Templar Knight Landry (Tom Cullen) bowed before his sword in Knightfall
History’s Knightfall is one of the most highly anticipated series of the year, and here are the pictures giving a glimpse of what’s to come.
Based on the incredible story of the Knights Templar, the new series takes place in the Middle Ages and starts after the fall of the city of Acre, the order’s last stronghold in the Holy Land, and the loss of the Holy Grail.
It then follows members of the powerful and wealthy organization as they try to track down the famous Cup of Christ after a clue comes to light about where it could be.
The group sent to find it are led by the courageous Templar Knight Landry, played in the series by Downton Abbey star Tom Cullen. Pádraic Delaney, who starred in The Tudors, plays Gawain — the Templar Order’s greatest swordsman before being crippled at Acre — while Spartacus star Simon Merrells plays the brave and loyal Tancrede.
The Templars led by Landry launch themselves into battleLandry atop a horse bearing the famous cross of the Knights Templar
Following the Siege of Acre, Knightfall then traces the Templar timeline up until their clash with King Philip IV of France which eventually led to their demise when scores were arrested and brutally tortured, with many later being burned at the stake.
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The series aims to shine a light on the Templars like never before, including showing what kind of men they were and what they believed in.
Knightfall features Cullen’s fellow Downton Abbey star Jim Carter as Pope Boniface VIII, who was the Holy Leader of the Templar Knights and a stabilizing force in the chaos that was the Middle Ages.
The Crown star Ed Stoppard plays King Philip IV of France, with War and Peace star Olivia Ross as his wife Queen Joan of Navarre, Downton Abbey’s Julian Ovenden as his right-hand man William De Nogaret and DaVinci’s Demons star Sabrina Bartlett as the king and queen’s daughter Princess Isabella.
Feast your eyes on the pictures below, and prepare for battle!
Cullen as Landry in chainmail with Templar troops behind himThe Templars led by Landry hold up their shields as protectionSimon Merrells as the steadfast, brave and resolute knight TancredeTemplar Knights Tancrede, Landry, and Pádraic Delaney GawainA scene from the Battle of Acre, with which the series startsMembers of the Knights Templar in prayerA meeting of the Order of The Knights Templar, with the order’s cross on the floorTemplar Knight Gawain on the battlefieldMembers of the Templars at the Battle of AcreThe Templars on a boat with battlements behind them at the Battle of AcreCullen as the noble, courageous and headstrong LandryLandry rides through the streets on horsebackLandry, with his templar cross visible and his hand on his swordJulian Ovenden as William De Nogaret, left, and Ed Stoppard as King Philip IV of FranceJim Carter as Pope Boniface VIII of France is carried through the streetsPope Boniface VIII of France in a moment of contemplationPope Boniface VIII of France greets townspeople with knights as protectionEd Stoppard as King Philip IV of France in all his regaliaThe king speaks to his Machiavellian right-hand man William De NogaretOlivia Ross as the king’s wife, Queen Joan of Navarre, who was powerful in her own rightGawain and Tancrede kneel at an altarA bloodied Landry talks to Gawain, who was crippled at AcrePope Boniface VIII of France and Sabrina Bartlett’s Princess IsabellaPope Boniface VIII of France speaks with LandryPrincess Isabella and William De NogaretQueen Joan of Navarre and King Philip IV of FranceQueen Joan, William De Nogaret, King Philip IV of France, and Princess Isabella
Knightfall premieres Wednesday, December 6, at 10/9c on History.
