The Devil's Whore (2008): Season 1, Episode 3 - Episode #1.3 - full transcript
Cromwell's regime is firmly established and maintain by bloody military terror. Its illegality is obvious to many, including Honest John Lilburn, who ends up siding with the opposition, yet...
You will pay with your own life
for that of my friend.
Thomas Rainsborough...
Should such a man be
in such high command?
I'm with child.
Till I return, guard this woman with your life.
Arrest her!
What does it matter now?
Let them hang me!
subsBusters proudly presents
Have you considered, John?
Aye.
Your answer?
No.
Why, pray?
You would have me sit
as a judge at the King's trial.
Others have already agreed.
By whose authority will he be tried?
By that of Parliament.
Oliver!
This is your Parliament,
since you purged it.
Is that not the truth?
Aye, sir, for you are
Honest John Lilburne.
Let a new Parliament
be freely elected,
let that Parliament
call for the King...
We waste our breath together, sir.
Then answer me this one thing -
if it happen
that Charles Stuart be found
innocent of the crime
of making war on his people,
will you let him be set free?
England will be never be at peace
till this matter of the King
be settled once for all.
Fare you well.
WAILING
Just one more time.
You're nearly there.
Again. And breath and push...
Hard, hard! Push, Angelica, push!
Yes, yes!
CRIES OUT
Ssh!
Ssh!
APPLAUSE
The court commands
the charge be read.
My Lord, in behalf of
the Commons of England
and of all the people thereof...
Hold a little.
In behalf of the Commons of England
and of all the people thereof,
I do accuse Charles Stuart,
here present,
as a tyrant, traitor
and murderer,
public and implacable enemy
to the Commonwealth of England
and man of blood!
LAUGHS
God save the King! God save the King!
-God save the King!
-Sir
we would have your answer.
I would know by what lawful
authority I am called hither.
Remember, I am your King.
We are satisfied of
our own authority.
It is not your self-satisfaction
that should decide the matter.
I know as much law as any one of you.
Show me one precedent in history
for these proceedings.
It is not for a prisoner to require.
Sir, I am not an ordinary prisoner.
SHOUTING
Make them be quiet!
Clear the court!
A boy. He came too early into
the world - no air in his lungs.
Now the law can hang me.
Ask Elizabeth to fetch me
my wedding dress
and then you can go home, Saxby.
I have no home, if you be hanged.
Then wander the world,
for hanged I must be.
< You're guilty!
< Murderer!
SHOUTING
King of Blood!
There's blood on your hands!
In the name of
the people of England...
Not a half! Not a quarter
of the people of England!
Oliver Cromwell is a traitor!
Oliver Cromwell is a traitor! Away!
The prisoner, having refused to
give his answer to the charges,
has thereby confessed his guilt.
The prisoner may speak.
I must tell you all...
...this many a day, all things
have been taken away from me...
...but that which I call
more dear to me than my life...
...my conscience
and my honour.
If I had more respect to my life
than the peace of the kingdom...
...I should've made
a defence for myself
that might leastwise have delayed
the ugly sentence
which I believe
you will pass... on me.
I know it is in vain
to dispute with you.
I cannot deny the power you have.
I have nothing more to say.
Sir, there is a bond made
between a king and his people.
A bond of protection
due from the sovereign
and subjection due from the people.
When this bond is once broken...
...farewell sovereignty.
Charles Stuart,
as a tyrant, traitor,
murderer and a public enemy,
shall be put to death
by the severing of his head
from his body.
Why is it so still?
They kill the King today.
Where are your friends today, madam?
Here before me, sirrah - ready to
pull at my legs and hasten my death.
Where's the hangman?
Elizabeth, tell your mother
when you see her
that my thoughts have never
strayed from her,
that my love will be the same
to the last. Will you tell her?
Sweetheart,
I fear you will forget this.
I shall never forget it
whilst I live.
Child...
...they will cut off my head...
...and perhaps make you King.
But mark what I say...
You must not be a king
so long as your brothers do live.
I'll be torn in pieces first.
It is very low.
It can be no higher, sir.
Remember.
You die a thief,
a murderess and a whore.
Will you at last admit your guilt
and beg forgiveness?
No, I will beg nothing from you,
nor any man.
Men have accused me,
men have judged me...
..and now men will kill me.
Men have sought to silence me
all my days.
But, before I am cut off, hear me.
You're the thief, sir,
for that you've stolen this world.
You're the murderer,
for that you've killed its dreams.
And you, sir, are the whore,
for you sold your soul
for a bag of gold.
Very pretty gallows speech.
Where is the hangman?
BANGING ON DOOR
Make haste, sir - my master has
bought a window at Whitehall.
On another day,
I could have wished
her your slowest death.
Hangman, I forgive you.
But today,
hurry, sir.
No more words, madam?
Where is Colonel Rainsborough today,
hmm?
