A story about a man in a mask. Iron mask

On November 19, 1703, 310 years ago, a prisoner who became famous as “the man of iron mask». The name of the mysterious prisoner is still not known for certain, but historians have expressed the most incredible versions: for example, the prisoner could have been an illegitimate brother Louis XIV(then ruler of France) or his twin brother. It is quite possible that one of the state criminals or traitors served his sentence wearing a mask - for example, Ercole Antonio Mattioli, who promised to help Louis XIV get the Casale fortress, but did not keep his word.

Talked about the "prisoner" Jesuit Griffay, who served in the Bastille for 9 years as a confessor. According to him, the mysterious prisoner was brought on a stretcher on September 19, 1698 from the island of St. Margaret, and his face was covered with a thick black velvet mask. Later it “turned” into iron - already in legends.

Fortress of Exilles, where last time saw a prisoner wearing a mask Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

"The Age of Louis XIV" (1751)

Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire was the first to write about the Iron Mask, suggesting that the prisoner was the brother of Louis XIV. His hero is described as follows: “above average height, young, with the noblest bearing. While traveling, he wore a mask with steel latches on the bottom, which allowed him to eat without removing the mask. The order was given to kill him if he took off his mask."

"Viscount de Bragelonne" (1847-1850)

Alexandre Dumas (father) continued the theme set by Voltaire in his novel “The Vicomte de Bragelonne, or Ten Years After” (the last part of the trilogy about).

Prisoner in an iron mask on an anonymous engraving from the times French Revolution Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

According to the book, a prisoner named Marchiali (the king's brother) was imprisoned by Cardinal Mazarin. The prisoner was kept better 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 captive was again returned to custody on the island of St. Margaret - this time forever.

The most famous part of the Vicomte de Bragelonne trilogy was The Man in the Iron Mask. Later, the author wrote about the mysterious hero again - in “Prisoner of the Bastille”.

"Prison" (1822)

“The Man in the Iron Mask” Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Another Frenchman Alfredo de Vigny, in the story of the prisoner, he was more interested in issues of morality and philosophy. The writer asks himself what real freedom is (external and internal), and his hero in his imagination creates what he so lacks: communication with other people, the right to move in any direction, love. De Vigny even includes the word “Prison” in the title. 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 - Victor Hugo. He wrote the play “Twins” at a not very successful time: his previous play, “Ruy Blas,” was not 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 cinema

The story of the unfortunate prisoner first appeared on screen back in 1929 - in the silent film “The Iron Mask” (starring Douglas Fairbanks). After that, Dumas’ book was filmed several times: the most famous version was the 1998 film “The Man in the Iron Mask” with Leonardo DiCaprio(director - Randel Wallace). The authors reshaped the plot in their own way: the musketeers still manage to free the prisoner (his name was Philippe in the film), and put his brother Louis XIV in prison in an iron mask. D'Artagnan, according to the script, was the father of Philip and Louis.

The events of November 20, 1703 still attract historians today. On this day, a prisoner was secretly buried in the cemetery near St. Paul's Church, who went by the name Iron Mask in the prison registry. Until now, researchers are speculating about what kind of personality was hidden behind the mask.

Charlotte Elisabeth of Bavaria d'Orléans

Rumors about the mysterious Iron Mask began to spread during the reign of Louis XIV, and they were spread by the widow of the Duke of Orleans, Charlotte Elizabeth of Bavaria. She claimed that for a number of years a strange prisoner in an iron mask was held in the Bastille and died.

Bastille

These rumors gave rise to many speculations about the identity of the prisoner, some suggested that he was an English lord who was involved in a conspiracy against English king William III.

Louise de La Valliere

In 1745, the book “Secret Notes on the History of Persia” by an unknown author was published, which further concentrated rumors around the identity of the mysterious prisoner. The book talks about tragic fate the hero Giafer, who was the illegitimate son of Shah Abas, in whom the image of Louis XIV was recognizable. Giafer slapped his half-brother Sefi Mirza (Grand Dauphin) and was imprisoned for life in the Bastille as punishment.

