Jean de Carrouges believed the land - the estate of Aunou-le-Faucon - was rightfully his due to the fact that Marguerite's father, Robert de Thibouville, promised to include it as part of de Carrouges' dowry. The story is told three times, once from each character's point of view, so some events are repeated while others are only told once as the story is so close to the events of history as they were recorded, we'll only specify when those two things diverge (which they don't often do, except in the imaginings Scott and the actors create for the characters' internal lives). Figures like Locke, Rousseau and Voltaireconsidered by some modern historians an early feministmade compelling cases for human rights, gender equality and the natural dignity of all peoples regardless of age, gender or race, which makes the Enlightenments widespread acceptance of the medieval narrative that Le Gris was innocent and refusal to consider Marguerites perspective all the more surprising and even hypocritical. Though its unanimously agreed that Carrouges was victorious over Le Gris in the duel, there are various accounts to what took place on Dec. 29, 1386. But that was from research as well. The film does show that at the same time as Marguerite was pregnant, so was the queen. the latter was accused by Carrouges wife of having made an attempt on her honor. As she tried to admonish the squire, Le Gris appeared, having snuck in after Louvel entered. Before the duel, Le Gris had asked in all the monasteries of Paris that God should pray for him. Even the characters haircuts which have been the butt of some online jokes match up with what we know about the period, according to Jager. One identifies the supposed felon as a condemned man about to be executed, the other as a sick man on his deathbed. She was formerly known by her maiden name as Marguerite de Thibouville. Marguerite de Carrouges Marguerite, who married Carrouges in 1381, was the only daughter of Robert de Thibouville, who had once committed an act of high treason. Le Gris and Louvel forced Marguerite into the bedroom, where Le Gris raped her while Louvel helped hold her down. (Writing for History News Network, Jager explains that the ferocious logic of the duel implied that proof was already latent in the bodies of the two combatants, and that the duels divinely assured outcome would reveal which man had sworn falsely and which had told the truth.) Marguerite, as chief witness in the case, will be executed if her husband loses the duel, thereby proving both of their guilt. What it doesn't detail is that while Marguerite gave birth to a healthy boy, the queen's son was sickly and died not long after he was born. John-Paul Heil is a Ph.D candidate in early modern history at the University of Chicago and an adjunct professor of history and the liberal arts at Mount St. Marys University in Maryland. When her husband, Sir Jean de Carrouges, heard of the crime, he . Marguerite de Carrouges (ne de Thibouville; 1362, Chteau de Fontaine-la-Soret (Eure) c. 1419) was a French noblewoman. He saw the marriage as a chance to get the better of Le Gris as well, for Le Gris had been gifted by Pierre a parcel of land previously owned by Marguerite's father. So the mistaken-identity theory has in its favor Marguerites relative unfamiliarity with Le Gris physical appearance at the time of the alleged rape in January 1386, over a year after Marguerite had first met and seen Le Gris at Crespins. One ground for skepticism about these two reportsapart from their priestly sources, notoriously suspicious of womenis that each tells a substantially different story. Co-writers Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon had their work cut out for them trying to fill the gaps. The Last Duel is now available to watch in cinemas. But a public accusation of rape, at the time a capital offense and often a cause for scandalous rumors endangering the honor of those involved, could have grave consequences for both accuser and accused, especially among the nobility. The movie follows the claim by Marguerite de Carrouges (Comer) that she is raped by her husband Jean's friend and squire Jacques Le Gris (Driver). According to testimony later provided by Carrouges and Marguerite, she heard a knock . A feature film based on The Last Duel is scheduled to be released in 2021. They were right Le Gris decried Marguerites accusations as false and inflammatory, and Count Pierre took his side, clearing him of the charges. Carrouges choice to pursue a duel also put Marguerite in danger. Holofcener penned Marguerites section, and, given how little historical information there was from the Ladys side of the story, she drew from contemporary conversations about sexual assault and womens rights to imagine her perspective. Like today, sexual assault and rape often went unpunished and even unreported in the Middle Ages. The fate that awaited Marguerite if her husbands attempts failedbeing burned at the stake for bearing false witnessrepresented an extreme example of the potential repercussions faced by accusers. Despite the claims of naysayers and novelizers, Marguerites testimony suggests that she was almost certainly not mistaken about the identity of her attackers. Rape Crisis Scotlands helpline number is 08088 01 03 02. Jager writes that following the assault, Le Gris was reported to have told Marguerite that if she were to tell anyone what has happened here, you will be dishonored. Given the absence of any witnesses in her own favor, Marguerites accusations against Louvel were a gratuitous and risky addition to her testimony if her story of the attack and rape was indeed a deliberate lie. By the early nineteenth century, the notion that it all had been a case of mistaken identity was firmly established, as typified in an 1824 retelling by Norman historian and politician Louis Du Bois, who explains the supposed miscarriage of justice by speculating that the actual rapist was a squire who doubtless bore some resemblance to the unfortunate Le Gris.. Then gently, he asked Marguerite to tell them what had happened. Some have echoed Count Pierres dismissive decree, saying that Marguerite made it all up, perhaps to cover up an affair with another man. