Born in 1388, two years after the fatal duel, Juvnal, a bishop, wrote at an even greater remove in time and may have been influenced by Pintoins account. I will have justice!. The duel itself was very violent, as it was in the film. I'm married. But not for as long as you need me to. Tossing a sack of coins at the young woman, Le Gris taunted her, claiming that his friends would give him an airtight alibi. Not understanding the effect they were having on someone else. When Jean came back from Paris, he decided to take revenge on Jacques. But the overwhelming likelihood is that she was telling the truth. But that was from research as well. Part One of this article examined the famous judicial duel between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, which was held in Paris in 1386. I would call that historically accurate, even though we dont have direct testimony that Marguerite did this or that at the time.. The contest between Carrouges and Le Gris would turn out to be the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Paris. The theory of mistaken identity ultimately derives from two sources that began circulating more than a decade after the duel. Now, the story of the 1386 trial by combat is the subject of a blockbuster film of the same name. Smithsonian magazine participates in affiliate link advertising programs. Image via 20th Century Studios. According to Eric Jager's book The Last Duel, the alleged rape of Jean de Carrouges' wife Marguerite happened on January 18, 1386. A feature film based on The Last Duel is scheduled to be released in 2021. 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. To prove her claim true, Matt Damon's Jean challenges Le Gris to trial by combat. HIP/Art Resource, NY. Barred from bringing a case against Le Gris herself, Marguerite had to rely entirely on her husband to mount legal action. Marguerite also testified that Adam Louvel was the first to arrive at the chteau, and that he began his visit by urging her to ask her husband to extend the term of an outstanding loan for one hundred gold francs. Jager chronicled how the former friends relationship devolvedand the woman and rape allegation at the center of the conflictin the 2004 nonfiction book The Last Duel. Marguerite replied that she had no wish to speak with Le Gris, and that Louvel should stop his overtures at once. The first two chapters of the three-act film, penned by Damon and Affleck, draw heavily on Jagers research, recounting Marguerites rape and the events surrounding it from the perspectives of Carrouges and Le Gris, respectively. Famiglietti claimed that Carrouges, after learning that Marguerite had been raped, resolved to turn the rape to his advantage and forced his wife to agree to accuse Jacques of having been the man who raped her. In this view, Marguerite accused the wrong man not in honest error but in knowing collusion (or fearful compliance) with her husband. 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. Marguerite de Carrouges : My father told me my life would be blessed with good fortune. 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. But when he returned a few days later and heard his wifes story, he angrily brought charges against Le Gris in the court of Count Pierre of Alenon, overlord to both men. Scott and the films stunt coordinator used the outline of the actual combat to create something slightly more exciting for the screen. I think the film makes the right choice [in portraying her story]., Comer agrees. 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. [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). What was in the film was the pair's reconciliation, which took place in 1384 in which Le Gris and de Carrouges agreed to put the past behind them, and de Carrouges introduced Le Gris to his wife Marguerite. 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. Rape Crisis Scotlands helpline number is 08088 01 03 02. If her husband lost she would be found guilty of perjury. Soon after, de Carrouges went on a campaign to Scotland and though it was a military failure, he distinguished himself with his courage. These events have gotten a cinematic depiction in Ridleys Scotts new medieval epic, The Last Duel, written by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener and now playing in theaters nationwide. Things come to a head when de Carrouges goes to Paris and his mother in law takes most of (if not all) the servants from the house with her, leaving Marguerite alone. Skoda adds, Its all too tempting to talk about the Middle Ages as this horrible, misogynist, patriarchal, oppressive society, as a way of even implicitly just saying, Look how far weve come. Whereas to complicate what things looked like in the 14th century complicates what were doing now.. 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. Dust off your 14th-century French history books, folks. | Damon and Affleck took the dialogue directly from Jagers book. Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer star in Ridley Scotts return to historical epic form, written by Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. Theres a certain arrogance rooted in that assumption. The movie ends with Marguerite playing with her son, seemingly at peace with her life. He had a witness. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and. Even a small mistake, such as misstating the day the attack happened, could result in the case being thrown out and the victim being punished for perjury. In 1384, Carrouges and Margueriteencountered Le Gris at a mutual friends party. The combat was decreed on December 29, 1386 in Paris.