What?
You cannot speak?
Are her ankles not pretty?
Let me pull on her legs!
No.
For pity's sake!
We lose time, sir.
Hangman, do not bring her down
until she be dead.
We must leave now, sir.
On, sir.
Edward!
Stay for the sign.
GASPS
Breathe!
Order! Stand back!
GASPING
He just scare speak a crown well
about anything now,
but he will lay his hand
upon his breast.
Aye and he'll elevate his eyes.
He'll call God to record.
He will weep, he will howl,
he will repent.
Even while he doth smite you
under the fifth rib!
Comrades, what did the army
fight for, eh?
To make Oliver absolute lord
and ruler over Ireland...
CROWD SHOUTS
...As he is now, over England.
England's new chains,
England's new chains!
Read it and weep!
Gentlemen.
Edward.
The republic fights for its first
breaths while Honest John
incites the army
to mutiny against me.
Is this how he sees me now Edward?
As a tyrant?
You may speak openly.
Master Thurloe serves the nation.
Freeborn John thinks he may
have seen your hand at work
in the murder
of Thomas Rainsborough.
Do the Leveller regiments
talk of that?
In secret. For there
is hardly a one now in England
does not fear the General.
And you?
Did you see my hand in it?
No.
Then will you come with me?
To Ireland.
To kill Papists?
To make certain
that no Scottish or French armies
will ever find friends there.
My army is brave but they will
see sights in Ireland
that they never thought to see.
I need eyes with me there,
who have seen those sights before.
Your army is owed its wages.
As we take the land from the Papists,
we will sell it to Protestants
and pay the army its wages.
And what of the Papists?
When last they arose they killed
mothers and ate their babies, sir.
They are beyond humanity, Edward.
Come with me.
The man who stood so close
to Thomas Rainsborough,
must now stand close to me.
Come, sir.
Will you be Colonel Sexby?
Brighten your sword, Colonel Sexby.
The Lord has work for us both.
You must first to Burford, Edward.
The Leveller regiments
have arrested their officers
and refuse to march for Ireland.
Honest John has his mutiny.
Mutiny?
These are brave and honest men,
sir. I know them.
Go to them as from me.
Let them lay down their arms
and release their officers.
Tell them Old Noll will come
to them in person
and all their grievances
will be heard, upon my word.
What are your plans, madam?
To live the life you gave me.
What will you do?
I go to Ireland.
I have an officer's wages.
They are yours.
How?!
Be my wife.
I promised the best man in England
I would protect you.
Be my wife, in outward show only
and my promise is kept.
A woman cannot survive alone.
No, Sexby...
I mean to shift for myself now.
There are Diggers at Fanshawe House.
I mean to join them.
The Diggers follow Thomas' dreams -
Land a commonwealth,
property levelled
and every man's conscience his own.
The Diggers will not take you in
if you be unmarried.
Consider.
I do not ask for love.
I do not ask for...
a marriage bed.
I ask only that you
let me serve you.
Would you have me write you letters?
Sexby...
Why have you done this?
Duty, madam.
A promise given.
Freeborn John writes us
this message from the Tower.
"If Cromwell is allowed
to go on as he is,
"he will make himself King
and there will be nothing
"but cutting of throats, year..."
Make way for Colonel Sexby!
This you may not do
and still be soldiers.
Untie your officers.
This defiance cannot go on.
Give them their weapons
and their horses.
Be not afraid of them hereafter.
One greater than them comes to
listen to you. The General himself.
Now hear me.
Throw your weapons up here.
Do it now.
Nay! Never!
Come now.
Let none say you drew your weapons
at Old Noll.
When you speak, he will listen.
When he speaks, you will listen.
He will give you orders
and you will obey them.
There will be no reprisals.
This he has promised me
and I promise you the same.
In the name of Thomas Rainsborough.
Rainsborough! Rainsborough!
General!
You thought to mutiny?
You thought
to imprison your officers?
You thought to give orders
to the Army Council?
Show me the ringleaders.
They will face a court martial
immediately.
Sir!
Your part is played, Colonel.
Fire!
You kept no covenant with us.
Is there is anyone
who will not willingly submit
to my will and accept my pardon?
Do you wish to resign
your commission, Edward?
Ireland is our back door.
It must be bolted.
We march for Ireland.
Why keep that one?
Why this one?
Thomas Rainsborough lies there.
Should be at the head of England.
What's your business here, madam?
I come to dig, if you will let me.
Your name?
Sexby.
Mistress Sexby.
Your husband?
Gone from me.
Dead?
Not dead.
Gone to Ireland.
Come with me, Mistress Sexby.
Mistress Sexby
wishes to live among us.
Her husband is fighting
in Ireland.
You are welcome, Mistress Sexby.
Those who work, eat. We share all.
Your story is written in your hands.
I think you were not born
to this work.
My name is Christian.