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Smithsonian, Los Angeles Review of Books and Comment. Carrouges wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer). Only then did he greet his wife, in an emotional scene before the thousands of spectators. Say nothing, and I will keep quiet, too. In response, Marguerite said, I will keep quiet. The forty-page story Le jugement de Dieu begins with throngs of excited, gossiping Parisians arriving at Saint-Martins field to watch the long-awaited duel. According to Marguerites testimony, Le Gris and Adam Louvel, a squire in the royal court, conspired together to assault her. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Damon and Affleck took the dialogue directly from Jagers book. After Marguerites rape, Carrouges petitions the French court to try Le Gris through judicial combat. Gross! The mistaken-identity theory was also embraced abroad, as by American historian Henry Charles Lea, who in his influential 1866 study of medieval law, Superstition and Force, stated as a matter of fact that Le Gris was subsequently proved innocent by the deathbed confession of the real offender. Lea even faulted Froissart for having omitted any mention of the confession. So in his deluded sense of pride, Le Gris could believe it was consensual. In accord with ancient tradition, she would be burned alive as a false accuser. People tend to think of the Middle Ages being less sophisticated than they actually are, but theres this this huge, fascinating legal tradition thats the origin of pretty much all of Western legal tradition, Elema says. When Marguerite adamantly refused his offer, saying she had no wish for his money, the violence escalated. I gave her the opportunity to go get a low-cut dress in the style of the queen, which she was later shamed for wearing. The trial by combat would decide whether she had told the truthand thus whether she would live or die. Le Coq seems to have had some doubts about his clients truthfulness, while admitting that this was the thorniest of he said, she said cases. But the doubts greeting Marguerites scandalous story, the initial rejection of her claims in court, and the shadow cast over her reputation by the later chronicle accounts are not so different from the skepticism and prejudice faced by more recent victims of sexual assault. She gave birth to a son, Robert, shortly before Le Gris trial by combat. Or did Carrouges according to one account grab him by the helmet and throw him down? According to Pintoin, Marguerite and her assailant dined together before the attack, and it was while showing him to his room for the night that he assaulted her. Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's associate digital editor, history. Dr. Ariella Elema, a historian who specializes in trial by combat, analyzed differing accounts of the duel, which appears to have been a very short affair that shocked the audience.. Marguerite de Carrouges, descended from an old and wealthy Norman family, had claimed that in January of that year she had been attacked and raped at her mother-in-laws chteau by a squire (the rank below knighthood) named Jacques Le Gris, aided by one of his closest companions, one Adam Louvel. If you've been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information from Rape Crisis England and Wales, who work towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct, on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. He had gone to King Charles VI, seeking an appeal to the decision handed down by Count . As Jean Le Coq, Le Gris lawyer, wrote in his private diary, No one really knew the truth of the matter.. I want justice! A 1306 royal decree based on ancient precedent allowed the duel as a last resort for nobles involved in capital casese.g., murder, treason, and rapebut by now judicial duels were extremely rare. I would call that historically accurate, even though we dont have direct testimony that Marguerite did this or that at the time.. The earlier, more detailed account of the supposed confession, in Pintoins chronicle, not only differs from the other but also diverges sharply from Marguerites official testimony before the Parlement in ways that make its scenario clearly impossible. So it wasnt so much about hewing fastidiously to historical truth, because that wouldnt have served the narrative needs we were as interested in, as much as illuminating the fact that the vestiges of the sexism and misogyny of the patriarchy we live with now come from a place that was Western civilizations codified value system.. Matt Damon as Jean de Carrouges and Jodie Comer as Marguerite de Carrouges in "The Last Duel." . Jacques would have threatened to kill her if she told anyone what happened. In his personal life, Le Gris had a reputation as a philanderer. Jean Juvnal des Ursins, who was not present at the event, wrote that right before Carrouges delivered his deathly blow, he demanded to hear the truth from Le Gris. ), Whether Carrouges and Le Gris actually ended their quarrel at this point is