The Real Story Behind the Medieval Epic, 'The Last Duel' - The Vintage News Affleck, Damon, Holofcener, Comer and Jager talked us through what is and isnt accurate in The Last Duel and why the filmmakers made the narrative changes they did. However, Scotts Duel only depicts half of Marguerites story. I know that was the same for everyone who was coming toward this project.. While historians unanimously agree on that last part, everything else is muddled with contradictory evidence. Though its unanimously agreed that Carrouges was victorious over Le Gris in the duel, there are various accounts to what took place on Dec. 29, 1386. The Last Duel True Story: What Ridley Scott's Movie Is About - Screen Rant They were right Le Gris decried Marguerites accusations as false and inflammatory, and Count Pierre took his side, clearing him of the charges. 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. Froissart portrays Marguerite, who had recently given birth to a son, praying to the Virgin as she anxiously awaits her fate. . Historians may never know what actually happened. 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. 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 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. An intensely personal rivalry, exacerbated by a series of failed legal cases brought by Carrouges, emerged between the onetime friends. Ultimately, that [would have been] a movie about a courtroom evidence drama, Affleck explains. 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. By now the case had become a cause clbre. 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? That resonates. Dust off your 14th-century French history books, folks. The Last Duel vs. the True Story of Jean de Carrouges' Duel 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. According to testimony later provided by Carrouges and Marguerite, she heard a knock on the door and opened it to find Louvel. 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. 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. Ultimately, Carrouges victory was a result of Le Gris being literally unable to get up. Jager counts the film as at least 75 percent historically accurate, maybe more, noting that while evidence may not exist for specific moments, there is a general record that supports the re-creation. Marguerite, who found herself pregnant soon after the attack, largely left this fact out of her account, either due to uncertainty over the childs paternityhe may have been conceived before Carrouges left for Parisor an awareness that making this claim would weaken her testimony in the eyes of the court. Per historian Kathryn Gravdal, a register of crimes recorded in four French hamlets between 1314 and 1399 lists just 12 rape or attempted rape cases, as only virgins or high-status rape victimslike Margueriteactually had their day in court., Those who did report their rapes found the odds really stacked against them, with the onus on the survivor to make a big judicial issue of it as quickly as possible, says historian Hannah Skoda, author of the 2012 book Medieval Violence. 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 Louvel forced Marguerite into the bedroom, where Le Gris raped her while Louvel helped hold her down. Say nothing, and I will keep quiet, too. Marguerite appeared to agree, but after Le Gris tossed her a small leather bag of coins, she replied: I dont want your money! On the other, the punishment for false accusations was also death, via burning at the stake. [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. Carrouges III was an influential man in lower Normandy, being a vassal of the Count of Perche and a veteran soldier in his service. In all fairness, they were significantly tame compared to what actually happened. Nevertheless, Carrouges, who believed his wife, stabbed the sword into the body underneath and made him die., While Jager and other historians may never know the truth, Affleck and The Last Duel writers feel strongly that Marguerites account is the accurate one. 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. Comer brought that sense of history into her performance as well, recognizing what was and wasnt acceptable for women of the time. However, Le Gris insisted on his right to testify before Parliament, leaving the door open for Carrouges to request a duel. Related: Every Ridley Scott Horror Movie Ranked The Last Duel's ending is conclusive about the result of the duel, but the story leaves some questions unanswered on the details of the case and what happened to the real characters after the ending we . Le Gris window arrived on January 18, when Marguerite happened to be left alone with just one maidservant. 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. The original fortifications at Carrouges were besieged and destroyed by English forces during the Hundred Years War. ), Whether Carrouges and Le Gris actually ended their quarrel at this point is debatable. Also, after the sudden deaths of his wife and only son and heir, Carrouges marries again to a younger woman, the heiress Marguerite de Thibouville. Just in what they were wearing. 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. 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. 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. This happened, she said, in the morning hours at the modest chteau of her widowed . The movie does follow the true story rather closely, and with a runtime of two and a half hours, we'd hope so. She adds, If theres any gap between the act and making people aware [of it], that raises huge questions.. The Last Duel Ending Explained: Who Won The Duel, And What It Means For 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.. In the book, Le Gris does say he was in love with her, Holofcener says. The duel itself was very violent, as it was in the film. Anything that . No institution could long survive so open a confutation, and it was annulled by the Parlement.. One identifies the supposed felon as a condemned man about to be executed, the other as a sick man on his deathbed. Its also significant that the Parlement of Paris found Marguerites story credible enough to vacate Count Pierres official exoneration of Le Gris and to authorize the rare judicial duel, whose official purpose, however doubtful the procedure may seem today, was to determine the truth in cases where witness testimony and other evidence was insufficient for reaching a verdict. 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. Le Gris and Carrouges were once very close. Before the duel, Le Gris had asked in all the monasteries of Paris that God should pray for him. After a grueling battle . Despite the ladys many oaths, and those of the squire, he confided to his journal, No one really knew the truth of the matter.. marguerite de carrouges cause of death Briana Married At First Sight, The Density Of A Neutron Star Is Quizlet, Did Brutus The Bear Die, Articles W
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