"Assassin's Creed: Unity" - Historicality Quiz

Answer: Jacques de Molay

Pope Clement V ordered the dissolution of the Knight's Templar on October 13, 1302 - perhaps the original Friday the 13th! The Templars had just been too successful. Formed in Jerusalem during the Crusades to safeguard pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land, the Templars became very wealthy. Philip IV of France, who owed them a lot of money, had, using rumors regarding their secret initiation rites against them, sought to disband the group and erase his debt. The pope, Clement V, who was obviously the leader of the losing side of the Crusades and threatened by the Templar's rising power, seemed very eager to accommodate the king's wishes. While many historians believe the "confessions" of Jacques de Molay and the other Templars were coerced, his sentencing and punishment was very much the result of a power struggle between the king and the pope. He was burned at the stake in March 1314. An eyewitness to the execution said that Jacques de Molay was calm and told onlookers that God would avenge the Templars' deaths.

In "Assassin's Creed Unity", the flashback sets the stage for what is happening in France during the Revolution between the Templars and the Assassins. In the memory, Philip IV had unknowingly joined with the Templars' opposition, the Assassins, who carried out the attack on the Templars. Before his arrest, de Molay is able to order the safekeeping of the Sword of Eden and Codex Pater Intellectus, items that bestowed great power on their possessor. As he was burned at the stake, de Molay shouted curses upon Philip and Clement while they watched, claiming that God would punish them within a year's time. Although both did die in 1314, the shouted curse is one of the legends that arose after de Molay's death. Many legends were told about the arrest and execution, however, they will remain just that - legends.

Answer: Palace of Versailles

Versailles had very humble beginnings in 1623 as the hunting lodge of King Louis XIII; at the time there were still plenty of animals to hunt in the area. His son, Louis XIV, and great-grandson, Louis XV, ultimately expanded the lodge into one of the largest palaces in the world. Built in the French Baroque style, the building, located about 12 miles from Paris today, was constructed using both private and public money. At the time the palace had 700 rooms (there are about 2300 rooms today!), and, in 1682, when the entire court moved there, it had a population of about 5000. Versailles served as the official residence of the King of France from 1682-1789; it was really a symbol to the poor of the King's extravagance and the difference in how the vast majority of the French people lived.

On December 27, 1776, Charles Dorian, Arno's father, was attending a meeting at Versailles with Louis XVI when he was assassinated. Arno was left an orphan, and was raised quite differently from what his father would have anticipated.

Answer: Place de la Révolution

When originally completed in 1772, the Place de la Révolution was known as the Place de Louis XV. It was an immense public square that contained statues, fountains, and buildings that were used as homes for the wealthy and offices for government agencies. When the French Revolution began, the king's statue was removed and area became known as the Place de la Révolution. It was the site of the execution of many by the guillotine, most notably, King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette. In 1795 the government of the Directory renamed the area the Place de la Concorde - a name by which it is still known today, although the name has changed from time to time throughout its history.

Arno visited the Place de la Révolution on the day Louis XVI was executed because he knew the current Grand Master of the French Templars would be there to watch. He was, however, heavily guarded, and Arno failed in his self-appointed mission - a failure that cost him dearly in more than one way.

Answer: Louvre

Believe it or not, the great Louvre was originally built as a fortification by Philip II in the late 1100s to protect the entry to the city of Paris. It did not become a royal residence until the reign of Charles V in the 14th century. After Louis XVI moved out of the Louvre, it was used to house royal collections and artists, but was not open for public viewing. In 1750 a hall was opened for the showing of some pieces, but it was not until the French Revolution that the Louvre became a public museum, declared so in 1791 by the Assembly. The king's attempted escape from France in 1792 unfortunately sealed his fate, as well as the fate of his family, and the art collection became national property at that time.

Arno had a meeting at the Louvre in order to gain information concerning Louis-Michel le Peletier, a Templar, who had given the final vote needed in order to kill Louis XVI in the "Assassin's Creed: Unity" story. This appears to have been the case in real life as well, as le Peletier cast one of the deciding votes to execute the king. In addition, le Peletier himself was assassinated the day before the king was killed.

Answer: Count of Mirabeau

Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, commonly known as the Count of Mirabeau, became a leader at the beginning of the French Revolution. His great great grandfather had purchased the family estate and title in 1570. As a young adult, Mirabeau had a bit of a bad reputation; his father had him sent to prison - an apparently common act back then - due to his gambling debts, affairs, and lavish lifestyle. While in prison he found that he was a talented orator, a skill he put to use when he became a deputy of the Third Estate at the meeting of the Estates-General. When a temporary government, the National Assembly, was formed, he became one of its presidents (1791), hoping to lead France to a constitutional monarchy similar to the one enjoyed in England. During this time, Mirabeau did, in fact, become the trusted advisor of King Louis XVI.