Louise de La Vallière and her children from Louis XIV Mademoiselle de Blois and Count of Vermandois

If you believe the book, then the prisoner was the Count of Vermandois - the great French admiral - the illegitimate son of Louis XIV and his favorite Louise de La Vallière.

Anne of Austria, Maria Theresa and Dauphin Louis

The image of the Iron Mask troubled the minds of the great French. Thus, in 1751, Voltaire wrote the book “The Age of Louis XIV,” in which he reveals the story of a mysterious prisoner who was forced to wear an iron mask for the rest of his life. The book immediately became a bestseller. And only twenty years later Voltaire revealed the secret of the iron mask to readers. It turned out that under the mask was hidden the elder brother of Louis XIV, the son of Anne of Austria and her favorite. The Iron Mask became the main character in the works of J. Chancel de Lagrange, Seneca de Millan, A. Griffe, Abbot Papon, S. Lenge and others.

Voltaire

Voltaire, by revealing the secret of the Iron Mask, caused swipe by the prestige of the royal family. And in 1775, by order of the Parisian minister Amelo, in order to conceal the secret, a special 120th sheet, which described the history of the prisoner’s admission to prison, was removed and destroyed from the Bastille. This fact further removed the mystery from being solved.

Cardinal Mazarin

Born at the end of the 18th century new version about the Iron Mask. According to her, there were twin brothers - the children of the Queen of France. The real son of Louis XIII was allegedly imprisoned in the fortress, and the throne was taken by the son of Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin.

Napoleon Bonaparte

This assumption refuted the right of the Bourbon throne, starting with Louis XIV. This hypothesis suited the supporters of Napoleon Bonaparte, who claimed in 1801 that Napoleon was a descendant of the Iron Mask.

Storming of the Bastille

In 1789, the famous Taking of the Bastille took place, and then the archives of the prison were made public. It turned out that the man in the Iron Mask was brought to the Bastille by the governor of Saint-Mars from the island of Sainte-Marguerite, where he was in the company of eight other political criminals in the fortress of Pignerol. Saint-Mars at that time was the commandant of the Pignerol fortress and served under the command of Charles de Bas Castelmore (we recognize d'Artagnan).

Louis XIV

It turned out that the Iron Mask was one of these eight. The research process was further complicated by the fact that each of the prisoners was named not by name, but by a conventional nickname. It turned out that one of the eight was Count Lozen, who was later released.

Queen Maria Theresa of Austria

Throughout the 19th century, the question of establishing the identity of the Iron Mask was studied by a whole team of scientists and historians, and interest in this topic did not wane in the 20th century. New works by A. Lang, M. Duvivier, J. Mongredien, playwright M. Pagnol. In 1970, books by P.-J. were published. Arreza "Iron Mask" Finally a solved riddle” and J.-C. Ptifis "Iron Mask - the most mysterious prisoner in history." The book by P.-M. became sensational. Dijols Nabo or the Iron Mask" in 1978. The author is convinced that the servant of Queen Maria Theresa, the Moor Nabo, was hiding under the mask.

The mystery of the Iron Mask has worried various writers for centuries: N. Karamzin, A. de Vigny, A.S. Pushkin, V. Hugo, A. Dumas the father, P. Moreau, A. Decaux, J. Bordoneva.
At different times, based on the same facts, writers and historians, librarians and scientists tried to defend completely different hypotheses, which confirmed that the mystery of the Iron Mask has not yet been solved.

The Iron Mask (French: Le masque de fer) is a mysterious prisoner from the time of Louis XIV, who was held in various prisons, including the Bastille, and wore a velvet mask (later legends turned this mask into an iron one). Died November 19, 1703.

