Le 29 dcembre 1 386 se droula un duel d'honneur entre deux seigneurs normands", "Who is Marguerite de Carrouges? 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). There is still a trial, though, and just as in reality, Marguerite is now pregnant. She gave birth to a son, Robert, shortly before Le Gris trial by combat. I gave her a friend, who ultimately betrays her. 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. Directed by Ridley Scott, the movie stars Matt Damon as Carrouges, Adam Driver as Le Gris and Jodie Comer as Carrouges second wife, Marguerite. Beyond the court the dispute was being spoken of as far as the most distant parts of the kingdom, according to the chronicler Jean Froissart. He doesnt even recognize it. According to court documents and testimony, Le Gris accomplice, Adam Louvel (Adam Nagaitis), participated in the rape. 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. 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. So there was just no doubt for me that this woman was telling the truth. But we wanted to do it through the lens of this situation. 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. Ultimately, Carrouges victory was a result of Le Gris being literally unable to get up. If you purchase an item through these links, we receive a commission. 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. A seasoned warrior with more fighting experience than Le Gris, Carrouges quickly rebounded from his injury, gaining the upper hand and pushing his opponent to the ground. Despite the threat of public humiliation and potentially deadly outcome of disclosing ones rape, women like Marguerite spoke out, perhaps as a way of working through their trauma or simply refusing to passively accept [what had] happened to them, says Skoda. Gross! I'm married. Given the absence of any witnesses in her own favor, Marguerites accusations against Louvel were a gratuitous and risky addition to her testimony if her story of the attack and rape was indeed a deliberate lie. Louvel then added a greeting from Jacques Le Gris, who he said greatly admired her and was eager to speak with her. As she argues, Instead of a duel that was long and drawn out and involved many different weapons and a whole variety of exciting scenarios, it seems to have been a very short affair that shocked the audience., Two likely eyewitnessesthe author of the Chronicle of the Monk of Saint-Denis and Le Coqagree that Le Gris landed the first blow, piercing Carrouges thigh with his sword. A bit of a crash courseon medieval France: At the top of society was the king, advised by his high council, the Parlement of Paris. 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. This biography of a French peer or noble is a stub. | READ MORE. A 1306 royal decree based on ancient precedent allowed the duel as a last resort for nobles involved in capital casese.g., murder, treason, and rapebut by now judicial duels were extremely rare. I dont want your money! Marguerite replied. 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. 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. What it doesn't detail is that while Marguerite gave birth to a healthy boy, the queen's son was sickly and died not long after he was born. Part Two will use the medieval sources to reconstruct what really happened in the combat, using . And not just any death. One identifies the supposed felon as a condemned man about to be executed, the other as a sick man on his deathbed. 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. After dismounting, Carrouges and Le Gris fought on foot with swords, both very valiantly. But Le Gris managed to get within Carrouges defenses and wound him in the thigh. 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. DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. Thats the research we did and the legend of the story he thought he was in love with her and did not rape her. October 15, 2021 7:00 AM EDT. Marguerite de Carrouges : No. We read that the queen had pierced nipples and that the dress was almost low enough that you could maybe see them., Comer adds, There was one painting of her that, over time, was completely worn out, just because of time and everything else. 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. 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. But other than that, I made up a lot. Insight and analysis from renowned writers and thinkers. | Some have suggested that her husband forced the story out of her to avenge himself on Le Gris, his former friend turned rival at court. 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Jordan Michael B. Handsome at Walk of Fame ceremony, Review: Natural beauty and a touching ecological tale center the female-forward Blueback. On December 29, 1386, before a crowd presided over by French king Charles VI, Carrouges and Le Gris eyed each other warily. 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. According to Eric Jager's book The Last Duel, the alleged rape of Jean de Carrouges' wife Marguerite happened on January 18, 1386. Eric Jager is a professor of English at UCLA and the author of four books, including The Last Duel and Blood Royal. By taking away the witness and some challenging details, like Le Gris stuffing his hat into Marguerites mouth, the filmmakers were able to more fully explore the notion that Le Gris believed his actions were just. A hush fell over the crowd, as they came to the solemn realization that a man had just died before their eyes. When de Carrouges returns home he demands sex, but Marguerite refuses and tells him about the rape, fuelling de Carrouges' anger against his friend. I want justice! The knights victory saved both him and his wife, earning the formerly notorious couple wealth and prestige. 