Corrected entry: Several times, Danielle is referred to as a 'Commoner' (non-nobility). She even calls herself this. But her father and mother were nobility thus, so is Danielle.
Correction: Actually, we don't know that Danielle's mother was a comtesse. Danielle uses her mother's name, yes, but she could have just added the comtesse part since she was, at that point, pretending to be a courtier.
At the end, the stepmother says, "after all the insidious jokes, you turned your mother into a comtesse" so that shows that she used her mother's name and turned her into a courtier.
Danielle's father was a merchant, thus a commoner in French society but a wealthy commoner.
Correction: The only thing that stands out to me is at the end the Queen turns to the stepmother and asked did she lie to them and the stepmother does not say no. So that would have to mean Danielle is of some position.
The Baroness lied to the Queen when she, essentially, corroborated the rumor that Danielle was a courtier named Comtesse Nicole de Lancret. She said "why yes, and she's staying with us as a matter of fact."
Actually, the Baroness lied to the Queen about Danielle being engaged to a Belgian.
She also lied when they pretended to find the necklace that the queen dropped. The mother had one of the guards steal it.
Corrected entry: In a dinner scene early on in the film, Drew is serving and somehow knocks over a cup - it makes a plastic sound as it clatters down. This movie is set BP (before plastic). And how come they have English accents if they're in France?
Correction: In the time period the film is set there was widespread use of bone cups which were very light weight and of similar consistency to plastic.
Correction: They have English accents because they are speaking in English.
Corrected entry: When Danielle is asking for her freedom and has a sword and dagger held to the man, how could she have taken the key from him without putting the sword down first. If she did put one of them down, he could have easily taken control.
Correction: She could have easily forced the man to unlock the chains.
Correction: Pierre never wanted her as a prisoner, but as a companion. I think credibly threatening to kill him made the point to him that she would probably kill him long before she accepted that role. He may also have intended to pursue some legal recourse once his personal safety was assured.
Corrected entry: When Prince Henry falls from the cliff with the gypsy, only Henry hits the water - the gypsy disappears.
Correction: If you go frame by frame, both Henry and the gypsy hit the water. The gypsy is harder to spot because of all the leaves and the fact that his clothing causes him to blend in, but he is there. He can be seen swimming away while Henry is swimming toward the painting.
Corrected entry: When Danielle is abducted and she is making her escape, she picks up a sword and claims to be a good swordsman, as her father taught her to use a sword. Her father died when she was eight. How much instruction could she have had by age eight?
Correction: She was bluffing to scare Pierre Le Pieu into thinking that she could really kill him. It seems to have worked.
Correction: Some children are taught the style of swordsmanship at the early age of 5, may not be using pointed but wooden swords to educate the proper stance. Also, Danielle did see the same way Henry fought during the scene with the gypsies, short dagger and long sword.
Corrected entry: When the prince saves the painting, it turns out to be the Mona Lisa. But this story takes place around 1516 or later because Leonardo da Vinci is in France. The Mona Lisa was painted in 1502, at least 14 years before this event.
Correction: First, Leonardo didn't start the Mona Lisa until 1503 and it took him several years to actually finish it. Second, many great masters did more than one version so it is not impossible that this is an unknown copy. Third, just because LdV was not working for the King of France until 1516 doesn't mean that he couldn't have visited France at an earlier date (especially in this fictional universe).
Leonardo actually used to carry this painting with him a lot. Which added to the mystery of the Mona Lisa.
The painting is actually a reference to the study La Scapigliata. La Scapigliata is done in oils, umber and white lead in monochrome. Whereas the Mona Lisa is a finished work.
The Mona Lisa was painted on wood, not canvas.
Correction: It isn't the Mona Lisa, at least not the famous version. The version in the Louvre is painted on wood, not canvas.
Correction: Danielle's father, while wealthy, was not of the noble class. This point is shown in Danielle's and servant's excitement of her father bringing home a Baroness and how impressed Danielle was with their table manners. A Baron/Baroness is the lowest noble title, so their excitement of a woman of equal or lower social stature would seem exaggerated. Also, if the de Barbaracs were nobility, Danielle would be known to other nobles as a courtier and as her father's only living descendant and heir. The Baroness would not be able to relegate Danielle to a servant - in her own house no less! And at the ball, Danielle would have corrected the Baroness by mentioning her own noble blood.
Thanks. Makes more sense now. Then why would the Baroness marry someone beneath her station? And since she did, would that not demote/strip her of her Baroness title, then? Making HER a Commoner, also, then? And unable to order Danielle about?
Shipper
She seems to have married Auguste for his money, as she seems to have no income of her own, demonstrated by her selling the castle's belongings to fund her schemes.
LorgSkyegon
When it comes to nobility it's actually hard to lose titles. She would remain a baroness unless she married someone of higher rank or was stripped by royals.
According to the way it is written about peers titles, if the widow remarried then she forfeits her title and follows her new husband, therefore IF she is currently Baroness then that stands to reason it came from Auguste and that would make Danielle nobility and not a commoner.
While I mostly agree with your take on this you stated "Also, if the de Barbaracs were nobility, Danielle would be known to other nobles as a courtier and as her father's only living descendant and heir." however, I don't believe this to be a valid argument. Her father loved her very much and kept her close since he did not have a wife and Danielle did not have a mother so wouldnt have necessarily been trained in the ways of the court. Also, with the disdain her step-mother had for her, there was no way, she would have trained her. I do however agree that Daniele was from the union of 2 wealthy families but have found no proof that she was of noble blood.
Danielle's mother was a comtesse, fr. Countess, French titles were passed via heredity, if available descendants were present. Only one country in Europe, Poland, stopped this for a time prior to 1,000 AD. Titles can be endowed to a partner in marriage, never stripped that I can find. In the case of a commoner being granted a title, the king or queen could approve the title, money always helped. Dumas gives examples in his books. Stripping property very seldom deleted the title as it was in the blood.
Danielle's mother was not a comtesse. Note that the baroness mocks Danielle's claim that her mother was one.
LorgSkyegon
How could that be though if her mother was a Countess? A Countess is of higher rank than an Baroness.