Where they serve food in an iron mask. Prisoner in the Iron Mask

Prisoner in the Iron Mask

The mysterious story of the prisoner in the iron mask has haunted novelists, playwrights and historians for several centuries. Who was this unfortunate person doomed to wear a mask for the rest of his life? Is he really the brother of Louis XIV? So far, no documents or evidence have been discovered that could shed light on this historical mystery.

The brilliant Voltaire first attracted attention to the mysterious story of the prisoner in the iron mask. In his work “The Age of Louis XIV” he wrote: “An unknown prisoner, taller than average, young, with the noblest bearing, was sent to a castle on the island of St. Margaret, off the coast of Provence. 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."

Over the course of twenty years, Voltaire periodically returned to the story of the mysterious prisoner, supplementing it with new facts. Finally, in 1771, in the next re-edition of his work, allegedly from the publisher, he wrote: “The Iron Mask, without a doubt, was the elder brother of Louis XIV...” How did he come to this conclusion? The fact is that the mother of the monarch, Anna of Austria, had a delicate taste, in particular in relation to exquisite linen. The Iron Mask had the same passion. In addition, as Voltaire pointed out, at the time of the appearance of the mysterious prisoner on the historical scene in Europe, the disappearance of any influential and famous person was not noted, so the mask most likely hid the prisoner’s resemblance to some important and well-known person.

"Iron Mask"

Voltaire believed that the Iron Mask was the elder brother of Louis XIV, whom the queen gave birth to from an extramarital affair and raised in secret from everyone, confiding only in Cardinal Richelieu. An even more curious version of the origin of the Iron Mask emerged from the notes of Cardinal Richelieu, in which he reported the birth of twin sons to Anna of Austria on September 5, 1638. Interestingly, the boys were born within a few hours of each other. When the first of them had already been declared the legal heir, the second was born, who, according to the law, was the eldest. The Queen was informed of the death of her second child. As a teenager, the unrecognized prince was sent to England, where he received an upbringing appropriate to his origin. In 1669, the brother of Louis XIV learned the truth about his origins and became part of a conspiracy to regain the throne. The conspiracy was discovered, and the main conspirator, the Huguenot Roux de Marsilli, was captured. Before dying under torture, he admitted that his servant Eustache Dauger was the real king of France. Doge was arrested when he arrived in Dunkirk, and from then on the man had to wear a mask and live in captivity.

However, serious historians consider such a development of events unlikely. Their doubts are based on records and documents related to the identity of Saint-Mars, the chief jailer of the Iron Mask.

Bénigne de Saint-Mars enjoyed the special confidence of Louis XIV and kept the king's especially important prisoners under his supervision. In 1665, this man was the commandant of the Pinerol fortress in the Alps. Here, for the first time, the historical trace of the Iron Mask appears, because it was from this fortress that the mysterious prisoner was transferred in 1681, together with Saint-Mars, to the Egzil fortress. From the registers it is known that in Pinerol Saint-Mars had five prisoners, two of them very famous people: former minister Fouquet and Marshal de Lauzun. Of these two, neither could be the Iron Mask: there was absolutely no need to hide their faces, moreover, Fouquet died in 1680, and Lauzen was released before Saint-Mars moved to Egzille. True, the places in the prison were not empty, and there were still five prisoners. Of these five, Saint-Mars took two with him to his new duty station.

Who were the five prisoners? One of the prisoners was a monk-swindler caught in deceiving the ladies of the court, the other was officer Dubreuil, imprisoned for treason. The third prisoner was the Italian Count Mattioli, who paid with his freedom for deceiving Louis XIV himself; many researchers assigned him the role of a mysterious prisoner. The fourth is Fouquet's servant, who was only guilty of serving his master, who knew many state secrets. Finally, the fifth prisoner was Estache Dauger, who was serving a sentence in a poisoning case.

