Errores

Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer) wears her hair down in nearly all her scenes. As a married noblewoman in the 14th Century, she would have been expected to have her hair covered when in public.

Before the trial by combat commences, Marguerite is surprised and shocked to learn she could be executed for wrongful accusation if her husband is defeated. In reality, this would not have been surprising to her. Medieval Europeans regarded perjury as a grave capital offense on par with murder and treason, and no adult woman (much less so a member of the ruling class) would be ignorant of the sentence it carried.

Pierre is shown as seizing the dowry land after Jean's marriage to Margeurite. In reality, Pierre had bought it three years before the marriage.

A couple of times the film shows the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris apparently under construction: although the cathedral was largely completed by 1270, over a century before the film is set, in the 14th century the flying buttresses that support the building's weight were being replaced by stronger versions, and medieval cathedrals were often being modified or refurbished long after their completion. However, what is erroneous is that the cathedral is shown as bare gray stone, as it is today - in the Middle Ages it would have been painted in bright colors.

Marguerite is shown to have shaved armpits and legs, something quite unrealistic for a Frenchwoman living in the 14th Century.

Possible but not unrealistic. People around the world have been depilating since before the Grecian era.

During a scene of Paris on the banks of the Seine, there is a water wheel with no source of water to the roof of the mill. However, the river flowing by could push the wheel's paddles from below, and it does appear to be rotating in the correct direction and speed.

The ending implies that Margeurite's only child is the one born after the rape, possibly the biological child of LeGris. In reality, she and Jean had two more children.

When they start the duel, they both lose their lances on the first run. Matt Damon goes to retrieve a lance off his second and as he rides off in the next clip, he retrieves another one further up the field.

The crowd shouts, cheers, and gasps during the duel. This feels completely believable, but in real life trials by combat (including the one depicted in the film) actually took place in absolute silence, as any spectator making noise or otherwise disturbing the judicial duel was punishable by death.

When Marguerite's dowry is discussed, she's seen petting a Boston terrier. Boston terriers didn't exist until almost 500 years later and originated, as the name suggests, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the late 1800s.

During the trial, the judge tells Marguerite that her body could burn for 20 to 30 minutes until she is dead. It was not common in the 14th century to divide the hour in minutes. This started by the end of the 16th century, when watches displayed minutes. By the end of the 14th century, it was more common to divide the hour in halves or quarters. So the judge should have said that death would occur after a quarter to a half-hour of burning.

In several scenes, Jean is seen wearing a wedding ring. A man in the Middle Ages would not wear one. It was not until the mid-1900's when it became common for men to do so.

The countryside is shown divided into medium-sized squarish fields, separated by hedgerows and ditches. These didn't really exist until the 18th century, when the enclosure movement led to the subdivision of communal land and large estates. In the middle ages, the countryside consisted mostly of large open fields.

At around 1:17, when Pierre and Jacques are speaking, Jacques takes off his left glove and places his bare hands in his lap. In the next shot, his left glove is back on, and he repeats this action again.