Martin Guerre (), a French peasant of the 16th century, was at the centre of a famous case of imposture. Several years after Martin Guerre had left his wife, child and village, a man claiming to be him appeared. He lived with Guerre's wife and son for three years.
The false Martin Guerre was eventually suspected of the impersonation. He was tried, discovered to be a man named Arnaud du Tilh and executed. The real Martin Guerre had returned during the trial. The case continues to be studied and dramatised to this day. The story was published many times and was spread throughout Europe.
Historical account
Life before leaving his wife
Martin Daguerre was born around 1524 in the
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
of southwestern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. They changed their name to Guerre. When he was about fourteen years old, Martin married Bertrande de Rols, the daughter of a well-off family. The marriage was childless for eight years until a son, Sanxi (named after Martin's father), was born.
Accused of stealing grain from his father, Martin abruptly disappeared in 1548.
Canon law
Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
did not allow his abandoned wife to remarry.
Martin Guerre's supposed return
In the summer of 1556, a man arrived in Artigat who claimed to be the long-gone Martin Guerre. By his similar looks and detailed knowledge of Guerre's life, he convinced most of the villagers. Martin Guerre's uncle and four sisters, as well as his wife Bertrande, believed the man was Guerre, as he claimed, although doubts remained.
The man who had returned as Martin Guerre lived for three years with Bertrande and her son; they had two children together, with one daughter, Bernarde, surviving. He claimed the inheritance of Guerre's father, who had died. When he sued Guerre's paternal uncle, Pierre Guerre, who had married Bertrande's widowed mother during Martin Guerre's long absence, for part of the inheritance, Pierre became suspicious. He and his wife tried to convince Bertrande that the returnee was an impostor. A soldier who passed through Artigat claimed the man was a fraud, pointing out that the true Martin had lost a leg in the ongoing war in Italy. Pierre and his sons-in-law attacked the returnee with a club, but Bertrande intervened.
In 1559, villagers accused the returnee of
arson
Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...
and of impersonating the real Martin Guerre. With Bertrande remaining by his side, he was acquitted in 1560.
Trial in Rieux
In the meantime, Pierre Guerre had been asking around and believed he had uncovered the identity of the impostor: Arnaud du Tilh, nicknamed "Pansette", a man with a poor reputation from the nearby village of Tilh, in the region of Sajas. Pierre initiated a new case against the man by falsely claiming to act in Bertrande's name (only the wronged wife could bring the suit). He and his wife, Bertrande's mother, pressured Bertrande to support the charge, to which she eventually agreed.
In 1560, the case was tried in Rieux. Bertrande testified that at first she had honestly believed the man to be her husband, but that she had since realised that he was an impostor. Both Bertrande and the accused independently related an identical story about their intimate life from before 1548.
The man claiming to be Martin then challenged her: if she would swear that he was not her husband, he would gladly agree to be executed – Bertrande remained silent. After hearing from more than 150 witnesses, with many testifying they recognized Martin Guerre (including his four sisters), many others testifying to Arnaud du Tilh's identity, and others refusing to take a side, the accused was convicted and sentenced to death by beheading.
Appeal and reappearance of Martin Guerre
The condemned man immediately appealed to the
Parlement of Toulouse
The Parlement of Toulouse () was one of the '' parlements'' of the Kingdom of France, established in the city of Toulouse and responsible for a territory roughly similar to the modern administrative region of Occitania. It was modelled on the ...
. Officials arrested Bertrande and Pierre on charges of false accusation, and in the case of Pierre, soliciting perjury. The returnee eloquently argued his case, and the judges in Toulouse tended to believe his version of the story: that Bertrande was pressured to perjury by the greedy Pierre Guerre. The accused had to undergo detailed questioning about his past; his statements were double-checked, and no contradictions were found.
Then, dramatically, a man appeared in Toulouse during the trial, with a wooden leg, claiming to be the true Martin Guerre. When asked about the married couple's past, the man had forgotten some details and was not able to answer the questions as well as the alleged impostor; however, when the two men were both presented to the Guerre family, the case was closed: Pierre, Bertrande, and Martin's four sisters all agreed that the newly arrived man was the true Martin Guerre.
The impostor, who maintained his innocence, was convicted and sentenced to death for adultery and fraud; the public sentencing on 12 September 1560 was attended by
Michel de Montaigne
Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the the essay ...
. Afterward, the condemned confessed. He revealed that he had learned about Guerre's life after two men had confused him with Guerre, and then decided to take Guerre's place, with two conspirators helping him with the details. He apologized to all involved, including Bertrande, for having deceived them. He was hanged in front of Martin Guerre's house in Artigat four days later.
Guerre would end up having two more children with Bertrande before her death some time prior to the mid-1570s: Pierre and Gaspard. Guerre would remarry, and later have another son, also named Pierre, with his second wife in the mid-1570s, while Guerre himself died some time between then and 1594, when mention of the division of property to his sons was made.
Martin's life during his absence
During his long absence from Artigat, the real Martin Guerre had moved to Spain, where he served in the militia for a
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
and subsequently in the army of Pedro de Mendoza. As part of the Spanish army, he was sent to
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
. He was wounded in the Spanish attack on St. Quentin in 1557; his leg had to be amputated.
For years, Guerre lived in a monastery before returning to his wife and family. The reason for his return at the time of the trial is unknown. Initially, he rejected his wife's apologies, maintaining that she should have known better than to take another man.