A mask is a symbol of transformation, change and at the same time concealment, mystery. The mask is endowed with the ability to transform what is present into what is desired, to overcome the edge of one’s own nature; This is the magical aspect of transformation, characteristic of both the masks of religious rituals and the masks of theatrical performances (derived from the former). The mask is also given a negative meaning. So, according to belief, changing identities is characteristic of evil spirits(“The undead do not have their own appearance, they walk in disguises”). This is due to the extremely negative attitude of the church towards national holidays, including an element of carnival, “change of disguise.”

The first information about a man named “Iron Mask” appeared in the Dutch work “Mémoires secrets pour servir à l’histoire de Perse” in 1745. According to these memoirs, the "Iron Mask" is the Duke of Vermandois, the illegitimate son of King Louis XIV and Madame Lavaliere, who slapped his half-brother, the Grand Dauphin, and atoned for this guilt with eternal imprisonment. By official version, Vermandois died in his youth in 1683. Voltaire, in his “Siècle de Louis XIV” (1751), aroused general interest in this mysterious personality, regarding whom various hypotheses were expressed.

Some Dutch writers suggested that the "iron mask" was a foreigner, a young nobleman, chamberlain to Queen Anne of Austria and real father Louis XIV. Reliable information about the “iron mask” was first given by the Jesuit Griffay, who was confessor in the Bastille for 9 years, in his “Traité des différentes sortes de preuves qui servent à établir la vérité dans l'Histoire” (1769), where he cites the diary of the royal lieutenant in Bastille and list of the dead of St. Paul's Church. According to this diary, on September 19, 1698, a prisoner was delivered from the island of St. Margaret in a stretcher, whose name was unknown and whose face was constantly covered with a black velvet (not iron) mask.

This prisoner died, according to his diary, on November 19, 1703. In general, Griffay was inclined to the opinion expressed in “Mémoires secrets” about the identity of the “iron mask.” In the seventh edition of the Philosophical Dictionary, in the article Anne of Austria, Voltaire returned to the history of the “iron mask”, pointing out that he knows more than Griffay, but, as a Frenchman, must remain silent.
One modern interpreter Nostradamus, a specialist in the field of esoteric numerology, suggests that between quatrains 96 and 95 of Centuria I there is - in addition to the location - a certain hidden connection that can be traced on the basis of Kabbalistic doctrines, the relationship between combinations of letters of the Hebrew alphabet and digital manipulations known as "Kabbalah" nine chambers." Probably the religious leader mentioned in quatrain 96 of Centuria I (“destroyer of temples and sects”) should be the mysterious child about whom Nostradamus writes in quatrain 95 of the same Century

“Near the monastery they will find a child - one of two twins,
Coming from an old monastic family.
His fame, influence over sects and eloquence will be such that everyone will say:
This is the person we need."

Commentators XIX century- and some of the modern ones - traditionally associated this quatrain with the personality of the French king Louis XIV. There was a legend that he was the illegitimate son of Cardinal Mazarin and had a twin brother. To avoid problems with the succession to the throne, Louis's brother was imprisoned as an infant, where he eventually grew old and died without uttering a single word in his life. Nobody knew this prisoner, and he went down in history under the name Iron Mask. However, recent research has shown that the old interpretation of quatrain 95 of Centuria I is incorrect, because although the man in the iron mask existed, he was not the twin brother of Louis XIV. Accordingly, there is no reason to deny that the character of this quatrain is a child who later became the leader of traditional Christianity (see quatrain 96). However, even if this version is finally confirmed, the words about the origin of the child from an “ancient monastic family” should not be understood in the literal sense - perhaps Nostradamus symbolically characterized the deep religious beliefs this person.
A twin or double can act as a twin symbol, embodying the principle of duality of all phenomena. The image of the double suggests duality of elements, balanced symmetry and a dynamic balance of opposing forces. Duality can develop along two lines - this is both a bifurcation and a doubling of a being. The belief in the existence of doubles of people and animals is characteristic of many cultures. The image of a double is usually associated with tragic themes, since, like any manifestation of multiplicity, doubling has suffering and evil as its attribute. So, for example, in German folklore the image of a doppleganger (literally translated as “double ghost”) appears, meeting which promises death to a person; a similar idea exists in Scottish folklore. Another aspect of the image is associated with the figure of the double as the personification of the spiritual principle, the soul. The ancient Egyptians believed that a double, ka, is an exact copy of a person, invisible ordinary people. Not only people have Ka, but also gods, plants and animals, even stones. The deity's double could tell the priests about the past and future. The Romans believed that every person has a double spirit - a protective genius.

