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Yet Adam Louvel reportedly confessed to nothing, not even under torture. Ultimately, Carrouges victory was a result of Le Gris being literally unable to get up. 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. 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. Comer brought that sense of history into her performance as well, recognizing what was and wasnt acceptable for women of the time. Welcoming the Official (detail), by Leonid Solomatkin, 1867. I'm married. 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. 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. 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. Other accounts provide more technical detail, even suggesting that Le Gris slipped on his opponents blood. In accord with ancient tradition, she would be burned alive as a false accuser. Your Privacy Rights So in his deluded sense of pride, Le Gris could believe it was consensual. Much like Jagers book, the film doesnt offer a sympathetic portrayal of either of its leading men. And one includes the ladys penitential retreat to a convent, while the other omits this finale. All who loved him were in a great fright, adds the chronicler in what is the narrative equivalent of a cinematic reaction shot. Jean de Carrouges was born in Saint-Marguerite-de-Carrouges, Normandy, France in 1330, a vassal of the . She has to relive it over and over againand she gets it right.. 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. French law stipulated that noblemen appealing their cause to the king could challenge the accused to a judicial duel, or trial by combat. Eventually, you have the two men on the ground, fighting with hand weapons rather than lances.. Image via 20th Century Studios. Some argued that shed falsely accused Le Gris, either mistaking him for someone else or acting on the orders of her vindictive husband. 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.. The J. PaulGettyMuseum, Los Angeles. But Marguerite certainly made an impression on Le Gris, who likely still held a grudge against his litigious former friend: After running into the newly knighted Carrouges in January 1386, Le Gris sent a fellow courtier, Adam Louvel, to keep an eye on Marguerite, whod been left behind with her mother-in-law while Carrouges traveled to Paris. Jean de Carrouges stabbed him through the throat with a 6-inch blade, killing his arch-nemesis immediately. 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 . By the union of Marguerite . But whats so amazing about Nicole and what Nicole has brought to the piece is this sense of imagination. For me, why would a woman speak out and say this when her life was at risk? the actress says. Halloween Kills, the latest entry in the blockbuster horror franchise, and period drama The Last Duel face different fates in theaters this weekend. Despite the claims of naysayers and novelizers, Marguerites testimony suggests that she was almost certainly not mistaken about the identity of her attackers. She was born to nobleman Robert De Thibouville, who was notorious for siding AGAINST France in territorial. 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. Get our L.A. 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. Two separate alibis are harder to disprove than one. Carrouges immediately began a lawsuit to recover the land-based on an assumed prior claim to it. Enlightenment thinkers Diderot and Voltaire favored Le Gris cause, decrying his barbaric and unjust trial by combat as an example of the supposed ignorance and cruelty of the Middle Ages, writes Jager. Though the film portrays Jacques le Gris as guilty of raping Marguerite de Carrouges, this was never definitively proven and the facts of the case remain a topic of heated debate to this day. Flawless Victory. 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? 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. Digital image courtesy of theGettys Open Content Program. What does she have to gain from that? The third and final section, written by Holofcener, is told from Marguerites point of view. 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. 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. But that doesnt mean that women were silenced. We knew who this woman was generally by the way she spoke out in the time in which she was living in.. 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. 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. After Marguerites rape, Carrouges petitions the French court to try Le Gris through judicial combat. In Jagers book, the detailed description of the duel between Le Gris and Carrouges, held on Dec. 29, 1386, was drawn from several sources. The movie ends with Marguerite playing with her son, seemingly at peace with her life. Her father had sided against the king twice, and. Se trata del caballero Sir Jean. The movie does follow the true story rather closely, and with a runtime of two and a half hours, we'd hope so. Initially, Carrouges brought Marguerites case to Count Pierre. Marguerite de Carrouges : My father told me my life would be blessed with good fortune. 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. 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. And then I was judged and shammed by my country. 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. A century and more after the philosophes had popularized the theory, it solidified as hard fact in authoritative encyclopedias. Even Le Gris believed she was victimized - just not by him. 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. Le Gris quickly turned violent, forcing her upstairs and enlisting Louvel to help restrain her as she desperately fought back. Even in Le Gris' version, though, Marguerite's attempts to get away seem less flirtatious and more earnest. Le Gris raped me., Le Gris countered with a detailed alibi for not just the day in question but the entire week, calling numerous witnesses to establish his whereabouts in or near another town some twenty-five miles away. 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. 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. Does he truly believe his innocence at the end? Affleck reflects of Le Gris. 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. Schools educate you, and religious services deliver sermons, and movies at their best can generate empathy and generate compassion, says Affleck. Rather than this idea of somebody, through the lens of their own experience and acculturation, not understanding their behavior. They pinned me down and stuffed a capucium [a hood] over my mouth to silence me. Death: Immediate Family: Daughter of Robert De Thibouville. 