil.

The fields of Artois aren't
in your clutches yet.

The aforesaid Marguerite, wife
of monseigneur of Navarre...

...and Blanche, wife of
monseigneur Charles...

...shall be imprisoned in the
fortress of Ch�teau-Gaillard...

We're in time; they're dealing
with some affair of witchcraft.

Or sodomy, aunt.

...for the remaining years that it
shall please god to grant them.

Also, lady Jeanne,

...countess palatine of Burgundy,

...wife of monseigneur of Poitiers,

...shall be imprisoned for
culpable complicity,

...in the castle of Dourdan,

...until she repent,

...and until it please the king.

Also, messires Gautier and Philip d'Aunay,

...having abandoned their honour,

...and betrayed the feudal law,

...by committing adultery
upon persons of royal majesty,

...shall be broken,

...flayed alive,

...castrated,

...decapitated,

...and hanged upon the
public gallows of Pontoise,

...on the morning
following hereafter.

This is the judgement...

of the gracious, well-beloved,
and most powerful king,

our sovereign.

That scheming dog!

No madam.

The king authorizes none
but his sons, if they wish.

Only his sons.

I didn't know...

I didn't mean to, Charles!

Mother, tell Charles I didn't
know. I've always loved him.

Tell him to have pity,
not to forget me.

No weakness, Charles.
Remember you are a prince.

No weakness, Charles.
No pity.

She's more man than you.

Even with our hair shorn,
we are still women.

Not she.

She has no womb, no heart,
no breasts, nothing!

Ice flows in her veins.

But for her you would've known
nothing. She hates us all.

May god forgive your crimes.

He will, sooner than he
will make you happy.

I am a queen, with a throne
and sceptre that I respect.

And I have had the spring,
the love of a man.

A man's body, his warmth,
his strength,

...that's good, you know.

Make her stop!

Ask your Edward:
He knows all about men!

Take her away.

No, Isabelle, you shall not
command messire de Pareilles.

I have commanded him before,
and may do so again one day!

He will not refuse this once
to leave upon my command.

The dawn was slow to come.

I had to clean them up first:
we execute cleanly here.

A drop of brandy to colour
the cheeks, and off we go.

An hour's entertainment, in
exchange for two men's lives.

And what's a man's life?

We live in hard times: one
woman in two dies in childbirth,

one child in three survives,
outbreaks of plague and famine.

Is god a miser, greedy for death?

Flayed alive,

castrated,
decapitated.

I think we judged well.

And the princesses?

They attended the punishment, each
from her tumbril, as you commanded.

What of the kingdom?
My sons have no heirs.

They will if they remarry.

They have wives before god.

The pope can free them.

Adultery is no ground
for annulment, sire.

So I must wait for death
to assure my descent.

Why did you not
execute their wives?

Two, at least?

And alienate the
two Burgundies?

The succession is
important, certainly,

...but even more so is
the unity of the kingdom.

Undoubtedly, sire.

Messire Guillaume, you
will visit pope Clement.

You will say that the union of a
king is not that of an ordinary man.

I shall, sire. But the
duchess of Burgundy...

will undoubtedly try everything to
convince the holy father otherwise.

The holy father owes everything to us.
- Including his crown.

Let him remember it now.

A courier, sire.
He seems to have ridden far.

From whom?

I cannot tell from here.

It would be wise to caution
monseigneur Louis, sire,

lest he prejudice his own cause
with some uncareful move.

I shall.

A messenger from Carpentras
craves an audience with you, sire.

The pope's courier!

Pope Clement is dead, sire.

The pope we created
is now in god's hands.

When did he die?

Six days ago, during the
night of the 19th to 20th.

One month after...

Yes, sire.
One month afterwards.

How did the holy father die?

Sire, the pope was
visiting his nephew,

when he was racked
by fever and pains.

His physicians tried everything, even
giving him powdered emeralds to eat...

...but to no avail.

He was on the road
to Guyenne,

where he wished to die,
when the seizure took him.

His cardinals were with him.

Pope Clement!

Guillaume de Nogaret!

King Philip!

I summon you to God's
Judgement within the year!

Cursed! Cursed!
You shall all be cursed...

...to the thirteenth
generation of your loins.

Mahaut of Artois was consumed
by hatred of Guillaume de Nogaret,

...whom she believed responsible
for the downfall of her daughters.

Her lady-in-waiting Beatrice
would further her revenge.

She knew a former
knight templar.

Welcome, noble lady.

I have come to pay you.

A kind thought in
these days of scandal.

What scandal?
- Poor Marguerite of Navarre.

They say she had not one lover
but dozens, one for every night.

