According to testimony later provided by Carrouges and Marguerite, she heard a knock . 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.. 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? 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. The movie ends with Marguerite playing with her son, seemingly at peace with her life. Insight and analysis from renowned writers and thinkers. Cases had to meet four requirements, including exhausting all other legal remedies and confirming that the crime had actually occurred. Privacy Statement Duels of honor, as well as judicial duels authorized by other governing bodies, continued to take place centuries after Carrouges triumph. Carrouges wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer). The pair of men tied Marguerite down and physically beat her. 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. And her court testimony is reduced to nothing more than her husbands scriptas Famiglietti calls itfor destroying his hated rival. A Judicial Duel, byLieven van Lathem, 1464. 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 . Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Dr. Ariella Elema, a historian who specializes in trial by combat, analyzed differing accounts of the duel, which appears to have been a very short affair that shocked the audience.. 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. That was at the root of everything. Marguerite de Carrouges (ne de Thibouville; 1362, Chteau de Fontaine-la-Soret (Eure) c. 1419) was a French noblewoman. The contest between Carrouges and Le Gris would turn out to be the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Paris. According to testimony later provided by Carrouges and Marguerite, she heard a knock on the door and opened it to find Louvel. However, Scotts Duel only depicts half of Marguerites story. This biography of a French peer or noble is a stub. 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. As she tried to admonish the squire, Le Gris appeared, having snuck in after Louvel entered. 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. When her husband, Sir Jean de Carrouges, heard of the crime, he . Carrouges left for battle in Normandy, and eventually married his second wife, Marguerite de Thibouville. It was evident that it was going to be an exploration of the dynamics of power, roots of misogyny and survival in medieval France., Paramount+s 'Fatal Attraction' Series Follows The Movies Alternate Ending, 11 Photos Of The 'Fatal Attraction' TV Cast Vs. Their 1987 Movie Counterparts, Molly Ringwald Turned Down 'Pretty Woman' Due To An Early Script's Ick Factor, Zendaya Explained An Awkward Part Of Her 'Dune' Romance With Timothe Chalamet, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. 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. Only in the final section of the film, when Marguerite is allowed to speak for herself, does the truth of the mens personalities emerge: Carrougesa jealous and contentious man, in Jagers wordsis mainly concerned with saving his own pride. 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. [43] Jean and Marguerite de Carrouges then, with the crowd following in a great procession, rode from the abbey to the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, to give thanks for the victory. However, despite this split focus, Marguerite clearly emerges as the storys true protagonist. The last judicial duel in France hinged on whether a woman could be believed. A woman's long hair, meanwhile, "is her glory.". In his book Tales of the Marriage Bed from Medieval France, R.C. They were very religious. She claimed that one of her husband's former friends, Jacques le Gris, raped her when her husband was away. And yet there can only be one truth. 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. 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. However, Voltaire only acknowledged Marguerite insofar as he claimed all these fights were fought for women. Neither DArgis nor Voltaire mentioned Marguerite by name. 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. [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. So in his deluded sense of pride, Le Gris could believe it was consensual. There is still a trial, though, and just as in reality, Marguerite is now pregnant. Prey star Amber Midthunder lands next movie role, The Super Mario Bros Movie hits huge milestone, Emily in Paris' Lucien Laviscount lands movie role. But that doesnt mean that women were silenced. She had the potential of suffering dearly and dying, but at that point she was just tired of having no voice., Below, everything thats known about Le Gris and Carrouges, Marguerites accusations, and the so-called last duel.. Then gently, he asked Marguerite to tell them what had happened. 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). Smithsonian magazine participates in affiliate link advertising programs. The fate that awaited Marguerite if her husbands attempts failedbeing burned at the stake for bearing false witnessrepresented an extreme example of the potential repercussions faced by accusers. 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. The forty-page story Le jugement de Dieu begins with throngs of excited, gossiping Parisians arriving at Saint-Martins field to watch the long-awaited duel. And not just any death. Froissart portrays Marguerite, who had recently given birth to a son, praying to the Virgin as she anxiously awaits her fate. 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. From the start, Le Gris had an advantage in the trial. Mittwoch, 18:30 - 21:00 Uhr und Sonntag, 18:15 - 21:15 Uhr. All who loved him were in a great fright, adds the chronicler in what is the narrative equivalent of a cinematic reaction shot. While the films version, which only involves Le Gris, is brutal to watch, the reality was far rougher, leaving Marguerite with tangible marks of the crime. 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. The event marked the first meeting between Carrouges wifedescribed by a contemporary chronicler as beautiful, good, sensible and modestand Le Gris. My main issue with the movie is the characters were medieval archetypes more than characters. Or did he trip? 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. 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 . 