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. We wanted to examine that. 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. Although now losing blood, Carrouges mounted a daring counterattack and fought on so stoutly that he managed to throw his opponent to the ground. 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. 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. Dust off your 14th-century French history books, folks. I came in after Matt and Ben decided to do it this way, but they wanted to make it a little more gray. 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. The accused was Jacques Le Gris, who was said to have raped Jean de Carrouges's wife, Marguerite . Jean de Carrouges (1330-25 September 1396) was a French knight who was best known for his 1386 duel with Jacques Le Gris (who was accused of raping his wife Marguerite de Carrouges) in the last judicial duel permitted by the Parliament of Paris; he was later slain at the Battle of Nicopolis. 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. Despite the ladys many oaths, and those of the squire, he confided to his journal, No one really knew the truth of the matter.. He had a witness. Warning, The Last Duel spoilers follow. Marguerite remained silent of her ordeal for several days, until her husband's return on the 21 or 22 January. 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. She has nothing to gain. 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. 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. Diderots Encyclopdie and Voltaires Histoire du Parlement de Paris used the 1386 affair to denounce the supposed ignorance and cruelty of the Middle Ages. In Jagers book, the detailed description of the duel between Le Gris and Carrouges, held on Dec. 29, 1386, was drawn from several sources. Some argued that shed falsely accused Le Gris, either mistaking him for someone else or acting on the orders of her vindictive husband. Yet Adam Louvel reportedly confessed to nothing, not even under torture. 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. 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. 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.. 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. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. 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. In Jean's absence, Jacques broke into Jean's castle and raped Marguerite in 1386. And yet he raped her so brutally in history, in the truth, so badly there would be no doubt. The film shows Le Gris stripped and hanged by the ankle in the town square. In his youth, Jean served in the retinue of . The film does show that at the same time as Marguerite was pregnant, so was the queen. 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). Even in Le Gris' version, though, Marguerite's attempts to get away seem less flirtatious and more earnest. 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. When her husband, Sir Jean de Carrouges, heard of the crime, he . 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. Flawless Victory. And one includes the ladys penitential retreat to a convent, while the other omits this finale. ), Whether Carrouges and Le Gris actually ended their quarrel at this point is debatable. We knew who this woman was generally by the way she spoke out in the time in which she was living in.. 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. Still, the theory cannot plausibly account for Louvels having named Le Gris while in conversation with Marguerite. 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. Louvel then,. 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. Scott rightly ends The Last Duel on a triumphant note. The Last Duel is now available to watch in cinemas. 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. So the mistaken-identity theory has in its favor Marguerites relative unfamiliarity with Le Gris physical appearance at the time of the alleged rape in January 1386, over a year after Marguerite had first met and seen Le Gris at Crespins. When Marguerite adamantly refused his offer, saying she had no wish for his money, the violence escalated. If youd rather experience the film first, please save this to read after watching. 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-law's chteau by a squire (the rank below knighthood) named Jacques Le Gris, aided by one of his closest companions, one Adam Louvel. 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. Wife of Sir Jean De Carrouges IV, Chevalier d'Honneur. Digital image courtesy of theGettys Open Content Program. The J. PaulGettyMuseum, Los Angeles. The last judicial duel in France hinged on whether a woman could be believed. ), the duel began as a joust on horseback, with lances. Froissart says simply that Carrouges felled his opponent and, thrusting his sword into his body, killed him on the spot.. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. Beneath him were three main ranks of nobility: barons, knights and squires. Duels of honor, as well as judicial duels authorized by other governing bodies, continued to take place centuries after Carrouges triumph. They took the idea of damnation seriously. 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. 