[3]. 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. On December 29, 1386, before a crowd presided over by French king Charles VI, Carrouges and Le Gris eyed each other warily. 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. 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.. But we wanted to do it through the lens of this situation. Only in the final section of the film, when Marguerite is allowed to speak for herself, does the truth of the mens personalities emerge: Carrougesa jealous and contentious man, in Jagers wordsis mainly concerned with saving his own pride. 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). When youre doing scenes where you really want to fight back with Carrouges and tell him what it is you really think, you have to go, Hang on a minute, would she do this? Comer recalls. He also had a reputation as a seduceror worse. 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. 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. Marguerite is the most important and most heroic person in the story, make what happens to her after the duel . Eric Jager is a professor of English at UCLA and the author of four books, including The Last Duel and Blood Royal. Her father had sided against the king twice, and. The J. PaulGettyMuseum, Los Angeles. Thibouville was a Norman lord who had twice sided against the French king in territorial conflicts, betrayals he was lucky to survive, albeit in reduced circumstances. Froissart says simply that Carrouges felled his opponent and, thrusting his sword into his body, killed him on the spot.. The two combatants sat their horses very prettily, writes Froissart, for both were skilled in arms. Two aspiring knights stood side by side, one welcoming his first son and heir, the other acting as his godfathervirtually a family member, according to historian Eric Jager. 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.. 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. The final chapter of the film, told from Marguerites perspective, refers to itself as the truth. But while that section of the story by necessity contains the most dramatization, Jager says he does support the filmmakers conclusion. 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. 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. 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.. The Last Duel is now available to watch in cinemas. 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. Privacy Statement (Le Gris and Carrouges both started out as squires and vassals to Count Pierre, but Carrouges was knighted for his military service in 1385.) In his book Tales of the Marriage Bed from Medieval France, R.C. Popular historical fiction abetted the theory of mistaken identity, exploiting its shock effect. Historical scandals, much like the contemporary ones filling our tabloids, news sites, and now-ubiquitous Facebook feeds, are built on a widely shared sense of certainty about what really happeneda feeling that often belies the elusive truth. The fly in this ointment is another aspect of Marguerites testimony that has not been given due attentionnamely, the inclusion of Adam Louvel in the criminal charges. Its also significant that the Parlement of Paris found Marguerites story credible enough to vacate Count Pierres official exoneration of Le Gris and to authorize the rare judicial duel, whose official purpose, however doubtful the procedure may seem today, was to determine the truth in cases where witness testimony and other evidence was insufficient for reaching a verdict. ( 20 th Century Studios ) At the time, the French were engaged in a bitter conflict with the English. 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. 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. Initially, Carrouges brought Marguerites case to Count Pierre. Cases had to meet four requirements, including exhausting all other legal remedies and confirming that the crime had actually occurred. Schools educate you, and religious services deliver sermons, and movies at their best can generate empathy and generate compassion, says Affleck. As it turns out, the description of the event in Eric Jager's book The Last Duel is rather different from the five surviving medieval accounts of the fight. For Affleck and Damon, The Last Duel was an opportunity to not only depict a compelling historical event but to reflect on how traces of that system of patriarchy linger today. But the count, infuriated by the accusation against his favorite, declared at a legal hearing that Marguerite must have dreamed it and summarily dismissed the charges, ordering that no further questions ever be raised about it.. This happened, she said, in the morning hours at the modest chteau of her widowed mother-in-law, Nicole de Carrouges, on a remote Normandy estate known as Capomesnil, about twelve miles southwest of Lisieux. We know that the historical Marguerite de Thibouville was the heiress of a venerable noble family of Normandy, was probably young when she became Carrouges' second wife, and was, after the. Marguerite tells her story, and she knows that she needs to be extremely consistent, despite this absolutely horrific trauma that shes just gone through, says Skoda. | READ MORE. October 15, 2021 7:00 AM EDT. Marguerite de Carrouges : No. And not just any death. Marguerite de Carrouges (ne de Thibouville; 1362, Chteau de Fontaine-la-Soret (Eure) c. 1419) was a French noblewoman. One of the chroniclers talks about an opening joust, but I had to elaborate a little bit on how a joust like that would unfold with lances broken. According to Jager, Le Gris took an immediate liking to Marguerite when Carrouges introduced her to the court in 1384. (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. Wife of Sir Jean De Carrouges IV, Chevalier d'Honneur. The nonfiction work catalogs the events leading up to Frances last government-sanctioned trial by combat, held between Jean de Carrouges and his former friend, Jacques Le Gris. The duel took place on December 29, 1386, and was presided over by French king Charles VI. In January 1386 while Jean de Carrouges was away traveling, Marguerite claimed she . 