That was at the root of everything. Its strange that so many authorities seem to have been untroubled by the obvious factual errors in these reports, their mutual inconsistencies, or the lack of any corroborating evidence. Marguerite had no one who could confirm her story: her husband Jean de Carrogues (played by Matt Damon) had set out on a journey to Paris to collect some desperately needed funds and the. When Marguerite adamantly refused his offer, saying she had no wish for his money, the violence escalated. You are risking my life, so you can fight your enemy and save your pride. With the understanding that your truth may not be somebody elses truth. Digital image courtesy of theGettys Open Content Program. 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. . Other accounts provide more technical detail, even suggesting that Le Gris slipped on his opponents blood. Duels of honor, as well as judicial duels authorized by other governing bodies, continued to take place centuries after Carrouges triumph. Le Gris said nothing. Now, the story of the 1386 trial by combat is the subject of a blockbuster film of the same name. He likewise claims that Marguerite had been deceived about her attackers identity, although the supposed truth comes out under rather different circumstances: Later it was discovered that [Le Gris] had not really done it, but that it had been done by another, who died of illness in his bed and, at the moment of death, confessed before others that he had done the deed.. 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. ), the duel began as a joust on horseback, with lances. Flawless Victory. The movie does follow the true story rather closely, and with a runtime of two and a half hours, we'd hope so. And not just any death. Born into a noble Norman family around the 1330s, Carrouges met Le Gris, a lower-born man who rose through the ranks by virtue of his own political savvy, while both were serving as vassals of Count Pierre. The events leading to the duel were described at great length in Jean Froissart's Chronicles (a prose history of the Hundred Years' War written in the 14th century by Jean Froissart) though director Ridley Scott's screenplay was adapted from Eric Jager's The Last Duel book. Managed by: Boaz Pijp. And yet there can only be one truth. Just over a decade later, however, the two men,Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, met on a field in Paris for a highly publicized duel to the death. 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. Marguerites fate is unknown, though later historians convinced of the falsity of her claims suggested she retired to a convent out of shame. After the sexual assault, Le Gris told Marguerite, Lady, if you tell anyone what has happened here, you will be dishonored. Carrouges views himself as a chivalrous knight defending his wifes honor, while Le Gris casts himself as the Lancelot to Marguerites Guinevere, rescuing her from an unhappy marriage. Lied, by Eugne Lomont, c. 1895. It is incumbent on us to be good people, to overcome that and to see more broadly and with empathy, Affleck says. Marguerites father, Robert de Thibouville, had once betrayed the king of France, and some may have wondered whether this traitors daughter was in fact telling the truth. Marguerite de Thibouville (a very different character from Comer's Villanelle in Killing Eve) was the only daughter of Robert de Thibouville, a wealthy Norman lord viewed as a traitor for siding against the French king in territorial disputes with England. de Carrouges, whose wife and son died of an unknown illness, eventually marries Marguerite, a wealthy but reputationally damaged young woman. Damon and Affleck took the dialogue directly from Jagers book. Marguerite testified repeatedly under oath that on a certain day in January 1386Thursday the eighteenthshe was attacked by the two men, Le Gris and Louvel. ), Whether Carrouges and Le Gris actually ended their quarrel at this point is debatable. Beneath him were three main ranks of nobility: barons, knights and squires. After the fatal duel, the truth comes out: Sometime later, a criminal on the point of atoning for his other crimes confessed that he was guilty of the odious act of which Le Gris had been accused. 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. She refuses his advances, after which he rapes her. 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. Unable to rise due to the weight of his body armor, Le Gris resisted Carrouges calls to confess, declaring, In the name of God, and on the peril and damnation of my soul, I am innocent of the crime. Enraged, Carrouges delivered the death blow, perhaps by stabbing Le Gris exposed neck or thighs. By now the case had become a cause clbre. Yet the case does reveal the way in which scandal, as a cousin to the word slander (both derive from the Old French escandle), ultimately resides in the spoken or written word, whether in the gossip of neighbors or the hearsay of the chronicler. For me, why would a woman speak out and say this when her life was at risk? the actress says. Speak without regard for the consequences, and it is too late for silence when disaster strikes. The film adaptation traces the trios relationship from its auspicious beginnings to its bloody end. The story of the duel inspired Ridley Scott's 2021 film The Last Duel based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager in which she was played by Jodie Comer. This is when she is surprised by Adam Louvel (Adam Nagaitis) who asks her to open the door so he can wait, and when she does he reveals that Le Gris is also there to proclaim his love for Marguerite. 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. Jager, for his part, tells Medievalists.net that he never would have embarked on writing this book if I had not believed Marguerite. Le Gris lawyer, Jean Le Coq, arguably summarized the case best, noting in his journal that no one really knew the truth of the matter.. We would have looked like two tin cans. The combat was decreed on December 29, 1386 in Paris.