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. The movie ends with Marguerite playing with her son, seemingly at peace with her life. Readers in the US are encouraged to contactRAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673. 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.. 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. 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. A new film from Ridley Scott dramatizes the 1386 trial by combat of a medieval man accused of a horrific crime. 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. An intensely personal rivalry, exacerbated by a series of failed legal cases brought by Carrouges, emerged between the onetime friends. Medieval law treated rape as a horrific crime on par with other capital offenses. 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. But this was not included in the film. 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. 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. It was just the bare minimum description of who she was. Theres a certain arrogance rooted in that assumption. If her husband lost she would be found guilty of perjury. Despite the claims of naysayers and novelizers, Marguerites testimony suggests that she was almost certainly not mistaken about the identity of her attackers. If Carrouges won the duel, the couple would go free, their claims vindicated. I would call that historically accurate, even though we dont have direct testimony that Marguerite did this or that at the time.. de Carrouges also says that she must have sex with him, as Le Gris can't be the last person to have 'known' her Marguerite is, effectively, raped again. Or did he trip? 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. 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. Schools educate you, and religious services deliver sermons, and movies at their best can generate empathy and generate compassion, says Affleck. 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. Birthdate: estimated between 1321 and 1381. Le Gris attorney, the highly respected Jean Le Coq, kept notes in Latin that still survive, allowing us a glimpse into attorney-client discussions. 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. The duel took place on December 29, 1386, and was presided over by French king Charles VI. 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. Carrouges, now in control, shouted one word at his enemy: Confess. That testimony takes up nearly a thousand words of Latin in the Parlements official summary of the case, preserved today at the Archives Nationales, on the Right Bank, in the Marais, a short walk from the old priory where the battle unfolded on that cold winter day. (Rapists sometimes escaped punishment by marrying their victims.) Are we seeing how others experience things?. I fought him so desperately, she claimed, that he shouted to Louvel to come back and help him. 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. No one really knew the truth of the matter. 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. Note: The following article contains discussion of rape that some readers may find upsetting. Even the characters haircuts which have been the butt of some online jokes match up with what we know about the period, according to Jager. Skoda and Elema argue that Marguerites case exemplifies the complexity of medieval society, which is often painted in broad, reductive strokes. But if Marguerites husband and champion lost, thus proving her accusation to be false, she too would be put to death. 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. 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 . Much as Le Gris is said to have silenced Marguerite with his hood, a legion of clerics, historians, and partisans managed to muffle and stifle her story with vague rumors and inconsistent reports that have shrouded the matter almost to the present day. She refuses his advances, after which he rapes her. HIP/Art Resource, NY. Se trata del caballero Sir Jean. After the sexual assault, Le Gris told Marguerite, Lady, if you tell anyone what has happened here, you will be dishonored. 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. But the overwhelming likelihood is that she was telling the truth. 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] 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. The film is told in three chapters, from the perspectives of Carrouges (Damon), Le Gris (Adam Driver) and Marguerite (Jodie Comer). The contest between Carrouges and Le Gris would turn out to be the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Paris. Like today, sexual assault and rape often went unpunished and even unreported in the Middle Ages. In his book Tales of the Marriage Bed from Medieval France, R.C. 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). 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. We dont have transcripts or historical records that say that on a given day [Marguerite] was doing this or something of that nature, but thats completely consistent with what such women did, the author confirms. She probably had strangle marks. And in fact it was a code, a manner of behavior that denied womens basic humanity.. A Note to our Readers 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. 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. Given Nicole de Carrouges' sketchy behavior, removing any witness that might ID the perpetrator (nearly the entire household) from the chateau, and given that two sources report other men confessing to the crime, I think Nicole and Jean de Carrouges conspired .
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