Two separate alibis are harder to disprove than one. 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. Cases had to meet four requirements, including exhausting all other legal remedies and confirming that the crime had actually occurred. Thats the research we did and the legend of the story he thought he was in love with her and did not rape her. Popular historical fiction abetted the theory of mistaken identity, exploiting its shock effect. We knew who this woman was generally by the way she spoke out in the time in which she was living in.. That was really sad. 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. Wife of Sir Jean De Carrouges IV, Chevalier d'Honneur. ), Whether Carrouges and Le Gris actually ended their quarrel at this point is debatable. 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. 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. Marguerite, who married Carrouges in 1381, was the only daughter of Robert de Thibouville, who had once committed an act of high treason Jacques Le Gris Le Gris is most famous for being. Managed by: Boaz Pijp. 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. In accord with ancient tradition, she would be burned alive as a false accuser. 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. But we wanted to do it through the lens of this situation. A Note to our Readers 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. A beautiful young noblewoman, dressed all in black and exposed to the crowds stares, anxiously awaited the outcome. Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer star in Ridley Scotts return to historical epic form, written by Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. 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. When Jean came back from Paris, he decided to take revenge on Jacques. 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. Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's associate digital editor, history. With the duel concluded, Froissart continues, Jacques Le Gris body was delivered to the executioner of Paris, who dragged it to Montfaucon and hung it there. For months afterward, at the great stone gibbet on the infamous hilltop outside the citys northern gates, this grisly sight greeted any townsman or traveler passing by. You are risking my life, so you can fight your enemy and save your pride. The film is told in three chapters, from the perspectives of Carrouges (Damon), Le Gris (Adam Driver) and Marguerite (Jodie Comer). [2][3], Shortly after his marriage, Carrouges revealed another motive for the union. The screenwriters changed the scene to allow for more nuance. In the film, however, Pierre is still dismissive of him and Le Gris is still the favourite, which only angered de Carrouges more after their so-called reconciliation. She gave birth to a son, Robert, shortly before Le Gris trial by combat. The majority of medieval rape victims lacked the means to seek justice. In court, he also claimed to have seen Marguerite only twice in his entire life: during the Parlements official inquiry, and also not less than two years earlier at a social gathering at the home of a mutual friend, Jean Crespin, where Carrouges and Le Gris apparently put aside their recent quarrels and Carrouges ordered his wife to kiss Le Gris as a sign of renewed friendship. In Jean's absence, Jacques broke into Jean's castle and raped Marguerite in 1386. Marguerite is the most important and most heroic person in the story, make what happens to her after the duel . French law stipulated that noblemen appealing their cause to the king could challenge the accused to a judicial duel, or trial by combat. | READ MORE. We gathered from research that she was really capable and educated, Holofcener says. 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.. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. (Jager offered feedback on the films script, suggesting historically accurate phrasing and other changes.) Marguerites father, Robert de Thibouville, had once betrayed the king of France, and some may have wondered whether this traitors daughter was in fact telling the truth. A feature film based on The Last Duel is scheduled to be released in 2021. 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. 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. Did Le Gris stumble? 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. In the book, Le Gris does say he was in love with her, Holofcener says. Le 29 dcembre 1 386 se droula un duel d'honneur entre deux seigneurs normands", "Who is Marguerite de Carrouges? According to court documents and testimony, Le Gris accomplice, Adam Louvel (Adam Nagaitis), participated in the rape. A similar report with a significant difference of detail appears in Jean Juvnal des Ursins Histoire de Charles VI, written no earlier than the 1420s and perhaps closer to 1430. 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. 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.. 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. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Last Duel. [3] This man who has done something horrible and doesnt understand it. What does she have to gain from that? The greatest departure from Jagers book comes during the rape itself. The entire royal court was gossiping about the rape, the trial, and the likelihood of a duel. Greeting Marguerite, he declared that she was the lady of all the land, that he loved her the most and would do anything for her. According. Meilan Solly 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. The Last Duel stars Jodie Comer, Matt Damon and Adam Driver as three people who changed the course of French history. Pierre favours de Carrouges' friend Le Gris, and the friendship between the men begins to deteriorate. 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. 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. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. By now the case had become a cause clbre. I came in after Matt and Ben decided to do it this way, but they wanted to make it a little more gray. 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. According to Jager, Le Gris took an immediate liking to Marguerite when Carrouges introduced her to the court in 1384. Unable to rise due to the weight of his body armor, Le Gris resisted Carrouges calls to confess, declaring, In the name of God, and on the peril and damnation of my soul, I am innocent of the crime. Enraged, Carrouges delivered the death blow, perhaps by stabbing Le Gris exposed neck or thighs. de Carrouges knows that even the King is biased against him, and decides to ask for a trial by duel, in which God decides the outcome by letting the liar die. The lawsuit reflected very poorly on Carrouges at the court in Argentan and resulted in his further estrangement from Count Pierre's circle. Jean de Carrouges was born in Saint-Marguerite-de-Carrouges, Normandy, France in 1330, a vassal of the . 