I fought him so desperately, she claimed, that he shouted to Louvel to come back and help him. Froissart portrays Marguerite, who had recently given birth to a son, praying to the Virgin as she anxiously awaits her fate. The movie ends with Marguerite playing with her son, seemingly at peace with her life. (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. I would have had to have taken this many horses, and I didnt have time to get back. It would have become about whether or not it could have been him, or it must have been somebody 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. Two separate alibis are harder to disprove than one. 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. Marguerite de Carrouges : My father told me my life would be blessed with good fortune. 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. 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. He likewise claims that Marguerite had been deceived about her attackers identity, although the supposed truth comes out under rather different circumstances: Later it was discovered that [Le Gris] had not really done it, but that it had been done by another, who died of illness in his bed and, at the moment of death, confessed before others that he had done the deed.. 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. Scott rightly ends The Last Duel on a triumphant note. 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. | READ MORE. Part One of this article examined the famous judicial duel between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, which was held in Paris in 1386. I came in after Matt and Ben decided to do it this way, but they wanted to make it a little more gray. But the count, infuriated by the accusation against his favorite, declared at a legal hearing that Marguerite must have dreamed it and summarily dismissed the charges, ordering that no further questions ever be raised about it.. [Jager] does a pretty meticulous description of it, but its a decidedly uncinematic duel, Damon notes. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Even a small mistake, such as misstating the day the attack happened, could result in the case being thrown out and the victim being punished for perjury. Note: The following article contains discussion of rape that some readers may find upsetting. 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). They still spoke out, and they still fought against the grain.. When de Carrouges returns home he demands sex, but Marguerite refuses and tells him about the rape, fuelling de Carrouges' anger against his friend. Now, the story of the 1386 trial by combat is the subject of a blockbuster film of the same name. Carrouges, now in control, shouted one word at his enemy: Confess. 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. So it wasnt so much about hewing fastidiously to historical truth, because that wouldnt have served the narrative needs we were as interested in, as much as illuminating the fact that the vestiges of the sexism and misogyny of the patriarchy we live with now come from a place that was Western civilizations codified value system.. 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. With the understanding that your truth may not be somebody elses truth. These details are wholly at odds with Marguerites court testimony about her assailants daytime visit, whose timing (if not its specific allegations) was corroborated by her mother-in-laws departure that morning and her return a few hours later that same day. If the case is not proven, then [the woman] doesnt just get to walk away, says Skoda. And the lords of France delighted to see it, for they had come to watch the two men fight. Besides the resolution to a deadlocked legal case, the duel also provided eagerly anticipated blood sport for the nobility. Marguerite de Thibouville, only daughter of the highly controversial Robert de Thibouville, married Jean de Carrouges in 1380. 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. 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. No institution could long survive so open a confutation, and it was annulled by the Parlement.. 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. Yet Adam Louvel reportedly confessed to nothing, not even under torture. Cookie Settings, The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat, Historical European Martial Arts and Sports Community. I would call that historically accurate, even though we dont have direct testimony that Marguerite did this or that at the time.. And clearly it wasnt.. In the six centuries after the quarrel ended, however, the moral that was to be derived from it changed considerably. Part Two will use the medieval sources to reconstruct what really happened in the combat, using . There were three chroniclers who gave detailed accounts of the sword phase of the fight, and they have slightly different accounts of how Carrouges managed to get Le Gris on the ground, Jager says. 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. In the end the city expelled the contagion, and the body politic was cleansed. Despite the ladys many oaths, and those of the squire, he confided to his journal, No one really knew the truth of the matter.. 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. 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. The accused was Jacques Le Gris, who was said to have raped Jean de Carrouges's wife, Marguerite . 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. Nearly everyone believed then and believes now that Marguerite was raped. (Rapists sometimes escaped punishment by marrying their victims.) 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. It was really trying to understand those types of dynamics and her place within the home and in society.. This cruel error moved the Parlement to systematically reject all appeals for the duelThis was the end of judicial combat., A similar story is retailed by the famed eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (191011), which likewise gives the erroneous date of 1385 and has the rapist attacking the lady by night, although here in the guise of her husband as she awaits his return from the Crusadesan implausible bed trick recalling the story of Martin Guerre. Knights were one step above squires, but men of both ranks often served as vassals to higher-ranking overlords. The origins of The Last Duel begin in January 1368, when Marguerite de Carrouges claimed she was raped by Jacques Le Gris, a squire. 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. 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. The duel took place on December 29, 1386, and was presided over by French king Charles VI. It is incumbent on us to be good people, to overcome that and to see more broadly and with empathy, Affleck says. 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. That resonates. Flawless Victory. 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. Only Le Gris alibi survives in the court records, but if Louvel had separate witnesses who placed him elsewhere at the time of the crime, their testimony would have exonerated Le Gris as well, just as Le Gris alibi would have helped exonerate Louvel. This biography of a French peer or noble is a stub. 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 J. PaulGettyMuseum, Los Angeles. If Carrouges won the duel, the couple would go free, their claims vindicated. The view that Marguerite was lyinga conjecture unsupported by any evidence, apart from Le Gris dubious alibiholds either that she concocted the rape story herself, perhaps to cover an adultery, or that it was extorted from her by her opportunistic husband in order to avenge himself on his rival. The entire royal court was gossiping about the rape, the trial, and the likelihood of a duel. Even in Le Gris' version, though, Marguerite's attempts to get away seem less flirtatious and more earnest. Terms of Use 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). On the whole, however, the events follow history. Image via 20th Century Studios. Marguerite replied that she had no wish to speak with Le Gris, and that Louvel should stop his overtures at once. 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. P.T. And some, invoking the most popular theory, acknowledge the rape but say that Marguerite mistakenly accused the wrong man, an honest but tragic error that robbed Le Gris of his life, fortune, and good name. While it adheres closely to Jagers book, with the script using actual lines and passages from his writing, the filmmakers did make some alterations in order to better shine a light on the concepts of consent and perspective. 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 the overwhelming likelihood is that she was telling the truth. Her father had sided against the king twice, and. 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. 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. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and Nicole Holofcener and appears as a feudal lord and compatriot of both leading men. Like today, sexual assault and rape often went unpunished and even unreported in the Middle Ages. Sir Jean de Carrouges : I am risking my life for you! 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 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. Lied, by Eugne Lomont, c. 1895. No one really knew the truth of the matter. In his youth, Jean served in the retinue of . That was at the root of everything. What does she have to gain from that? It was a patriarchal and deeply misogynist [time]. By the union of Marguerite . Managed by: Boaz Pijp. And for him to have to invoke that at the moment of his death and to protest his innocence [is interesting]. Advertising Notice According to court documents and testimony, Le Gris accomplice, Adam Louvel (Adam Nagaitis), participated in the rape.
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