what happened to marguerite de carrouges

Very quickly, we recognized that the film has a clear point of view on whos 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. Sir Jacques le Gris (lit. A large and powerful man, Le Gris was well educated and very wealthy, though from an only recently ennobled family. The Reprimand, by Jean-Georges Vibert, 1874. 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. Le Gris attorney, the highly respected Jean Le Coq, kept notes in Latin that still survive, allowing us a glimpse into attorney-client discussions. Popular historical fiction abetted the theory of mistaken identity, exploiting its shock effect. A woman's long hair, meanwhile, "is her glory.". 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. While The Last Duel offers some vindication to Marguerite, all that came nextthe story of how her life was recorded and reshaped in the historical recordreveals both how easily marginalized voices can be removed from history even by historical figures we respect and how long it can take to restore those voices to their proper place. With the understanding that your truth may not be somebody elses truth. . | But that doesnt mean that women were silenced. By now the case had become a cause clbre. He had a witness. The film is told in three chapters, from the perspectives of Carrouges (Damon), Le Gris (Adam Driver) and Marguerite (Jodie Comer). 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. Read more: 15 Unsung Moments From American History That Historians Say You Should Know About. The duel took place on December 29, 1386, and was presided over by French king Charles VI. An intensely personal rivalry, exacerbated by a series of failed legal cases brought by Carrouges, emerged between the onetime friends. 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). 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. Much like Jagers book, the film doesnt offer a sympathetic portrayal of either of its leading men. This man who has done something horrible and doesnt understand it. A century and more after the philosophes had popularized the theory, it solidified as hard fact in authoritative encyclopedias. But that was from research as well. The duel itself was very violent, as it was in the film. The event marked the first meeting between Carrouges wifedescribed by a contemporary chronicler as beautiful, good, sensible and modestand Le Gris. Queen Charlotte review: A Bridgerton triumph, Michelle Yeoh stars in trailer for new Poirot film, EastEnders announces eating disorder story for Ben, I'm a Celebrity airs trial twist for new campers, Deadpool 3 to bring back unexpected X-Force member, Robert Downey Jr's new movie coming to Netflix, Gran Turismo trailer release confirmed with teaser, Grange Hill reboot movie gets an exciting update, Steven Spielberg talks ET editing "mistake", New Exorcist movie confirms title and plot. 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. Le Coq seems to have had some doubts about his clients truthfulness, while admitting that this was the thorniest of he said, she said cases. But beyond the mystery itself is the surprising way that Marguerites story was transformed and all but erased in the centuries after the events of the film, reinterpreted to serve intellectual agendas with little consideration for the life at the center of the tale. She probably had strangle marks. Or did he trip? However, despite this split focus, Marguerite clearly emerges as the storys true protagonist. 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. One of the Enlightenments most scathing critiques of the Middle Ages was of its violence, particularly in capital punishment. Her father had sided against the king twice, and though to many she would seem unmarriageable, for de Carrouges who desperately needed land, wealth and an heir she was a good match. Apart from the dubious, sketchy, and inconsistent reports in the two chronicles, no external evidence for this hazy legend has ever been offered in support of the oft-told tale of a last-minute confession by the true culprit. Carrouges immediately began a lawsuit to recover the land-based on an assumed prior claim to it. The face-off shown in Ridley Scotts The Last Duel may have been the final court-sanctioned judicial combat in France, but the conversation around the events that led to it is anything but finished. 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. Readers in the US are encouraged to contactRAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800-656-4673. 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. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine 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. The pair of men tied Marguerite down and physically beat her. And for him to have to invoke that at the moment of his death and to protest his innocence [is interesting]. 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. Over the next several months, famous lawyers were hired, witnesses were summoned, and testimony was gathered. Carrouges choice to pursue a duel also put Marguerite in danger. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? On December 29, 1386, before a crowd presided over by French king Charles VI, Carrouges and Le Gris eyed each other warily. And thats one of the things we didnt focus as much on: They truly believed God would make happen whatever was the fair thing to happen, so it would be Gods will. 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. While the Enlightenment looks more familiar to modern eyes than the more distant Middle Ages, intellectual and cultural development is not a straight line. Not understanding the effect they were having on someone else. 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). Marguerite is the most important and most heroic person in the story, make what happens to her after the duel . He saw the marriage as a chance to get the better of Le Gris as well, for Le Gris had been gifted by Pierre a parcel of land previously owned by Marguerite's father. Carrouges, without whom his wife could not even bring a case, resolutely rode off to Paris to appeal for justice to the king. When Marguerite accuses Le Gris of rape, Jean de Carrouges challenges him to a trial by combat. She was married to Jean de Carrouges (son of Jean de Carrouges and Nicolette Bouchard) about 1380. 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. We begin with Jean de Carrouges, who after successful war campaigns for the king of France, finds himself falling out of favour with Count Pierre (Ben Affleck). After months of futile investigation by the French courts, including Marguerites powerful testimony and a counter-witness by Le Gris, the courts had no other choice but to let the duel proceed, allowing God to decide the victor. One of the chroniclers talks about an opening joust, but I had to elaborate a little bit on how a joust like that would unfold with lances broken. It was really trying to understand those types of dynamics and her place within the home and in society.. The original fortifications at Carrouges were besieged and destroyed by English forces during the Hundred Years War. They were right Le Gris decried Marguerites accusations as false and inflammatory, and Count Pierre took his side, clearing him of the charges. And yet there can only be one truth. Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer star in Ridley Scotts return to historical epic form, written by Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. 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. At the bottom of the social ladder were warriors, priests and laborers, who had limited rights and political influence. 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. 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. 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. 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. When would she choose to speak out in this way? Froissart says simply that Carrouges felled his opponent and, thrusting his sword into his body, killed him on the spot.. The valuable estate of Aunou-le-Faucon, given to his rival Jacques Le Gris two years earlier, had been formerly owned by Carrouges' father-in-law, Robert de Thibouville, and had been bought by Count Pierre II of Alenon for 8,000 French livres in 1377. Like, I couldnt have gotten there. More, To make a more perfect union, dont look to the Founding Fathers. 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. Gross! 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. 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. 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. Jacques would have threatened to kill her if she told anyone what happened. Later encyclopedia entries echoed this view, seemingly solidifying the question of Le Gris innocence. 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. 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