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. When Marguerite adamantly refused his offer, saying she had no wish for his money, the violence escalated. 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. We wanted to examine that. There is this paradox of the human experience where oftentimes different people come away from the same situation with different impressions of that. 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. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital 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. 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 understanding that your truth may not be somebody elses truth. Ultimately, that [would have been] a movie about a courtroom evidence drama, Affleck explains. 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. 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. Le Gris was killed in the fight and therefore found guilty; nevertheless, he was afterwards found innocent by the culprit of the crime, who declared Le Gris innocent as he laid dying. 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. It was the equivalent of a kind of forensics case., Damon adds, It was the case about one very evil man doing something everybody recognized was evil. Eric Jager is a professor of English at UCLA and the author of four books, including The Last Duel and Blood Royal. What happened to Marguerite de Carrouges after the duel? In his book Tales of the Marriage Bed from Medieval France, R.C. Does he truly believe his innocence at the end? Affleck reflects of Le Gris. If Carrouges lost, then Marguerite would be burnt at the stake for perjury. Over the next few years, Le Gris climbed further up the ranks, and was eventually initiated into King Charles VIs royal court. 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. Based on the 2004 book of the same name by literary historian Eric Jager, The Last Duel sheds light on the bout between Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) and Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), which was waged over accusations that Le Gris raped Carrouges wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), and resulted in Le Gris demise. The actor continues, Its an anti-chivalry movie in some sense because the great illusion of chivalry is that it was about [protecting] the innocent female. 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. | Gossip is a sort of smoke that comes from the dirty tobacco pipes of those who diffuse it; it proves nothing but the bad taste of the smoker. Carrougues went to King Charles VI and challenged Le Gris to a judicial duel, which were still lawful in the French court. 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. Cookie Policy And yet there can only be one truth. After many preliminary ceremonies decreed by tradition (an arms inspection, a series of solemn oaths, the requisite dubbing of Le Gris as a knight to make the combatants equal in rank, etc. When Marguerite accuses Le Gris of rape, Jean de Carrouges challenges him to a trial by combat. Positioning itself in contrast to the purportedly superstitious Middle Ages (now reimagined as the Dark Ages), the Enlightenment prized rationality above all else. Barons like Afflecks character, Count Pierre dAlencon, owned land and often acted as feudal lords, providing property and protection to vassalsthe term for any man sworn to serve anotherin exchange for their service. (Spoilers ahead.). When Carrouges returned home three or four days after Marguerites rape, he found his wife sad and tearful, always unhappy in expression and demeanor, and not at all her usual self. She waited until the two were alone before revealing what had happened and urging her husband to seek vengeance against Le Gris. [10] King Charles VI, who was on campaign with his court in Flanders, ordered the duel to be postponed until 29 December as he did not want to miss what was rapidly becoming the event of the season. While this should have added weight to Marguerite's claim, it did not. 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. Jager counts the film as at least 75 percent historically accurate, maybe more, noting that while evidence may not exist for specific moments, there is a general record that supports the re-creation. Some argued that shed falsely accused Le Gris, either mistaking him for someone else or acting on the orders of her vindictive husband. 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.. His scholarly work focuses on the intellectual history of virtue in Renaissance Naples. Marguerite was the daughter of Robert de Thibouville. Marguerite de Carrouges accused Le Gris of rape in 1386. And not just any death. 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. However, Voltaire only acknowledged Marguerite insofar as he claimed all these fights were fought for women. Neither DArgis nor Voltaire mentioned Marguerite by name. Learn how and when to remove this template message, The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France, "L'affaire Marguerite de Carrouges, un procs qui a agit toute la France", "Un jour, une histoire. That was really sad. If youd rather experience the film first, please save this to read after watching. But the overwhelming likelihood is that she was telling the truth. How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! At the time, Jager explains, trial by combat was believed to be the judgment of God, traditionally looked to heaven to assure a just and fair verdict.. [Jager] does a pretty meticulous description of it, but its a decidedly uncinematic duel, Damon notes. I will not be silent, she responds, teary-eyed but defiant. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. According to Marguerites testimony, Le Gris and Adam Louvel, a squire in the royal court, conspired together to assault her. The origins of The Last Duel begin in January 1368, when Marguerite de Carrouges claimed she was raped by Jacques Le Gris, a squire. Dust off your 14th-century French history books, folks. 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. Jean Froissart, writing after the duel, describes Marguerite praying as she watched the fight, adding, I do not know, 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 danger., Elemas interpretation of the sources differs from Jagers comparatively colorful recounting. The duel itself was very violent, as it was in the film. 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. 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. 