Don Pèdre, roi de Castille

Don Pèdre (Peter of Castile) faces claims from his half brother Transtamare (Henry II of Castile) both for the throne and for the hand of Léonore de la Cerda.

With better connections and the support of the Church, Transtamare defeats Don Pèdre with the help of French soldiers led by Bertrand du Guesclin.

As his campaigns against Church abuses gathered pace (under the slogan 'écrasez l’infâme’) he reworked it to place particular emphasis on the unhealthy influence of the religious authorities.

[3] Voltaire’s perspective on the characters was unusual; most previous writers had presented Transtamare as a hero and Don Pedro as his evil opponent; he reversed the usual roles.

This rejection was not particularly to do with the play's critical attitude towards the Church, but more to do with the unsatisfactory and inconsistent characterisation.