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. Tanzsportclub (TSC) Pocking e.V. Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer star in Ridley Scotts return to historical epic form, written by Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. Thats the research we did and the legend of the story he thought he was in love with her and did not rape her. The greatest departure from Jagers book comes during the rape itself. I fought him so desperately, she claimed, that he shouted to Louvel to come back and help him. 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. 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. 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. (Le Gris and Carrouges both started out as squires and vassals to Count Pierre, but Carrouges was knighted for his military service in 1385.) French law stipulated that noblemen appealing their cause to the king could challenge the accused to a judicial duel, or trial by combat. 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. When he leaves he says she should tell no one, especially her husband because he might kill her if he finds out. 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. And in fact it was a code, a manner of behavior that denied womens basic humanity.. Jacques would have threatened to kill her if she told anyone what happened. A century and more after the philosophes had popularized the theory, it solidified as hard fact in authoritative encyclopedias. 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.. 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. Co-writers Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon had their work cut out for them trying to fill the gaps. The newly-minted Count Pierre took an immediate liking to the charming Le Gris, which strained the latters friendship with Carrouges. Jean Le Coq, Le Gris lawyer, stated in his private notebook that Carrouges suffered the first wound, writing that Le Gris attacked his adversary very cruelly. This statement is also supported by Jean Froissart, a member of Count Pierre dAlenons court, and an unnamed monk who wrote Chronicle of the Monk of Saint-Denis. 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. Here are our top 10 picks, Super Mario Bros. Movie hits $1 billion, is No. 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. Within a few decades, period chroniclers disagreed about the duels details and disputed Le Gris guilt. Pierre favours de Carrouges' friend Le Gris, and the friendship between the men begins to deteriorate. The films version of the brutal fight is a more cinematic variation on what Jager reconstructed in his book, but its reasonably close to what may have transpired. She refuses his advances, after which he rapes her. We would have looked like two tin cans. Instead, Elema explains, authorities overseeing trials typically imposed a settlement after the fighters had exchanged a few blows. The entire royal court was gossiping about the rape, the trial, and the likelihood of a duel. By now the case had become a cause clbre. 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 story tells of the 29 December 1386, trial by combat (duel) in which the Norman knight Jean de Carrouges dueled squire Jacques Le Gris. The Last Duel is now available to watch in cinemas. 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. Barred from bringing a case against Le Gris herself, Marguerite had to rely entirely on her husband to mount legal action. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. What happened to Marguerite de Carrouges after the duel? Though the real duel was between Le Gris and Jean, the film portrays the true conflict as Marguerite de Carrouges versus the political mores of her day, as she struggles to convince those around her, from the Church to her family to the French king to the common peasant, that what she says is true. What does she have to gain from that? 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. Le Gris and Jean had once been close friends, but their relationship turned to rivalry over a dispute regarding land Marguerites family owned. He wrote that Le Gris responded that before God, and on the peril of damnation of his soul, that he had never committed the crime of which he was accused. Family and marriage. We gave Ridley, This is what took place. Because it was such a famous event, there was a record. 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. The film adaptation traces the trios relationship from its auspicious beginnings to its bloody end. 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. But if Marguerites husband and champion lost, thus proving her accusation to be false, she too would be put to death. 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.. These events have gotten a cinematic depiction in Ridleys Scotts new medieval epic, The Last Duel, written by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Nicole Holofcener and now playing in theaters nationwide. Figures like Locke, Rousseau and Voltaireconsidered by some modern historians an early feministmade compelling cases for human rights, gender equality and the natural dignity of all peoples regardless of age, gender or race, which makes the Enlightenments widespread acceptance of the medieval narrative that Le Gris was innocent and refusal to consider Marguerites perspective all the more surprising and even hypocritical. The mistaken-identity theory was also embraced abroad, as by American historian Henry Charles Lea, who in his influential 1866 study of medieval law, Superstition and Force, stated as a matter of fact that Le Gris was subsequently proved innocent by the deathbed confession of the real offender. Lea even faulted Froissart for having omitted any mention of the confession. It also fascinated writers in future centuries, with authors such as Voltaire and Diderot seeing Le Gris as an innocent man wronged by a barbaric system. The film, set amid the brutality of the Hundred Years' War, is divided into three chapters the "truth" according to Carrouges (played by Damon), Le Gris (Adam Driver) and finally, Marguerite (Jodie Comer). We gathered from research that she was really capable and educated, Holofcener says. Historians may never know what actually happened. 