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). 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). Much like Jagers book, the film doesnt offer a sympathetic portrayal of either of its leading men. In his alibi, Le Gris himself cited the narrow window of time available for his alleged visit, strictly during daylight hours. So in his deluded sense of pride, Le Gris could believe it was consensual. Despite the claims of naysayers and novelizers, Marguerites testimony suggests that she was almost certainly not mistaken about the identity of her attackers. The event marked the first meeting between Carrouges wifedescribed by a contemporary chronicler as beautiful, good, sensible and modestand Le Gris. 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. Marguerite, who had accused Le Gris of raping her, watched from the sidelines; clad entirely in black, she was keenly aware that her husbands defeat would be viewed as proof of perjury, vindicating her attacker and ensuring her execution by burning at the stake for the crime of bearing false witness. She continued shouting for help, she says, until silenced by Le Gris hood. 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. She probably had strangle marks. Born into a noble Norman family around the 1330s, Carrouges met Le Gris, a lower-born man who rose through the ranks by virtue of his own political savvy, while both were serving as vassals of Count Pierre. 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. I gave her a friend, who ultimately betrays her. October 15, 2021 7:00 AM EDT. 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. But if Marguerites husband and champion lost, thus proving her accusation to be false, she too would be put to death. She married Jean de Carrouges in 1380. The accused was Jacques Le Gris, who was said to have raped Jean de Carrouges's wife, Marguerite . This question, posed to Marguerite de Carrouges . According to testimony later provided by Carrouges and Marguerite, she heard a knock on the door and opened it to find Louvel. She adds, If theres any gap between the act and making people aware [of it], that raises huge questions.. We wanted to examine that. 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. Marguerite de Carrouges accused Le Gris of rape in 1386. If youd rather experience the film first, please save this to read after watching. The last judicial duel in France hinged on whether a woman could be believed. Birthdate: estimated between 1321 and 1381. But that doesnt mean that women were silenced. 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. By now the case had become a cause clbre. 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. Soon after, de Carrouges went on a campaign to Scotland and though it was a military failure, he distinguished himself with his courage. There is still a trial, though, and just as in reality, Marguerite is now pregnant. If her husband lost she would be found guilty of perjury. Instead, Elema explains, authorities overseeing trials typically imposed a settlement after the fighters had exchanged a few blows. Forced into an upstairs bedroom, she tried to escape by running through a door at the other end of the room but was blocked from doing so by Le Gris. Insight and analysis from renowned writers and thinkers. 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. 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. 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. We would have looked like two tin cans. It was just the bare minimum description of who she was. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. Just in what they were wearing. Of course, the movie is about much more than just the duel, as is the true story so here's what went down. This tangled and still-controversial case leaves many tantalizing questions, not least of all why Jacques Le Gris did it, if indeed he did. 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? 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 : My father told me my life would be blessed with good fortune. The denouement, too, echoes the Grande dictionnaire: Not long after, a criminal arrested for some other offense confessed himself to be the author of the outrage. 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. I fought him so desperately, she claimed, that he shouted to Louvel to come back and help him. 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. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY. HIP/Art Resource, NY. Given Nicole de Carrouges' sketchy behavior, removing any witness that might ID the perpetrator (nearly the entire household) from the chateau, and given that two sources report other men confessing to the crime, I think Nicole and Jean de Carrouges conspired . Marguerites claim that Louvel mentioned Le Gris by name is especially telling, for it is hard to fit this detail into a plausible scenario in which she is genuinely mistaken, as many have claimed she was, about the identity of her assailants, particularly Le Gris. One ground for skepticism about these two reportsapart from their priestly sources, notoriously suspicious of womenis that each tells a substantially different story. Cookie Settings, The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat, Historical European Martial Arts and Sports Community. The Last Duel stars Jodie Comer, Matt Damon and Adam Driver as three people who changed the course of French history. She gave birth to a son, Robert, shortly before Le Gris trial by combat. 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. 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. You are risking my life, so you can fight your enemy and save your pride. She has to relive it over and over againand she gets it right.. But that was from research as well. 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. 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. And yet he raped her so brutally in history, in the truth, so badly there would be no doubt. He also had a reputation as a seduceror worse. 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. 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. The article offers a garbled, error-strewn version where, in 1385, Le Gris was accused of attacking the lady by night, with his face masked, as she awaited her husbands return from the Holy Land. This man who has done something horrible and doesnt understand it. I thought I was going to suffocate, and soon I couldnt fight them anymore. The two combatants sat their horses very prettily, writes Froissart, for both were skilled in arms. That was really sad. 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. 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. 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. Being caught beneath a horse would mean certain death. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and Nicole Holofcener and appears as a feudal lord and compatriot of both leading men. Damon and Affleck took the dialogue directly from Jagers book. More. In particular, Marguerite testified that she saw both men in the light of day, that Louvel specifically mentioned Le Gris by name before the latter appeared shortly afterward, and that she spoke with both men at some length before they attacked her. Like today, sexual assault and rape often went unpunished and even unreported in the Middle Ages. 