Md Sadat Hussain Rafsanjani :
During the reign of French king Louis XIV a mysterious person appeared. His name was unknown and his face was always covered with a mask. A mask made of iron, thus the man was named the man with the iron mask. Many predicted that he was a foreign spy, some called him a traitor arrested and prisoned for his sins. Some also claimed he was a black sheep from any noble family. But no one ever seen his face and the real identity of the masked man remained unknown till now. In the history of French, the legend of the man with the iron mask is proved to be most elusive dilemma. He was arrested in 1661 and remained for the past four decades.
The strangest fact is, it is implicated that only King Louis XIV knew the real identity of the masked man. No supportive document was recovered or found after his death that confirms the real identity of the masked prisoner. His identity was so secret that, King Louis XIV sent him to several prisons. Even the prisoner was so enigmatic that Voltaire and Alexander Duma, two of the horsemen of European literature both mentioned him on their writings. Voltaire himself was a prisoner of Bastille in 1717 for one year and many believe that somehow he met this prisoner who spent last four decade in many prisons. Voltaire mentioned this masked man in his book Le siècle de Louis XIV. He postulated that the man in the iron mask was the illegitimate older brother of real king Louis XIV whose father was Cardinal Mazarin. Voltaire admitted he spoke to the captors’ of the masked prisoner. He emphasized that the prisoner was in jail from 1661, he was young, handsome when jailed and was wearing classy attires. He seemed to be from a French royal family for his tastes, hobbies.
Duma even in his famous novel The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later involved an adventure of betrayal and revenge story where we see the masked prisoner is the twin brother of evil brother Louis. He got prisoned so that his evil brother can override him for the throne. Although the good brother was imprisoned for long time, the three musketeer Aramis, Athos, Prothos and the D’Artagnan saves the real brother and overthrow the evil one only to regain his power as the king. Although the novel has three volumes, the plot and character appeared in the last part. François-Marie Arouet better known as Voltaire, a famous French writer, also mentioned that the man in the iron mask was in fact the illegitimate twin brother of the king. But this was only fiction as most of the contemporary writers used to take real life characters and formulate fictional stories. Indeed these writers were very accurate about factual data regarding characters. The existence of masked prisoner was also noted by journalist Friedrich Melchior-Baron von Grimm and deputy of Bastille Etienne de Junca who wrote about masked man in his own diary.
After a close observation he mentioned in his diary that the mask was made of black velvet, not iron actually.
For some unknown reason, King Louis XIVdeclared to detain this unknown person and gave him the name. At that time, giving false name to the prisoner was a common practice of secrecy. In 1969, a secretary of state named François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois sent a letter to the Pinerolo prison governor Bénigne d’Auvergne de Saint-Mars that a prisoner would arrive named Eustache Dauger within few months to his prison. Pinerolo, now called Pignerol situated at Turin, Italy. Then the city was under French control where this masked prisoner was sent. Saint-Mars was given strict instructions about how to handle this prisoner. The cell where he would live must have numerous doors and only Saint-Mars was permitted to meet him once in a day to carry his food and other necessities. If the prisoner wishes to talk other that his necessities, Saint-Mars was bound to threaten him with his life. Saint-Mars was instructed that the prisoner should get limited facilities he is merely a valet, a male servant, sometimes called varlet. He was a valet for another inmate named Nicolas Fouquet. Fouquet was once prisoned for his lavish lifestyle which challenged King Louis XIV. Thus he was arrested and prisoned for his rest of the life. The masked man was transferred to Exiles in 1681 for a brief period of time and later to the island castle of Sainte Marguerite in 1687.
But why was he masked all the time? Why no one ever seen his face? It is for sure that, this masked man was not a royal blood because he was used as a valet in the prison. Historians says, it was Bénigne d’Auvergne de Saint-Mars who wanted to show the crowd during the transfer of the inmate to Sainte-Marguerite that the prisoner is very important in 1687 provided that the mass become impressed that the king entrusted Saint-Mars to carry such a secret prisoner.
King Louis XIV intended to purchase a fort with the help of an Italian duke and Minister Ercole Antonio Mattioli. Mattioli was praised by the king for his assistance. He eventually got a recognition letter that the king wrote as a form of gratitude on January 12, 1678. But as ill luck would have it, on the day of delivery Mattioli failed to appear on the spot. Instead he informed the Spanish. King Louis XIV got furious by this double cross.
An arrest warrant was issued and Mattioli was arrested. At that time there was an arrest document called letter de cachet which would capable the authority to imprison any one at any time.It is speculated that a letter de cachet was issued to arrest Mattioli as he was on the foreign soil and the authority took him to a remote prison. His face was covered with mask to hide his true identity. Louis XV told her mistress that the man in the iron mask was Mattioli. Louis XVI repeated the same to his wife later. But the question remained as later record confirmed that Mattioli died in 1694, several years back. Furthermore, a letter was discovered later by the historian that was sent to the prison governor to move two prisoners in 1687 from Pinerolo as Mattioli stayed at the same place. This shocking letter was discovered in 1869 which dismissed the possibilities of Mattioli as to be the man in the iron mask.