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. When he leaves he says she should tell no one, especially her husband because he might kill her if he finds out. 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. 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. Medieval law treated rape as a horrific crime on par with other capital offenses. The duel took place on December 29, 1386, and was presided over by French king Charles VI. 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. I dont want your money! Marguerite replied. The film shows Le Gris stripped and hanged by the ankle in the town square. The theory of mistaken identity ultimately derives from two sources that began circulating more than a decade after the duel. Note: The following article contains discussion of rape that some readers may find upsetting. Though Scotts film and its source text afford the fight the weighty title of the last duel, Le Gris trial by combat was far from the last duel to ever take place. If her husband lost she would be found guilty of perjury. In his youth, Jean served in the retinue of . DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and. The event marked the first meeting between Carrouges wifedescribed by a contemporary chronicler as beautiful, good, sensible and modestand Le Gris. I thought I was going to suffocate, and soon I couldnt fight them anymore. Louvel then added a greeting from Jacques Le Gris, who he said greatly admired her and was eager to speak with her. 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. Privacy Statement That was really sad. When her husband, Sir Jean de Carrouges, heard of the crime, he . 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. 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). But conceptions of rape varied widely, with some commentators arguing that women enjoyed being taken by force and others accusing survivors of falsely accusing men in order to trick them into marriage. 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. 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. Lied, by Eugne Lomont, c. 1895. (At this point, the two men were in their late 50s, which places Damon at close to the right age for his role but Driver a good generation off the mark. I gave her the opportunity to go get a low-cut dress in the style of the queen, which she was later shamed for wearing. (Le Gris and Carrouges both started out as squires and vassals to Count Pierre, but Carrouges was knighted for his military service in 1385.) 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. We gathered from research that she was really capable and educated, Holofcener says. 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. 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.. The combat was decreed on December 29, 1386 in Paris. I know that was the same for everyone who was coming toward this project.. But we wanted to do it through the lens of this situation. I think the film makes the right choice [in portraying her story]., Comer agrees. 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. 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. When Marguerite adamantly refused his offer, saying she had no wish for his money, the violence escalated. 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.. This man who has done something horrible and doesnt understand it. It was just the bare minimum description of who she was. In his book Tales of the Marriage Bed from Medieval France, R.C. Now, the story of the 1386 trial by combat is the subject of a blockbuster film of the same name. Her husband is abusive what would be the consequences of this? News back then traveled, archival research has shown, at the rate of an average days journey by horseback: about thirty miles per day. You are risking my life, so you can fight your enemy and save your pride. Nearly everyone believed then and believes now that Marguerite was raped. And not just any death. By now the case had become a cause clbre. Froissart says simply that Carrouges felled his opponent and, thrusting his sword into his body, killed him on the spot.. 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. The duel itself was very violent, as it was in the film. 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. Instead, Elema explains, authorities overseeing trials typically imposed a settlement after the fighters had exchanged a few blows. ( 20 th Century Studios ) At the time, the French were engaged in a bitter conflict with the English. I was a good wife. 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. 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. Saturday October 16 2021, 12.01am BST, The Times R idley Scott's spectacular new film begins with a Norman noblewoman, Marguerite de Carrouges, being robed in black, fettered to a scaffold in. In short, yes. Meanwhile, Le Gris continued to rise in Pierre's esteem. The contest between Carrouges and Le Gris would turn out to be the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Paris. A Note to our Readers This tangled and still-controversial case leaves many tantalizing questions, not least of all why Jacques Le Gris did it, if indeed he did. Just in what they were wearing. And clearly it wasnt.. 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. 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. Le Gris attorney, the highly respected Jean Le Coq, kept notes in Latin that still survive, allowing us a glimpse into attorney-client discussions. I will not be silent, she responds, teary-eyed but defiant. Or did he trip? Directed by Ridley Scott, the movie stars Matt Damon as Carrouges, Adam Driver as Le Gris and Jodie Comer as Carrouges' second wife, Marguerite. When would she choose to speak out in this way? Meet the real woman who inspired The Last Duel", "L'histoire vraie de Jean de Carrouges et Jacques Legris, hros du film "Le dernier Duel" de Ridley Scott", "Vivonne et Jarnac, le dernier duel judiciaire en France", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marguerite_de_Carrouges&oldid=1117212348, This page was last edited on 20 October 2022, at 14:07. When Jean came back from Paris, he decided to take revenge on Jacques. Readers in the US are encouraged to contactRAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673. Over the next several months, famous lawyers were hired, witnesses were summoned, and testimony was gathered. 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. There is a brief coda that reveals Marguerite outlived her husband and never remarried. [2][3], Shortly after his marriage, Carrouges revealed another motive for the union. 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.