Of these five, Mattioli was perhaps the best suited for the role of the Iron Mask. Mattioli was a minister at the court of Charles IV, Duke of Mantua, and this courtier was in charge of the fortress of Casale Monferrato, which Louis XIV intended to buy. French king not only agreed with Mattioli on the sale of the fortress, but also gave him very valuable gifts. It is unknown why Mattioli broke the agreement with the king. In general, the Italian courtier informed many European courts about Louis's plans for the Italian fortress. For the French king, this was a political embarrassment, for which he decided to take revenge on Mattioli. He was kidnapped and imprisoned in Pinerol.

However, it is known that this whole story with the capture of the Italian was not a secret at that time, so there was no point in hiding the face of this prisoner. Additionally, Mattioli would have been 63 years old at the time of Iron Mask's death in the Bastille, while the mystery prisoner was only about 45 years old. After leaving Pinerol, Saint-Mars noted in correspondence that Mattioli and Dubreuil remained in the fortress, and the monk-swindler died. Thus, it becomes clear that Fouquet’s servant and Eustache Doger went to Egzille with Saint-Mars. Fouquet's servant should not have been hidden under a mask, so the mysterious prisoner was clearly Eustache Doget. It is known that in 1694, when Saint-Mars was already the governor of the island of St. Margaret, Mattioli and Dubreuil again joined him and Dauger. Mattioli soon died, and Saint-Mars again goes to the Bastille, to a new duty station, with two prisoners - one of them in a mask, the other Dubreuil. And this fact confirms that the Iron Mask was Doge.

Why was Doge such an important prisoner? It is believed that he knew some important state secret. In addition, at one time Doge replaced Fouquet’s servant who was ill, serving the former minister, and from him he too could have learned some secrets. Or maybe Doge was actually Louis’s brother? The famous French historian Alain Decaux categorically rejects this version. In his book, he writes: “The Sun King would never have allowed a person of the same blood to be made Fouquet’s lackey!”

What if the Doge was the illegitimate son of some important courtier and looked very much like him? Maybe he tried to blackmail him and ended up in prison for it? Then the respectful attitude towards the prisoner and the reluctance to take his life could be explained.

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In 1698, a prisoner was brought to the Bastille, whose face was hidden by a terrible iron mask. His name was unknown, and in prison he was numbered 64489001. The created aura of mystery gave rise to many versions of who this masked man could be.

Prisoner in an iron mask in an anonymous engraving from the French Revolution (1789).
The authorities knew absolutely nothing about the prisoner transferred from another prison. They were ordered to place the masked man in the most remote cell and not talk to him. After 5 years the prisoner died. He was buried under the name Marcialli. All the deceased’s belongings were burned, and the walls were torn apart so that no notes remained.
When, at the end of the 18th century, under the onslaught of the Great french revolution The Bastille fell, the new government released documents that shed light on the fate of the prisoners. But there was not a single word about the man in the mask.

Bastille is a French prison.
The Jesuit Griffe, who was a confessor in the Bastille at the end of the 17th century, wrote that a prisoner was brought to prison wearing a velvet (not iron) mask. In addition, the prisoner only put it on when someone appeared in the cell. From a medical point of view, if the prisoner actually wore a mask made of metal, it would invariably disfigure his face. The iron mask was “made” by writers who shared their assumptions about who this mysterious prisoner really could be.

The Man in the Iron Mask.
The masked prisoner was first mentioned in the Secret Notes of the Persian Court, published in 1745 in Amsterdam. According to the Notes, prisoner No. 64489001 was none other than the illegitimate son of Louis XIV and his mistress Louise Françoise de La Vallière. He bore the title of Duke of Vermandois, allegedly slapped his brother the Grand Dauphin, for which he ended up in jail. In fact, this version is implausible, because the illegitimate son of the French king died at the age of 16 in 1683. And according to the records of the confessor of the Bastille, Jesuit Griffe, the unknown was imprisoned in 1698, and he died in 1703.