There was a real Eustache Dauger de Cavoye who was also imprisoned at the same prison. Born in 1637, Eustache Dauger was a from a prominent court family. He even took education with Louis XIV. His father was a captain in the musketeer. In his youth, he joined military and resigned in disgrace. He killed a man after being intoxicated by alcohol and ensued in a brawl. Some serious accusation were brought against him as in 1659 he celebrate black mass on a black Friday. He disgraced his family name and novelty by performing orgy and other deviant tasks. Soon his pocket allowances were cut off. He was as a black sheep of the family.
Later, he started to circulate poison business. At that time poison were used to kill people who had vast reaches so that their ancestors can get the inheritance of their wealth. For such nefarious act soon he got arrested and some believe he was put on the jail to be the man in the iron mask. But later it was found out that, Louis XIV’s mistress Madame de Montespan and her sister Henrietta were assisting him. Some believed that he died from drinking in 1680s so his probability of being masked prisoner was also dismissed.
Another shocking matter took place in 1890 when Etienne Bazeries, a French cryptanalyst discovered a cypher. He tried for three years to break the code. He deciphered the hidden message and found out that the man was in fact a disgraced military officer who was imprisoned for his yellowish behavior at the battlefield. His name was Vivien de Bulonde who was appointed at the Italian border. As the faced attack from enemies, the officer fled. Later he was apprehended and made to put on a mask. He was ordered to stay in the Savoy jail and visit the battle field by wearing the mask at day time.
Eventually, the prisoner was transferred from Pinerolo prison to Bastille on Thursday, September 18, 1698 at 3pm. Accompanied by Saint-Mars, the former jailor of Pinerolo prison who was extremely ambitious of a post in Bastille, recently promoted as the prison governor of Bastille. As the spectators said, the person followed Saint-Mars was a masked man. For the rest of his life, the iron masked prisoner jailed in Bastille fort. On July 14, 1789 when Bastille was stormed, this mysterious prisoner was not found. Even the grave was not found at all as some historians claim the prisoner was allotted a false grave at the Bastille’s Saint Paul cemetery upon his death on November 19, 1703. Saint-Mars died after five years too and the reign of king came to an end in twelve years. Still now historians have no clue regarding the actual identity of the real masked man. n
During the reign of French king Louis XIV a mysterious person appeared. His name was unknown and his face was always covered with a mask. A mask made of iron, thus the man was named the man with the iron mask. Many predicted that he was a foreign spy, some called him a traitor arrested and prisoned for his sins. Some also claimed he was a black sheep from any noble family. But no one ever seen his face and the real identity of the masked man remained unknown till now. In the history of French, the legend of the man with the iron mask is proved to be most elusive dilemma. He was arrested in 1661 and remained for the past four decades.
The strangest fact is, it is implicated that only King Louis XIV knew the real identity of the masked man. No supportive document was recovered or found after his death that confirms the real identity of the masked prisoner. His identity was so secret that, King Louis XIV sent him to several prisons. Even the prisoner was so enigmatic that Voltaire and Alexander Duma, two of the horsemen of European literature both mentioned him on their writings. Voltaire himself was a prisoner of Bastille in 1717 for one year and many believe that somehow he met this prisoner who spent last four decade in many prisons. Voltaire mentioned this masked man in his book Le siècle de Louis XIV. He postulated that the man in the iron mask was the illegitimate older brother of real king Louis XIV whose father was Cardinal Mazarin. Voltaire admitted he spoke to the captors’ of the masked prisoner. He emphasized that the prisoner was in jail from 1661, he was young, handsome when jailed and was wearing classy attires. He seemed to be from a French royal family for his tastes, hobbies.
Duma even in his famous novel The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later involved an adventure of betrayal and revenge story where we see the masked prisoner is the twin brother of evil brother Louis. He got prisoned so that his evil brother can override him for the throne. Although the good brother was imprisoned for long time, the three musketeer Aramis, Athos, Prothos and the D’Artagnan saves the real brother and overthrow the evil one only to regain his power as the king. Although the novel has three volumes, the plot and character appeared in the last part. François-Marie Arouet better known as Voltaire, a famous French writer, also mentioned that the man in the iron mask was in fact the illegitimate twin brother of the king. But this was only fiction as most of the contemporary writers used to take real life characters and formulate fictional stories. Indeed these writers were very accurate about factual data regarding characters. The existence of masked prisoner was also noted by journalist Friedrich Melchior-Baron von Grimm and deputy of Bastille Etienne de Junca who wrote about masked man in his own diary.
After a close observation he mentioned in his diary that the mask was made of black velvet, not iron actually.