Tell me about the man in the
earth whose grave you tend.
I never knew him but by report.
He raised up the common man.
He fought for his liberty
against the rich...and mighty.
Truly, I wish he was here.
Wishing will not bring him.
Nay but he should be here,
for we are living in the best
and last of days.
Our last days are near?
Christ is ready
to walk the earth again.
Do you not feel his love
all around you?
Christ Jesus has come to me.
Tell us what you saw, Jocelyn.
He came down last night
and lay by me in my bed.
told me he would come soon and
rain upon the earth 10,000 years.
PEOPLE SHOUT
Shall we pray, Mistress Sexby?
Oh, mighty God, who throughout
the mouths of babes
and sucklings
have ordained strength
and make of infants to glorify
thy name with their innocence.
Inspire us with thy grace...
RUMBLING
Another sign.
PEOPLE SHOUT IN PANIC
SCREAMING
WOMEN SCREAM
SHOUTING AND SCREAMING
Come.
We begin again.
Colonel,
did your party reach Wexford?
We were held a while
at Arklow, General.
It must be removed from our path.
It is done. The garrison fled.
What's left has been
driven into a bog.
There they wait for you.
Is this the flower
of all their army?
Bring them out.
They are stuck fast.
How many are they?
Twelve.
Twelve bullets then.
We're short on powder and shot.
Make ready the cannon!
Are you ready to surrender, sir?
Resist and you will
blow you all to atoms.
I cannot.
Surrender and you live.
Resist and your entire garrison will
be put to the sword - man and boy.
I may not.
He has orders.
He will not defend the town
purposefully
but needs to make a show of
a fight before he surrenders.
Purposeful or no,
they will die, all of them.
I'll drag no prisoners
across this benighted land.
Wake me when the walls are breached.
Prepare to die.
Ready?
Ready!
Fire the cannon!
THUDDING AND SCREAMING
Edward!
I hate to see any man's
resting place neglected.
Let me help you.
Harry Fanshawe.
I wonder what he was?
Your words moved me, sir.
When you said these days were
like the days of Christ on earth.
Full of love.
I feel that love
in these good people's hearts.
They are good people.
But they know not
the intenseness of the times.
But I believe that you do.
I believe that you taste the rare
and beautiful air that we breathe.
I have a sin to confess.
I am no priest, sir.
When I thought I heard you say
that your husband was dead...
...my heart was glad.
He lives...still.
Though he be far away.
Goodnight.
Both your husbands are dead, madam.
And lie here at my feet.
I will tell no other.
For truly I think this the bravest
and best thing that any woman
ever did.
How do you know me?
My mother worked in your kitchens.
They hanged me as The Devil's Whore.
Then I love the Devil's whore,
for truly I could never love
my lady Angelica Fanshawe.
She is far above me.
Though I would give my life for her.
Be not so eager to give
your life, Christian.
You may not be given
another, as I was.
LOW RUMBLING
ROARING VOICES AND SCREAMING
Come.
The owner of the land
will never let us be.
Master Joliffe is not the
true owner of the land.
We are the owners of the land
for we work the land
and we make it fruitful.
Master Joliffe?
Aye, given it by Parliament.
These things began when she came.
You think
I brought these things upon you?
The Devil's work began
when you came among us,
with his mark upon your neck.
That is all.
HUM OF CONVERSATION
They are frightened.
I will leave tomorrow.
I will follow you. I will follow you
to the end of the earth.
Christian...?
It is our desire, madam,
that you leave us.
MURMURS OF AGREEMENT
You have your wish,
even though this life here began to
light a candle of hope in my heart.
We will not have fornicators!
I saw them.
-She saw nothing. The child imagines things.
-I see the Devil at her side.
Aye.
She gave Satan her baby.
In God's name, will you make an end of this.
No, sir, we will make an end of you
and this woman, for if we do not,
our enemies will call us
polygamists and drive us off!
Your enemies mean to drive you
off in any case, Maddy, and...
not for a kiss in the night.
Because you tell them to love their
fellow men more than money or land!
Was it not love
that brought you together? Then...
No more, madam.
You must both be gone tomorrow.
I will be gone. Fear not.
But I leave you with one question.
If all on earth are equal,
why do the women work
in the fields during the day
and make the men's dinners at night?
Sometimes we see what's not there.
We see demons of our own conjuring.
I demand the release
of my husband, John Lilburne!
Why do you sit here
with your bellies full
-while famine grips the city?!
-No women in this chamber!
Why is the Army forced to Ireland!?
We have no fights in Ireland!
Get you home and wash dishes.
They are sold to feed my children!
Leave her.
John will have a fair trial,
on my word.
Sir...
If you take away John's life,
I will have yours!
Will they hang you today, John?
Hang me?
Ask my wife if they will hang me!
I have spent nine shillings
on a new pair of boots!
New boots! See?
