May 11, 2016

Mysterious 'Man in the Iron Mask' Revealed


                                                                       



This classic story by Alexandre Dumas has been read by many, and several movies and tele-movies have been made of it.
The one above is from 1939.

I have seen the Leonardo di Caprio version,1998, as well as the Richard Chamberlain tele-movie made in 1977.

All are fun to watch as the casting was very good and who doesn't like the odd swashbuckling adventure story every now and then? I know I do!

                                                                      
                                                                  

Perhaps Dumas was having a bit of fun at his readers' expense. He probably thought none of his contemporaries would have found out the truth, as indeed they didn't!

He reinforced his tale in "The Three Musketeers" by implying that Aramis had had an affair with the Queen.

Had Louis XIV been alive when Dumas wrote his novels it would have been very likely that Dumas himself would have been the man in the iron mask!

                                                                    



A 350-year-old French mystery has been unmasked: In his new book, Paul Sonnino, a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, claims he has uncovered the real identity of the mysterious Man in the Iron Mask.

The Man in the Iron Mask was a prisoner arrested in 1669 and held in the Bastille and other French jails for more than three decades, until his death in 1703. His identity has been an enduring mystery because, throughout his imprisonment, the man’s face was hidden by a mask, according to Sonnino. The story was even popularized in the 1998 film “The Man in the Iron Mask,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

It’s a mystery that evaded even famed philosopher Voltaire and writer Alexandre Dumas. Historians have discounted the theory popularized by Voltaire and Dumas that the masked man was the twin brother of Louis XIV, according to Sonnino. [Bones with Names: Long-Dead Bodies Archaeologists Have Identified]

“They are pretty much in agreement that his name was Eustache Dauger, that he only occasionally wore the mask and that when he did wear a mask, it was velvet, not iron,” Sonnino said in a statement. “They are also quite sure that he was a valet. What they have not been able to figure out is whose valet he was, and for what possible reason he was held under tight security for over 30 years.”

In “The Search for the Man in the Iron Mask: A Historical Detective Story” (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016), Sonnino leads the reader through historical records, correspondence regarding the prisoner and other aspects of his investigation.

Through his research, Sonnino determined that Dauger was a valet for the treasurer of Cardinal Mazarin, who was principal minister of France during Louis XIV’s early life. Mazarin accumulated a large fortune, and Sonnino believes the valet thought that some of the money was stolen.

“What I was able to determine was that Mazarin had ripped off some of his huge fortune from the previous king and queen of England …” Sonnino said. “Dauger must have blabbed at the wrong time. He was informed, when arrested, that if he revealed his identity to anyone, he would immediately be killed.”

As for why the Man in the Iron Mask’s identity has remained veiled throughout history, Sonnino said the blame lies with historians, who “insist on making it antiseptic, moralistic, sensible.”

“Life does not make sense,” Sonnino continued. “Humans are much more complicated than that.”

By Kacey Deamer

With many thanks to Discovery News


Replica Of Louis XIV's Versailles Is The World’s Most Expensive Home - $416 million
Versaille Palace Treasures Come To National Gallery Of Australia  
Dream Eco-Home Of Russian Hemp Tycoon Will Be Noosa’s Priciest Abode 



Some related post on literature:
'The Great Gatsby': Seven Life Lessons

The Musketeers


                                                                      
Posted by at
Labels: , ,