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. The Last Duel: What Happened To Every Character In Real Life - ScreenRant And in fact it was a code, a manner of behavior that denied womens basic humanity.. ), Whether Carrouges and Le Gris actually ended their quarrel at this point is debatable. Drivers final line, where, as Le Gris, he declares his innocence, is in the historic record. 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[3] When de Carrouges returns home he demands sex, but Marguerite refuses and tells him about the rape, fuelling de Carrouges' anger against his friend. Marguerite replied that she had no wish to speak with Le Gris, and that Louvel should stop his overtures at once. After dismounting, Carrouges and Le Gris fought on foot with swords, both very valiantly. But Le Gris managed to get within Carrouges defenses and wound him in the thigh. 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. Eric Jager is a professor of English at UCLA and the author of four books, including The Last Duel and Blood Royal. The writers and director of "The Last Duel" all confirm that - reddit 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 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. And thats one of the things we didnt focus as much on: They truly believed God would make happen whatever was the fair thing to happen, so it would be Gods will. Holofcener adhered to historical fact in terms of how Marguerite spoke, what she did and how she behaved, but the rest is a dramatization. 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-law's chteau by a squire (the rank below knighthood) named Jacques Le Gris, aided by one of his closest companions, one Adam Louvel. 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. After the sexual assault, Le Gris told Marguerite, Lady, if you tell anyone what has happened here, you will be dishonored. A Judicial Duel, byLieven van Lathem, 1464. The J. PaulGettyMuseum, Los Angeles. The Last Duel stars Jodie Comer, Matt Damon and Adam Driver as three people who changed the course of French history. 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. But whats so amazing about Nicole and what Nicole has brought to the piece is this sense of imagination. The event marked the first meeting between Carrouges wifedescribed by a contemporary chronicler as beautiful, good, sensible and modestand Le Gris. The story is told three times, once from each character's point of view, so some events are repeated while others are only told once as the story is so close to the events of history as they were recorded, we'll only specify when those two things diverge (which they don't often do, except in the imaginings Scott and the actors create for the characters' internal lives). Marguerite de Carrouges - Wikipedia On December 29, 1386, before a crowd presided over by French king Charles VI, Carrouges and Le Gris eyed each other warily. Does he truly believe his innocence at the end? Affleck reflects of Le Gris. 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. HIP/Art Resource, NY. Se trata del caballero Sir Jean. A large and powerful man, Le Gris was well educated and very wealthy, though from an only recently ennobled family. Quines fueron las personas reales que inspiraron 'El ltimo duelo By the early nineteenth century, the notion that it all had been a case of mistaken identity was firmly established, as typified in an 1824 retelling by Norman historian and politician Louis Du Bois, who explains the supposed miscarriage of justice by speculating that the actual rapist was a squire who doubtless bore some resemblance to the unfortunate Le Gris.. Gross! The duel itself was very violent, as it was in the film. 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. Marguerite de Carrouges accused Le Gris of rape in 1386. On the whole, however, the events follow history. In the book, Le Gris does say he was in love with her, Holofcener says. Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer star in Ridley Scotts return to historical epic form, written by Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. 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.. Are we seeing how others experience things?. In January 1386 while Jean de Carrouges was away traveling, Marguerite claimed she . 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. Later encyclopedia entries echoed this view, seemingly solidifying the question of Le Gris innocence. Initially, Carrouges brought Marguerites case to Count Pierre. That resonates. A feature film based on The Last Duel is scheduled to be released in 2021. By the time the criminal trial was underway in the summer of that year, Marguerite was noticeably pregnant. 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. 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. An elaborate example appeared in 1829, just a few years after Du Bois conjecture that the accused squire had been mistaken for a look-alike, in Lhistorial du jongleur, an anonymous collection of medieval tales. The trial by combat would decide whether she had told the truthand thus whether she would live or die. 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). According to court documents and testimony, Le Gris accomplice, Adam Louvel (Adam Nagaitis), participated in the rape. All who loved him were in a great fright, adds the chronicler in what is the narrative equivalent of a cinematic reaction shot. 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). Centuries later the story of the innocent Le Gris falsely accused and forced to defend himself in a barbaric and unjust trial by combat was further popularized by Enlightenment thinkers. Carrouges immediately began a lawsuit to recover the land-based on an assumed prior claim to it. Marguerite de Carrouges : My father told me my life would be blessed with good fortune. You are risking my life, so you can fight your enemy and save your pride. 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. "Do you swear on your life that what you say is true?". And thats ultimately why this version of the movie is more interesting to us than a movie where you prove Well, based on the evidence, he did it, and either youre a monstrous villain or youre wrongfully accused.. Barred from bringing a case against Le Gris herself, Marguerite had to rely entirely on her husband to mount legal action. 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 . 2023 Smithsonian Magazine The Last Duel ending explained - what is the true story? - Digital Spy Charles I, Duke of Elbeuf - Wikipedia It was a patriarchal and deeply misogynist [time]. Marguerite is the most important and most heroic person in the story, make what happens to her after the duel . In the film, however, Pierre is still dismissive of him and Le Gris is still the favourite, which only angered de Carrouges more after their so-called reconciliation. 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.. Marguerites story must have seemed at least plausible to the magistrates who ordered the duel, something the Parlement had not done for over thirty years in a rape case. 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. Meilan Solly 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). 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. But that doesnt mean that women were silenced. Birthdate: estimated between 1321 and 1381. If youd rather experience the film first, please save this to read after watching. Not understanding the effect they were having on someone else. Marguerites 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. I think the film makes the right choice [in portraying her story]., Comer agrees. 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. The film is told in three chapters, from the perspectives of Carrouges (Damon), Le Gris (Adam Driver) and Marguerite (Jodie Comer). (At this point, the two men were in their late 50s, which places Damon at close to the right age for his role but Driver a good generation off the mark. But conceptions of rape varied widely, with some commentators arguing that women enjoyed being taken by force and others accusing survivors of falsely accusing men in order to trick them into marriage. When he leaves he says she should tell no one, especially her husband because he might kill her if he finds out. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script with Damon and. Greeting Marguerite, he declared that she was the lady of all the land, that he loved her the most and would do anything for her. Part Two will use the medieval sources to reconstruct what really happened in the combat, using . Meanwhile, Le Gris continued to rise in Pierre's esteem. Rather, it was the last judicial duel sanctioned by the Parlement of Parisa decision possibly motivated by the decidedly unchivalrous nature of the event. 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. The Last Duel ending explained - how close is it to the true story of Marguerite de Carrouges? So it wasnt so much about hewing fastidiously to historical truth, because that wouldnt have served the narrative needs we were as interested in, as much as illuminating the fact that the vestiges of the sexism and misogyny of the patriarchy we live with now come from a place that was Western civilizations codified value system.. A hush fell over the crowd, as they came to the solemn realization that a man had just died before their eyes. 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. 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. Cases had to meet four requirements, including exhausting all other legal remedies and confirming that the crime had actually occurred. Even in Le Gris' version, though, Marguerite's attempts to get away seem less flirtatious and more earnest. Upon hearing of the encounter, the outraged Carrouges summoned his circle of courtiers and friends, including his mother and most of Marguerite's family, and a council was convened where Marguerite repeated her account of the rape. 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. The Real-Life "Last Duel" The Assault of Marguerite de Carrouges 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. I fought him so desperately, she claimed, that he shouted to Louvel to come back and help him.