New boots!
BOOING
John Lilburne.
Where is he? Let me shake his hand.
Do you say you are not
John Lilburne?
Why should I say I am John Lilburne
when 'tis said you will hang him
for treason?
I say nothing on the matter.
You are charged with being the
author of these pamphlets,
which urge the Army
to seditious mutiny.
How me, sir?
For that it says the name
"John Lilburne" upon them.
Why, any man may write
"John Lilburne."
Do you deny being the
author of these pamphlets?
What need I deny it when I have not
said that I am John Lilburne?
And where is the man can prove
a single soldier mutinied
on account of these pamphlets,
in any case?
Where are your witnesses?
All in Ireland!
APPLAUSE
I prithee, let me see the charges
and have time to study the case!
Sir, you mock this court!
No, sir! You mock this court,
as you mock justice,
as you mock truth and liberty!
But they will not be mocked forever,
in the name of Almighty God
in heaven!
THUNDER
Ah, now I remember me you!
Were not you, sir, and you, sir,
and yes, you, sir, all on the King's
side when first we began our quarrel?
Until, as I remember, until Oliver's
Army began to turn the tide when -
God's amazement -
you found yourselves coming over.
Whereas John Lilburne,
wherever he may be,
did fight at Kineton
and at Newbury and at Marston Field!
My bladder is swollen, sir.
May I go out to relieve myself?
No, sir.
Then bring me a pot to piss in!
LAUGHTER
(SIGHS)
Sirrahs...
I am Honest John Lilburne,
author of the pamphlets
that urge the army to resist an
unlawful and barbaric war in Ireland.
And you, my fellow citizens,
are the only judges that matter
in this place.
You, and you alone,
have the decision.
My life is in your hands.
Men of the jury,
what is your verdict?
We have found John Lilburne...
...not guilty.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
I am glad to see you alive.
"Glad?"
Who is he?
A friend.
I never misled you, Sexby.
You asked for no love,
nor marriage bed,
and my heart promised you neither.
Aye, but madam, I never thought you
would dishonour me before all eyes.
You are not dishonoured, save
your taking part in Irish massacres.
I thought of you every minute.
While you slaughtered other
men's wives and children?
What now?
I am your wife.
I am yours to command.
I do not command.
You must go wherever
your heart inclines you.
Then fare you well.
Wait.
I command.
What is your future? More soldiering?
I am a spoiled soldier...
..for which I am glad.
For truly, I have seen my fill
of butchering in this vile world.
The world is not vile...
...though some are that are in it.
Even they can be
saved by love, I think.
Love?
Aye, love.
I think you do not know it.
And I pity you for it.
Did love help the Diggers when
the army trampled their fields?
No.
What did love do for any man,
except make him run like
a fool to his destruction?
The Diggers had not too much love,
sir, but too little.
But there are those who believe
that love can save us all.
Ranters?
Only their enemies call them that.
They call themselves
the High Attainers,
and I have made friends amongst them.
Ranters?!
Sir, you are drunk.
Madam, do you know where this "love"
will bring you?
Do you know they have made
female adultery a capital offence?
If you continue as you are,
they will hang you again.
Who will save you? That boy?
That "boy", sir, may not know how to
split a man open with his sword,
but he sees the truth in us.
In who? In me?
In me.
In us all. He sees love
shining in our hearts,
and he sees what it can do here,
on earth.
Sexby, what use to bring down
kings or parcel out land,
if we do not share all that is in us?
Madam...do you lie with him?
Like all men, you are
a fool when you drink.
Do you lie with him?
Have you lain with him?
Let me go from here, sir.
Where to?
To him?
Oh, he "loves" you.
He loves your innards,
where the light does shine,
whereas I...
Sexby, I can never love you.
Ever.
I am sorry for you.
I am grateful to you.
But I will never love you.
Why do you stop, sir?
The law says you own me.
Live as you please. You are free.
But there is no freedom.
Except that which comes
with money and power.
If you know of any other kind,
then...
...you must run after it.
Go.
GO!
Where is Christian?
She must not escape a third time.
She'll not, sir.
I've led her by the nose
like a willing sow.
And she truly believed
in the diggers
Aye Sir
She gave her heart
to fools and thieves.
And now?
Now she believes the world
she longs for is finally at hand.
It is.
Sir, may your victory
be the vanguard of ours.
'Your release the harbinger
of freedom for all on Earth.'
The perfect freedom
of universal love.
(LAUGHS)
Universal love?
Universal love.
Universal love.
Universal love!
What must be done today?
All will be unmasked.
Only madmen oppose us now.
I pray you be not mad.
Sexby, no!
Every schoolboy will learn
the name of Edward Sexby.
That it set England
free of its chains.
I thought I'd lost you.