Still from the film “The Man in the Iron Mask” (1998).
Francois Voltaire, in his work "The Age of Louis XIV", written in 1751, first indicated that the Iron Mask could well be the twin brother of the Sun King. To avoid problems with the succession to the throne, one of the boys was raised secretly. When Louis XIV found out about his brother’s existence, he doomed him to eternal imprisonment. This hypothesis explained the presence of the prisoner’s mask so logically that it became the most popular among other versions and was subsequently filmed more than once by directors.

The Italian adventurer Ercole Antonio Mattioli could be hiding under the mask.
There is an opinion that the famous Italian adventurer Ercole Antonio Mattioli was forced to wear the mask. The Italian in 1678 entered into an agreement with Louis XIV, according to which he undertook to force his duke to surrender the fortress of Casale to the king in exchange for a reward of 10,000 crowns. The adventurer took the money, but did not fulfill the contract. Moreover, Mattioli gave out this state secret to several other countries for a separate reward. For this treason, the French government sent him to the Bastille, forcing him to wear a mask.

Russian Emperor Peter I.
Some researchers have put forward completely implausible versions about the man in the iron mask. According to one of them, this prisoner could be Russian Emperor Peter I. It was during that period that Peter I was in Europe with his diplomatic mission (“Grand Embassy”). The autocrat was allegedly imprisoned in the Bastille, and a figurehead was sent home instead. Like, how else can we explain the fact that the tsar left Russia as a Christian who revered traditions, and returned back as a typical European who wanted to break the patriarchal foundations of Rus'.

The date of birth of the mysterious character in the iron mask is unknown. But the date of death is recorded accurately: he died on November 19, 1703. In general, the history of the Iron Mask begins in July 1669, when the minister of Louis XIV sent a letter to the head of the prison in the city of Pinerolo with a request to accept and provide special attention to a mysterious masked prisoner.

Since then, evidence of the Man in the Iron Mask has surfaced either in personal letters or in philosophical treatises. Even Voltaire did not ignore the existence of the Iron Mask and hinted that he knew much more about it than many, but, like a true Frenchman, he would remain silent. From these words of the philosopher it somehow naturally followed that the imprisonment of the enigmatic prisoner was connected with state secrets.

And really, why bother with this? an ordinary person? It’s easier to kill, especially since it’s the 17th century. But the prisoner was not only not killed: in all the places where he stayed, including the Bastille, he was given the most comfortable living conditions. The main inconvenience of his life was (besides, of course, the fact of confinement) wearing a mask around the clock. Although here the story has slightly thickened: the mask was not iron, but made of black velvet. Agree, the material is qualitatively different.

The legend of the Man in the Iron Velvet Mask has not subsided over the centuries, but has acquired new details. The main question- who the prisoner was is still relevant today. There are at least 52 versions in total. But we won’t torment you with everyone; we’ll introduce you only to the most interesting ones, in our opinion.

Mysterious lady

It is not for nothing that the expression “Cherche la femme” was invented by the French. They always imagine a woman behind any secret. The version arose after the prisoner (prisoner) visited the prison on the island of Sainte-Marguerite and probably made a romantic impression on the prison governor.

A theory that appeared at the end of the 19th century. They say that Moliere (pardon the pun) was so tired of the authorities with his accusatory plays that it was most convenient to put his talent into a mask. Although the writer and the king had, strictly speaking, cultural relations: Moliere even held the honorable position of the king’s bed-guard.

Skin cancer patient

1933 version. A terrible disease struck the skin of a certain high-ranking official, and therefore this face had to be covered with a mask.

Twin brother of Louis XIV

Until the death of the de facto regent Mazarin, the young Sun King was completely uninterested in politics. He just danced, changed outfits and, so to speak, flirted with the ladies. But the day after the death of the cardinal, the king’s behavior changed dramatically (and again, sorry for the pun): he became serious and became concerned about governing the state. Just a different person! What if this is our king’s twin brother, hidden immediately after birth? Well, exactly. This is true. And the king, apparently, is now sitting in captivity and wearing a mask. The version gained popularity thanks to Dumas and the 1998 film “The Man in the Iron Mask” with Leonardo DiCaprio (yes, he was not given an Oscar for this film either).