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. His scholarly work focuses on the intellectual history of virtue in Renaissance Naples. Froissart says simply that Carrouges felled his opponent and, thrusting his sword into his body, killed him on the spot.. A large and powerful man, Le Gris was well educated and very wealthy, though from an only recently ennobled family. 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.. Should Carrouges lose, Marguerite will be burned at the stake for perjury. 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. 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. 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. Terms of Use 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. 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? 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. In the article on duels, lawyer Antoine-Gaspard Boucher dArgis described how under King Charles VI, [people] fought for so little, offering as an example the one he ordered in 1386 between Carrouges and Le Gris:. "the Gray") (c. 1330s - 29 December 1386) was a French squire and knight who gained fame and infamy, and was ultimately killed when he engaged in one of the last judicial duels permitted by the Parlement of Paris after he was accused of rape by Marguerite de Carrouges, the wife of his neighbour and rival, Sir Jean de Carrouges. The knights victory saved both him and his wife, earning the formerly notorious couple wealth and prestige. 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. The film splits its focus between Le Gris, Jean, and Marguerite, with Le Gris and Jeans portions of the story written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and Marguerites written by Nicole Holofcener. Really embracing the kind of freedom that gave her. Later encyclopedia entries echoed this view, seemingly solidifying the question of Le Gris innocence. But other than that, I made up a lot. Carrouges III was an influential man in lower Normandy, being a vassal of the Count of Perche and a veteran soldier in his service. According to court documents and testimony, Le Gris accomplice, Adam Louvel (Adam Nagaitis), participated in the rape. According to medical knowledge at . [4], Marguerite de Carrouges accused Jacques Le Gris of rape,[5][6] leading to one of the last judicial duels permitted by the French king and the Parliament of Paris (the actual last duel occurred in 1547[7] opposing Guy Chabot de Jarnac against Franois de Vivonne). They took the idea of damnation seriously. 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. 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. Like today, sexual assault and rape often went unpunished and even unreported in the Middle Ages. 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. 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. 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. I thought I was going to suffocate, and soon I couldnt fight them anymore. 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. Eric Jager is a professor of English at UCLA and the author of four books, including The Last Duel and Blood Royal. When de Carrouges returns home he demands sex, but Marguerite refuses and tells him about the rape, fuelling de Carrouges' anger against his friend. 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. Jean was an influential man in lower Normandy, being a vassal of the Count of Perche and a veteran soldier in his service. DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. I mean, she was going to suffer. 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. One identifies the supposed felon as a condemned man about to be executed, the other as a sick man on his deathbed. 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. Rather, it was the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Parisa decision possibly motivated by the decidedly unchivalrous nature of the event. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. Theres a certain arrogance rooted in that assumption. The Last Duel tracks the real life events that led up to France's final legal duel between Sir Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) after the latter is accused of raping Marguerite de Carrouges (Comer), Jean's wife. 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. As Damon tells the New York Times, this segment is kind of an original screenplay because that world of women had to be almost invented and imagined out of whole cloth., The gripping true story of the duel to end all duels in medieval France as a resolute knight defends his wifes honor against the man she accuses of a heinous crime. Her story is detailed and persuasive, and she ran such a great risk to speak up at a time when women were supposed to keep silent about such things. But whats so amazing about Nicole and what Nicole has brought to the piece is this sense of imagination. Carrouges was born in the late 1330s in the village of Sainte-Marguerite-de-Carrouges as the eldest son of the knight and minor noble, Sir Jean de Carrouges III, and his wife, Nicole de Buchard. Following the death of Carrouges first wife and son, he and Le Gris finally severed ties. The Last Duel stars Jodie Comer, Matt Damon and Adam Driver as three people who changed the course of French history. Carrouges choice to pursue a duel also put Marguerite in danger. 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 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. The pair enjoyed a close friendship that soured when the count showered lavish gifts of land and money on Le Gris, fomenting Carrouges jealousy. It was a patriarchal and deeply misogynist [time]. In all fairness, they were significantly tame compared to what actually happened. But the overwhelming likelihood is that she was telling the truth. In short, yes. 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 servants were out for the day with Marguerites mother-in-law. 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. The third and final section, written by Holofcener, is told from Marguerites point of view. . 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. He had been rewarded for his long military service in the Hundred Years' War . 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. 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.
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