favorite and mistress of King Louis XIV

Versions about the identity of the person “Iron Mask”
Illegitimate brother of Louis XIV. The publisher added a note to this article stating that the “iron mask” was the elder brother of Louis XIV, the illegitimate son of Anne of Austria, whose belief in sterility was refuted by the birth of this son; she then gave birth to Louis XIV by her husband. Louis XIV, having learned, already of age, about this brother, ordered him to be imprisoned. Linguet, in his Bastille devoilée, names the Duke of Buckingham as the father of the iron mask. St. Michel published a book in which he tried to prove the secret marriage of Queen Anne with Mazarin.
Twin brother of Louis XIV. Abbe Soulavi, who published Mémoires du Maréchal de Richelieu (London and Paris, 1790), tried to prove that the “iron mask” was the twin of Louis XIV. Louis XIII ordered the secret education of this prince in order to prevent the misfortunes that were predicted to happen to him. royal house from this double birth. After Mazarin's death, Louis XIV learned of his brother's birth, ordered him to be imprisoned and, due to their striking resemblance, forced him to wear an iron mask. During the revolution, this opinion was considered the most correct.
Adventurer Mattioli. According to other sources, the prisoner with the black velvet mask was recorded in the Bastille lists under the name Marchioli. Cenac de Milhan expressed the opinion, on the basis of Italian documents, that the “iron mask” was none other than Mattioli, the minister of Charles Ferdinand of Mantua. Roy-Fazillac joined this opinion in his “Recherches historiques et critiques sur l’homme au masque de fer” (Paris, 1800). Mattioli promised Louis XIV in 1678 that he would persuade his duke to give France the fortress of Casale; he received 100,000 crowns and expensive gifts, but betrayed this secret to Savoy, Spain and Austria. To take revenge on him, the French government lured him into their territory and imprisoned him first on the island of St. Margaret, then in the Bastille.
Other versions. Jung (1873), together with Riese ("Die eiserne Maske", Greifswald, 1876), argues that the "iron mask" was the Lorraine nobleman Armoise, who in 1672 stood in the Spanish Netherlands at the head of a conspiracy against Louis XIV and was captured in 1673. Others , early discarded and clearly fantastic, versions identified the Iron Mask with Nicolas Fouquet, the minister of Louis XIV, who died in the Bastille, or with the Englishman Duke of Monmouth, who rebelled against James II and was executed in 1685. Alexandre Dumas described the “iron mask” in the novel Vicomte de Bragelon, as the supposed twin brother of the Sun King Louis XIV. His personal jailer was Charles de Batz, Count D'Artagnan.

