Abbot of Amboise

The Abbot of Amboise was the right-hand man of the Cardinal of Lorraine, the religious leader of the Catholics in France.

	Human
	Catholic Church
	Earth
	The Massacre
	William Hartnell

Biography

The Abbot was a physical double of the First Doctor, and Steven believed him at first to be the Doctor in disguise.

He was strongly anti-Huguenot and a member of the conspiracy to assassinate Admiral Gaspard de Coligny in August 1572. When the plan failed, Marshal Gaspard de Saux-Tavannes blamed the Abbot and had him executed. His death was blamed on the Huguenots, a religious minority living in Paris at the time. (TV: The Massacre)

Behind the scenes

• No official visual record exists of William Hartnell as the Abbot beyond the surviving soundtrack and some fan-made photographs featuring Hartnell's photoshopped head on a cloak. This is because The Massacre was never tele-snapped and no footage is known to have survived — either on 16mm black & white film or 8mm cine film shot off a television screen. However, the cover of the CD release of the soundtrack included a visualisation of the Abbot, as did the cover of the 1992 reprint of the novelisation.
• Amboise is a genuine French commune, and was served circa 1572 by Marmoutier Abbey. Therefore, a real "Abbot of Amboise" was in existence during the period in which The Massacre is set.