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. Marguerite had no one who could confirm her story: her husband Jean de Carrogues (played by Matt Damon) had set out on a journey to Paris to collect some desperately needed funds and the. When de Carrouges returns home he demands sex, but Marguerite refuses and tells him about the rape, fuelling de Carrouges' anger against his friend. She continued shouting for help, she says, until silenced by Le Gris hood. 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. 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. Diderots Encyclopdie and Voltaires Histoire du Parlement de Paris used the 1386 affair to denounce the supposed ignorance and cruelty of the Middle Ages. Damon and Affleck took the dialogue directly from Jagers book. Louvel then,. She married Jean de Carrouges in 1380. Despite the claims of naysayers and novelizers, Marguerites testimony suggests that she was almost certainly not mistaken about the identity of her attackers. There is this paradox of the human experience where oftentimes different people come away from the same situation with different impressions of that. 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. Le Gris attorney, the highly respected Jean Le Coq, kept notes in Latin that still survive, allowing us a glimpse into attorney-client discussions. Still, the theory cannot plausibly account for Louvels having named Le Gris while in conversation with Marguerite. I thought I was going to suffocate, and soon I couldnt fight them anymore. . 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. Gangsters in a patrol wagon, New York, c. 1935. 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. 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. She adds, If theres any gap between the act and making people aware [of it], that raises huge questions.. 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. 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. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. 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. 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. But other than that, I made up a lot. After the fatal duel, the truth comes out: Sometime later, a criminal on the point of atoning for his other crimes confessed that he was guilty of the odious act of which Le Gris had been accused. ), the duel began as a joust on horseback, with lances. The contest between Carrouges and Le Gris would turn out to be the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Paris. And in fact it was a code, a manner of behavior that denied womens basic humanity.. In an entry on duels, the Grand dictionnaire universel (186677), overseen by respected editor Pierre Larousse, describes the 1386 affair as one of the most remarkable in history, claiming that the wide belief in its injustice helped to bring the custom of trial by combat to a speedy end. She has everything to lose. In Jagers book, the detailed description of the duel between Le Gris and Carrouges, held on Dec. 29, 1386, was drawn from several sources. I know that was the same for everyone who was coming toward this project.. 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. Part Two will use the medieval sources to reconstruct what really happened in the combat, using . If the case is not proven, then [the woman] doesnt just get to walk away, says Skoda. 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? 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. By the union of Marguerite . Pointing out that womens voices are actually loud and clear, albeit filtered through the court system and notaries, in many medieval documents, the historian explains, Its a really nice way of sort of flipping our stereotypes of the Middle Ages. 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. In real life, there was another complicating factor de Carrouges bought land and was forced to turn it over to Pierre, blaming Le Gris for it. 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 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. 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). 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. Because rape was viewed less as an act of sexual violence than a property crime against the victims husband or guardian, rapists often avoided harsh penalties by paying a fine to the man in question. I want justice! Which, to us, was more interesting and, to us, ultimately made it more about an examination of an entire system that was assaulting this woman from the moment she was born.. In short, yes. 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. The theory of mistaken identity ultimately derives from two sources that began circulating more than a decade after the duel. 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. But the overwhelming likelihood is that she was telling the truth. If her husband lost she would be found guilty of perjury. More, On the use and misuse of civility. Le Gris was the counts favorite and his administrative right hand. But then, just moments after Carrouges has killed Le Gris on the battlefield, a dusty courier rides up with the astounding news that another man has confessed to the crimenews that is now too late to save the innocent Le Gris. After the sexual assault, Le Gris told Marguerite, Lady, if you tell anyone what has happened here, you will be dishonored. 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. A large and powerful man, Le Gris was well educated and very wealthy, though from an only recently ennobled family. 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. Fatality. One identifies the supposed felon as a condemned man about to be executed, the other as a sick man on his deathbed. It was just the bare minimum description of who she was. That resonates. 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. de Carrouges, whose wife and son died of an unknown illness, eventually marries Marguerite, a wealthy but reputationally damaged young woman. She has to relive it over and over againand she gets it right.. Although now losing blood, Carrouges mounted a daring counterattack and fought on so stoutly that he managed to throw his opponent to the ground. Flawless Victory. De Carrouges sued Pierre for the land and lost, which only put him further on the outs with the count. 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. In the winter of 1386, a French noblewoman by the name of Marguerite de Carrouges found herself at the centre of a criminal case that electrified Paris, captivated the king and culminated in blood being spilled before an enormous crowd in a field just outside the French capital. 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). 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 two combatants sat their horses very prettily, writes Froissart, for both were skilled in arms. Seemingly resolving their differences, the men greeted each other and embraced, with Carrouges telling Marguerite to kiss Le Gris as a sign of renewed peace and friendship, according to Jager. The film does show that at the same time as Marguerite was pregnant, so was the queen. 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. We would have looked like two tin cans. Carrouges, now in control, shouted one word at his enemy: Confess. 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.