Elckerlyc is a man without scruples living in Medieval times. He lives a life of crime and hardly knows the difference between right and wrong. He is a purebred Misanthrope. Until one day he falls in love with a poor lonely girl who lives under a bridge. When she seems to like Elckerlyc as well his life seems to take a turn. However, his happiness is short lived, because the next morning, the girl is strangled by the local village idiot (the Fool). This drives Elckerlyc to madness and he avenges his loss on everyone he comes across. First he marries a Burgundian Duchess to become Duke, then he buys a magician who gives him a magic instrument which holds the power of life and death.