㤹㤹〰〺㨰ⰰ〵‰ⴭ‾〰〺㨰ⰲ〰昼湯⁴潣潬㵲⌢晦晦〰•楳敺ㄽ㸴睷癴畳瑢瑩敬敮㱴是湯㹴
for that of my friend.
Thomas Rainsborough...
Should such a man be
in such high command?
I'm with child.
Till I return, guard this woman with your life.
Arrest her!
What does it matter now?
Let them hang me!
subsBusters proudly presents
Have you considered, John?
Aye.
Your answer?
No.
Why, pray?
You would have me sit
as a judge at the King's trial.
Others have already agreed.
By whose authority will he be tried?
By that of Parliament.
Oliver!
This is your Parliament,
since you purged it.
Is that not the truth?
Aye, sir, for you are
Honest John Lilburne.
Let a new Parliament
be freely elected,
let that Parliament
call for the King...
We waste our breath together, sir.
Then answer me this one thing -
if it happen
that Charles Stuart be found
innocent of the crime
of making war on his people,
will you let him be set free?
England will be never be at peace
till this matter of the King
be settled once for all.
Fare you well.
WAILING
Just one more time.
You're nearly there.
Again. And breath and push...
Hard, hard! Push, Angelica, push!
Yes, yes!
CRIES OUT
Ssh!
Ssh!
APPLAUSE
The court commands
the charge be read.
My Lord, in behalf of
the Commons of England
and of all the people thereof...
Hold a little.
In behalf of the Commons of England
and of all the people thereof,
I do accuse Charles Stuart,
here present,
as a tyrant, traitor
and murderer,
public and implacable enemy
to the Commonwealth of England
and man of blood!
LAUGHS
God save the King! God save the King!
-God save the King!
-Sir
we would have your answer.
I would know by what lawful
authority I am called hither.
Remember, I am your King.
We are satisfied of
our own authority.
It is not your self-satisfaction
that should decide the matter.
I know as much law as any one of you.
Show me one precedent in history
for these proceedings.
It is not for a prisoner to require.
Sir, I am not an ordinary prisoner.
SHOUTING
Make them be quiet!
Clear the court!
A boy. He came too early into
the world - no air in his lungs.
Now the law can hang me.
Ask Elizabeth to fetch me
my wedding dress
and then you can go home, Saxby.
I have no home, if you be hanged.
Then wander the world,
for hanged I must be.
< You're guilty!
< Murderer!
SHOUTING
King of Blood!
There's blood on your hands!
In the name of
the people of England...
Not a half! Not a quarter
of the people of England!
Oliver Cromwell is a traitor!
Oliver Cromwell is a traitor! Away!
The prisoner, having refused to
give his answer to the charges,
has thereby confessed his guilt.
The prisoner may speak.
I must tell you all...
...this many a day, all things
have been taken away from me...
...but that which I call
more dear to me than my life...
...my conscience
and my honour.
If I had more respect to my life
than the peace of the kingdom...
...I should've made
a defence for myself
that might leastwise have delayed
the ugly sentence
which I believe
you will pass... on me.
I know it is in vain
to dispute with you.
I cannot deny the power you have.
I have nothing more to say.
Sir, there is a bond made
between a king and his people.
A bond of protection
due from the sovereign
and subjection due from the people.
When this bond is once broken...
...farewell sovereignty.
Charles Stuart,
as a tyrant, traitor,
murderer and a public enemy,
shall be put to death
by the severing of his head
from his body.
Why is it so still?
They kill the King today.
Where are your friends today, madam?
Here before me, sirrah - ready to
pull at my legs and hasten my death.
Where's the hangman?
Elizabeth, tell your mother
when you see her
that my thoughts have never
strayed from her,
that my love will be the same
to the last. Will you tell her?
Sweetheart,
I fear you will forget this.
I shall never forget it
whilst I live.
Child...
...they will cut off my head...
...and perhaps make you King.
But mark what I say...
You must not be a king
so long as your brothers do live.
I'll be torn in pieces first.
It is very low.
It can be no higher, sir.
Remember.
You die a thief,
a murderess and a whore.
Will you at last admit your guilt
and beg forgiveness?
No, I will beg nothing from you,
nor any man.
Men have accused me,
men have judged me...
..and now men will kill me.
Men have sought to silence me
all my days.
But, before I am cut off, hear me.
You're the thief, sir,
for that you've stolen this world.
You're the murderer,
for that you've killed its dreams.
And you, sir, are the whore,
for you sold your soul
for a bag of gold.
Very pretty gallows speech.
Where is the hangman?
BANGING ON DOOR
Make haste, sir - my master has
bought a window at Whitehall.
On another day,
I could have wished
her your slowest death.
Hangman, I forgive you.
But today,
hurry, sir.
No more words, madam?
Where is Colonel Rainsborough today,
hmm?
What?
You cannot speak?
Are her ankles not pretty?
Let me pull on her legs!
No.
For pity's sake!
We lose time, sir.