Black son of Maria Theresa

A child born from an inappropriate relationship between the queen and her black page. The excuse “well, it doesn’t happen to anyone” did not work in the royal families, and the criminal fruit of love had to be imprisoned forever.

On November 19, 1703, a man who spent the last four decades of his life in various prisons in France was buried in the Saint-Paul cemetery at the infamous Bastille prison. He is without a doubt the most famous prisoner in French history, although no one knows why he had to spend half his life in a cell, and, as history claims, in almost perfect isolation and with his face shackled in an iron mask.

First famous recording this unfortunate man dates back to July 1669, when the Marquis de Louvois, in a letter to Benigny d’Auvergne de Saint-Mars, the governor of the Pinerol prison, mentioned a certain Eustache Doge, who should be arrested for his actions against the crown. An excellent contender for the title of "Iron Mask".

But was this his real name? This cannot be confirmed or refuted, since analysis of the letter showed that the name of the criminal was signed by another person, perhaps even after the letter was written by the author himself. And this is another mystery that shrouds the already insoluble mystery of history.

We also have numerous references to this person in the works of writers of that time, which inspire more confidence. For example, Voltaire mentions him in his work Le siècle de Louis XIV ("The Age of Louis XIV"). As you know, Voltaire was imprisoned in the Bastille in 1717, where he spent about a year. Naturally, he met with many prisoners, and some of them stated in a conversation with the enlightenment thinker that they allegedly came into contact with the mysterious prisoner while he was alive.

The existence of the man in the iron mask has also been noted in other historical information, such as Le mémoire secret pour servir à l’histoire de la Percy (“The Mysterious Memory”) by an unknown author, the writings of one of the most famous journalists of the French Revolution, Baron Friedrich Melchior von Grimm and personal diary Etienne de Junc, one of the Bastille employees who witnessed the death of a prisoner.

However, the source that made this prisoner famous among the masses was Alexandre Dumas's The Man in the Iron Mask, which was the third and last in a series of stories that began with the adventures of the Three Musketeers. The book, although believed to be completely fictitious, appears to contain some reliable information, as the author has conducted a fairly detailed investigation into the case. French classical literature was often inspired real stories people, around whom additional details were then created and colorful actions took place (this also applies to The Count of Monte Cristo, which was written based on biographical stories of a real person).

In any case, as already mentioned, the order for Dauger's imprisonment was given by the Marquis de Louvois, Louis XIV's secretary for military affairs. Among other things, it was stipulated that Dauger was to be kept in high-security prisons, where he would have the right to communicate only with a very narrow circle of people (in particular, jailers and other high-ranking officials). And if he ever dared to talk to anyone about something that did not relate to his natural needs and wants, he should have been executed immediately. To achieve this goal, Dauger was placed under the supervision of Benigny d’Auvergne de Saint-Mars himself, who was supposed to ensure that all orders “from above” were carried out until the end of the prisoner’s life.

But as early accounts of Dauger's life behind bars say, these strict rules began to be forgotten over time. For example, he received permission to become a prison servant for former minister finances of Nicolas Fouquet when his servant was ill. The only condition was that he should not meet anyone else except Fouquet. If there were strangers in the cell, Doge was not supposed to go there. But why were Fouquet given such amenities? It has been suggested that although he was to remain in prison for the rest of his life, he was not prohibited from receiving visitors or from corresponding with the most influential people of that time.

The fact that Dauger became someone's servant and then served as a laborer in the same prison is also significant. Given the rules of the era, if he had been a royal, or even just a high-ranking relative, or related to earls, marquises, and viscounts, he would not have been allowed to serve. Has someone of royal blood been jailed for life on dubious charges? Perfect! (such prisoners were entitled to a whole staff of servants and other benefits of the nobility). To be “on the premises”, having noble roots? Unthinkable.

