Bishop of Aquila

“	Go! To break faith with me is to break faith with Him.	„
	~ The Bishop of Aquila ordering Captain Marquet to find and kill both Phillipe Gaston and Captain Etienne de Navarre. noicon

“	But kill me, Navarre, and the curse will go on forever. We must think of Isabeau.	„
	~ The Bishop taunting Navarre aiming to kill him once and for all. noicon

“	And no man shall...!	„
	~ The Bishop intending to kill Isabeau. noicon

“	Isabeau...	„
	~ The Bishop's last word before dying after being impaled by Navarre. noicon

The Bishop of Aquila is the main antagonist of Richard Donner's 1985 medieval fantasy film, Ladyhawke. He is the Chief Minister of Italy residing mainly in Aquila after facing rejection from Rome.

He was portrayed by the late John Wood.

Personality[]

“	An evil man, a powerful man, hated and feared. Rejected even by Rome herself.	„
	~ A description of the Bishop of Aquila by Imperius.

Despite his status, the Bishop of Aquila is shown to be, in fact, a cruel, mean, stubborn, selfish, mad, ruthless, somewhat merciless, diabolical, arrogant, even-tempered, and wicked man up to the point of trying to kill innocent lovers like Navarre and Isabeau without showing the least bit of remorse despite his never-ending lust for the latter. Despite having had his love rejected by Isabeau, he is capable of doing whatever it takes to achieve his purpose by any means necessary, bequeathing to the point of calling upon the powers of darkness and striking a dreadful bargain with the Devil for the means to damn the lovers; resulting in a terrible curse that takes effect on them each day and night; swearing that if he can't have Isabeau for himself, then, no one else will either. He is also shown to be somewhat reckless and obsessive with his objectives when they are not achieved, such as the case of Navarre and mostly, Isabeau.

Biography[]

The Lovers' Curse[]

“	Her name is Isabeau d'Anjou. Her father was the Comte d'Anjou, an intemperate fellow. He died slaughtering Saracens in Antioch. She came to live with a cousin, I think it was, in Aquila. I shall never forget the first time I saw her. It was like looking at... (Phillipe: The face of love.) Ah, you too. Well, I suppose we were all in love with her in different ways. Even His Grace, the Bishop could think of nothing else. (Phillipe: The Bishop loved her?) As near as that evil man could come to it. His passion was a sort of madness. He was a man possessed. But Isabeau sensed his wickedness, and she shrank from him. She sent back all his letters unopened, his poems unread. Her heart was already lost, you see, to the Captain of the Guard. (Phillipe: Etienne Navarre!) The Bishop knew nothing of their love. But every day saw it grow stronger and deeper and richer. Until... (Phillipe: Until?) They were betrayed. They shared the same confessor, a weak and foolish priest. And one day, in a drunken confession to his superior, he committed a mortal sin. He revealed the lovers' secret vows to the Bishop. The old fool didn't realize what he had done at first, or the terrible revenge the Bishop would take. His Grace seemed to go mad. He lost both his sanctity and his reason. He swore that if he could not have her, no man would. So, Navarre and Isabeau fled from Aquila. But the Bishop followed, never more than an hour behind, and more persistent than a hound. An evil man, a powerful man, hated and feared. Rejected even by Rome herself. He called upon the powers of darkness for the means to damn the lovers. In his fury and frustration, he struck a dreadful bargain with the Evil One. The dark powers of hell spat up a terrible curse, and you have seen it working. By day, Isabeau is the beautiful bird you brought to me. And by night, as you have already guessed, the voice of the wolf that we hear is the cry of Navarre. Poor, dumb creatures with no memory of the half-life of their human existence. Never touching in the flesh. Only the anguish of a split second at sunrise and sunset when they can almost touch, but not. (Phillipe: Always together. Eternally apart.) As long as the sun rises and sets, as long as there is day and night. And for as long as they both shall live. You have stumbled onto a tragic story, Phillipe Gaston. And now, whether you like it or not, you are lost in it, with the rest of us.	„
	~ Imperius explaining his experience with the Bishop of Aquila.

