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. 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. 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). According to Marguerites testimony, Le Gris and Adam Louvel, a squire in the royal court, conspired together to assault her. Anything that . The J. PaulGettyMuseum, Los Angeles. 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. One of the places Le Gris vindication emerged was in the Encyclopdie; this project, spearheaded by Denis Diderot and Jacques dAlembert, was one of the first modern encyclopedias and a text which articulated many of the Enlightenments most formative arguments. With the understanding that your truth may not be somebody elses truth. 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. 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. 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). 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. The Last Duel: What Happened To Every Character In Real Life She refuses his advances, after which he rapes her. The penalty for bearing false witness is that you are to be burned alive, an official tells Marguerite in the movies trailer. News back then traveled, archival research has shown, at the rate of an average days journey by horseback: about thirty miles per day. The Last Duel (Spoilers for Duel Outcome) To say that this event was a spectacle would be selling it short. Much like Jagers book, the film doesnt offer a sympathetic portrayal of either of its leading men. Le Gris and Jean had once been close friends, but their relationship turned to rivalry over a dispute regarding land Marguerites family owned. 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. Le Gris was killed in the fight and therefore found guilty; nevertheless, he was afterwards found innocent by the culprit of the crime, who declared Le Gris innocent as he laid dying. 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). She probably had strangle marks. Jean de Carrouges | Military Wiki | Fandom . The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in 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. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. 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. Very quickly, we recognized that the film has a clear point of view on whos telling the truth. The burden of proof lay almost entirely on victims, who had to prove theyd resisted the rapists advances while recounting their testimony in precise detail. Although now losing blood, Carrouges mounted a daring counterattack and fought on so stoutly that he managed to throw his opponent to the ground. A large and powerful man, Le Gris was well educated and very wealthy, though from an only recently ennobled family. From the start, Le Gris had an advantage in the trial. Just over a decade later, however, the two men,Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, met on a field in Paris for a highly publicized duel to the death. The more complicated her story, the more vulnerable it was to challenge; including Adam Louvel in the charges simply added to her burden of proof. The theory of mistaken identity ultimately derives from two sources that began circulating more than a decade after the duel. 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. Schools educate you, and religious services deliver sermons, and movies at their best can generate empathy and generate compassion, says Affleck. If the film missteps, it is because it does not allow Comer, and consequently Marguerites narrative, more screen time. 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. Drivers final line, where, as Le Gris, he declares his innocence, is in the historic record. But whats so amazing about Nicole and what Nicole has brought to the piece is this sense of imagination. But the count, infuriated by the accusation against his favorite, declared at a legal hearing that Marguerite must have dreamed it and summarily dismissed the charges, ordering that no further questions ever be raised about it.. According to Marguerite, Le Gris (played in the film by Adam Driver) traveled to her familys chateau in Capomesnil where she was staying on January 18, 1386 and raped her. This tangled and still-controversial case leaves many tantalizing questions, not least of all why Jacques Le Gris did it, if indeed he did. Le Gris and Louvel forced Marguerite into the bedroom, where Le Gris raped her while Louvel helped hold her down. 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. 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. He opted for the former, against the advice from his lawyer church trials rejected violence, and were deemed to have less dangerous outcomes. Le Gris' body was dragged from the blood-soaked field and hanged on a gibbet. They truly believed God would make happen whatever was the fair thing to happen, so it would . The event marked the first meeting between Carrouges wifedescribed by a contemporary chronicler as beautiful, good, sensible and modestand Le Gris. She has everything to lose. 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. 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. Enlightenment thinkers in the 18th century adopted this revision of Le Gris character to advance their own intellectual agendas. The newly-minted Count Pierre took an immediate liking to the charming Le Gris, which strained the latters friendship with Carrouges. It was just the bare minimum description of who she was. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital The synopsis of the film lays out the basis for what would be the final (official) duel in French history, but as with most 'based on a true story' stories, there are always gaps between reality and fiction. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. I fought him so desperately, she claimed, that he shouted to Louvel to come back and help him. Jodie Comers powerful performance not only does justice to the woman shes portraying, but also makes her a strong contender for this years awards season. de Carrouges, whose wife and son died of an unknown illness, eventually marries Marguerite, a wealthy but reputationally damaged young woman. 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. However, despite this split focus, Marguerite clearly emerges as the storys true protagonist. She has to relive it over and over againand she gets it right.. 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. According to testimony later provided by Carrouges and Marguerite, she heard a knock . Was Marguerite De Carrouges A Real Person? - Mastery Wiki Gross! Later encyclopedia entries echoed this view, seemingly solidifying the question of Le Gris innocence. When Marguerite accuses Le Gris of rape, Jean de Carrouges challenges him to a trial by combat. The Last Duel hair: Why the movie made Matt Damon look so awful. The True Story Of 'The Last Duel': Historians Still Debate Marguerite Carrougues went to King Charles VI and challenged Le Gris to a judicial duel, which were still lawful in the French court. Like, I couldnt have gotten there. the latter was accused by Carrouges wife of having made an attempt on her honor. Despite the threat of public humiliation and potentially deadly outcome of disclosing ones rape, women like Marguerite spoke out, perhaps as a way of working through their trauma or simply refusing to passively accept [what had] happened to them, says Skoda. But other than that, I made up a lot. But that was from research as well. 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). 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. When he leaves he says she should tell no one, especially her husband because he might kill her if he finds out. 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. For Carrouges and Le Gris, whose dispute had sparked widespread interest across France, settling the case would have been viewed as either an admission of guilt or [a] false accusation, says Elema. When the lady learned this and realized that the error was her fault, she retreated to a convent after her husbands death, vowing perpetual chastity.. The duel took place on December 29, 1386, and was presided over by French king Charles VI. 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. 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. The Last Duel Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary That was at the root of everything. When de Carrouges returns home he demands sex, but Marguerite refuses and tells him about the rape, fuelling de Carrouges' anger against his friend. . Meanwhile, Le Gris continued to rise in Pierre's esteem. If you purchase an item through these links, we receive a commission. The real-life "Last Duel" between Le Gris and de Carrouges that inspired Ridley Scott's The Last Duel was a famous incident that captivated fourteenth-century France. No institution could long survive so open a confutation, and it was annulled by the Parlement.. To this day, historians are divided on the truth of the case. Medieval trial by combat: the real history behind The Last Duel Chteau de Carrouges - Wikipedia 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.. 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. This man who has done something horrible and doesnt understand it. Following the death of Carrouges first wife and son, he and Le Gris finally severed ties. 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.. 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. The Last Duel Ending Explained: Who Won The Duel, And What It Means For You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Did Le Gris stumble? While the film might appear to be Hollywood fiction, it is actually based on accounts of what happened following a heinous assault on Carrouges' wife. Carrouges choice to pursue a duel also put Marguerite in danger. According to Eric Jager's book The Last Duel, the alleged rape of Jean de Carrouges' wife Marguerite happened on January 18, 1386. Their future was assured. At the bottom of the social ladder were warriors, priests and laborers, who had limited rights and political influence. After The Last Duel's real-life story, Marguerite went on to have two more children and settled in Normandy and Paris, enjoying the celebrity status that she and her . The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Bequest of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1887. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. The REAL story behind 'The Last Duel': How warring knights fought 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. The pair enjoyed a close friendship that soured when the count showered lavish gifts of land and money on Le Gris, fomenting Carrouges jealousy. 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. In Marguerite's version, which the movie frames as 'the truth' (rather than the truth according to whomever) her protests are loud and clear as she screams for help. Louvel then added a greeting from Jacques Le Gris, who he said greatly admired her and was eager to speak with her. Since Le Gris had briefly served as a church cleric in his youth, he could choose whether he wanted a state trial or church hearing. Really embracing the kind of freedom that gave her. The Last Duel, starring Matt Damon and Adam Driver, tells the story of the fatal duel between knight Jean de Carrouges and squire Jacques Le Gris in 1386. (Le Gris and Carrouges both started out as squires and vassals to Count Pierre, but Carrouges was knighted for his military service in 1385.) Her life was pretty bad being married to Jean de Carrouges and so when she was violated, she had nothing to lose, really. 