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. At the bottom of the social ladder were warriors, priests and laborers, who had limited rights and political influence. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. 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. And one includes the ladys penitential retreat to a convent, while the other omits this finale. 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. The duel itself was very violent, as it was in the film. [2][3], Shortly after his marriage, Carrouges revealed another motive for the union. So in his deluded sense of pride, Le Gris could believe it was consensual. Centuries later the story of the innocent Le Gris falsely accused and forced to defend himself in a barbaric and unjust trial by combat was further popularized by Enlightenment thinkers. Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer star in Ridley Scotts return to historical epic form, written by Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. 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.. But if Marguerites story is true and Le Gris was guilty as charged, why did the squire increase his risk of being found out by bringing an accomplice in the first place? Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and Nicole Holofcener and appears as a feudal lord and compatriot of both leading men. No one really knew the truth of the matter. 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. Word of the scandalous affair spread far and wide via merchants, soldiers, itinerant clergy, and others who carried the latest tidings along the rutted roads to far-flung towns and villages. 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. The lawsuit reflected very poorly on Carrouges at the court in Argentan and resulted in his further estrangement from Count Pierre's circle. Meilan Solly But if Marguerites husband and champion lost, thus proving her accusation to be false, she too would be put to death. ( 20 th Century Studios ) At the time, the French were engaged in a bitter conflict with the English. We gathered from research that she was really capable and educated, Holofcener says. Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's associate digital editor, history. When would she choose to speak out in this way? 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. The duel took place on December 29, 1386, and was presided over by French king Charles VI. 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. And if the Parlement of Paris could not establish even the basic facts, theres little chance of our discovering hidden motives all of these centuries later. [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). 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. 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. Other accounts provide more technical detail, even suggesting that Le Gris slipped on his opponents blood. Even in Le Gris' version, though, Marguerite's attempts to get away seem less flirtatious and more earnest. When the lady learned this and realized that the error was her fault, she retreated to a convent after her husbands death, vowing perpetual chastity.. He strucks a belly of Le Gris's horse with his axe. Diderots Encyclopdie and Voltaires Histoire du Parlement de Paris used the 1386 affair to denounce the supposed ignorance and cruelty of the Middle Ages. Cookie Policy The contest between Carrouges and Le Gris would turn out to be the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Paris. This cruel error moved the Parlement to systematically reject all appeals for the duelThis was the end of judicial combat., A similar story is retailed by the famed eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (191011), which likewise gives the erroneous date of 1385 and has the rapist attacking the lady by night, although here in the guise of her husband as she awaits his return from the Crusadesan implausible bed trick recalling the story of Martin Guerre. In 1380 Carrouges married Marguerite de Thibouville (Jodie Comer), daughter of the controversial known traitor Robert de Thibouville who had sided against multiple French Kings in. Damon and Affleck took the dialogue directly from Jagers book. de Carrouges, whose wife and son died of an unknown illness, eventually marries Marguerite, a wealthy but reputationally damaged young woman. According to testimony later provided by Carrouges and Marguerite, she heard a knock on the door and opened it to find Louvel. This man who has done something horrible and doesnt understand it. In particular, Marguerite testified that she saw both men in the light of day, that Louvel specifically mentioned Le Gris by name before the latter appeared shortly afterward, and that she spoke with both men at some length before they attacked her. Marguerite, who found herself pregnant soon after the attack, largely left this fact out of her account, either due to uncertainty over the childs paternityhe may have been conceived before Carrouges left for Parisor an awareness that making this claim would weaken her testimony in the eyes of the court. And two suspects are harder to convict than one, unless they can be turned against each other. We knew who this woman was generally by the way she spoke out in the time in which she was living in.. After the sexual assault, Le Gris told Marguerite, Lady, if you tell anyone what has happened here, you will be dishonored. El libro es una crnica milimtrica de los hechos construida como un gran reportaje, muy ricamente contextualizada desde la eterna guerra entre Francia e Inglaterra en aquella poca hasta el. 