England, in the year 1215,
had been under the reign of King John for 16 years.
The most villainous of England's monarchs,
John was renowned for losing wars with France,
levying punitive taxes,
and sleeping with the wives of barons.
The barons finally rebelled against their king,
and became locked in a bloody civil war
lasting for over three years and decimating both armies.
In time, the Knights Templar were drawn into this conflict.
With the help of these highly trained warrior monks,
King John and his royal army were eventually defeated.
It was agreed that John could remain on the throne,
on one condition...
that he would sign a document
upholding the rights and privileges of all free men,
but ultimately limiting the power of the monarchy.
Make it count.
The Magna Carta was sealed at Runnymede
on the 15th of June in the year of our Lord 1215.
It will be remembered throughout history.
What is not remembered is what King John did next.
Sire?
It's time.
Hyah!
Hyah! Hyah!
England welcomes you.
Does the Pope hold his word?
Oh, how have faith, Captain Tiberius.
His Eminence is waiting to hear you hold to yours.
The Church will stay out of your lands, you have his word.
We'll get your country back.
What say you?
Abbot Marcus. We seek shelter from the storm.
Open the gates!
Come and help.
What business do you have here?
Our business is with God at Canterbury. We need only shelter.
Shelter you shall have. Food also.
You treat the Lord's servants well.
You wear the mark of the Templars, yet you carry no swords.
These men have no more need to fight.
Templars masking their faith and travelling without swords.
How noble!
As God is our witness, Baron, these men have nothing to hide.
Abbot, save your benedictions. The Templars fought against the King.
Now you sleep in a king's castle. These men have plenty to hide.
You there. What say you?
They say nothing. They hold vows of silence.
Templars without tongues. Very well.
Just be gone by the morning.
Back inside!
Marshal.
When I accept guardianship over men who take the vows of silence,
I'm also informed of what led them to me in the first place.
I know the Templars placed a heavy burden on you.
I know you're deeply scarred.
The cross on your tunic
is a symbol of your faith in God's will.
It should not be full of the torment it now bears upon your soul.
When we arrive at Canterbury,
I'm requesting your leave from the Order of the Knights Templar.
Garrison men!
King John!
Men, to the gates! It's the King!
Open the gates for the King!
Psst!
Marshal, did you see royal colours?
Is that your hand, Darnay?
Forced, Your Highness.
The barons threatened my life, forcing me to sign it and betray you.
I know the feeling.
Hang him!
This insanity must cease.
Open the door. His quarrel is not with us.
If you three stand before the King, there will be nothing but death.
What good fortune, Darnay. It seems you will have your last rites.
My Lord, Templars.
He's travelling en route to Canterbury with Templars.
To what do I owe the pleasure of the Church visiting my castle?
We were in the storm, sire. Baron Darnay granted us your hospitality.
- We? - My fellow priests.
Ah, yes, I heard.
Templars.
Sire, we entered your castle as unarmed men. We seek no fight.
Are you aware, Abbot,
that your kind stood at Runnymede and forced my signature,
and now you sleep under my roof?
Your Highness, we travel to Canterbury
with simple articles of faith.
I ask your mercy that we may pass.
And I will grant you the same mercy
that the Church and the barons of this country bestowed unto me.
"Do unto others", isn't that right, Abbot?
Tiberius!
Don't let him go!
Ride!
There is worth...
in every death.
And I will see it now in yours.
- You saw the King? - Yes. And he saw me.
Mm.
I didn't imagine that even he was capable of such cruelty.
Abbot Marcus was the finest of men.
Tell me, why did he request that you leave the Order?
- Your Grace, I did not wish to be dismissed. - But that's not what I asked.
You were in the Holy Lands?
Hm. Some men have returned from defending our faith
only to find themselves questioning it.
Now you must ask yourself, Thomas...
what is in your heart?
Rebellion or revenge.
I suppose it makes no difference as the King has the devil in his.