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. The Real Story Behind the Medieval Epic, 'The Last Duel' - The Vintage News However, Voltaire only acknowledged Marguerite insofar as he claimed all these fights were fought for women. Neither DArgis nor Voltaire mentioned Marguerite by name. While this should have added weight to Marguerite's claim, it did not. While the Enlightenment looks more familiar to modern eyes than the more distant Middle Ages, intellectual and cultural development is not a straight line. Digital image courtesy of theGettys Open Content Program. The Last Duel ending explained - how close is it to the true - Yahoo! She continued shouting for help, she says, until silenced by Le Gris hood. On the other, the punishment for false accusations was also death, via burning at the stake. 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. 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. Eventually, you have the two men on the ground, fighting with hand weapons rather than lances.. By the time the criminal trial was underway in the summer of that year, Marguerite was noticeably pregnant. Photo Credit: MePrDB / MovieStillsDB. The offense took place on January 18, 1386, while she was still in Paris, alone at her mother-in-laws chateau with one other maidservant. Shortly before Jean departed for Paris, he and Le Gris confronted one another in the court of Count Pierre dAlenon (played by Ben Affleck); Le Gris learned around this time that Jean would be leaving Marguerite alone. [Jager] does a pretty meticulous description of it, but its a decidedly uncinematic duel, Damon notes. Halloween Kills, the latest entry in the blockbuster horror franchise, and period drama The Last Duel face different fates in theaters this weekend. 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 Marguerites own life on the line if it was decided she had lied. According to Jager, the two were such dear friends that Carrouges made Le Gris godfather to his child a son born from a previous marriage in 1377. She was a noblewoman originally from an . 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. Jean Juvnal des Ursins, who was not present at the event, wrote that right before Carrouges delivered his deathly blow, he demanded to hear the truth from Le Gris. On December 29, 1386, before a crowd presided over by French king Charles VI, Carrouges and Le Gris eyed each other warily. The challenge did not lead directly to a duel, however, but marked the start of a formal investigation by the Parlement, which would authorize a duel only if unable to reach a verdict on the basis of the available evidence. For me, why would a woman speak out and say this when her life was at risk? the actress says. Or did Carrouges according to one account grab him by the helmet and throw him down? He likewise claims that Marguerite had been deceived about her attackers identity, although the supposed truth comes out under rather different circumstances: Later it was discovered that [Le Gris] had not really done it, but that it had been done by another, who died of illness in his bed and, at the moment of death, confessed before others that he had done the deed.. 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. However, by the time Marguerite's side plays out, there is no question about what happened. 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. Carrouges, without whom his wife could not even bring a case, resolutely rode off to Paris to appeal for justice to the king. The Reprimand, by Jean-Georges Vibert, 1874. (Spoilers ahead.). Cookie Policy Magazines, Digital Far from echoing these Enlightenment-era assessments of Marguerites misguided intentions, the film adaptation of The Last Duel presents the noblewoman as its protagonist, the truth teller [whose account is] so much more resonant, strong and evident than her male counterparts, as Affleck tells GMA News. Rather, it was the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Parisa decision possibly motivated by the decidedly unchivalrous nature of the event. As Jean Le Coq, Le Gris lawyer, wrote in his private diary, No one really knew the truth of the matter.. The events leading to the duel were described at great length in Jean Froissart's Chronicles (a prose history of the Hundred Years' War written in the 14th century by Jean Froissart) though director Ridley Scott's screenplay was adapted from Eric Jager's The Last Duel book. 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. Dust off your 14th-century French history books, folks. 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.. The combat was decreed on December 29, 1386 in Paris.[3]. . We read that the queen had pierced nipples and that the dress was almost low enough that you could maybe see them., Comer adds, There was one painting of her that, over time, was completely worn out, just because of time and everything else. 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. 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. When Marguerite adamantly refused his offer, saying she had no wish for his money, the violence escalated. 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. 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. 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. [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. 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. 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. What happened after the events of the film is just as fascinating. 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. I want justice! 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. 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.