Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Last Duel. They leave, with the crowds cheering for de Carrouges. Le Gris was the counts favorite and his administrative right hand. It was a patriarchal and deeply misogynist [time]. If there are reasons for believing in the possibility of Le Gris innocence, the doubtful story of a belated confession by another man certainly is not and never has been one of them. In 1384, Carrouges and Margueriteencountered Le Gris at a mutual friends party. Given the absence of any witnesses in her own favor, Marguerites accusations against Louvel were a gratuitous and risky addition to her testimony if her story of the attack and rape was indeed a deliberate lie. That meant that Holofcener had to create Marguerites world and inner life from scratch. The Last Duel stars Jodie Comer, Matt Damon and Adam Driver as three people who changed the course of French history. 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. An intensely personal rivalry, exacerbated by a series of failed legal cases brought by Carrouges, emerged between the onetime friends. 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. 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. 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. Froissart says simply that Carrouges felled his opponent and, thrusting his sword into his body, killed him on the spot.. Holofcener adhered to historical fact in terms of how Marguerite spoke, what she did and how she behaved, but the rest is a dramatization. When youre doing scenes where you really want to fight back with Carrouges and tell him what it is you really think, you have to go, Hang on a minute, would she do this? Comer recalls. 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. 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. 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.. A Note to our Readers From a practical perspective, pulling back on the brutality of the moment was also essential for simply getting the audience to sit through the scene. 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. Part Two will use the medieval sources to reconstruct what really happened in the combat, using . [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). Comer brought that sense of history into her performance as well, recognizing what was and wasnt acceptable for women of the time. 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. By taking away the witness and some challenging details, like Le Gris stuffing his hat into Marguerites mouth, the filmmakers were able to more fully explore the notion that Le Gris believed his actions were just. 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. 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. The contest between Carrouges and Le Gris would turn out to be the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Paris. 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. 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 raped me., Le Gris countered with a detailed alibi for not just the day in question but the entire week, calling numerous witnesses to establish his whereabouts in or near another town some twenty-five miles away. When Jean came back from Paris, he decided to take revenge on Jacques. 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. We wanted to examine that. ( 20 th Century Studios ) At the time, the French were engaged in a bitter conflict with the English. Even Le Gris believed she was victimized - just not by him. The origins of The Last Duel begin in January 1368, when Marguerite de Carrouges claimed she was raped by Jacques Le Gris, a squire. 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). 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 book, exhaustively compiled from existing documents and records, recounts how Carrouges' wife, Marguerite, accused Le Gris of rape, leading to the pair fighting to the death with. Its strange that so many authorities seem to have been untroubled by the obvious factual errors in these reports, their mutual inconsistencies, or the lack of any corroborating evidence. 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. Terms of Use 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. It states that Le Gris innocence was later recognized by all, for a man condemned to death by the law confessed to having committed the heinous crime. Le Gris final moments appear to have been grisly even by the standards of the day: The monk of Saint-Denis, who served as Charles VIs official historian, reported that Carrouges killed his enemy with great difficulty because he was encased in armor. In accordance with tradition, authorities dragged Le Gris body to the gallows and hung him as a final insult to his sullied reputation. The pair enjoyed a close friendship that soured when the count showered lavish gifts of land and money on Le Gris, fomenting Carrouges jealousy. Carrouges, now in control, shouted one word at his enemy: Confess. She probably had strangle marks. The Last Duel True Story: Marguerite de Carrouges' Accusation Jean de Carrouges' wife was a controversial figure as the daughter of Robert de Thibouville, a Norman lord who had notably sided against multiple French kings in territorial disputes. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. News back then traveled, archival research has shown, at the rate of an average days journey by horseback: about thirty miles per day. By the union of Marguerite and Carrouges, de Thibouville hoped to restore his family's status[1] while Carrouges was hoping for an heir from the young Marguerite, whom contemporaries described as "young, noble, wealthy, and also very beautiful". 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. (Spoilers ahead.). Soon after, de Carrouges went on a campaign to Scotland and though it was a military failure, he distinguished himself with his courage. Of course, the movie is about much more than just the duel, as is the true story so here's what went down. The fly in this ointment is another aspect of Marguerites testimony that has not been given due attentionnamely, the inclusion of Adam Louvel in the criminal charges. 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. 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. Still, the theory cannot plausibly account for Louvels having named Le Gris while in conversation with Marguerite. 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. 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. Even in Le Gris' version, though, Marguerite's attempts to get away seem less flirtatious and more earnest. Some have echoed Count Pierres dismissive decree, saying that Marguerite made it all up, perhaps to cover up an affair with another man. And then I was judged and shammed by my country. Strictly's Karen Hauer teases future judging role, Creed 3 star talks building intimacy with co-star, EastEnders reveals big twist in Eve and Suki story, Emmerdale star shares future of Paddy's dark story, Sims 4 Growing Together 28% off in pre-order deal, Spider-Man spin-off star joins Nosferatu film, Pokmon Detective Pikachu sequel moves forward, Creed 3's strongest elements come from anime, GoT's Peter Dinklage lands next movie role, Ant-Man 3 actor responds to film's bad reviews, Andy Serkis on his darkest role yet in Luther film, New Alien film casts Batman, Shadow and Bone stars, The Batman gets special edition Steelbook release, Why Super Mario makes big Princess Peach change. Le Gris, a large and powerful man with a reputation as a womanizer, is too self-centered to acknowledge the unwanted nature of his advances and too self-assured to believe that, once the deed is done, Marguerite will follow through on her threat of seeking justice. Marguerite replied that she had no wish to speak with Le Gris, and that Louvel should stop his overtures at once. Other accounts provide more technical detail, even suggesting that Le Gris slipped on his opponents blood. 