debatable. Two separate alibis are harder to disprove than one. She probably had strangle marks. More, The interrogation of Nikolay Bukharin.More. According to Marguerite, Le Gris (played in the film by Adam Driver) traveled to her familys chateau in Capomesnil where she was staying on January 18, 1386 and raped her. Soon after, de Carrouges went on a campaign to Scotland and though it was a military failure, he distinguished himself with his courage. The moral was plain: Le Gris rose in the world and then suddenly fell, he dominated but finally was vanquished, he committed a crime in secret and was publicly exposed. Affleck, Damon, Holofcener, Comer and Jager talked us through what is and isnt accurate in The Last Duel and why the filmmakers made the narrative changes they did. Jean de Carrouges' wife was a controversial figure as the daughter of Robert de Thibouville, a Norman lord who had notably sided against multiple French kings in territorial disputes. We gave this great filmmaker the opportunity to dramatize the essence of it and make it compelling to an audience, rather than do literally what happened.. Forced into an upstairs bedroom, she tried to escape by running through a door at the other end of the room but was blocked from doing so by Le Gris. On the whole, however, the events follow history. Jean and Marguerite de Carrouges can continue to be a family. The duel itself was very violent, as it was in the film. They leave, with the crowds cheering for de Carrouges. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. Here are our top 10 picks, Super Mario Bros. Movie hits $1 billion, is No. The J. PaulGettyMuseum, Los Angeles. It is incumbent on us to be good people, to overcome that and to see more broadly and with empathy, Affleck says. The squire then threw her onto a bed but could not hold her down without help from Louvel, who rushed back into the room on Le Gris orders to help his friend subdue and finally rape Marguerite. Digital Spy participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. While The Last Duel offers some vindication to Marguerite, all that came nextthe story of how her life was recorded and reshaped in the historical recordreveals both how easily marginalized voices can be removed from history even by historical figures we respect and how long it can take to restore those voices to their proper place. There is still a trial, though, and just as in reality, Marguerite is now pregnant. Shortly before Jean departed for Paris, he and Le Gris confronted one another in the court of Count Pierre dAlenon (played by Ben Affleck); Le Gris learned around this time that Jean would be leaving Marguerite alone. According to medical knowledge at . The historical record tends to favor men, so not much is known about the real Marguerite beyond her familys legacy and her role leading up to the duel. The two men seized her by the arms and legs, she testified, and dragged her up a nearby stairway, while she struggled and shouted for help. With the duel concluded, Froissart continues, Jacques Le Gris body was delivered to the executioner of Paris, who dragged it to Montfaucon and hung it there. For months afterward, at the great stone gibbet on the infamous hilltop outside the citys northern gates, this grisly sight greeted any townsman or traveler passing by. The challenge did not lead directly to a duel, however, but marked the start of a formal investigation by the Parlement, which would authorize a duel only if unable to reach a verdict on the basis of the available evidence. Some argued that shed falsely accused Le Gris, either mistaking him for someone else or acting on the orders of her vindictive husband. She claimed that one of her husband's former friends, Jacques le Gris, raped her when her husband was away. An elaborate example appeared in 1829, just a few years after Du Bois conjecture that the accused squire had been mistaken for a look-alike, in Lhistorial du jongleur, an anonymous collection of medieval tales. But we wanted to do it through the lens of this situation. Popular historical fiction abetted the theory of mistaken identity, exploiting its shock effect. Pointing out that womens voices are actually loud and clear, albeit filtered through the court system and notaries, in many medieval documents, the historian explains, Its a really nice way of sort of flipping our stereotypes of the Middle Ages. She refuses his advances, after which he rapes her. Marguerite, who had accused Le Gris of raping her, watched from the sidelines; clad entirely in black, she was keenly aware that her husbands defeat would be viewed as proof of perjury, vindicating her attacker and ensuring her execution by burning at the stake for the crime of bearing false witness. When Marguerite accuses Le Gris of rape, Jean de Carrouges challenges him to a trial by combat. If Carrouges had lost, she wouldve suffered her own consequences according to Jager, this wouldve meant being burned alive at the stake. Behind the Enlightenments exoneration of Le Gris were its arguments against the use of torture in judicial proceedings. Le Gris quickly turned violent, forcing her upstairs and enlisting Louvel to help restrain her as she desperately fought back. Marguerite and her husband appealed the decision. We dont have transcripts or historical records that say that on a given day [Marguerite] was doing this or something of that nature, but thats completely consistent with what such women did, the author confirms. She alleged that Louvel came to her door to ask for a favor, after which he made her uncomfortable by talking inappropriately about Le Gris, saying he was in love with her. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. By the union of Marguerite and Carrouges, de Thibouville hoped to restore his family's status[1] while Carrouges was hoping for an heir from the young Marguerite, whom contemporaries described as "young, noble, wealthy, and also very beautiful". . Despite the threat of public humiliation and potentially deadly outcome of disclosing ones rape, women like Marguerite spoke out, perhaps as a way of working through their trauma or simply refusing to passively accept [what had] happened to them, says Skoda. But the overwhelming likelihood is that she was telling the truth. There were three chroniclers who gave detailed accounts of the sword phase of the fight, and they have slightly different accounts of how Carrouges managed to get Le Gris on the ground, Jager says. In his own defense, Le Gris claimed that Nicole had found nothing amiss upon her return and didnt believe her daughter-in-laws later allegations. In the article on duels, lawyer Antoine-Gaspard Boucher dArgis described how under King Charles VI, [people] fought for so little, offering as an example the one he ordered in 1386 between Carrouges and Le Gris:. If you purchase an item through these links, we receive a commission. He opted for the former, against the advice from his lawyer church trials rejected violence, and were deemed to have less dangerous outcomes. On a freezing December day in 1386, at an old priory in Paris that today is a museum of science and technologya temple of human reasonan eager crowd of thousands gathered to watch two knights fight a duel to the death with lance and sword and dagger. According to court documents and testimony, Le Gris accomplice, Adam Louvel (Adam Nagaitis), participated in the rape. But Marguerite certainly made an impression on Le Gris, who likely still held a grudge against his litigious former friend: After running into the newly knighted Carrouges in January 1386, Le Gris sent a fellow courtier, Adam Louvel, to keep an eye on Marguerite, whod been left behind with her mother-in-law while Carrouges traveled to Paris. If Carrouges lost, then Marguerite would be burnt at the stake for perjury. Jean strode over to his proud, weeping wife, bowed and clasped her to him as the crowd roared its approval. He also had a reputation as a seduceror worse. I fought him so desperately, she claimed, that he shouted to Louvel to come back and help him. Did Le Gris stumble? In Le Coqs words, his client attacked his adversary very cruelly and did it on foot, although he would have had the advantage if he had done it on horseback. By drawing blood, writes Elema for the Historical European Martial Arts and Sports Community, Le Gris prevented the king from halting the duel, as once the scales had tipped in one fighters favor, no one could stop the fight without the appearance of partiality.. Her life was pretty bad being married to Jean de Carrouges and so when she was violated, she had nothing to lose, really. The original fortifications at Carrouges were besieged and destroyed by English forces during the Hundred Years War. The battle was drawn-out, bloody and spectacular. A Note to our Readers What happened to Marguerite de Carrouges after the duel? Although Jean won the duel and succeeded in defending Marguerites honor, the event would take on a controversial life of its own in the following centuries. [4], Marguerite de Carrouges accused Jacques Le Gris of rape,[5][6] leading to one of the last judicial duels permitted by the French king and the Parliament of Paris (the actual last duel occurred in 1547[7] opposing Guy Chabot de Jarnac against Franois de Vivonne). Tate/Art Resource. (At this point, the two men were in their late 50s, which places Damon at close to the right age for his role but Driver a good generation off the mark. While the films version, which only involves Le Gris, is brutal to watch, the reality was far rougher, leaving Marguerite with tangible marks of the crime. Within a few decades, period chroniclers disagreed about the duels details and disputed Le Gris guilt. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? I want justice! Warning, The Last Duel spoilers follow. [10]" Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and Nicole Holofcener and appears as a feudal lord and compatriot of both leading men. The Chteau de Carrouges is a chteau, dating partly from the 14th century, located in the commune of Carrouges, in the Orne department, Normandy, northern France.It is unusual in its combination of an austere fortress with a comfortable residence. Le Gris final moments appear to have been grisly even by the standards of the day: The monk of Saint-Denis, who served as Charles VIs official historian, reported that Carrouges killed his enemy with great difficulty because he was encased in armor. In accordance with tradition, authorities dragged Le Gris body to the gallows and hung him as a final insult to his sullied reputation. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Review: The entertaining Peter Pan & Wendy charts a familiar course to Neverland, Rihanna has Smurfs on the brain for her next movie: Hope this gives me cool points, Review: In Guardians 3, ultra-weird superhero fun doesnt have to be Rocket science, The new Tom Cruise just might be a London office worker with a taste for risk, Review: The natural horror of the biological Clock, and more movies to stream. There is a brief coda that reveals Marguerite outlived her husband and never remarried. The film, set amid the brutality of the Hundred Years' War, is divided into three chapters the "truth" according to Carrouges (played by Damon), Le Gris (Adam Driver) and finally, Marguerite (Jodie Comer). To this day, historians are divided on the truth of the case. That testimony takes up nearly a thousand words of Latin in the Parlements official summary of the case, preserved today at the Archives Nationales, on the Right Bank, in the Marais, a short walk from the old priory where the battle unfolded on that cold winter day. Nevertheless, Carrouges, who believed his wife, stabbed the sword into the body underneath and made him die., While Jager and other historians may never know the truth, Affleck and The Last Duel writers feel strongly that Marguerites account is the accurate one. The two combatants sat their horses very prettily, writes Froissart, for both were skilled in arms. As noted in the 1850s by the Norman historian Alfred de Caix, one of the few to credit her story, Marguerites testimony is impressively circumstantial and detailed. Certain details in her account raise serious problems for the mistaken-identity theory. As a result, while Le Gris and Carrouges were once friends, they become rivals. The last judicial duel in France hinged on whether a woman could be believed. Known as the judgment of God, these ordeals were thought to have a divinely ordained outcome, with the loser proving his guilt by the very act of defeat. Le Gris was the counts favorite and his administrative right hand. The article offers a garbled, error-strewn version where, in 1385, Le Gris was accused of attacking the lady by night, with his face masked, as she awaited her husbands return from the Holy Land. According to Jager, Le Gris took an immediate liking to Marguerite when Carrouges introduced her to the court in 1384. They still spoke out, and they still fought against the grain.. For Carrouges and Le Gris, whose dispute had sparked widespread interest across France, settling the case would have been viewed as either an admission of guilt or [a] false accusation, says Elema. While historians unanimously agree on that last part, everything else is muddled with contradictory evidence. Carrouges, who was neglected by both the Count and Le Gris, grew increasingly jealous of his former comrade. What sets this version apart, besides its unusual length, is how quickly the judicial error on the battlefield is revealed by the sudden arrival of the truth. Rather than a belated discovery taking many yearsas in the chroniclesits just a matter of minutes from Le Gris death to the proof of his innocence. In 1386, her husband Jean returned from an expedition to Scotland. It finished when de Carrouges pulled back the visor of le Gris and fatally stabbed him. . But when Jean came back she told him everything. DArgis account did not grapple with whether Marguerites testimony was valid, but instead chose to emphasize the duels injustice towards Le Gris and the futility of Le Gris prayers. Because rape was viewed less as an act of sexual violence than a property crime against the victims husband or guardian, rapists often avoided harsh penalties by paying a fine to the man in question. They took the idea of damnation seriously. Her story is detailed and persuasive, and she ran such a great risk to speak up at a time when women were supposed to keep silent about such things. Nicole, in whose care Jean had left his wife, was also absent for part of the day in question, having been called away on legal business to the nearby abbey town of Saint-Pierre. Get the latest History stories in your inbox? "the Gray") (c. 1330s - 29 December 1386) was a French squire and knight who gained fame and infamy, and was ultimately killed when he engaged in one of the last judicial duels permitted by the Parlement of Paris after he was accused of rape by Marguerite de Carrouges, the wife of his neighbour and rival, Sir Jean de Carrouges. Her father had sided against the king twice, and though to many she would seem unmarriageable, for de Carrouges who desperately needed land, wealth and an heir she was a good match. Lady, on your evidence I am about to hazard my life in combat with Jacques Le Gris, Carrouges said to Marguerite in the moments leading up to the duel. While this should have added weight to Marguerite's claim, it did not. A Judicial Duel, byLieven van Lathem, 1464. Greeting Marguerite, he declared that she was the lady of all the land, that he loved her the most and would do anything for her. And not just any death. If Carrouges won the duel, the couple would go free, their claims vindicated. Despite the lack of witnesses, Le Gris certainly had motive and opportunity. She had the potential of suffering dearly and dying, but at that point she was just tired of having no voice., Below, everything thats known about Le Gris and Carrouges, Marguerites accusations, and the so-called last duel.. Rather than this idea of somebody, through the lens of their own experience and acculturation, not understanding their behavior. Le 29 dcembre 1 386 se droula un duel d'honneur entre deux seigneurs normands", "Who is Marguerite de Carrouges? News back then traveled, archival research has shown, at the rate of an average days journey by horseback: about thirty miles per day. Froissart portrays Marguerite, who had recently given birth to a son, praying to the Virgin as she anxiously awaits her fate. In the film, however, Pierre is still dismissive of him and Le Gris is still the favourite, which only angered de Carrouges more after their so-called reconciliation.
Gifs For Steelseries Keyboard,
What Does Hedgehog Mean Sexually,
Sample Assistant Principal Professional Growth Plan,
Chn Pigeon Club,
Articles W
what happened to marguerite de carrouges