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. Early life. Carrouges, without whom his wife could not even bring a case, resolutely rode off to Paris to appeal for justice to the king. The screenwriters changed the scene to allow for more nuance. Le Gris window arrived on January 18, when Marguerite happened to be left alone with just one maidservant. This happened, she said, in the morning hours at the modest chteau of her widowed . At the heart of The Last Duel lies a historical mystery, still not definitively solved over 600 years later: was the noblewoman Marguerite de Carrouges raped by the squire Jacques Le Gris? Initially, Carrouges brought Marguerites case to Count Pierre. I want justice! 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. I gave her a friend, who ultimately betrays her. 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 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). The earlier of the two is the Saint-Denis Chronicle, an official royal history by the monk Michel Pintoin probably written around 1400. 1 for 4 weeks, Jack Nicholson returns courtside to cheer beloved Lakers to playoff win, Aging beloved YA author Judy Blumes inevitable foil isnt so bad after all. Over the next several months, famous lawyers were hired, witnesses were summoned, and testimony was gathered. 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. It is incumbent on us to be good people, to overcome that and to see more broadly and with empathy, Affleck says. But whats so amazing about Nicole and what Nicole has brought to the piece is this sense of imagination. 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. Duels of honor, as well as judicial duels authorized by other governing bodies, continued to take place centuries after Carrouges triumph. Marguerite's 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. Carrouges was born in the late 1330s in the village of Saint-Marguerite-de-Carrouges as the eldest son of knight and minor noble Sir Jean de Carrouges III and his wife Nicole de Buchard. Not understanding the effect they were having on someone else. 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. 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. 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. 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. Or did he trip? Le 29 dcembre 1 386 se droula un duel d'honneur entre deux seigneurs normands", "Who is Marguerite de Carrouges? Enraged, Jean rode to Paris and appealed to King Charles VI, challenging Le Gris to a duel, an uncommon way for nobles to settle capital offenses. Much like Jagers book, the film doesnt offer a sympathetic portrayal of either of its leading men. Le Gris quickly turned violent, forcing her upstairs and enlisting Louvel to help restrain her as she desperately fought back. 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. And that this incredibly heroic character, Marguerite de Carrouges, had this story that deserved to be told, Affleck told The New York Times. However, by the time Marguerite's side plays out, there is no question about what happened. A feature film based on The Last Duel is scheduled to be released in 2021. She has to relive it over and over againand she gets it right.. She was a noblewoman originally from an . This tangled and still-controversial case leaves many tantalizing questions, not least of all why Jacques Le Gris did it, if indeed he did. I dont want your money! Marguerite replied. 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. Carrouges wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer). No institution could long survive so open a confutation, and it was annulled by the Parlement.. 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. 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. But we wanted to do it through the lens of this situation. Louvels naming of Le Gris just prior to the squires own arrival would seem to put Le Gris indisputably thereunless Marguerites story was a deliberate fabrication. Despite how much Marguerite de Carrouges' tale resonates today, we must keep in mind L.P. Hartley's words: "the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." 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. Mary . It was a patriarchal and deeply misogynist [time]. 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. 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. [2][3], Shortly after his marriage, Carrouges revealed another motive for the union. The Last Duel, starring Matt Damon and Adam Driver, tells the story of the fatal duel between knight Jean de Carrouges and squire Jacques Le Gris in 1386. She has everything to lose. He doesnt even recognize it. 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. Despite how much Marguerite de Carrouges tale resonates today, we must keep in mind L.P. Hartleys words: the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.. Two separate alibis are harder to disprove than one. (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. After Marguerites rape, Carrouges petitions the French court to try Le Gris through judicial combat. A century and more after the philosophes had popularized the theory, it solidified as hard fact in authoritative encyclopedias. According to . 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Despite the claims of naysayers and novelizers, Marguerites testimony suggests that she was almost certainly not mistaken about the identity of her attackers. The entire royal court was gossiping about the rape, the trial, and the likelihood of a duel. Marguerite herselfnow pregnant, perhaps as a result of the rapecame to Paris and testified in great detail about the alleged attack by Le Gris and his accomplice. Popular historical fiction abetted the theory of mistaken identity, exploiting its shock effect. The real-life "Last Duel" between Le Gris and de Carrouges that inspired Ridley Scott's The Last Duel was a famous incident that captivated fourteenth-century France. Eric Jagers 2004 book, The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France, is a case of truth being stranger than fiction. You know whether my cause is just and true. She replied, My Lord, it is so, and you can fight with confidence, for the cause is just. And so Le Gris trial by combat began. All who loved him were in a great fright, adds the chronicler in what is the narrative equivalent of a cinematic reaction shot. 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. She was the only daughter of Jeanne de Bois Hroult and the highly controversial Robert de Thibouville, a Norman lord who had twice sided against the French king in territorial conflicts.By the union of Marguerite and Carrouges, de Thibouville hoped to restore his family's status while Carrouges was hoping for an heir from the young Marguerite, whom contemporaries . Carrouges, who was neglected by both the Count and Le Gris, grew increasingly jealous of his former comrade. