The War Lord is a 1965 American drama historical film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring Charlton Heston.

The film, which concerns medieval warfare and culture in 11th-century Normandy, is an adaptation of the play The Lovers by Leslie Stevens.

The film also features Richard Boone, Rosemary Forsyth, Guy Stockwell, Maurice Evans, Niall MacGinnis, Henry Wilcoxon and James Farentino, with Jon Alderson, Allen Jaffe, Sammy Ross, and Woodrow Parfrey.

[2][3][4][5] Chrysagon de la Cruex is a Norman knight whose Duke gives him a Flemish village to rule and protect, commanding him to keep their goodwill.

He and his men arrive in time to beat off Frisian raiders who leave behind a boy, the son of their leader, who conceals his identity.

He later learns that the pagan practice of "droit du seigneur", though condemned by the church, still survives.

While three men restrain Marc, Odins declares that Chrysagon has the right, but all must be done according to the ancient ways, which are rooted in the sacrifice of a virgin to ensure fruitful harvests.

Chrysagon agrees to the Druid way, to prepare a ring of fire in a high place, with his men “wearing iron and standing.” Bronwyn will be brought at the rising of the moon and reclaimed at sunrise.

Odins leads the torchlit procession past Chrysagon's men standing as an armed guard, to the chamber at the top of the keep.

[3][5] Medieval historian Andrew E. Larsen praises the movie's realistic portrayal of the physical objects and social relationships of the time.

But he asserts the film's presentation of paganism among the serfs is an extreme exaggeration, and that the key "custom" of "droit du seigneur" was mythical.