William Tell

In the year 1307, Switzerland is a province under the rule of the Austrian royal house of Habsburg. The Swiss people are resenting this foreign occupation, and rebellion is brewing, especially since the Habsburg soldiers brutalize the population at their whim. Some Swiss nobles, like Rudenz of Attinghausen and Werner Stauffacher, try to remain in good standing with the Habsburgs, either out of self-interest, fear of retribution, or - in Rudenz's case - his love for Bertha, Albert's niece who resents her uncle's tyranny over Switzerland and is pursued by Albert's vassal Gessler.