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. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and. Matt Damon as Jean de Carrouges IV in The Last Duel. The mortal combat, set for December 29, promised to be the seasons highlight in the capital, as thousands of Parisians flocked to see it, and the young king and his court took their places in colorful viewing stands set up alongside the field at the monastery of Saint-Martin-des-Champs. 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. Things come to a head when de Carrouges goes to Paris and his mother in law takes most of (if not all) the servants from the house with her, leaving Marguerite alone. A hush fell over the crowd, as they came to the solemn realization that a man had just died before their eyes. There were three chroniclers who gave detailed accounts of the sword phase of the fight, and they have slightly different accounts of how Carrouges managed to get Le Gris on the ground, Jager says. 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. 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. 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 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. Marguerite de Thibouville (a very different character from Comer's Villanelle in Killing Eve) was the only daughter of Robert de Thibouville, a wealthy Norman lord viewed as a traitor for siding against the French king in territorial disputes with England. When de Carrouges returns home he demands sex, but Marguerite refuses and tells him about the rape, fuelling de Carrouges' anger against his friend. 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. 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. They pinned me down and stuffed a capucium [a hood] over my mouth to silence me. Gross! While it adheres closely to Jagers book, with the script using actual lines and passages from his writing, the filmmakers did make some alterations in order to better shine a light on the concepts of consent and perspective. As noted in the 1850s by the Norman historian Alfred de Caix, one of the few to credit her story, Marguerites testimony is impressively circumstantial and detailed. Certain details in her account raise serious problems for the mistaken-identity theory. No institution could long survive so open a confutation, and it was annulled by the Parlement.. Louvel then,. . On the whole, however, the events follow history. 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). 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. A beautiful young noblewoman, dressed all in black and exposed to the crowds stares, anxiously awaited the outcome. She has everything to lose. The lawsuit reflected very poorly on Carrouges at the court in Argentan and resulted in his further estrangement from Count Pierre's circle. Le Gris attorney, the highly respected Jean Le Coq, kept notes in Latin that still survive, allowing us a glimpse into attorney-client discussions. On the morning of 18 January 1386, Dame Nicole de Carrouges departed her chateau at Capomesnil for the neighbouring town of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives where she had legal business to attend to. Some have suggested that her husband forced the story out of her to avenge himself on Le Gris, his former friend turned rival at court. A Note to our Readers Your Privacy Rights The True Story Behind Ridley Scott's The Last Duel - Film School Rejects I do not know, he adds in a poignant aside, for I never spoke with her, whether she had not often regretted having gone so far with the matter that she and her husband were in such grave dangerand then finally there was nothing for it but to await the outcome.. While this should have added weight to Marguerite's claim, it did not. In his alibi, Le Gris himself cited the narrow window of time available for his alleged visit, strictly during daylight hours. 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. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. The Woman in Black | Lapham's Quarterly 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. Managed by: Boaz Pijp. 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. After Marguerites rape, Carrouges petitions the French court to try Le Gris through judicial combat. 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. And one includes the ladys penitential retreat to a convent, while the other omits this finale. 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. 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.. 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? 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. After many preliminary ceremonies decreed by tradition (an arms inspection, a series of solemn oaths, the requisite dubbing of Le Gris as a knight to make the combatants equal in rank, etc. Initially, Carrouges brought Marguerites case to Count Pierre. 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 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. When he leaves he says she should tell no one, especially her husband because he might kill her if he finds out. Marguerite De Carrouges (De Thibouville) (deceased) - Genealogy Her husband is abusive what would be the consequences of this? [4] The case dragged on for some months until ultimately Count Pierre was forced to visit his cousin King Charles VI to officially confirm his ownership of the land and his right to give it to whomever of the followers he chose. Marguerite de Carrouges : No. As might be expected, the deadly trial by combat before the huge crowd of spectators unfolds with genuine drama and suspense. There is a brief coda that reveals Marguerite outlived her husband and never remarried. 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). Of course, as was likely true in real life as well, no one in the film seemed to care about Marguerite's fate; after all, a crime of rape against a wife was considered a crime against the husband, and a property crime at that since women were mere objects to be possessed. Le Gris window arrived on January 18, when Marguerite happened to be left alone with just one maidservant. de Carrouges, whose wife and son died of an unknown illness, eventually marries Marguerite, a wealthy but reputationally damaged young woman. 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. 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. The greatest departure from Jagers book comes during the rape itself. On December 29, 1386, before a crowd presided over by French king Charles VI, Carrouges and Le Gris eyed each other warily. Louvels naming of Le Gris just prior to the squires own arrival would seem to put Le Gris indisputably thereunless Marguerites story was a deliberate fabrication. The Last Duel starts on the day of the duel, but before it shares the results of Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris' fight, the movie shares the three perspectives at the center of why the . If her husband lost she would be found guilty of perjury. When Jean came back from Paris, he decided to take revenge on Jacques.
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