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. De Carrouges sued Pierre for the land and lost, which only put him further on the outs with the count. 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. A feature film based on The Last Duel is scheduled to be released in 2021. They took the idea of damnation seriously. Spoiler alert: The following story includes details from the historical account behind the new film The Last Duel and narrative twists specific to the film. The last judicial duel in France hinged on whether a woman could be believed. 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. The film adaptation traces the trios relationship from its auspicious beginnings to its bloody end. 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. Despite the claims of naysayers and novelizers, Marguerites testimony suggests that she was almost certainly not mistaken about the identity of her attackers. So in his deluded sense of pride, Le Gris could believe it was consensual. Le Gris quickly turned violent, forcing her upstairs and enlisting Louvel to help restrain her as she desperately fought back. 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. Le Gris attorney, the highly respected Jean Le Coq, kept notes in Latin that still survive, allowing us a glimpse into attorney-client discussions. In Jean's absence, Jacques broke into Jean's castle and raped Marguerite in 1386. She gave birth to a son, Robert, shortly before Le Gris trial by combat. Or did Carrouges according to one account grab him by the helmet and throw him down? Damon and Affleck took the dialogue directly from Jagers book. Are we seeing how others experience things?. And even if the assailant, as Pintoin claims, had actually (and contra the actual testimony) made his visit late in the day, its wholly unlikely that Marguerite, who must have been very familiar with her husbands complaints against the squire, would have offered a meal and overnight lodging to her husbands rival (or to a man she mistook for the same), especially during her husbands absence. In January 1386 while Jean de Carrouges was away traveling, Marguerite claimed she . The movie presents two versions of the rape in Le Gris' version her protests have an edge of teasing to them, and hark back to a previous scene in which he chased a woman around the table before having consensual sex (sort of, given the power dynamic at play and the complete lack of agency women have in their world). 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. 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. In real life, as in the film, de Carrouges has to first ask Count Pierre for a trial, which is obviously biased in favour of Le Gris. 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. By the time the criminal trial was underway in the summer of that year, Marguerite was noticeably pregnant. She refuses his advances, after which he rapes her. Famiglietti claimed that Carrouges, after learning that Marguerite had been raped, resolved to turn the rape to his advantage and forced his wife to agree to accuse Jacques of having been the man who raped her. In this view, Marguerite accused the wrong man not in honest error but in knowing collusion (or fearful compliance) with her husband. On the whole, however, the events follow history. (Jager offered feedback on the films script, suggesting historically accurate phrasing and other changes.) Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer star in Ridley Scotts return to historical epic form, written by Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. Death: Immediate Family: Daughter of Robert De Thibouville. 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. Wife of Sir Jean De Carrouges IV, Chevalier d'Honneur. While this should have added weight to Marguerite's claim, it did not. Or did he trip? Adam Driver was 38 when he played Jacques le Gris, who was 56 at the time of his death. The film is told in three chapters, from the perspectives of Carrouges (Damon), Le Gris (Adam Driver) and Marguerite (Jodie Comer). Le Gris window arrived on January 18, when Marguerite happened to be left alone with just one maidservant. | 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. Jager chronicled how the former friends relationship devolvedand the woman and rape allegation at the center of the conflictin the 2004 nonfiction book The Last Duel. 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. A seasoned warrior with more fighting experience than Le Gris, Carrouges quickly rebounded from his injury, gaining the upper hand and pushing his opponent to the ground. 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. Shes going to face some kind of penalty. Instead of being executed, however, most women on the losing side of rape cases endured custodial or financial [punishment], which in medieval terms is kind of the end of everything anyway, according to Skoda. Get our L.A. Charles I de Lorraine, duc d'Elbeuf (Joinville, 18 October 1556 - Moulins, 4 August 1605) was a French noble, military commander and governor during the French Wars of Religion.The son of the most minor cadet house of the children of Claude, Duke of Guise, Elbeuf initially lacked the prominence of his cousins, however his succession to the Rieux inheritance made him important. Just in what they were wearing. 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. I would call that historically accurate, even though we dont have direct testimony that Marguerite did this or that at the time.. Her father had sided against the king twice, and. Say nothing, and I will keep quiet, too. In response, Marguerite said, I will keep quiet. We knew who this woman was generally by the way she spoke out in the time in which she was living in.. 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. In the film, it is revealed mid-trial that if de Carrouges loses at the hand of Le Gris, Marguerite will also be killed by being stripped naked, put in an iron collar and set on fire. Smithsonian magazine participates in affiliate link advertising programs. HIP/Art Resource, NY. Nearly everyone believed then and believes now that Marguerite was raped. Beneath him were three main ranks of nobility: barons, knights and squires. A hush fell over the crowd, as they came to the solemn realization that a man had just died before their eyes. Welcoming the Official (detail), by Leonid Solomatkin, 1867. 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.