[3]. The dominant belief that women had to enjoy sex in order to conceive further complicated matters, leaving those impregnated by their rapists on even shakier legal ground. The movie presents two versions of the rape in Le Gris' version her protests have an edge of teasing to them, and hark back to a previous scene in which he chased a woman around the table before having consensual sex (sort of, given the power dynamic at play and the complete lack of agency women have in their world). Smithsonian magazine participates in affiliate link advertising programs. Dust off your 14th-century French history books, folks. The entire royal court was gossiping about the rape, the trial, and the likelihood of a duel. Theres a certain arrogance rooted in that assumption. | Meanwhile, Le Gris continued to rise in Pierre's esteem. I thought I was going to suffocate, and soon I couldnt fight them anymore. There [wasnt] going to be a settlement without one of them losing their reputation., After hearing both parties testimony, the Parlement of Paris agreed to authorize a duelFrances first trial by combat for a rape case in more than 30 years. Spoiler alert: The following story includes details from the historical account behind the new film The Last Duel and narrative twists specific to the film. But this was not included in the film. Le Gris was the counts favorite and his administrative right hand. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine The two combatants sat their horses very prettily, writes Froissart, for both were skilled in arms. Seemingly resolving their differences, the men greeted each other and embraced, with Carrouges telling Marguerite to kiss Le Gris as a sign of renewed peace and friendship, according to Jager. According to Eric Jager's book The Last Duel, the alleged rape of Jean de Carrouges' wife Marguerite happened on January 18, 1386. Soon after, de Carrouges went on a campaign to Scotland and though it was a military failure, he distinguished himself with his courage. As might be expected, the deadly trial by combat before the huge crowd of spectators unfolds with genuine drama and suspense. 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. In Jean's absence, Jacques broke into Jean's castle and raped Marguerite in 1386. But then, just moments after Carrouges has killed Le Gris on the battlefield, a dusty courier rides up with the astounding news that another man has confessed to the crimenews that is now too late to save the innocent Le Gris. Furthermore, neither report has ever been independently corroborated, although the existence of two such reports, despite their differing details, may have allowed each to vouch for the other in the minds of those eager to believe them. October 15, 2021 7:00 AM EDT. Cookie Policy [4] The case dragged on for some months until ultimately Count Pierre was forced to visit his cousin King Charles VI to officially confirm his ownership of the land and his right to give it to whomever of the followers he chose. So in his deluded sense of pride, Le Gris could believe it was consensual. The pair enjoyed a close friendship that soured when the count showered lavish gifts of land and money on Le Gris, fomenting Carrouges jealousy. The synopsis of the film lays out the basis for what would be the final (official) duel in French history, but as with most 'based on a true story' stories, there are always gaps between reality and fiction. A new film from Ridley Scott dramatizes the 1386 trial by combat of a medieval man accused of a horrific crime. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Last Duel. 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". At the time of the attack, Jean de Carrouges was away on a trip to Paris from which he would return a few days later. But the overwhelming likelihood is that she was telling the truth. Le Gris attorney, the highly respected Jean Le Coq, kept notes in Latin that still survive, allowing us a glimpse into attorney-client discussions. Scott and the films stunt coordinator used the outline of the actual combat to create something slightly more exciting for the screen. Given the counts strong relationship with Le Gris and combative past with Carrouges, he was quick to dismiss the claim, even arguing that Marguerite must have dreamed it. Undeterred, Carrouges raised an appeal with the king. The latter explanation is the very one that Le Gris put forward in his own defense, and it has been echoed by at least one modern historian as recently as 1992. She adds, If theres any gap between the act and making people aware [of it], that raises huge questions.. There is a brief coda that reveals Marguerite outlived her husband and never remarried. The trial by combat would decide whether she had told the truthand thus whether she would live or die. The story goes that on January 18, 1386, Marguerite's mother-in-law, Dame Nicole de Carrouges, left the family chateau on business with most of the household servants. What does she have to gain from that? 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.. If there are reasons for believing in the possibility of Le Gris innocence, the doubtful story of a belated confession by another man certainly is not and never has been one of them. Like today, sexual assault and rape often went unpunished and even unreported in the Middle Ages. El ltimo duelo, la ltima pelcula de Ridley Scott, habla de muchas cosas, pero sobre todo de la vida de tres personas cuyo destino qued en manos del azar. 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. Readers in the US are encouraged to contactRAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673. The earlier of the two is the Saint-Denis Chronicle, an official royal history by the monk Michel Pintoin probably written around 1400. From an absolute philosophical point of view, nobody but Jacques Le Gris and Marguerite and those who were in the room know the truth, Jager says. She gave birth to a son, Robert, shortly before Le Gris trial by combat. Gangsters in a patrol wagon, New York, c. 1935. Meilan Solly According to Jager, Le Gris took an immediate liking to Marguerite when Carrouges introduced her to the court in 1384. When would she choose to speak out in this way? A Note to our Readers I fought him so desperately, she claimed, that he shouted to Louvel to come back and help him. Drivers final line, where, as Le Gris, he declares his innocence, is in the historic record. Saturday October 16 2021, 12.01am BST, The Times R idley Scott's spectacular new film begins with a Norman noblewoman, Marguerite de Carrouges, being robed in black, fettered to a scaffold in. Apart from the dubious, sketchy, and inconsistent reports in the two chronicles, no external evidence for this hazy legend has ever been offered in support of the oft-told tale of a last-minute confession by the true culprit. The duel took place on December 29, 1386, and was presided over by French king Charles VI. While some touched by scandal may resurrect their lives and reputations, others never will: what happened, or is said to have happened, may follow them even through the pages of history. 