For some unknown reason, King Louis XIVdeclared to detain this unknown person and gave him the name. At that time, giving false name to the prisoner was a common practice of secrecy. In 1969, a secretary of state named François Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois sent a letter to the Pinerolo prison governor Bénigne d’Auvergne de Saint-Mars that a prisoner would arrive named Eustache Dauger within few months to his prison. Pinerolo, now called Pignerol situated at Turin, Italy. Then the city was under French control where this masked prisoner was sent. Saint-Mars was given strict instructions about how to handle this prisoner. The cell where he would live must have numerous doors and only Saint-Mars was permitted to meet him once in a day to carry his food and other necessities. If the prisoner wishes to talk other that his necessities, Saint-Mars was bound to threaten him with his life. Saint-Mars was instructed that the prisoner should get limited facilities he is merely a valet, a male servant, sometimes called varlet. He was a valet for another inmate named Nicolas Fouquet. Fouquet was once prisoned for his lavish lifestyle which challenged King Louis XIV. Thus he was arrested and prisoned for his rest of the life. The masked man was transferred to Exiles in 1681 for a brief period of time and later to the island castle of Sainte Marguerite in 1687.
But why was he masked all the time? Why no one ever seen his face? It is for sure that, this masked man was not a royal blood because he was used as a valet in the prison. Historians says, it was Bénigne d’Auvergne de Saint-Mars who wanted to show the crowd during the transfer of the inmate to Sainte-Marguerite that the prisoner is very important in 1687 provided that the mass become impressed that the king entrusted Saint-Mars to carry such a secret prisoner.
King Louis XIV intended to purchase a fort with the help of an Italian duke and Minister Ercole Antonio Mattioli. Mattioli was praised by the king for his assistance. He eventually got a recognition letter that the king wrote as a form of gratitude on January 12, 1678. But as ill luck would have it, on the day of delivery Mattioli failed to appear on the spot. Instead he informed the Spanish. King Louis XIV got furious by this double cross.
An arrest warrant was issued and Mattioli was arrested. At that time there was an arrest document called letter de cachet which would capable the authority to imprison any one at any time.It is speculated that a letter de cachet was issued to arrest Mattioli as he was on the foreign soil and the authority took him to a remote prison. His face was covered with mask to hide his true identity. Louis XV told her mistress that the man in the iron mask was Mattioli. Louis XVI repeated the same to his wife later. But the question remained as later record confirmed that Mattioli died in 1694, several years back. Furthermore, a letter was discovered later by the historian that was sent to the prison governor to move two prisoners in 1687 from Pinerolo as Mattioli stayed at the same place. This shocking letter was discovered in 1869 which dismissed the possibilities of Mattioli as to be the man in the iron mask.
There was a real Eustache Dauger de Cavoye who was also imprisoned at the same prison. Born in 1637, Eustache Dauger was a from a prominent court family. He even took education with Louis XIV. His father was a captain in the musketeer. In his youth, he joined military and resigned in disgrace. He killed a man after being intoxicated by alcohol and ensued in a brawl. Some serious accusation were brought against him as in 1659 he celebrate black mass on a black Friday. He disgraced his family name and novelty by performing orgy and other deviant tasks. Soon his pocket allowances were cut off. He was as a black sheep of the family.
Later, he started to circulate poison business. At that time poison were used to kill people who had vast reaches so that their ancestors can get the inheritance of their wealth. For such nefarious act soon he got arrested and some believe he was put on the jail to be the man in the iron mask. But later it was found out that, Louis XIV’s mistress Madame de Montespan and her sister Henrietta were assisting him. Some believed that he died from drinking in 1680s so his probability of being masked prisoner was also dismissed.
Another shocking matter took place in 1890 when Etienne Bazeries, a French cryptanalyst discovered a cypher. He tried for three years to break the code. He deciphered the hidden message and found out that the man was in fact a disgraced military officer who was imprisoned for his yellowish behavior at the battlefield. His name was Vivien de Bulonde who was appointed at the Italian border. As the faced attack from enemies, the officer fled. Later he was apprehended and made to put on a mask. He was ordered to stay in the Savoy jail and visit the battle field by wearing the mask at day time.
Eventually, the prisoner was transferred from Pinerolo prison to Bastille on Thursday, September 18, 1698 at 3pm. Accompanied by Saint-Mars, the former jailor of Pinerolo prison who was extremely ambitious of a post in Bastille, recently promoted as the prison governor of Bastille. As the spectators said, the person followed Saint-Mars was a masked man. For the rest of his life, the iron masked prisoner jailed in Bastille fort. On July 14, 1789 when Bastille was stormed, this mysterious prisoner was not found. Even the grave was not found at all as some historians claim the prisoner was allotted a false grave at the Bastille’s Saint Paul cemetery upon his death on November 19, 1703. Saint-Mars died after five years too and the reign of king came to an end in twelve years. Still now historians have no clue regarding the actual identity of the real masked man. n