Hangman, do not bring her down
until she be dead.
We must leave now, sir.
On, sir.
Edward!
Stay for the sign.
GASPS
Breathe!
Order! Stand back!
GASPING
He just scare speak a crown well
about anything now,
but he will lay his hand
upon his breast.
Aye and he'll elevate his eyes.
He'll call God to record.
He will weep, he will howl,
he will repent.
Even while he doth smite you
under the fifth rib!
Comrades, what did the army
fight for, eh?
To make Oliver absolute lord
and ruler over Ireland...
CROWD SHOUTS
...As he is now, over England.
England's new chains,
England's new chains!
Read it and weep!
Gentlemen.
Edward.
The republic fights for its first
breaths while Honest John
incites the army
to mutiny against me.
Is this how he sees me now Edward?
As a tyrant?
You may speak openly.
Master Thurloe serves the nation.
Freeborn John thinks he may
have seen your hand at work
in the murder
of Thomas Rainsborough.
Do the Leveller regiments
talk of that?
In secret. For there
is hardly a one now in England
does not fear the General.
And you?
Did you see my hand in it?
No.
Then will you come with me?
To Ireland.
To kill Papists?
To make certain
that no Scottish or French armies
will ever find friends there.
My army is brave but they will
see sights in Ireland
that they never thought to see.
I need eyes with me there,
who have seen those sights before.
Your army is owed its wages.
As we take the land from the Papists,
we will sell it to Protestants
and pay the army its wages.
And what of the Papists?
When last they arose they killed
mothers and ate their babies, sir.
They are beyond humanity, Edward.
Come with me.
The man who stood so close
to Thomas Rainsborough,
must now stand close to me.
Come, sir.
Will you be Colonel Sexby?
Brighten your sword, Colonel Sexby.
The Lord has work for us both.
You must first to Burford, Edward.
The Leveller regiments
have arrested their officers
and refuse to march for Ireland.
Honest John has his mutiny.
Mutiny?
These are brave and honest men,
sir. I know them.
Go to them as from me.
Let them lay down their arms
and release their officers.
Tell them Old Noll will come
to them in person
and all their grievances
will be heard, upon my word.
What are your plans, madam?
To live the life you gave me.
What will you do?
I go to Ireland.
I have an officer's wages.
They are yours.
How?!
Be my wife.
I promised the best man in England
I would protect you.
Be my wife, in outward show only
and my promise is kept.
A woman cannot survive alone.
No, Sexby...
I mean to shift for myself now.
There are Diggers at Fanshawe House.
I mean to join them.
The Diggers follow Thomas' dreams -
Land a commonwealth,
property levelled
and every man's conscience his own.
The Diggers will not take you in
if you be unmarried.
Consider.
I do not ask for love.
I do not ask for...
a marriage bed.
I ask only that you
let me serve you.
Would you have me write you letters?
Sexby...
Why have you done this?
Duty, madam.
A promise given.
Freeborn John writes us
this message from the Tower.
"If Cromwell is allowed
to go on as he is,
"he will make himself King
and there will be nothing
"but cutting of throats, year..."
Make way for Colonel Sexby!
This you may not do
and still be soldiers.
Untie your officers.
This defiance cannot go on.
Give them their weapons
and their horses.
Be not afraid of them hereafter.
One greater than them comes to
listen to you. The General himself.
Now hear me.
Throw your weapons up here.
Do it now.
Nay! Never!
Come now.
Let none say you drew your weapons
at Old Noll.
When you speak, he will listen.
When he speaks, you will listen.
He will give you orders
and you will obey them.
There will be no reprisals.
This he has promised me
and I promise you the same.
In the name of Thomas Rainsborough.
Rainsborough! Rainsborough!
General!
You thought to mutiny?
You thought
to imprison your officers?
You thought to give orders
to the Army Council?
Show me the ringleaders.
They will face a court martial
immediately.
Sir!
Your part is played, Colonel.
Fire!
You kept no covenant with us.
Is there is anyone
who will not willingly submit
to my will and accept my pardon?
Do you wish to resign
your commission, Edward?
Ireland is our back door.
It must be bolted.
We march for Ireland.
Why keep that one?
Why this one?
Thomas Rainsborough lies there.
Should be at the head of England.
What's your business here, madam?
I come to dig, if you will let me.
Your name?
Sexby.
Mistress Sexby.
Your husband?
Gone from me.
Dead?
Not dead.
Gone to Ireland.
Come with me, Mistress Sexby.
Mistress Sexby
wishes to live among us.
Her husband is fighting
in Ireland.
You are welcome, Mistress Sexby.
Those who work, eat. We share all.
Your story is written in your hands.
I think you were not born
to this work.
My name is Christian.
Tell me about the man in the
earth whose grave you tend.
I never knew him but by report.
He raised up the common man.
He fought for his liberty
against the rich...and mighty.