Prior to the events of the movie, due to his corruption and wickedness, the Bishop was rejected by Rome and therefore, settled in Aquila where he began raising taxes unjustly for his own greedy needs. One day, about two years ago, like all men, the Bishop met and fell in love with a beautiful woman named Isabeau d'Anjou, the daughter of a late Count coming to live with her cousin in Aquila. His lust and passion for her, however, eventually became some sort of madness. Nevertheless, Isabeau could see straight through his evil ways and had rejected his advances while returning all of his love letters unopened and his poems unread, unaware at the time that her heart was already lost to one man, Etienne de Navarre, the former Captain of the Guard despite seeing their love growing stronger, deeper, and richer every day.

Eventually, through a confession by a drunk priest named Imperius, the same one whom the lovers trusted, the Bishop learned of their secret wedding vows. Having lost both his sanctity and reason, the Bishop grew furious, vowed vengeance, and swore that if he could not have her, then, no man would. So, Navarre and Isabeau fled from Aquila, but the Bishop followed them every step of the way like a hound. Having made a deal with the Devil in his fury and frustration, he called upon the powers of darkness for the means to damn the lovers and placed a terrible curse on them to ensure that they would remain together forever, but eternally apart: by day, Isabeau assumes the form of a hawk and by night, Navarre assumes the form of a black wolf, animals with no memory of the half-life of their human existence that could never touch in the flesh, but only suffer the anguish of a split second at sunrise and sunset when they can almost touch, but never for as long as they live day and night and as long as the sun rises and sets.

Revenge on Navarre and Gaston[]

Two years later, after attending mass at the cathedral, having learned of the first escape of a young prisoner named Phillipe Gaston alias The Mouse, a pickpocket from the dungeons of Aquila to avoid execution, the Bishop sends his current Captain of the Guard, Marquet to set out in search of him and kill him on sight.

Later, the Bishop learns of Navarre's return from Marquet having failed to capture Gaston due to Navarre's intervention. So, the Bishop sends out more of his men to hunt both Navarre and Gaston down while firmly instructing them not to harm the hawk (Isabeau's daily form) that travels with them. Should all else fail, the Bishop takes the precaution of hiring a crazed wolf-trapper named Cezar to take care of Navarre in wolf form with the same instructions concerning Isabeau. Both attempts eventually prove futile in the end.

According to a guilt-stricken but redeemed Imperius having supposedly received a sign from God at some point in his life, the curse can be broken for in three days time, there will be "a day without night and a night without day" (a solar eclipse). On that day, both Navarre and Isabeau can confront the Bishop at the cathedral in human form, thus, finally put an end to the curse and the Bishop's tyranny.

The Curse's End/The Bishop's Demise[]

Three days later, after mass at the cathedral, the Bishop is confronted by Navarre who intends to kill him due to the prophecy not having been realized yet, only for the latter to find himself dueling and finally, killing Marquet with Gaston's help in the matter.

Then, the Bishop taunts Navarre by reminding him that if he dies, the curse can never be broken afterwards. Just as Navarre is about to strike either way, Isabeau appears in human form at the cathedral as well just in time to stop him momentarily, having been feared dead earlier due to Navarre's backup plan concerning Isabeau's demise to end her suffering by Imperius once and for all should the prophecy not come true and the church bells ring. Fearing the prophecy's realization, the Bishop tries to cover his eyes, but Navarre forces him at sword point to look at them, thus, finally, breaking the curse. Then, the Bishop is approached by Isabeau who drops before him all the former tools used on her during her times as a hawk as a final sign of rejection towards him.

In his final act of madness and revenge, the Bishop tries to kill Isabeau from behind, only to be mortally impaled by Navarre, having been warned by Imperius, thus, putting an end to the former's tyranny once and for all. With the Bishop dead and the curse broken, Navarre and Isabeau are free to begin their old lives as a happily married couple once again in Aquila, accompanied by Gaston and Imperius, with Navarre reinstated as the Captain of Guard as well.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

The Bishop of Aquila's true identity is never revealed throughout the whole movie.
It is unknown what the Bishop had sold to the Devil in exchange for the lovers' curse.