Pax æterna (1917)

King Elin XII (Frederik Jacobsen) is a peace-loving ruler of a European nation. He has been given the nickname the Prince of Peace, which he regards as the highest honor a man can receive. The king has devoted his life to eternal peace—pax aeterna—among nations, and in this work he has received great help from the highly respected Professor Baron Claudius (Philip Bech), who publishes convincing scholarly works and gives stirring lectures in the service of a noble cause. The professor’s son, Gregor (Marius Egeskov), and his highly gifted and beautiful daughter, Bianca (Zanny Petersen), also devote themselves heart and soul to the cause of peace. The professor’s lectures attract not only the flower of the country’s own youth—including Crown Prince Alexis (Carlo Wieth)—but also students from many other civilized countries, among them Malcus (Anton de Verdier) from the neighboring state. Malcus has fallen in love with the lovely Bianca, but unfortunately she cannot return his love, since her heart already belongs to the crown prince. The crown prince loves her in return, but because he is so far above her in social standing, she feels she can never hope that he will become her husband. Unfortunately, the neighboring state does not share the Prince of Peace’s venerable ideals of peace, and has several times indicated that it can see advantages in a swift war. The Prince of Peace’s minister of war (Carl Lauritzen) suggests striking first by declaring war on the neighboring state, but the king will not hear of it. So far, war has only been averted by the king’s wise leadership, but the king is old, and soon he is dead—struck down by a heart attack. He is barely buried before war breaks out. The neighboring country issues a declaration of war and attacks across the border. The war comes as a shock to Baron Claudius, but he will not let it disrupt his life’s work, the book “Pax aeterna,” on which his daughter Bianca assists him, as usual. The war forces Baron Claudius and Bianca to flee to the capital, where they join the Red Cross. The two friends Malcus and Gregor enter the war on behalf of their respective countries and meet each other on the battlefield as enemies. By chance, Gregor is killed by Malcus, who is so horrified by what he has done that he hurls himself into the battle with unrestrained ferocity, and soon he, too, is dead. The battle is won by the country where Alexis is now king, following King Elin. But the cost is horrifying, and it is Bianca herself who finds her brother and his best friend Malcus on the battlefield. Instead of trying to take advantage of the tide of war, Alexis sends a peace expedition to the neighboring state as well as to all the other European nations. Alexis intends to establish a kind of congress where all future disputes in the world can be settled peacefully. Alexis wants Baron Claudius to lead the expedition, but with the loss of his son, Claudius has also lost faith that it can do any good. His daughter has not. Bianca speaks passionately in favor of the peace expedition, and soon persuades her father to take heart as well. The expedition, and the peace congress that follows, are a great success, not least thanks to Bianca’s passionate work, and all of Europe’s nations dedicate themselves to the cause of pax aeterna. Alexis then seeks the people’s support for setting aside court etiquette and obtaining permission to marry the commoner Bianca, which they enthusiastically grant.