And of poor prince
Louis they all say...

he tortures his servants to make
them confess their complicity.

And afterwards, he dumps
their bodies in the Seine.

That is four livres, eight
sous, and four in tax.

Here are six livres.

You wish to see your prot�g�?

I shall leave you for a while.

You see?

My castle.
My domain!

Knight Evrard's estate!

It is preferable to death.

And you are preferable
to eternity!

You sheltered me when I fled
to escape death by burning...

...my leg crushed to make me
confess a pact with the devil.

Was it true?

It is now.

You have no faith?

No.
I have something better:

Hatred.

Pope Clement!
One dead already.

The hand of god strikes quickly!

But the one who crushed
your leg still lives.

Nogaret.

He buys candles here?
- Yes.

I have a powder that kills,
when burned in a candle.

Why would you kill him?

The templars are
not alone in hating.

We must hurry.

The grand master's nephew
has sworn to avenge him.

I received a message.
I must join the others at Langres.

When can I have...
this powder?

Here it is.

Ashes from the tongue of
a man killed by Nogaret...

baked at midnight hour,
to summon the devil...

And mixed with
pharaoh's serpent.

To breathe the flame one hour...
means death.

This may be our last meeting.

When you were a templar,
how did you remain chaste?

Why do you give yourself...
to me?

I am no longer young,
or handsome, nor rich.

I am capable of anything.

Tell me!
Why?

Because you are
capable of anything.

With the death of Nogaret,
Philip the Fair seemed to...

...have entered a realm
where no-one could reach him.

The prophecy of the grand master of
the templars never seized to haunt him.

Spring warmed the earth,
Paris basked in the sun,

but in his palace, the king seemed
doomed to the winter within him.

So passed the summer.

And in the autumn, on
November the fourth...

Tell them what you
saw yesterday,

...in the forest of
Pont-Sainte-Maxence,

...where the king
was hunting. Tell it.

The miracle?
- Yes.

Well, I saw the cross
between the stag's horns...

...a silver cross,
glittering in the sun.

We both saw it, him and me,
both of us staring.

I recognized the king at once.

It was he who freed us serfs,

...you remember
things like that.

That's not important.

Yes it is, it's why I loved him.

Trembling like a leaf he was.

But not from fear.
More as though he had a fever.

The silver cross was
dazzling bright, I swear it.

The king stared at it,
and let the reins fall.

He tried to call out.

But nothing came.
Not a word, not a sound.

Suddenly he toppled over,
felled...

...like a tree.

The cross!

Two dead branches
entangled in the horns, sire,

...covered in hoar frost
and glittering in the sun.

Brought to Fontaineblue,
to die where he was born,

...the king wandered within himself,
like a traveller who had lost his way.

The news spread through the country.

And the whole of France seemed to
bow, before the great fallen statue.

Where are my victories now?

What have I achieved
that will outlive me?

We made pope Boniface canonize
my grandfather, king Louis.

Was he really a saint?

A saint is a fine embellishment
for a royal family.

What about the jews?
Did I burn too many of them?

They are mortal, suffering
creatures like us.

God did not will it.

The deed was good because the
kingdom needed their wealth.

All greatness courts the risk of
doubt, and you have ruled greatly.

You have made one heart
for a divided kingdom.

Everywhere they cry out...

Everywhere they complain of low
wages and the soaring price of food.

And those why cry cannot understand,

...that though I would
give them what they ask,

...it depends not upon
my will, but upon time.

If they were to understand,
they would no longer obey.

The people, never of one mind,

...except in ingratitude.

Suddenly, one evening,
Philip the Fair felt again...

...that terrible black
explosion in his head...

...that fall into darkness...

...that he had experienced in the
forest of Point-Sainte-Maxence.

This time, when he
reopened his eyes,

there was stag, no cross, but
a white form, bent over him.

Father Renaud, have
I said my confession?

Yes sire.
The day before yesterday.

A fine confession, the
admiration of us all...

...as it will be of your subjects.

You declared, that
you had no need...

...of forgiveness for the
deaths on your hands,

...because Faith and Justice
must sustain each other.

You repented of the heavy taxes
that you laid on your people...

...and especially those
you laid on the church.

I said that?

I said that.

Weigh well, Louis...

...what it is, to be
the king of France.

When Philip died, three attempts
were made to close his eyelids.

In vain. They opened
of their own accord.

A bandage had to mask
the stare of this monarch,

...who was entering
eternity open-eyed.

Pope Clement!

Guillaume de Nogaret!

King Philip!

I summon you to God's
Judgement within the year!

Cursed! Cursed!
You shall all be cursed!