Introduced in the first movie
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Brancaleone of Norcia
Played By: Vitorio Gassman
A disgraced Italian knight who is chosen by a group of bandits to claim a fief in Aurocastro so they can become rich.
- Anti-Hero: He is ineffective, pathetic and ultimately fighting for a selfish goal (albeit he doesn't realize he is being tricked into the first place). He does try to do the good thing when it's possible.
- BFS: His broadsword is really large and can be wielded one-handed.
- Casanova Wannabe: In all fairness, he is quite successful in getting the ladies to return the favor. The problem is that most of the time, they backfire.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Brancaleone might be a bumbling excuse of a knight, but when things really get serious, he turns into a ferocious fighter as seen when he storms the convent to reunite with Matelda and slays the duke's soldiers with ease.
- Heroic Second Wind: In the second movie during the tournament against the Saracens when he defeats them in rapid succession when all hope seems lost for the Christians.
- Failure Hero: Really nothing he sets out to accomplish works out for him in the end: he doesn't get Aurocastro, the Crusade he joins turns into a failure and he doesn't end up with any of the girls he is interested in.
Teofillato del Lionzi
Played By: Gian Maria Volonté
A disgraced Byzantine prince that crosses path with Brancaleone's army and after challenging him to an duel that goes nowhere. He proposes to scam his family by posing as Brancaleone's prisoners so they could get the ransom and share it among themselves.
- Artistic License – History: Absolutely nothing about him indicates Byzantine: his name is Italian and he dresses in robes that aren't even remotely Hellenic in nature.
- Bastard Bastard: Literally the son of the Byzantine king with a serving maid, and easily an jerkass.
- The Lancer: Acts as an foil to Brancaleone, being an jerkass who is more unrepentant and wears white in contrast to our black-clad hero.
- The Unfavorite: Turns out to have been hated by his family and kicked out from their castle. In fact, they refuse to pay his ransom and threaten to kill Brancaleone for bringing in the first place.
Matelda
Played By: Catherine Spaak
A young woman bethroted to a duke who is saved by Brancaleone from raiders.
- Defiled Forever: It's heavily implied that because she had sex with Teofillato, her husband forced her to join a convent.
- Lady and Knight: Desperately wants to be this with Branca, but he is unable to due to the vow he made to her dying guardian to deliver her hand to the Duke safely.
- Taking the Veil: Ends up becoming a nun when her marriage with the Duke falls apart.
- Ungrateful Bitch: When Brancaleone turns down her affections, she ends up sleeping with Teofillato out of spite.
Abacuc
Played By: Carlo Pisacane
A very old Jewish merchant that accompanies Brancaleone's army in their journey.
- Intrepid Merchant: Supposedly one, but he doesn't have any valuable wares and is capable of paying much.
- Non-Action Guy: Justified since he is a elder.
- Running Gag: His tendency to run and hide inside his vault whenever there is danger.
- Token Minority: The only Jewish member among the team. This causes outrage when they join a crusader band who immediately demands that he'd be baptized.
The German Knight
Played By: Alfio Caltabiano
A Saxon nobleman who is the rightful heir of Aurocastro. While passing through a village to claim his reward, he fends off a bandit attack but is killed shortly after by some of their survivors who steal his possessions and dump his body into the river.- Big Damn Heroes: Subverted. He appears during the climax leading a crusader army against the Saracens to save Brancaleone from being impaled by them.
- Black Knight: A non-malevolent example, as he fights only with bandits and pirates during the movie, but he is still a very imposing and sinister figure wearing a black mantle and a beaked helmet.
- Decoy Protagonist: He appears in the opening and shows himself to be a more formidable and valiant fighter than our protagonist, you'd be forgiven for thinking he is the actual protagonist. Then he gets his head bashed by some thugs and is thrown overboard.
- One-Man Army: Fends off a raider attack completely by himself in the opening, given his squire is slain in combat and he has to fight alone.
- No Name Given: Downplayed. At no point during the movie his name is spoken out loud and it doesn't matter much since he is dead. We do learn it's Arnolf Iron-Hand from the Aurocastro deed when read by Abacuc.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Gets no more than five minutes of screentime before being killed off. Subverted when he returns at the end.
Introduced in the second movie
Tiburzia
- Damsel in Distress: Is introduced having to be rescued from a witch trial by Brancaleone and his men.
- Hot Witch: Tiburzia is certainly eye-catching.
- Mama Bear: Becomes the caretaker of Bohemond's child until he can be delivered to him.
Berta of Avignon
A widowed French princess in the path to the Holy Land to claim her deceased husband's remains, she disguises herself as an leper and joins Brancaleone's crusaders.
Pope Gregory
- Anachronism Stew: There was indeed a Pope named Gregory that had to contend with a pretender to the Papal title. The problem is that he died before the Crusades were even declared - in fact, it was his successor Urban II that called them.
Antipope Clement
Bohemond of Sicily
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He is seemingly inspired in Bohemond of Taranto, later Prince of Antioch, one of the founders of the Crusader States in the Holy Land.
Turone
Bohemond's brother, he is an evil nobleman that intends to usurp his brother.
- Cain and Abel: He is Bohemond's evil brother.
- The Dragon: At first to Antipope Clement and then to the Saracens when the opportunity comes.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He is probably based on Roger Borsa, Bohemond's brother whom he struggled with in a succession crisis.
- Opportunistic Bastard: He is willing to work with anyone in order to achieve his goals, whether if its the fundamentalistic Antipope or the Saracens.
The Sheik
- Affably Evil: He is courteous towards the Crusaders despite the fact that they are losing the battle and offers a simple tourney to decide the fate of Jerusalem so more lives can be spared.
- Noble Demon: Agrees to resolve everything in a fighting tournament rather than continue fighting the Crusaders pointlessly.
Death
- Big Bad: Closest thing to one in the second movie since he gives Brancaleone's seven days to achieve an heroic death and ends up being the climatic villain.
- Dem Bones: This Death is represented as a skeleton rather than a hooded man like in The Seventh Seal.
- Expy: Very obviously inspired in Death from The Seventh Seal as he also strikes up a bargain with a knight whom he comes to claim his life.
- The Problem with Fighting Death: Brancaleone obviously never stood a chance against it. When he runs Death with his sword, he merely laughs it off.
