Shrouded in secrets, the image of a man in an iron mask not only remained in history, but "migrated" to literature and cinema.
On November 19, 1703, 310 years ago, a prisoner died in the Bastille, famous as "the man in the iron mask." The name of the mysterious prisoner is still not reliably known, but historians express the most incredible versions: for example, the illegitimate brother of Louis XIV (the then ruler of France) or his twin brother could be a prisoner. It is possible that one of the state criminals or traitors was serving a sentence in a mask - for example, Ercol Antonio Mattioli, who promised to help Louis XIV get the fortress of Casale, but did not keep his word.
The Jesuit Griffet, who served in the Bastille for 9 years as a confessor, spoke about the "prisoner". According to him, the mysterious prisoner was brought on a stretcher on September 19, 1698 from the island of Saint Margaret, and his face was covered with a thick black velvet mask. Later it "turned" into iron - already in legends.
Exilles Fortress, where a masked prisoner was last seen.
The Age of Louis XIV (1751)
The philosopher and educator Voltaire was the first to write about the Iron Mask, suggesting that the prisoner was the brother of Louis XIV. His character is described as follows: “above average height, young, with a noble bearing. On the way, he wore a mask with steel latches on the bottom, which allowed him to eat without removing the mask. An order was given to kill him if he took off his mask."
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"Viscount de Bragelon" (1847-1850)
Alexandre Dumas (father) continued the theme set by Voltaire in his novel The Viscount de Bragelon, or Ten Years Later (the last part of the trilogy about the Musketeers).
A prisoner in an iron mask in an anonymous engraving from the French Revolution.
According to the book, a prisoner named Marchiali (the king's brother) was imprisoned by Cardinal Mazarin. The prisoner was better kept than his comrades, but his supervision was stricter. The Musketeers made a substitution and freed the unfortunate prisoner, leaving the real Louis XIV in his place. True, a day later, the former prisoner was again returned to custody on the island of St. Margaret - this time forever.
The most famous part of the "Viscount de Bragelon" trilogy was "The Man in the Iron Mask". Later, the author wrote about the mysterious hero again - in The Prisoner of the Bastille.
"Prison" (1822)
Another Frenchman, Alfred de Vigny, in the history of the prisoner was more interested in questions of morality and philosophy. The writer asks what real freedom (external and internal) is, and his hero in his imagination creates what he lacks so much: communication with other people, the right to move in any direction, love. Even in the name de Vigny brings out the word "Prison". His character, unlike Dumas the father, never leaves the walls of the dungeon and dies in captivity.
Twins (1839)
Another researcher of the story of the man in the iron mask is Victor Hugo. He wrote the play "Gemini" in a not very successful period: his previous play, "Ruy Blaz", did not have a resounding success, and Hugo was disappointed by this. It is interesting that even in the story of a mysterious prisoner, the writer finds a place for love: a man in an iron mask is in love with a girl whose songs he hears outside the walls of his cell.
"The Man in the Iron Mask" in the cinema
The story of the unfortunate prisoner first appeared on the screen back in 1929 - in the silent film "Iron Mask" (starring Douglas Fairbanks). After that, Dumas's book was filmed several times: the most famous version was the 1998 film The Man in the Iron Mask with Leonardo DiCaprio (directed by Randall Wallace). The authors rearranged the plot in their own way: the Musketeers still manage to free the prisoner (he was called Philip from the film), and put his brother Louis XIV in an iron mask in prison. D'Artagnan, according to the script, was the birth father of Philippe and Louis.
Elena Menshenina