I don't care if he's talking to the Pope! I have to see him now!
And as we speak of the devil...
My Lord Archbishop.
They told me about Darnay.
We took John at his word...
and now he raises a bitch's army with God's teeth.
I'll bow to no king with piss for blood!
Baron William de Albany, Brother Thomas Marshal.
Brother Thomas comes directly from Darnay Castle.
You must forgive our Baron, his tongue is not always so profane.
Now, you should know that Rome sides with the King.
And the Pope would bless what the King did to Abbot Marcus?
More or less.
I am to be excommunicated for writing Magna Carta.
- How long have we got? - God knows.
Your Grace, this...
king... must be stopped.
I cannot, in all honesty, ask you to fight, Thomas,
but if you choose to take up your sword, you have my blessing.
It's a good omen.
God is with us.
Prince Louis has an army may be persuaded to join us.
Asking the French for help...
that's cursing the blind for the wicked.
If John takes the Dover Road to London
he has to cross the Medway here at Rochester.
I'll seize Rochester Castle.
Delay them. That'll give you time to negotiate with the French.
We have no force to fight the King.
I have a few men I can count on.
Absolutely not. Suicide is a sin in the eyes of the Church, Baron.
Your Grace, I'm afraid I only see one thing.
From Rochester, the King is able to dispatch his troops and supplies
all over the country.
It is his keystone. Without it we will not stop him.
All my sins to this.
May God protect what we are about to do.
Guy!
Squire!
I want you to ride back.
No. I know how to fight.
You see how he talks to me?
Have you ever killed a man, Squire? Eh?
- Then you will learn, it is not a noble thing. - Not even when it's for freedom?
Not even when it is for God.
Hah!
Look at you!
Any one of you throws a turd or a bean, I'll get you!
And you know I will! Yargh!
- Where's the butchers? - Over there.
I'll remember your faces!
Sheep shears! They're sharp! Sharp sheep shears!
- I'm looking for Daniel Marks. - Wait here.
Marks!
Whatever it is or how much...
- just get me out of here, Baron. - Done. Where's de Lacy?
- He went back to Poitou. - Becket?
You don't want him.
Templars. They've come back.
Here. You may need protection.
Get up.
I said, get up!
You sack of shit!
Billy.
What told me I'd see you?
What's with the altar boy? Billy all tied up with God again?
- This is not our man. - Hoy!
I'm his man, don't you worry about that.
If he pays me enough, I'll split the gut of any man alive.
Ain't that right, Billy boy?
- Who's with you? - Gil Becket. Daniel Marks.
The last time we were all together must have been Dieppe.
The days when the King was still good to us.
He's taken all the castles along the coast.
If he takes Rochester, he'll control southern England.
If the whispers I've heard are true, he's too strong now.
He's got an army of Danish mercenaries.
Wait for him in London.
Do you think I want this? I'm not a soldier, not any more.
I'm a fat wool merchant with a hen-pecking wife and three daughters.
But, unfortunately, he won't let it be.
I'm sorry, Baron. Not this one.
I learnt about the Crusades.
Is it true what the Templar swords say?
"Blessed and omnipotent is the warrior of Christ"'?
Yeah, water. Water.
- Hey! - Agh!
What do you think he's worth?
- Are you sorry for what you've done? - Bollocks.
- Release him. - Amen!
Papa!
Get inside. Now!
- Joseph. - Baron.
- Daniel. - Wulfstan.
Becket.
You... are a filthy whore, Becket.
So was she.
We'll never hold that castle with this lot.
They may not be worthy of that cross you wear, but they'll hold the castle.
Not for England... not for God...
but for me.
Winter's soon, so if I'm not back by first snowfall,
take your sister to your aunt, give her this. Hm?
Work hard.
Be polite.
And what's written here is true?
From my ears to this paper, Sire.
Tiberius, six of your fastest scouts to Rochester.
Instruct them to hold the castle.