Contemporary accounts and interpretations
Two contemporary accounts of the case were written: ''Histoire Admirable'' by Guillaume Le Sueur and the better-known ''Arrest Memorable'' by Jean de Coras, one of the trial judges in Toulouse.
In 1983,
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
history professor
Natalie Zemon Davis
Natalie Zemon Davis, (November 8, 1928 – October 21, 2023) was an American-Canadian historian of the early modern period. She was the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History at Princeton University. Her work originally focused on France, but ...
published a detailed exploration of the case in her book ''The Return of Martin Guerre''. She argued that Bertrande had silently or explicitly agreed to the fraud because she needed a husband in that society, and she was treated well by the impostor. Davis noted as evidence for this theory the improbability of a woman's mistaking a stranger for her husband, Bertrande's support for Arnaud until (and even partially during) the trial, and their shared story of intimacy, likely prepared in advance.
The historian Robert Finlay has criticised Davis's conclusions, arguing that Bertrande was duped (as most of her contemporaries believed, including the trial judges) after her husband's long absence. He thought that Davis attempted to superimpose a modern societal model of an independent woman making her own choices onto the historical account. He points to the improbability of Bertrande's charging her own accomplice with fraud, as she would run the risk of having to defend herself against charges of adultery or false accusation.
Davis published a response to Finlay's arguments, called "On the Lame", in the same issue of ''The American Historical Review'' in June 1988.
Literature and popular culture
The unusual story has continued to fascinate and inspire many writers:
*
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright.
His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
, included a fictional account of the events in his novel '' The Two Dianas'' as well as in his multi-volume ''Celebrated Crimes'' (1841).
* Janet Lewis's historical novel '' The Wife of Martin Guerre'' (1941) is an exploration of Bertrande and her motives for her actions.
* Philip K. Dick's 1955 short story " Human Is" tells of the dilemma for the wife of a cold abusive man who returns from a mission changed for the better. The story was dramatised in the 2017 TV series '' Electric Dreams'', which features the man on trial as an alien imposter, who is saved by the testimony of his wife.
* ''The Wife of Martin Guerre'' (1956) is an
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...
and
Nathalie Baye
Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (; born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television, and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for ''Every Man for Himsel ...
, was based on the historic accounts. The screenplay added a fictional ending, including an account of Bertrande's motives. Historian Natalie Davis (see above) served as consultant for the film.
* ''The True Story of Martin Guerre'', a
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
two-part drama by Guy Meredith from the trial notes of Jean de Coras, first broadcast in June 1992 and starring
Sean Bean
Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...
as both Martin Guerre and the Imposter and Lesley Dunlop as Bertrande. It also uses the same fictionalized motives of Bertrande as in the Depardieu film, and was rebroadcast in 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023 on
BBC Radio 4 Extra
BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...
.
* '' Sommersby'' (1993) was a Hollywood adaptation of the story, starring
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...
and
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...
. It set the events in the United States during and after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
Claude-Michel Schönberg
Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 6 July 1944, in Vannes) is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil. Major works include '' La Révolution Fr ...
and Alain Boublil, premiered in London at the Prince Edward Theatre. It set the story at the time of the Massacre of St Bartholomew, during the French government's persecution of the Huguenots. Its ending deviated from the historical account.
* ''Wiedersehen mit einem Fremden'' (''"The Return of a Stranger"''), a 2010 German TV film, directed by Niki Stein, sets the account in a village in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
after World War II. The end differs from the historic events.
* Another musical titled ''Martin Guerre'', written by Laura Harrington and Roger Ames, was premiered at the Hartford Stage, 1993, directed by Mark Lamos and starring Judy Kuhn. It won the Connecticut "Best Play" award that year and had a sold-out, extended run into 1994.
* ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' season 9 episode " The Principal and the Pauper" is sometimes noted for its similarities to the case, with Principal Seymour Skinner discovered to be an imposter after the real Skinner returns to Springfield. However, the episode's writer, Ken Keeler, has stated that "This episode is not – despite what people have been saying for eight years – based on or a rip-off of or a goof on the story of Martin Guerre." He said "The pattern of facts is clearly the Tichborne claimant story, and not Martin Guerre."Keeler, Ken. (2006). Commentary for "The Principal and the Pauper", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox, 4:24–4:51.
* '' Beatriz's War'' (2013), the first feature film produced in the country of East Timor, reprised the plot of Martin Guerre.
*Martin Guerre is mentioned in the pilot episode of the British sitcom ''
Back
The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...
'' (2017).
* The video game '' Pentiment'' (2022) contains a character inspired by this event, also named Martin Bauer.
* In '' The Day of the Jackal'' (2024), Alexander Duggan goes by the username **&525marTinGuerrE^$ , drawing a connection to the fact that Duggan is an imposter himself.
References
Notes
Further reading
*
External links
''Proces de Martin Guerre par Le Sueur'' (in French) ''Histoire admirable d'un faux et supposé mary, advenue en Languedoc, l'an 1560''; par Guillaume Le Sueur, 1561. Réédition annotée dans les "Variétés historiques et littéraires," Tome 8, 1858. by Jean de Coras, translation of the main text by Jeannette K Ringold. ''Martin Guerre'' fictionalized account by
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright.
His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...