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. The book, exhaustively compiled from existing documents and records, recounts how Carrouges wife, Marguerite, accused Le Gris of rape, leading to the pair fighting to the death with Marguerites own life on the line if it was decided she had lied. Rather, it was the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Parisa decision possibly motivated by the decidedly unchivalrous nature of the event. Her father had sided against the king twice, and. And yet there can only be one truth. 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. While this should have added weight to Marguerite's claim, it did not. Even Le Gris believed she was victimized - just not by him. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. Other accounts provide more technical detail, even suggesting that Le Gris slipped on his opponents blood. 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. Some argued that shed falsely accused Le Gris, either mistaking him for someone else or acting on the orders of her vindictive husband. At the time, it was believed a woman could not conceive if she didn't enjoy sex, and therefore her pregnancy was counted against her it couldn't be rape if she was pregnant, because she must have enjoyed it. 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. 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.. The burden of proof lay almost entirely on victims, who had to prove theyd resisted the rapists advances while recounting their testimony in precise detail. [3] 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). So in his deluded sense of pride, Le Gris could believe it was consensual. 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. We begin with Jean de Carrouges, who after successful war campaigns for the king of France, finds himself falling out of favour with Count Pierre (Ben Affleck). The Last Duel True Story: Marguerite de Carrouges' Accusation 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. 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. 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 earlier of the two is the Saint-Denis Chronicle, an official royal history by the monk Michel Pintoin probably written around 1400. I would have had to have taken this many horses, and I didnt have time to get back. It would have become about whether or not it could have been him, or it must have been somebody else. "Do you swear on your life that what you say is true?". There is this paradox of the human experience where oftentimes different people come away from the same situation with different impressions of that. 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. Much like Jagers book, the film doesnt offer a sympathetic portrayal of either of its leading men. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. If the case is not proven, then [the woman] doesnt just get to walk away, says Skoda. 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. It was really trying to understand those types of dynamics and her place within the home and in society.. Still, the theory cannot plausibly account for Louvels having named Le Gris while in conversation with Marguerite. He strucks a belly of Le Gris's horse with his axe. And her court testimony is reduced to nothing more than her husbands scriptas Famiglietti calls itfor destroying his hated rival. Per historian Kathryn Gravdal, a register of crimes recorded in four French hamlets between 1314 and 1399 lists just 12 rape or attempted rape cases, as only virgins or high-status rape victimslike Margueriteactually had their day in court., Those who did report their rapes found the odds really stacked against them, with the onus on the survivor to make a big judicial issue of it as quickly as possible, says historian Hannah Skoda, author of the 2012 book Medieval Violence. I do not know, he adds in a poignant aside, for I never spoke with her, whether she had not often regretted having gone so far with the matter that she and her husband were in such grave dangerand then finally there was nothing for it but to await the outcome.. de Carrouges, whose wife and son died of an unknown illness, eventually marries Marguerite, a wealthy but reputationally damaged young woman. Are we seeing how others experience things?. 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. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. The knights victory saved both him and his wife, earning the formerly notorious couple wealth and prestige. He challenged Jacques to a duel to the death in the king's court. de Carrouges, whose wife and son died of an unknown illness, eventually marries Marguerite, a wealthy but reputationally damaged young woman. I want justice! Rather than this idea of somebody, through the lens of their own experience and acculturation, not understanding their behavior. If Carrouges won the duel, the couple would go free, their claims vindicated. Goes Out newsletter, with the week's best events, to help you explore and experience our city. They were very religious. More, On the use and misuse of civility. Although now losing blood, Carrouges mounted a daring counterattack and fought on so stoutly that he managed to throw his opponent to the ground. 