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. Cases had to meet four requirements, including exhausting all other legal remedies and confirming that the crime had actually occurred. Skoda and Elema argue that Marguerites case exemplifies the complexity of medieval society, which is often painted in broad, reductive strokes. She refuses his advances, after which he rapes her. 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. Gangsters in a patrol wagon, New York, c. 1935. As per the rules of the duel, whoever loses the battle would be proven guilty of his crimes. 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. According to Jager, the court may have feared taking sides and arousing even more controversy, deciding instead to grant the knights request, authorize a duel and leave the whole perplexing matter in the hands of God., Five contemporary or near-contemporary chronicles offer accounts of what happened when Le Gris and Carrouges met on December 29, 1386. Even the characters haircuts which have been the butt of some online jokes match up with what we know about the period, according to Jager. 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. But if Marguerites story is true and Le Gris was guilty as charged, why did the squire increase his risk of being found out by bringing an accomplice in the first place? While some touched by scandal may resurrect their lives and reputations, others never will: what happened, or is said to have happened, may follow them even through the pages of history. 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. 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. The lawsuit reflected very poorly on Carrouges at the court in Argentan and resulted in his further estrangement from Count Pierre's circle. HIP/Art Resource, NY. de Carrouges, whose wife and son died of an unknown illness, eventually marries Marguerite, a wealthy but reputationally damaged young woman. Her husband is abusive what would be the consequences of this? 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. I'm married. . The majority of medieval rape victims lacked the means to seek justice. Marguerite was forced to watch from a wooden tower on the battlefield (also in view of the many spectators who came to watch) while chained to the floor, awaiting her potential death sentence. Even in Le Gris' version, though, Marguerite's attempts to get away seem less flirtatious and more earnest. Froissart portrays Marguerite, who had recently given birth to a son, praying to the Virgin as she anxiously awaits her fate. That meant that Holofcener had to create Marguerites world and inner life from scratch. Other accounts provide more technical detail, even suggesting that Le Gris slipped on his opponents blood. While this should have added weight to Marguerite's claim, it did not. Carrouges, without whom his wife could not even bring a case, resolutely rode off to Paris to appeal for justice to the king. [2][3], Shortly after his marriage, Carrouges revealed another motive for the union. The knights victory saved both him and his wife, earning the formerly notorious couple wealth and prestige. I will have justice!. Meanwhile, Le Gris continued to rise in Pierre's esteem. In his youth, Jean served in the retinue of . The penalty for bearing false witness is that you are to be burned alive, an official tells Marguerite in the movies trailer. January 18th, 1386, Marguerite was left alone at her home, and a man named Adam Louvel arrived claiming that Le Gris was outside and wanted to see her. We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article. And then I was judged and shammed by my country. The film is told in three chapters, from the perspectives of Carrouges (Damon), Le Gris (Adam Driver) and Marguerite (Jodie Comer). 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. De Carrouges sued Pierre for the land and lost, which only put him further on the outs with the count. An intensely personal rivalry, exacerbated by a series of failed legal cases brought by Carrouges, emerged between the onetime friends. It is incumbent on us to be good people, to overcome that and to see more broadly and with empathy, Affleck says. Se trata del caballero Sir Jean. Carrouges, now in control, shouted one word at his enemy: Confess. Meilan Solly P.T. Terms of Use We gave this great filmmaker the opportunity to dramatize the essence of it and make it compelling to an audience, rather than do literally what happened.. The story of the duel inspired Ridley Scott's 2021 film The Last Duel based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager in which she was played by Jodie Comer. When would she choose to speak out in this way? 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. The trial by combat would decide whether she had told the truthand thus whether she would live or die. They leave, with the crowds cheering for de Carrouges. And yet there can only be one truth. Word of the scandalous affair spread far and wide via merchants, soldiers, itinerant clergy, and others who carried the latest tidings along the rutted roads to far-flung towns and villages. I would call that historically accurate, even though we dont have direct testimony that Marguerite did this or that at the time.. She was born to nobleman Robert De Thibouville, who was notorious for siding AGAINST France in territorial. No institution could long survive so open a confutation, and it was annulled by the Parlement.. Flawless Victory. At the time, it was believed a woman could not conceive if she didn't enjoy sex, and therefore her pregnancy was counted against her it couldn't be rape if she was pregnant, because she must have enjoyed it. (Spoilers ahead.). Le Gris was the counts favorite and his administrative right hand. 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. Its a moment that underscores the timely nature of the films message: that we cannot be blind to the perspectives of others. A Judicial Duel, byLieven van Lathem, 1464. Although now losing blood, Carrouges mounted a daring counterattack and fought on so stoutly that he managed to throw his opponent to the ground. Carrouges immediately began a lawsuit to recover the land-based on an assumed prior claim to it. Marguerite de Carrouges : No. 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. Scott rightly ends The Last Duel on a triumphant note. From the mechanics of trial by combat to the prosecution of sexual violence in medieval society, heres what you need to know about the true history behind The Last Duel ahead of the films October 15 debut. As Jager explains, With a motive, revenge against the knight, and a means, the seduction of his wife, all [Le Gris] needed now was an opportunity.. 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. 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. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and. 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. He doesnt even recognize it. The film is based on the true story of the last legally permitted duel (hence the title) fought in France. 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. One identifies the supposed felon as a condemned man about to be executed, the other as a sick man on his deathbed.