Igor Merkulov

By the way, Louise-Françoise de Labeaume-Leblanc (French: Louise-Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc, de la Vallière and de Vaujours; August 6, 1644, Tours - June 7, 1710) - Duchess de La Vallière and de Vaujour, favorite of Louis XIV.
She was a maid of honor to Princess Henrietta of Orleans. Despite the fact that she was not very beautiful and had a slight limp, she managed to charm the king with her comeliness and friendly disposition. She had four children by him, of whom two survived: Marie-Anne de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Blois (born 1666) and Louis, Count of Vermandois (born 1667), a supposed prisoner of the Iron Mask.
In dualistic mythologies, one of the twins is endowed with positive symbolism, and the other with negative symbolism, and then together they symbolize mutually balanced good and evil principles. In such cases, as a rule, the motive of rivalry between twin brothers is introduced (the Egyptian myth of Osiris and Seth and Slavic myth about Belobog and Chernobog). In addition, one often encounters the motif of the marriage of twins - brother and sister, symbolizing the unity of the opposites embodied in their images (for example, the marriage of the Egyptian Osiris and Isis). Sometimes the twins were assigned two fathers - an ordinary person and a totem, in more developed mythological traditions - a god; sometimes they were considered the children of an immortal father and a mortal mother. Divine and human characteristics in this case, as a rule, they remain separately expressed. So, for example, one of the twins is endowed with immortality and symbolizes the eternal spiritual principle of a person, his soul, while the other twin is mortal and personifies the bodily principle subject to destruction. For example, in Greco-Roman mythology, the Dioscuri - the mortal Castor and the immortal Pollux were the sons of Leda and, accordingly, King Tyndareus and Zeus. There is an ancient Indo-European cult of twins. Its characteristic features are the connection of the twin characters with horses (Ashvins - “possessing horses” - were depicted in the form of two horses), with the sun and with the change of day and night (Dioscuri appear in the sky in the form of the morning and evening star of the constellation Gemini, Ashvins personify the morning and evening twilight), with the alternation of life and death (Castor and Pollux alternately stay in Hades and Olympus).

Quatrains, centuries and prophecies of Nostradamus about the events of world history

The truth about the man in the iron mask

Who among us doesn't like detective stories? An intriguing plot, mysterious characters and an absolutely unexpected solution to a seemingly insoluble problem. All this attracts the attention of fans of the detective genre.

However, unfortunately, most detective stories are short-lived, and only a few of them could last for centuries. One of them is the story of the “Iron Mask,” the dark secret of a prisoner doomed to wear the black mask on his face until the end of his days.

More than 300 years have passed since the first time in one of the dark royal castles An Unknown Man appeared wearing a black velvet mask that covered his face (later popular rumor replaced velvet with iron). What versions have not been put forward about the man in the Iron Mask over the years.

According to one version, the king of England miraculously escaped execution was hidden under the mask. Another nominates the illegitimate son of Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV, for this unenviable role. There was also an assumption that the mysterious prisoner was the “king of the Parisian markets”, the Duke de Beaufort.

Each of these versions, as a rule, refutes the others, and none of them can withstand comparison of the facts known from historical documents. For many years, researchers have tried to find out the truth. For two centuries, an army of detectives and historians struggled to solve this mystery. And it would have remained unsolved if not for the Moscow scientist Yuri Borisovich Tatarinov. It was he who managed to shed light on the mysterious story of the prisoner in the Iron Mask.

Tatarinov began his investigation with the selection real facts. He had dozens of historical documents in his hands. Thanks to them, the scientist immediately rejected all “literary versions” and came to the conclusion that the search for the Iron Mask must be carried out among those prisoners who arrived in Paris on September 18, 1698 from the Mediterranean island of Sainte-Marguerite, accompanied by the new commandant of the Bastille.

At the beginning of the investigation, the Moscow scientist identified 8 “suspects”, but later 5 characters of the “detective story” disappeared due to various reasons. The three most credible candidates for the role of the Iron Mask remain. This is Nicolas Fouquet, the former superintendent of finances of King Louis XIV, the mysterious “servant” Eustache Dauger and the minister of the Duke of Mantua, Count Mattioli. Now, out of three “suspects,” it was necessary to choose one - the one who had been hiding his face under a mask for many years.

The task was not an easy one, and the scientist first decided to find out the reasons and circumstances of the arrest of each of the three possible candidates for the role of the Iron Mask.

After studying many historical documents, the scientist learned:

Nicolas Fouquet, who became fantastically rich from trade and speculation, a rival of the “Sun King” himself, was caught in dirty tricks and, by order of the king, was arrested on September 5. Accused of financial fraud and sedition (Fronde conspiracy), Fouquet was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment. In January 1665, Fouquet crossed the threshold of the castle of the Pignerol fortress.