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. When her husband, Sir Jean de Carrouges, heard of the crime, he . The denouement, too, echoes the Grande dictionnaire: Not long after, a criminal arrested for some other offense confessed himself to be the author of the outrage. Your Privacy Rights The film does show that at the same time as Marguerite was pregnant, so was the queen. In the film, it is revealed mid-trial that if de Carrouges loses at the hand of Le Gris, Marguerite will also be killed by being stripped naked, put in an iron collar and set on fire. A new film from Ridley Scott dramatizes the 1386 trial by combat of a medieval man accused of a horrific crime. 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. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and Nicole Holofcener and appears as a feudal lord and compatriot of both leading men. 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. I came in after Matt and Ben decided to do it this way, but they wanted to make it a little more gray. Or did Carrouges according to one account grab him by the helmet and throw him down? At this point Le Gris himself suddenly entered the chteaus hall (aulam, probably referring to the main chamber or great hall where guests were typically received). Flawless Victory. The penalty for bearing false witness is that you are to be burned alive, an official tells Marguerite in the movies trailer. At the bottom of the social ladder were warriors, priests and laborers, who had limited rights and political influence. In the end the city expelled the contagion, and the body politic was cleansed. 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. In his youth, Jean served in the retinue of . It's long and gory and ends with de Carrouges stabbing Le Gris through the mouth (in real life, it was the throat), proving Marguerite to have been telling the truth. Terms of Use As Jager explains, With a motive, revenge against the knight, and a means, the seduction of his wife, all [Le Gris] needed now was an opportunity.. Of course, the movie is about much more than just the duel, as is the true story so here's what went down. 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. When Marguerite told Le Gris that he must not speak to her in this way, he seized her by the hand, forced her to sit down beside him on a bench, and told her that he knew all about her husbands recent money troubles, offering to pay her well. Marguerites claim that Louvel mentioned Le Gris by name is especially telling, for it is hard to fit this detail into a plausible scenario in which she is genuinely mistaken, as many have claimed she was, about the identity of her assailants, particularly Le Gris. When he leaves he says she should tell no one, especially her husband because he might kill her if he finds out. From a practical perspective, pulling back on the brutality of the moment was also essential for simply getting the audience to sit through the scene. There is still a trial, though, and just as in reality, Marguerite is now pregnant. 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). The accused was Jacques Le Gris, who was said to have raped Jean de Carrouges's wife, Marguerite . For me, why would a woman speak out and say this when her life was at risk? the actress says. Directed by Ridley Scott, the movie stars Matt Damon as Carrouges, Adam Driver as Le Gris and Jodie Comer as Carrouges second wife, Marguerite. Mother of Robert De Carrouges. 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. (Rapists sometimes escaped punishment by marrying their victims.) Le Gris attorney, the highly respected Jean Le Coq, kept notes in Latin that still survive, allowing us a glimpse into attorney-client discussions. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Last Duel. A hush fell over the crowd, as they came to the solemn realization that a man had just died before their eyes. 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. Louvel then,. According to Jager, the court may have feared taking sides and arousing even more controversy, deciding instead to grant the knights request, authorize a duel and leave the whole perplexing matter in the hands of God., Five contemporary or near-contemporary chronicles offer accounts of what happened when Le Gris and Carrouges met on December 29, 1386. Le Gris window arrived on January 18, when Marguerite happened to be left alone with just one maidservant. The mortal combat, set for December 29, promised to be the seasons highlight in the capital, as thousands of Parisians flocked to see it, and the young king and his court took their places in colorful viewing stands set up alongside the field at the monastery of Saint-Martin-des-Champs. 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. And for him to have to invoke that at the moment of his death and to protest his innocence [is interesting]. I will not be silent, she responds, teary-eyed but defiant. With the understanding that your truth may not be somebody elses truth. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Though the film portrays Jacques le Gris as guilty of raping Marguerite de Carrouges, this was never definitively proven and the facts of the case remain a topic of heated debate to this day.