Truly, I wish he was here.
Wishing will not bring him.
Nay but he should be here,
for we are living in the best
and last of days.
Our last days are near?
Christ is ready
to walk the earth again.
Do you not feel his love
all around you?
Christ Jesus has come to me.
Tell us what you saw, Jocelyn.
He came down last night
and lay by me in my bed.
told me he would come soon and
rain upon the earth 10,000 years.
PEOPLE SHOUT
Shall we pray, Mistress Sexby?
Oh, mighty God, who throughout
the mouths of babes
and sucklings
have ordained strength
and make of infants to glorify
thy name with their innocence.
Inspire us with thy grace...
RUMBLING
Another sign.
PEOPLE SHOUT IN PANIC
SCREAMING
WOMEN SCREAM
SHOUTING AND SCREAMING
Come.
We begin again.
Colonel,
did your party reach Wexford?
We were held a while
at Arklow, General.
It must be removed from our path.
It is done. The garrison fled.
What's left has been
driven into a bog.
There they wait for you.
Is this the flower
of all their army?
Bring them out.
They are stuck fast.
How many are they?
Twelve.
Twelve bullets then.
We're short on powder and shot.
Make ready the cannon!
Are you ready to surrender, sir?
Resist and you will
blow you all to atoms.
I cannot.
Surrender and you live.
Resist and your entire garrison will
be put to the sword - man and boy.
I may not.
He has orders.
He will not defend the town
purposefully
but needs to make a show of
a fight before he surrenders.
Purposeful or no,
they will die, all of them.
I'll drag no prisoners
across this benighted land.
Wake me when the walls are breached.
Prepare to die.
Ready?
Ready!
Fire the cannon!
THUDDING AND SCREAMING
Edward!
I hate to see any man's
resting place neglected.
Let me help you.
Harry Fanshawe.
I wonder what he was?
Your words moved me, sir.
When you said these days were
like the days of Christ on earth.
Full of love.
I feel that love
in these good people's hearts.
They are good people.
But they know not
the intenseness of the times.
But I believe that you do.
I believe that you taste the rare
and beautiful air that we breathe.
I have a sin to confess.
I am no priest, sir.
When I thought I heard you say
that your husband was dead...
...my heart was glad.
He lives...still.
Though he be far away.
Goodnight.
Both your husbands are dead, madam.
And lie here at my feet.
I will tell no other.
For truly I think this the bravest
and best thing that any woman
ever did.
How do you know me?
My mother worked in your kitchens.
They hanged me as The Devil's Whore.
Then I love the Devil's whore,
for truly I could never love
my lady Angelica Fanshawe.
She is far above me.
Though I would give my life for her.
Be not so eager to give
your life, Christian.
You may not be given
another, as I was.
LOW RUMBLING
ROARING VOICES AND SCREAMING
Come.
The owner of the land
will never let us be.
Master Joliffe is not the
true owner of the land.
We are the owners of the land
for we work the land
and we make it fruitful.
Master Joliffe?
Aye, given it by Parliament.
These things began when she came.
You think
I brought these things upon you?
The Devil's work began
when you came among us,
with his mark upon your neck.
That is all.
HUM OF CONVERSATION
They are frightened.
I will leave tomorrow.
I will follow you. I will follow you
to the end of the earth.
Christian...?
It is our desire, madam,
that you leave us.
MURMURS OF AGREEMENT
You have your wish,
even though this life here began to
light a candle of hope in my heart.
We will not have fornicators!
I saw them.
-She saw nothing. The child imagines things.
-I see the Devil at her side.
Aye.
She gave Satan her baby.
In God's name, will you make an end of this.
No, sir, we will make an end of you
and this woman, for if we do not,
our enemies will call us
polygamists and drive us off!
Your enemies mean to drive you
off in any case, Maddy, and...
not for a kiss in the night.
Because you tell them to love their
fellow men more than money or land!
Was it not love
that brought you together? Then...
No more, madam.
You must both be gone tomorrow.
I will be gone. Fear not.
But I leave you with one question.
If all on earth are equal,
why do the women work
in the fields during the day
and make the men's dinners at night?
Sometimes we see what's not there.
We see demons of our own conjuring.
I demand the release
of my husband, John Lilburne!
Why do you sit here
with your bellies full
-while famine grips the city?!
-No women in this chamber!
Why is the Army forced to Ireland!?
We have no fights in Ireland!
Get you home and wash dishes.
They are sold to feed my children!
Leave her.
John will have a fair trial,
on my word.
Sir...
If you take away John's life,
I will have yours!
Will they hang you today, John?
Hang me?
Ask my wife if they will hang me!
I have spent nine shillings
on a new pair of boots!
New boots! See?
New boots!
BOOING
John Lilburne.
Where is he? Let me shake his hand.
Do you say you are not
John Lilburne?
