I have never seen this early silent film, and I am somewhat surprised that it was even made into an early film. It sounds very interesting, in that Camille Saen - Saens composed the score. That makes it more than a curiosity.
The Duc De Guise was one of the most powerful men in France in his day. His niece was Mary, Queen of Scots. He was the leader of the French Catholics, and was determined to be the dominant figure in France. This did not seem too impossible in the late 1580s, as the king of France, Henri III (of the house of Valois) was a relatively weak figure - dominated by his mother Catherine De Medici (as his two brothers, Francois II and Charles IX were dominated). Henri III was a homosexual, and it was not expected that he would ever father a successor. His closest relative was a cousin, King Henri of Navarre (who was also a Huguenot ("Protestant"). The Duc De Guise was opposed to Navarre getting the throne, and (with the backing of King Philip II of Spain) he was willing to create a state of civil war until Henri III agreed to change the succession.
The story of De Guise's conspiracy against his monarch gets deeply involved in Spanish, French, and English history, involving the execution of his niece Mary by Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada. I recommend Garrett Mattingley's classic study, THE ARMADA, to get the full story. For our purposes I will only add this. In December 1588 the Duc and his brother the Cardinal of Lorraine, were invited by King Henri III to a private meeting. While awaiting the King, both men were attacked and murdered in an anti-chamber. The King was fully aware of the plot as he was behind it. His dying mother Catherine was shocked at the act, and said her son would not long survive his two victims or herself. She was right. Within six months, King Henri III was stabbed by a fanatical Catholic monk, and died. He was succeeded by Henri of Navarre, who would face a religious civil war until 1598. He finally won the war when he converted to Catholicism, but wrote (as his first successful law) the Edict of Nantes, granting religious tolerance to the Protestant Huguenots. Although there would be rough spots yet to come (Cardinal Richelieu would go after La Rochelle, a Protestant stronghold in 1628 - see THE THREE MUSKETEERS), it lasted until revoked in 1685 by King Louis XIV. As for Henri of Navarre, first Bourbon monarch of France and known as Henri IV would reign until 1610, when he too was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic.
This is the background of this early film.
The Duc De Guise was one of the most powerful men in France in his day. His niece was Mary, Queen of Scots. He was the leader of the French Catholics, and was determined to be the dominant figure in France. This did not seem too impossible in the late 1580s, as the king of France, Henri III (of the house of Valois) was a relatively weak figure - dominated by his mother Catherine De Medici (as his two brothers, Francois II and Charles IX were dominated). Henri III was a homosexual, and it was not expected that he would ever father a successor. His closest relative was a cousin, King Henri of Navarre (who was also a Huguenot ("Protestant"). The Duc De Guise was opposed to Navarre getting the throne, and (with the backing of King Philip II of Spain) he was willing to create a state of civil war until Henri III agreed to change the succession.
The story of De Guise's conspiracy against his monarch gets deeply involved in Spanish, French, and English history, involving the execution of his niece Mary by Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada. I recommend Garrett Mattingley's classic study, THE ARMADA, to get the full story. For our purposes I will only add this. In December 1588 the Duc and his brother the Cardinal of Lorraine, were invited by King Henri III to a private meeting. While awaiting the King, both men were attacked and murdered in an anti-chamber. The King was fully aware of the plot as he was behind it. His dying mother Catherine was shocked at the act, and said her son would not long survive his two victims or herself. She was right. Within six months, King Henri III was stabbed by a fanatical Catholic monk, and died. He was succeeded by Henri of Navarre, who would face a religious civil war until 1598. He finally won the war when he converted to Catholicism, but wrote (as his first successful law) the Edict of Nantes, granting religious tolerance to the Protestant Huguenots. Although there would be rough spots yet to come (Cardinal Richelieu would go after La Rochelle, a Protestant stronghold in 1628 - see THE THREE MUSKETEERS), it lasted until revoked in 1685 by King Louis XIV. As for Henri of Navarre, first Bourbon monarch of France and known as Henri IV would reign until 1610, when he too was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic.
This is the background of this early film.