Next on the list was the mysterious “servant” Eustache Doget, who was brought to the castle on August 24, 1669. Eustache Doget was arrested by order of Louis XIV as having caused royal discontent. Together with the prisoner, an order came to keep this prisoner in complete secrecy in a special punishment cell with double doors, with one meal. On pain of death, he was forbidden to talk even with the commandant about anything other than everyday needs, and to convey any news about himself. There is also a version that the name Eustache Doget is nothing more than a pseudonym, since the draft orders for his arrest and delivery to Pignerol were nameless.

The third prisoner of the Pignerol castle was the minister of the Duke of Mantua, Count Mattioli, who was delivered on May 2, 1679. Accused of revealing to the rulers of Austria, Spain and Venice the secret of a deal between the king and the duke for the sale of the border town of Casale, Mattioli was brought to the castle in strict secrecy. His face was hidden by a black velvet mask. This was the beginning of the prison journey of the three main “suspects”.

However, finding out the reasons and circumstances of the arrest of these three people, unfortunately, could not clarify anything. Then Yuri Borisovich decided to trace them future fate. And here Tatarinov discovered that the fates of these people intersected in a strange way.

1674, September - when one of Fouquet’s servants, a certain Monsieur Champagne, died, the commandant of the Saint-Mars fortress gave none other than the prisoner Estache Doget into the service of the ex-minister. At the same time, Saint-Mars warned Fouquet that no one except the ex-minister himself and his second servant La Riviera should communicate with Doget.

In January, Fouquet was sent a “personal message” from one of Louis XIV’s close associates, Louvois. “You will learn,” wrote Louvois, “the precautions mentioned by Saint-Mars, required by the king, which are taken to prevent Eustache Dauger from communicating with anyone other than you. The King expects you to make every effort, for you know why no one should know what he knows."

Fouquet agreed and as a reward received permission, signed by Louis, to meet his family. However, literally a week after receiving the letter, the ex-minister fell ill. 1680, March - a rumor spread about the unexpected death of the former intendant of finance. But no one has ever seen the documents - death certificates, autopsy and funeral certificates. (The date of Fouquet’s official death is considered to be March 23, 1680, but his body was given to relatives for burial only a year later, so no one could determine for sure whether it was Fouquet. Along with this, Colbert’s employees spread a legend that the ex-minister was allegedly released and died on the way to the capital in Chalon-on-Saône...

After the mysterious death of Fouquet, exactly a month later, according to documents, Count Mattioli died, and an unknown prisoner appears in one of the cells of the castle-prison, whose face is hidden under a black velvet mask. Strange death Fouquet also influenced the fate of the third prisoner, Eustache Dauger. 1681, September - the former “servant” was transported in a closed stretcher to Fort Exile, located in the South-Western Alps (a rumor spread among the people at that time that Fouquet’s servants were released after his death).

Dauger spent six years at Fort Exile and in 1687, accompanied by Saint-Mars, was transferred to Sainte-Marguerite, to a cell specially prepared for him. 1698, September - the last move in Eustache Doge's life took place. Saint-Mars arrived with him at the Bastille as governor, replacing the deceased Besmo. 5 years later (November 19, 1703) Doge died. He was buried under a new fictitious name - Marscioli, similar to the name of the missing prisoner Pignerol Mattioli.

Perhaps Dauger could know a lot about Fouquet, in particular the secret of the events of March 23, 1680 - the time of Fouquet’s possible “transformation” into the “unknown” prisoner of Pignerol. In addition, Doge possessed, according to historians, his own secrets.

Having carefully analyzed (using the method system analysis) all the data received, the scientist built a matrix to solve this problem. Its lines were a chronological list of events taken from the “nodal” documents, and the columns were the prisoners of Pignerol. At the intersections of rows and columns - the correspondence of one of the heroes of the tragedy to the event described in the document. But, having conducted thought experiments with all the “undertrials,” Tatarinov was unable to come to any definite conclusion.