Why should I say I am John Lilburne
when 'tis said you will hang him
for treason?
I say nothing on the matter.
You are charged with being the
author of these pamphlets,
which urge the Army
to seditious mutiny.
How me, sir?
For that it says the name
"John Lilburne" upon them.
Why, any man may write
"John Lilburne."
Do you deny being the
author of these pamphlets?
What need I deny it when I have not
said that I am John Lilburne?
And where is the man can prove
a single soldier mutinied
on account of these pamphlets,
in any case?
Where are your witnesses?
All in Ireland!
APPLAUSE
I prithee, let me see the charges
and have time to study the case!
Sir, you mock this court!
No, sir! You mock this court,
as you mock justice,
as you mock truth and liberty!
But they will not be mocked forever,
in the name of Almighty God
in heaven!
THUNDER
Ah, now I remember me you!
Were not you, sir, and you, sir,
and yes, you, sir, all on the King's
side when first we began our quarrel?
Until, as I remember, until Oliver's
Army began to turn the tide when -
God's amazement -
you found yourselves coming over.
Whereas John Lilburne,
wherever he may be,
did fight at Kineton
and at Newbury and at Marston Field!
My bladder is swollen, sir.
May I go out to relieve myself?
No, sir.
Then bring me a pot to piss in!
LAUGHTER
(SIGHS)
Sirrahs...
I am Honest John Lilburne,
author of the pamphlets
that urge the army to resist an
unlawful and barbaric war in Ireland.
And you, my fellow citizens,
are the only judges that matter
in this place.
You, and you alone,
have the decision.
My life is in your hands.
Men of the jury,
what is your verdict?
We have found John Lilburne...
...not guilty.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
I am glad to see you alive.
"Glad?"
Who is he?
A friend.
I never misled you, Sexby.
You asked for no love,
nor marriage bed,
and my heart promised you neither.
Aye, but madam, I never thought you
would dishonour me before all eyes.
You are not dishonoured, save
your taking part in Irish massacres.
I thought of you every minute.
While you slaughtered other
men's wives and children?
What now?
I am your wife.
I am yours to command.
I do not command.
You must go wherever
your heart inclines you.
Then fare you well.
Wait.
I command.
What is your future? More soldiering?
I am a spoiled soldier...
..for which I am glad.
For truly, I have seen my fill
of butchering in this vile world.
The world is not vile...
...though some are that are in it.
Even they can be
saved by love, I think.
Love?
Aye, love.
I think you do not know it.
And I pity you for it.
Did love help the Diggers when
the army trampled their fields?
No.
What did love do for any man,
except make him run like
a fool to his destruction?
The Diggers had not too much love,
sir, but too little.
But there are those who believe
that love can save us all.
Ranters?
Only their enemies call them that.
They call themselves
the High Attainers,
and I have made friends amongst them.
Ranters?!
Sir, you are drunk.
Madam, do you know where this "love"
will bring you?
Do you know they have made
female adultery a capital offence?
If you continue as you are,
they will hang you again.
Who will save you? That boy?
That "boy", sir, may not know how to
split a man open with his sword,
but he sees the truth in us.
In who? In me?
In me.
In us all. He sees love
shining in our hearts,
and he sees what it can do here,
on earth.
Sexby, what use to bring down
kings or parcel out land,
if we do not share all that is in us?
Madam...do you lie with him?
Like all men, you are
a fool when you drink.
Do you lie with him?
Have you lain with him?
Let me go from here, sir.
Where to?
To him?
Oh, he "loves" you.
He loves your innards,
where the light does shine,
whereas I...
Sexby, I can never love you.
Ever.
I am sorry for you.
I am grateful to you.
But I will never love you.
Why do you stop, sir?
The law says you own me.
Live as you please. You are free.
But there is no freedom.
Except that which comes
with money and power.
If you know of any other kind,
then...
...you must run after it.
Go.
GO!
Where is Christian?
She must not escape a third time.
She'll not, sir.
I've led her by the nose
like a willing sow.
And she truly believed
in the diggers
Aye Sir
She gave her heart
to fools and thieves.
And now?
Now she believes the world
she longs for is finally at hand.
It is.
Sir, may your victory
be the vanguard of ours.
'Your release the harbinger
of freedom for all on Earth.'
The perfect freedom
of universal love.
(LAUGHS)
Universal love?
Universal love.
Universal love.
Universal love!
What must be done today?
All will be unmasked.
Only madmen oppose us now.
I pray you be not mad.
Sexby, no!
Every schoolboy will learn
the name of Edward Sexby.
That it set England
free of its chains.
I thought I'd lost you.
㤹㤹〰〺㨰ⰰ〵‰ⴭ‾〰〺㨰ⰲ〰昼湯⁴潣潬㵲⌢晦晦〰•楳敺ㄽ㸴睷癴畳瑢瑩敬敮㱴是湯㹴