For Love and Gold

The Hungarian pillagers storm the Italian village, leaving death and terror in their wake. A German knight arrives and defeats the bandits, earning a momentary peace. While he tends his wounds, two surviving villagers and one thief ambush him and throw him into a river.

The bandits loot the knight's armor and weapons and bring them to a miserly Jewish merchant. Among his finds is a torn donation letter from the Holy Roman Emperor granting the knight the fief of Aurocastro. The lower end is missing, hinting at a condition the knight must fulfill to claim the land.

The bandits propose a partnership with a cadet nobleman to seize the fief's riches, telling Brancaleone that a noble knight handed them the parchment before dying. Brancaleone initially refuses the plan. After a farcical defeat in a jousting tournament promising wealth and a noble title, he becomes eager to lead this 'army' to fortune.

Brancaleone joins his new 'army' of misfits and sets out toward Aurocastro, driven by dreams of glory. The group travels through a patchwork of medieval Italy, unaware of the deception behind the parchment. Their march blends comic misadventure with a stubborn, hopeful resolve.

Along the way, the band experiences a string of grotesque and humorous episodes that riff on Italy's diverse medieval world. Each misadventure tests Brancaleone's resolve and the loyalty of his ragtag army. The episodes range from odd encounters with traders to slapstick battles with minor foes.

When they finally reach Aurocastro, they learn that the parchment's condition requires the new ruler to defend against sea-raiders. Brancaleone sketches a cartoonish, Rube Goldberg style trap to repel the Saracens, only to trap his own group instead. The ominous defense plan backfires as the threat closes in.

The defensive trap backfires, and Brancaleone's band is dragged toward execution as the Saracen threat looms. They stand on the brink of impalement, with their fate hanging by a thread. The moment seems hopeless, a crisis that could end the journey before it truly begins.

Just as the executioners close in, the knight who opened the film—the rightful owner of the fief—surges back with vengeance and rescues Brancaleone and his men. His return exposes the true ruler of Aurocastro and overturns the group’s ambitions. The dramatic rescue pivots the plot toward rightful ownership and retribution.

As the knight's vengeance threatens to burn the group, a wild-eyed monk arrives and interrupts the scene, arguing they should fulfill a duty to go to the Holy Land. He persuades Brancaleone and his men to abandon the fief’s lure and join his expedition. The intervention reframes their purpose from conquest to a sacred pilgrimage.

Deprived of dreams of riches, Brancaleone agrees to travel with the monk and his followers. The army shifts from land-grabbing to accompanying the monk on a sacred quest, and Brancaleone's perspective begins to change. He remains determined to lead, but now under a different banner.

Although saddened by the loss of his grand plans, Brancaleone mounts his horse again and takes the lead from the monk. He gains renewed confidence as the group continues toward the Holy Land, stepping forward to guide the journey. The dynamic within the army shifts as Brancaleone asserts leadership.

The story closes with a nod to Brancaleone alle Crociate (1970), signaling that their adventures are far from over. The film ends on a comedic epic note rather than a definitive conquest, inviting audiences to follow Brancaleone's further misadventures. The tone sets up the continuation of the journey toward the Holy Land.