As the resident historian and specialist in sixteenth century France I get asked a lot of questions about what happens on Reign--mostly, what's real and what's made up. The almost execution by drawing and quartering (Season 2, Episode 2) seems to have upset a lot of viewers, and I've bee asked, "Were they really that cruel?"
Well, yes...and even more cruel. But what I've noticed about Reign is how the writers drink at the well of history for ideas and then weave them into the plot, even if the result warps any semblance of authentic history. This episode was a good example, as it used something from a previous rule, reworked it, and plugged it into the show. At least, I think this actual event was an inspiration.
Before Reign even begins, Francis I of France had three sons--his own Francis, Henry (Henry II), and Charles. The Dauphin Francis was notorious for his bizarre habit of...drinking water. In the course of events in 1536 an Italian named Montecucli was the Dauphin's secretary and trusted companion. During a game of jeu de paume Montecucli served the Dauphin water. Not long after the Dauphin died, throwing the court into a sorrowful uproar. At this time Henry had been married to Catherine de Medici for three years, long enough for the court and the people of France to suspect Italian meddling, as it was believed Dauphin Francis had been poisoned.
There was no proof that Catherine had any direct involvement in the matter, but she certainly benefitted from it. King Francis wasn't fond of his second son Henry, but Henry was elevated to the position of Dauphin all the same, taking Catherine with him. In this ambiguous way, Catherine was set up to become Queen of France.
The King was mournful and furious by turns. His beloved first son was dead, and Francis was convinced Montecucli had poisoned the Dauphin's water. After a lengthy and agonizing torture, Montecucli finally gave a confession--anything to stop the pain.
So it was that Montecucli's execution would be a pageant of revenge. Before the royal family, the court, and the people, Montecucli was dragged from his cell into an open area. There, each one of his four limbs was attached to a powerful horse. At the signal, the horses charged, leaving Montecucli alive, a limbless, bleeding wretch who stayed alive long enough to suffer this torture upon torture before dying.
King Francis had Montecucli's confession, but it was a weak confession, and Montecucli is largely held to have been a scapegoat. Francis was determined to punish his son's killer, even if it meant executing an innocent man. More than anything, Francis needed to purge the rage and sadness from his system, and Montecucli was a convenient victim.
When I watched Reign these events immediately occurred to me, even though they had happened some twenty years before the show is set. They seemed an echo of this actual tragic event, which Catherine had witnessed in reality. I'm enjoying seeing where history and television match up, where they don't, where complete creative license is taken, and where incidents elsewhere in history can be written in for a better story.