According to "Assassin's Creed: Unity", not only was Mirabeau the king's devoted advisor, he was also the leader of the Assassins in Paris, and a trusted friend to Arno's father. Most historians agree that Mirabeau's death in 1791 was due to his debauched lifestyle, however, the game brings up a more sinister cause. And, of course, the Templars were framed for Mirabeau's death.

Answer: Storming of the Bastille

It all started when the king called a meeting of the Estates-General, the French legislative assembly. He had hoped that the group would quickly approve his request for money, but the Estates-General had not met for 150 years and its delegates wanted change. At first it seemed that the king would agree, but then he appeared to be mobilizing his army. About 1000 Parisians stole muskets from the Hotel des Invalides, but they also needed gunpowder. What to do? Well, the Bastille supposedly had stores of gunpowder and loads of political prisoners who had been wrongly incarcerated by the king. On July 14, 1789, the group when to the Bastille and demanded that the gunpowder be turned over to them. Some of the Bastille guards fired into the crowd, while others joined in the revolt. The French Revolution had begun!

Arno was held in the Bastille after being falsely blamed for the death of his adopted father. He was able to escape during the commotion caused by the attack on the prison.

Answer: Notre Dame

Notre Dame was built from 1163-1260 in the French Gothic design. It has undergone many renovations during its long history; the most recent was precipitated by a fire in 2019. During the French Revolution Notre Dame was taken and made public property. Both the Cult of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being used the building for meetings,and it was also used to store food. It was pillaged and many of the valuable artifacts were either stolen or ruined. Statues were beheaded, and, believe it or not, the Goddess of Liberty even took the place of the Virgin Mary for a time. In 1801 Napoleon returned Notre Dame to the Catholic Church. He was crowned emperor there in 1804.

Arno was sent to Notre Dame to assassinate Charles Gabriel Sivert, once a member of the Parisian Rite of the Templar Order, and advisor to the Grand Master. He had become, however, a member of the extremist faction, and had been a participant in the Grand Master's assassination, framing Arno for the deed. Arno's revenge on Sivert was carried out in a confession booth at Notre Dame, but only after he was able to learn that goods were being smuggled out of the church - a very profitable venture indeed.

Answer: Napoleon

When the French Revolution began, Napoleon was a 20-year old second lieutenant in France's 1st Artillery Regiment, a position he had held since graduating from the Ecole Militaire. Early in 1789 he asked for a leave of absence to fight in Corsica; it was during this time that he began to favor the political philosophy of the Jacobins - and they took notice! He abandoned his Corsican Nationalist beliefs when the island broke away from France and asked the British government for assistance. He returned to France to serve in the regular army in 1792, and was in Paris during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792, which led to the end of the monarchy in France. His comments and letters indicate that he hated the mob violence that he saw. He did, however, like that fact that a good soldier could rise through the ranks fast during revolutionary times. His ability to command remained virtually unnoticed until he took over for a wounded artillery officer at the Siege of Toulon, August-December 1793.

In the game, the year is 1792. Napoleon broke into the Tuilleries looking for a key hidden by the king that would unlock an Isu temple under a church. Arno also broke into the palace, but he wanted to find and destroy some incriminating evidence regarding the Assassins' leader. After both found the items for which they were searching, Napoleon helped Arno escape.

Answer: Reign of Terror

Ancien Régime is the term used to describe politics and social customs in France from the 1500s to the begging of the French Revolution which revolved around a feudal system that favored the nobles and royal family. Over the course of the Revolution there were several suggestions regarding how best to accomplish the dissolution of the system, including the formation of a constitutional monarchy or a republican government. During the Reign of Terror, the Committee of Public Safety executed those who were viewed as enemies of the newly-formed French Republic. Although historians today continue to debate the exact launch of the Terror policies, from June 1793 through July 1794, approximately 300,000 people were arrest, 16,594 official death sentences were carried out, and an estimated 10,000 more died in prison.

In the game "Assassins Creed; Unity" the Reign of Terror was planned by the French Templars with the hope that the violence and fear would create, not only a capitalist society in France, but also one where the Templars had more control. In both the game and historically, the Terror ended when its leader was executed.

Answer: Francois-Thomas Germain

François-Thomas Germain was the royal silversmith and sculptor to the King of France, a position that he had inherited. In fact, he was the last member of his family to hold the title. His demise was somewhat mysterious. He was forced to leave the trade guild, resign his position, and declare bankruptcy. He died in 1791.

In "Assassin's Creed Unity" Germain was the Grandmaster of the French Templars. Because the leader of the Parisian group had decided that Germain was too radical, he was exiled, however, he returned to Paris during the Revolution in order to create chaos and discredit the nobles and clergy. Arno killed him in 1794.