He was never able to reasonably put an “iron mask” on any of the “suspects”; At some crossroads, contradictions constantly appeared.

The “Mattioli – Iron Mask” version of the 16 most important documents did not touch upon 9 at all, and could not explain one.

The version regarding Dozhe did not intersect with four and could not explain one.

Fouquet's version passed over two documents in silence, did not explain one, and interpreted 5 documents with a stretch, that is, with certain assumptions. As a result, each version was given up. None of the “under investigation” approached.

Having made such a bleak conclusion, Yuri Borisovich was ready to admit defeat and agree with the skeptics who categorically declared that the 300-year-old secret would never be revealed. But suddenly an original thought struck him: what if the mask was worn by two or even three prisoners, one after the other?

Thus, the trio of “subjects” he chose, Fouquet – Mattioli – Dauger, was ideally suited to solving this problem. After the death of the first prisoner with a black mask on his face - Fouquet - it was put on Count Mattioli. However, a month later he also died. Then the mask was put on Doge, who, having sat next to Fouquet for many years, knew too much.

It was Doget who was the same mysterious prisoner who was brought to Paris in the “iron mask”. There, in solitary confinement in the Bastille, he lived out his life. recent years. The “servant” paid with two decades of secret solitary confinement for knowing the secrets of Fouquet, whom he happened to serve in Pignerol.

This is how, thanks to the “identification matrix” invented by Yu.B. Tatarinov, the secret of the many faces of the Iron Mask was revealed. But then the question immediately arises: why hide Doge’s face under a mask? After all, it is known that until March 23, 1680, he did not wear it. The scientist explains it this way: the mask was originally required to hide a well-known face, and then to hide the fact that this person no longer exists.

However, having found the answer to one riddle, we immediately received another in return. Who is Fouquet's "mysterious servant" Eustache Doge? After all, if Doge is a pseudonym, then who is he really? And if Fouquet actually died on March 23, 1680 from fatal disease, then is the Doge mask justified? Was there a need for a mask at all if Doget was a little-known person? After all, it is known that in Pignerol he did not wear a mask and walked freely with Fouquet around the castle grounds.

And at the same time, from the beginning of 1679, his exit from the cell was strictly prohibited. This man was subjected to a set of precautions that had never been used on any other prisoner. And again numerous versions started working. Who was not offered for this role!

The Englishman A. Barnes suggested that it could be Abbot Pregnani, a secret agent of Louis XIV, who was sent on a secret mission in March 1669 to Charles II of England and whose disappearance coincided with the date of Doge's arrest in Dunkirk. A historian from France, E. Lalois, suggested that the mysterious Iron Mask of the Bastille is a priest who witnessed the amorous adventures of the monarch with Madame Montespan. It was also suggested that Eustache Doger was none other than the twin brother of Louis XIV himself. And finally, lawyer P.-M. Dijol suggested that the little Moor Nabo, who was in the service of Queen Maria Theresa, became a prisoner of the Bastille. But none of these versions have yet found documentary evidence.

Thus, as a result of solving one riddle, historians received another, no less interesting. And now they have to find the answer to the question: who was hiding under the guise of the mysterious “servant” Eustache Doger? This mystery is still waiting for its researchers.

Iron Mask - the most mysterious prisoner of the era of Louis XIV remained in history under this name. All that is reliably known about this man is the number under which he was registered in the Bastille (64489001). Presumably, he was born in the 40s of the 17th century. He was kept in different prisons. In 1698 he was finally placed in the Bastille, where he died.

Historical information

In fact, prisoner No. 64489001 did not wear an iron mask, but only a velvet mask. It was supposed to hide his identity from outsiders, but in no way serve as a means of torture (like an iron one). Even the guards themselves did not know what kind of criminal was wearing this mask. Its mystery gradually became the reason for the emergence of numerous legends and speculations.