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. Digital image courtesy of theGettys Open Content Program. When de Carrouges returns home he demands sex, but Marguerite refuses and tells him about the rape, fuelling de Carrouges' anger against his friend. . But beyond the mystery itself is the surprising way that Marguerites story was transformed and all but erased in the centuries after the events of the film, reinterpreted to serve intellectual agendas with little consideration for the life at the center of the tale. 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. Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's associate digital editor, history. Just in what they were wearing. Terms of Use He had a witness. 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. 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. In Marguerite's version, which the movie frames as 'the truth' (rather than the truth according to whomever) her protests are loud and clear as she screams for help. ), the duel began as a joust on horseback, with lances. 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. Directed by Ridley Scott, the movie stars Matt Damon as Carrouges, Adam Driver as Le Gris and Jodie Comer as Carrouges second wife, Marguerite. So there was just no doubt for me that this woman was telling the truth. It states that Le Gris innocence was later recognized by all, for a man condemned to death by the law confessed to having committed the heinous crime. Carrouges had accused Le Gris of raping his wife, Marguerite de Carrouges, ne de Thibouville, some months before. 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. As a result, while Le Gris and Carrouges were once friends, they become rivals. When would she choose to speak out in this way? We would have looked like two tin cans. Still, The Last Duel does stick closely to historical fact. In Jagers book, the detailed description of the duel between Le Gris and Carrouges, held on Dec. 29, 1386, was drawn from several sources. He had gone to King Charles VI, seeking an appeal to the decision handed down by Count . The new historical drama starring Jodie Comer, Matt Damon and Adam Driver tells the story of Marguerite de Carrouges. Its a moment that underscores the timely nature of the films message: that we cannot be blind to the perspectives of others. Carrouges married her in hopes of an heir and attempted to use his newfound claim to his father-in-law's property to win back a piece of land from his rival . Rape Crisis Scotlands helpline number is 08088 01 03 02. If the film missteps, it is because it does not allow Comer, and consequently Marguerites narrative, more screen time. Insight and analysis from renowned writers and thinkers. 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. What does she have to gain from that? Before the duel, Le Gris had asked in all the monasteries of Paris that God should pray for him. Magazines, The 23 Most Anticipated Movies of Fall 2021, No one really knew the truth of the matter., Or create a free account to access more articles. 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. 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.. Warning, The Last Duel spoilers follow. Some wrote, as Jager recounts in Laphams Quarterly, that Jean only won because Le Gris slipped on his opponents blood. Others wrote about a supposed deathbed confession by a felon who, having a last-minute change of heart, admitted that he, not Le Gris, had raped Marguerite. One ground for skepticism about these two reportsapart from their priestly sources, notoriously suspicious of womenis that each tells a substantially different story. As she tried to admonish the squire, Le Gris appeared, having snuck in after Louvel entered. Comer brought that sense of history into her performance as well, recognizing what was and wasnt acceptable for women of the time. News back then traveled, archival research has shown, at the rate of an average days journey by horseback: about thirty miles per day. Drivers final line, where, as Le Gris, he declares his innocence, is in the historic record. Jean and Marguerite de Carrouges rode, accompanied by hordes of cheering fans to Notre Dame de Paris to give thanks for victory. One of the Enlightenments most scathing critiques of the Middle Ages was of its violence, particularly in capital punishment. 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. Recognizing the courtier, who claimed to have come to ask a favor and warm himself by the fire, she allowed him to enter the house, at which point he turned the conversation to Le Gris, saying, The squire loves you passionately, he will do anything for you, and he greatly desires to speak to you. Alarmed by the sudden shift in tone, Marguerite attempted to rebuke Louvel, only to turn around and see Le Gris, whod snuck in through the unlocked door. They met in the household of Count Robert dAlenon, where the two served as squires to the count. If the mistaken-identity theory is wrong, that forces us back onto the sharp horns of a dilemma: Was Marguerite lying, or was she telling the truth? 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. While this had no material bearing on the plot, it's an interesting detail given that in the film the queen was often panned to as the sole person to sympathise, however quietly, with Marguerite. 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. Marguerite is the most important and most heroic person in the story, make what happens to her after the duel . Shes going to face some kind of penalty. Instead of being executed, however, most women on the losing side of rape cases endured custodial or financial [punishment], which in medieval terms is kind of the end of everything anyway, according to Skoda. When her husband, Sir Jean de Carrouges, heard of the crime, he . Oh, and The characters we'll be discussing are Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), Marguerite de Carrouges (Jodie Comer), and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver). The pair enjoyed a close friendship that soured when the count showered lavish gifts of land and money on Le Gris, fomenting Carrouges jealousy. Following Robert dAlenons death, the Counts brother, Pierre, took over the court. 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. 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. Say nothing, and I will keep quiet, too. Marguerite appeared to agree, but after Le Gris tossed her a small leather bag of coins, she replied: I dont want your money! Sir Jacques le Gris (lit. 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. Women of that status, on these feudal estates, were in charge of a lot of things, especially when their husbands were away at war or on important business.
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