- Kill anyone they find there. - Hyah!
Money.
And you know these men?
So what does that make you?
Worthless.
There it is.
Looks small from here.
That... small castle...
controls all the land as far as you can see.
Be patient, Squire.
As long as there's women.
- What say you? - I bring business from Archbishop Langton.
Isabel!
We have company.
I have told you before, I will not tolerate drinking.
You won't tolerate anything.
My Lord. We have men at the gate.
I tolerate the politics of the King, Isabel.
Our marriage was arranged for land and wealth.
It would be well if you were to remember that.
And he owns us, body and soul.
Open the gates! Let 'em in!
You arrive unexpected, Baron de Albany.
What matter does His Grace send this late?
That we claim this castle in the name of the rebellion.
If your visit is to claim my castle, Baron...
you're too late.
Unusual saddles.
- Danish. - What was that?
They're Danish. They arrived last night.
The King's scouts. His army is less than a day away.
Oaks, get the guard here quickly.
That one was at Darnay Castle two days ago.
Aargh!
Argh!
No. No, no!
Marshal, down!
Yargh!
Baron.
Stand down! Stand down!
Listen to me.
By the archbishop, we claim this castle in the name of the rebellion.
The rebellion's over. The King surrendered to the great charter.
Magna Carta.
This one sealed by the King's own hand.
And now... he's executing everybody who supported it.
But does the Pope know that the Archbishop is claiming royal castles, against the King?
I watched as three of my brothers were killed
by the soft hand of a king that is murdering his way across the country.
And he does so with the Pope's blessing.
The French army make sail any day now.
Giving us... a new king.
A true king.
Seal the gates.
Lock all the doors! Move! And, Oaks, no one else comes in.
Very well.
Well, Marshal...
you got us our castle.
- What is your strength, Captain? - Eleven men-at-arms.
- We have less than 20 men? - And these walls.
- They've never been breached. - Does the keep have a portcullis?
- It does. - Good.
- Once it's down, no one gets in. - Water. Where is the supply?
From the Well. Draws straight from the river. No one here gets thirsty.
- it's good, it's not sick or brackish? - Water's good, sir.
Guy, with me.
These walls are designed to be defended by one man per station.
Outlook is perfect. Any approach can be seen for miles.
Now, let's see the gatehouse.
You, day or night, stay alert. Now open it up.
What's the problem?
There's no moat.
That'll do.
Now, when they come...
hit them hard.
Hit the post.
I said, hit the post. Hard.
They'll come? The French.
We waited for the French at Damascus. They didn't come then.
Even to a Frenchman I think Rochester is nearer than Damascus.
Hit it.
You better hit it harder than that, boy.
Or you'll be dead before they get here.
They hate women.
Just to look at one's a sin.
Some people say they worship the devil.
Celibates with stone hearts.
Then I have a stone heart, too, Maddy.
I didn't mean it like that.
A Templar offers his Chastity to God,
but a wife...
she suffers hers by her husband.
My husband's appetites don't include me.
Thank the Lord Mary herself.
Now, I am... "curious, Albany.
Why is it that you and your friends are so struck with this rebellion?
- Mm. - Cos we are for the people.
I see your esquire is well-trained in the art of naivety.
- Go on. - Call me naive if you will, sir,
but the people deserve more than a king that treats them like animals.
Ah, bold words for a Squire.
Have you read Magna Carta?
- I... - Ah, I see. You can't read Latin.
It's a pity, arguing from ignorance.
Argumentum ad ignorantiam, ab uno disce omnes.
That's Roman, innit?
From one person, learn all people.
Excuse my wife's bold tongue.
Becket, I'm gonna need you on the far wall.
- Guy can't defend it on his own. - Do it yourself.
What?
You want a drink? A woman?
Don't you sniff your nose at me.
I've been places. I've seen what your holy brothers have done.
Your pious bile makes me sick.
Becket. I want you outside.
I'll watch your boy's back, but who's watching mine?