The prisoner in the iron mask was first mentioned in the Secret Notes of the Persian Court, published in Amsterdam in 1745. The author of the notes indicates that under number 64489001 the illegitimate son of the royal Louis XIV and his beloved, the Duchess de La Vallière, was kept in the casemate. He bore the title of Count of Vermandois. In conclusion, he was caught for slapping his brother, the Grand Dauphin.

This version is absolutely untenable, since the real Count of Vermandois died at the age of 16 in 1683. Before that, he managed to take part in the war with Spain, so he simply did not have time for such a long imprisonment. Jesuit Griffe, who served as a confessor at the Bastille, recorded that the mysterious prisoner was first brought to the Bastille in 1698, and he died in 1703.

Elder brother or twin of Louis XIV

Later, Francois Voltaire suggested that the gentleman in the iron mask could be the half-brother of Louis XIV himself. The king did not need rivals, so he imprisoned his brother in the Bastille, having previously obliged him to wear a mask on his face. Obviously, all the mystery that surrounded this prisoner could be connected with this. Voltaire expressed this conjecture in his 1751 work “The Age of Louis XIV.”

Anne of Austria was considered infertile for a long time. Then she gave birth to an illegitimate son, after which the legitimate heir to the throne, Louis XIV, was born. The latter, having learned about the presence of an older brother, decided to end his life. In addition, there were rumors that Louis himself was not the king’s own son. This called into question his right to the crown.

Louis XIV could not execute the son of the French queen and his own brother, so he chose to imprison the unfortunate young man forever. Wearing a mask is a way to hide a secret that could cause a coup. History has not preserved the name of this supposed older brother.

There have also been speculations that the Iron Mask is actually the twin brother of Louis XIV. The appearance of male twins among the royal couple spontaneously gave rise to a lot of problems with the succession to the throne. One of the queen's sons had to be sacrificed in order to maintain stability in the country. The boy was raised in secret. Having matured, Louis XIV learned about his twin brother, who looked like him like a reflection in a mirror. Fearing for his crown, Louis ordered the elimination of his rival.

Ercole Mattioli

The fourth version was the assumption that the famous Italian adventurer Ercole Antonio Mattioli was hiding under the mask. In 1678, an agreement was concluded between him and Louis XIV: Mattioli undertook to persuade his overlord to give the king the fortress of Casale. The Italian successfully sold this state secret to several countries for a substantial reward. For this he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the French government.

General Bulond

The reason for the emergence of another version was the secret notes of Louis XIV. French king He kept encrypted diaries, which were deciphered several centuries later by the famous cryptographer Etienne Bazerie. It turned out that the masked prisoner could also be the French general Vivien de Bulonde, who covered himself and France with indelible shame in one of the battles of the Nine Years' War. This version, like all others, has not been proven 100%.

The real Peter I

Various historians and researchers, intrigued by the great mystery, continued to put forward all sorts of versions regarding the identity of the prisoner in the iron mask. Most historians came to the conclusion that it could have been one of the conspirators who dared to take aim at royal power. Among them: the Lorraine Armoise, the royal minister Fouquet, Cardinal Mazarin, etc.

Another version even concerned Russia. According to it, Peter I himself, and the true tsar, was imprisoned in the Bastille. In 1698 - precisely when prisoner No. 64489001 appeared in the Bastille - the Russian Tsar was allegedly replaced. Peter I was then carrying out a diplomatic mission (“Grand Embassy”) in Europe.

A true, Orthodox Christian has gone abroad Russian Tsar, who revered traditions sacredly. The European returned, dressed in a “basurman dress” and with a whole bunch of innovations wild for patriarchal Rus'. After this, they began to say that Peter the Great had been replaced abroad with an impostor. This substitution was later associated with the Iron Mask. It is still not known who actually wore it.