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. 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. Meet the real woman who inspired The Last Duel", "L'histoire vraie de Jean de Carrouges et Jacques Legris, hros du film "Le dernier Duel" de Ridley Scott", "Vivonne et Jarnac, le dernier duel judiciaire en France", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marguerite_de_Carrouges&oldid=1117212348, This page was last edited on 20 October 2022, at 14:07. To prove her claim true, Matt Damon's Jean challenges Le Gris to trial by combat. 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. Carrouges, without whom his wife could not even bring a case, resolutely rode off to Paris to appeal for justice to the king. One ground for skepticism about these two reportsapart from their priestly sources, notoriously suspicious of womenis that each tells a substantially different story. Marguerites story must have seemed at least plausible to the magistrates who ordered the duel, something the Parlement had not done for over thirty years in a rape case. He also had a reputation as a seduceror worse. While it adheres closely to Jagers book, with the script using actual lines and passages from his writing, the filmmakers did make some alterations in order to better shine a light on the concepts of consent and perspective. Marguerites husband, Sir Jean de Carrouges, a reputedly jealous and violent manwhose once close friendship with Le Gris had soured in recent years amid court rivalry and a protracted dispute over landwas traveling at the time of the alleged crime. DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. Rape Crisis Scotlands helpline number is 08088 01 03 02. Marguerite replied that she had no wish to speak with Le Gris, and that Louvel should stop his overtures at once. Part Two will use the medieval sources to reconstruct what really happened in the combat, using . I know that was the same for everyone who was coming toward this project.. Of course, as was likely true in real life as well, no one in the film seemed to care about Marguerite's fate; after all, a crime of rape against a wife was considered a crime against the husband, and a property crime at that since women were mere objects to be possessed. Scott rightly ends The Last Duel on a triumphant note. A feature film based on The Last Duel is scheduled to be released in 2021. Rather than this idea of somebody, through the lens of their own experience and acculturation, not understanding their behavior. We gathered from research that she was really capable and educated, Holofcener says. And even if the assailant, as Pintoin claims, had actually (and contra the actual testimony) made his visit late in the day, its wholly unlikely that Marguerite, who must have been very familiar with her husbands complaints against the squire, would have offered a meal and overnight lodging to her husbands rival (or to a man she mistook for the same), especially during her husbands absence. We gave Ridley, This is what took place. Because it was such a famous event, there was a record. Of course, Jean de Carrouges was destined for the life of warfare - this was the common fate for many nobles and their sons in medieval France. Despite the ladys many oaths, and those of the squire, he confided to his journal, No one really knew the truth of the matter.. News back then traveled, archival research has shown, at the rate of an average days journey by horseback: about thirty miles per day. If you purchase an item through these links, we receive a commission. The films shifting viewpoints underscore the thorny nature of truth in Marguerites case, which divided observers both at the time and in the centuries since. Marguerite de Carrouges accused Le Gris of rape in 1386. 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. Of the judicial duels that actually took place, few ended in death. Did Le Gris stumble? Marguerite is the most important and most heroic person in the story, make what happens to her after the duel . The J. PaulGettyMuseum, Los Angeles. Even in Le Gris' version, though, Marguerite's attempts to get away seem less flirtatious and more earnest. He challenged Jacques to a duel to the death in the king's court. 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. (Rapists sometimes escaped punishment by marrying their victims.) She has everything to lose. P.T. I want justice! 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. January 18th, 1386, Marguerite was left alone at her home, and a man named Adam Louvel arrived claiming that Le Gris was outside and wanted to see her. On the morning of 18 January 1386, Dame Nicole de Carrouges departed her chateau at Capomesnil for the neighbouring town of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives where she had legal business to attend to. The more complicated her story, the more vulnerable it was to challenge; including Adam Louvel in the charges simply added to her burden of proof. Knights were one step above squires, but men of both ranks often served as vassals to higher-ranking overlords. Marguerite claimed that Nicole took with her nearly all of the household servants, including a maidservant whom Jean had specifically instructed never to leave Marguerites side, thus leaving Marguerite virtually alone.. [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). Diderots Encyclopdie and Voltaires Histoire du Parlement de Paris used the 1386 affair to denounce the supposed ignorance and cruelty of the Middle Ages. By unequivocally believing Marguerite, the screenwriters offer that same sense of empathy to all women who follow her.

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