To the battlements!
- To the battlements! - Right away!
- Take your positions, men! - Get those men up here, quickly!
Mercel, they're here!
Let's see what rats have taken up in my home.
Move it! Come on!
Albany, a word. You cannot engage the King without considering terms.
He wants our heads on spikes. Where are the terms in that?
There are some in here who didn't pick this fight.
Ask yourself who you're for, Cornhill.
The King or the country? Because we both can't be wrong.
They're here.
Albany!
How did he know? What can we do for you, John?
Baron William de Albany.
The Pope has ordered me to reclaim my country.
Now, surely you don't bar your door against a king, and the Church?
Does he know you sealed a charter...
giving the people of England freedom,
and that now you go back on your word?
England is mine, Albany.
God's will bestowed it unto me, the Pope blesses it to me,
and this castle belongs to me!
You're no more a king...
than the boil on my arse!
Huh.
What a tedious little man.
Get the swords now. Come on!
Move yourselves!
Stay by your posts.
Remember, they have to climb over these walls.
And we do not.
So you stand firm!
Have you ever fought so many with so few?
Uh-huh. Don't you forget, you hold the wall, huh?
Now, go to your post.
North and south advance!
Get ready, archers!
Loose!
Take cover!
And again! Take cover!
Get down!
Ha-ha!
Come on, lads, come on! Take your positions! Look lively!
Take cover, lads! Take cover!
Argh!
Again!
Argh!
Albany!
Archers! They're coming!
Make a stand! Ready?
Load arrows!
Loose!
- Oil! Bring up that oil! - Ready!
Loose!
Oil! Watch your back!
Take cover!
Becket!
Come on. This way.
- What do we do? - Pray God is with them.
Becket!
Ha, ha-ha-ha-ha!
Guy!
Show that to your mother!
Now, get up!
I said get up!
Now, you hit him. Hard!
Behind you! Clear!
Take cover!
Aargh!
They're running!
They're retreating! They've had enough, Baron.
Bastards! Go on, run!
Come on, you foreign whores!
You fought bravely.
You did not see everything.
There's no finding peace after knowing this.
Faith, Guy.
Only the weak believe that what they do in battle...
is who they are as men.
Put him with the others.
Pack 'em over there. Over there, that's it.
Baron Albany...
in less than a day...
you have stripped away everything I gave the people in this castle.
- Get off my back. - You were hellbent on this fight!
You made us all hostages to your cause, not the rebellion's.
And this was not just another castle!
This was my home!
Now clear your mess up.
Shut the door.
Still now.
Wait. Here.
- This man is bleeding. - On the table.
No. Wait. This will stop the flow.
I'm gonna pull this hard.
The bone's not broken, but...
Go on, do it, do it.
Keep it clean, and watch him close.
Templar.
- Your neck. - No.
Sit.
Please.
If the bleeding doesn't stop, shall I fasten a belt around your neck?
My maid tells me you cannot look at women.
What is your name?
Am I to assume your silence means you cannot talk to women either?
My name is Thomas Marshal.
There it is.
And were many sacred vows broken by that revelation?
It's not like the others. The river naturally defends.
Walls built... so a few can stop many.
Don't insult me, Captain.
I know the qualities of a Norman keep.
What I am having trouble with...
is how a thousand men could have failed so miserably against twenty.
Those men fight hard. For what?
A small rock in a field?
We go around.
My great, great grandfather built that rock
when he conquered this country.
Strategically, it fortifies London and controls all of southern England.
Why in God's name do you think they chose to hole up there in the first place?
What will please your people more, Captain?
That your men died in a great battle,
or that your reward for helping me is the Church leaving your lands alone?
For that is what the Pope promised he would do.
Now, however small it may seem...
with that rock, the rest of this country follows.
Now you see what he means to do.
I say this to each of you.
There's a night out there...
deep enough for a man to slip away, if he should wish.
And I would understand.