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. He challenged Jacques to a duel to the death in the king's court. In reality, the duel would have been decided by two main factors: the weight of the fighters armor and how quickly these relatively old men grew tired. This tangled and still-controversial case leaves many tantalizing questions, not least of all why Jacques Le Gris did it, if indeed he did. They pinned me down and stuffed a capucium [a hood] over my mouth to silence me. The Parlement ultimately failed to reach a verdict, and in September it officially ordered a trial by combat, wherein theoryGod would assure a just outcome. I was a good wife. What does she have to gain from that? 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. Marguerite de Carrouges : My father told me my life would be blessed with good fortune. The Last Duel starts on the day of the duel, but before it shares the results of Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris' fight, the movie shares the three perspectives at the center of why the . 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. Wife of Sir Jean De Carrouges IV, Chevalier d'Honneur. Welcoming the Official (detail), by Leonid Solomatkin, 1867. If the case is not proven, then [the woman] doesnt just get to walk away, says Skoda. 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. They took the idea of damnation seriously. Two separate alibis are harder to disprove than one. 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.. Le Gris said nothing. Of course, the movie is about much more than just the duel, as is the true story so here's what went down. In reality, instead of mourning, the King held a series of banquets and parties that culminated in the duel between Le Gris and de Carrouges. Instead, Elema explains, authorities overseeing trials typically imposed a settlement after the fighters had exchanged a few blows. Which we talked about, but it just became so absurd., Affleck adds, It hinged on the weight on the armor and the fact that once you fell, you couldnt get up and you were like a trapped lobster. (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. 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. 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 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). 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. Advertising Notice The greatest departure from Jagers book comes during the rape itself. Marguerite said no. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. According to Eric Jager's book The Last Duel, the alleged rape of Jean de Carrouges' wife Marguerite happened on January 18, 1386. Say nothing, and I will keep quiet, too. In response, Marguerite said, I will keep quiet. When he leaves he says she should tell no one, especially her husband because he might kill her if he finds out. In real life, as in the film, de Carrouges has to first ask Count Pierre for a trial, which is obviously biased in favour of Le Gris. But that doesnt mean that women were silenced. A beautiful young noblewoman, dressed all in black and exposed to the crowds stares, anxiously awaited the outcome. She adds, If theres any gap between the act and making people aware [of it], that raises huge questions.. A hush fell over the crowd, as they came to the solemn realization that a man had just died before their eyes. Legal historian Ariella Elema, whose PhD research centered on trial by combat in France and England, says judicial duels were most common in cases where the evidence was really unclear and it was difficult to solve the [matter] by any other means. Such clashes had become increasingly rare by the late 14th century, with lawyers largely using the prospect of duels to incentivize individuals to settle cases out of court. I think the film makes the right choice [in portraying her story]., Comer agrees. Ultimately, that [would have been] a movie about a courtroom evidence drama, Affleck explains. And her court testimony is reduced to nothing more than her husbands scriptas Famiglietti calls itfor destroying his hated rival. 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. Meanwhile, Le Gris continued to rise in Pierre's esteem. In 1384, Carrouges and Margueriteencountered Le Gris at a mutual friends party. And yet he raped her so brutally in history, in the truth, so badly there would be no doubt. Marguerites fate is unknown, though later historians convinced of the falsity of her claims suggested she retired to a convent out of shame. But other than that, I made up a lot. And not just any death. Did Le Gris stumble? Le Gris, a large and powerful man with a reputation as a womanizer, is too self-centered to acknowledge the unwanted nature of his advances and too self-assured to believe that, once the deed is done, Marguerite will follow through on her threat of seeking justice. Readers in the US are encouraged to contactRAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673. 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. 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. [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. Like, I couldnt have gotten there. On December 29, 1386, before a crowd presided over by French king Charles VI, Carrouges and Le Gris eyed each other warily. Rather, it was the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Parisa decision possibly motivated by the decidedly unchivalrous nature of the event. 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. That July, at the old royal palace on the le de la Cit, the knight formally challenged the squire, throwing down the gauntlet, as witnessed by the young Charles VI, many other royals, and the magistrates of the Parlement of Paris, the nations highest court. I will have justice!. 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.. Carrouges, without whom his wife could not even bring a case, resolutely rode off to Paris to appeal for justice to the king. 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. 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.. 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. In Jean's absence, Jacques broke into Jean's castle and raped Marguerite in 1386. The screenwriters changed the scene to allow for more nuance.
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