Anyway, main reason The reason we still remember this particular poor fellow, and not a hundred other prisoners, is his mask. Why was his face hidden from the public? Some historians argue that this is nothing more than a trick by the ambitious Bénigny d'Auvergne de Saint-Mars, who came up with it during the transfer of a prisoner to Saint-Marguerite in 1687 to impress the crowd by pointing out the importance of the criminal he himself the king entrusted him with guarding. It was after this “transfer” that a rumor appeared among the people that the prisoner was forced to always wear an iron mask.

On September 18, 1698, Saint-Mars received another promotion and this time became the manager of the Bastille. It was at this point that Dauger was again transferred to a Paris prison. According to Voltaire and other prisoners who saw a man in an iron mask within the walls of the old fortress, this man never took off the mask. However, it should be noted that the aforementioned Lieutenant de Junca, who served there, repeatedly claimed that the mask was, in fact, made of black velvet.

Dauger died in prison on November 19, 1703. San Mars described him as "disposed to the will of God and to the king" in contrast to most of the prisoners. If it is true that he was forced to hide his face under a mask and serve Fouquet, then perhaps this prisoner was recognizable or had an obvious resemblance to another person, most likely from high society (whether by direct relationship or pure coincidence).

But the question remains, was he just a humble servant or had the misfortune of witnessing something that the king kept secret, or was he like one of the representatives of the ruling elite? Why didn't the disgruntled king and the French authorities simply kill him? People from the peasant class could easily be executed due to the slightest accusations (not always fair), for example, for communication with the devil or theft of ears of corn from the royal fields. Why did they take the risk of letting him live even though they took steps to preserve his anonymity? And if he was of royal blood, why was he allowed to work as a servant? And for that matter, why was he allowed to regularly communicate with Fouquet, to whom he could tell his secret, and he, in turn, would let it slip in one of his letters to the outside? So not so much big secret was kept behind this mask.

Needless to say, minor historical fact would not, after all, lead to numerous speculations, theories and searches for evidence in support of any of them. According to Voltaire, the man in the iron mask was the elder illegitimate brother of Louis XIV (from Anne of Austria's relationship with Cardinal Mazarin), while according to Dumas, the mysterious prisoner was none other than Louis XIV's twin, who was born a minute later before and thus should have become the rightful king of France.

Another theory is that he was the real father of King Louis XIV. Everyone knows that Louis XIII was quite old at the time of the “miraculous” birth of Louis XIV. But an heir was needed so that Louis XIII's brother Gaston d'Orléans would not receive the throne. Cardinal Richelieu and the queen herself were against him due to various political reasons. Therefore, according to the defenders of this assumption, the cardinal and Anna found another man, who became the biological father of the Dauphin. Like other theories, there is no actual proof of this, but at least it explains why the prisoner loved the king so much, despite the fact that the same king imprisoned him for life. Of course, it would be cruel to force one's own father to live in prison as a slave, assuming that Louis knew that it was his father. And if he didn’t know, then why keep him alive or put him in prison at all? There were no DNA tests back then, and people wouldn’t have believed it if any man had talked about having a relationship with the queen.

One of the most compelling theories to date in terms of history and plausibility comes from a coded letter from King Louis XIV about General Vivien de Bulonde, who incurred the ruler's wrath when he fled from approaching Austrian troops, abandoning wounded soldiers and provisions to the enemy. After the encryption was solved, scientists were able to read the following:

“His Majesty knows better than any other man the consequences of this act, and he also knows how deeply our defeat has damaged our cause, a failure which we must make up for during the winter. His Majesty wishes you to immediately arrest General Bulond and convey him to the fortress of Pinerol, where he will be locked in a cage under guard, and measures 330 and 390 should be taken against him.”

What are “measures 330 and 309”?
According to scientists, “330” meant wearing a mask, and “309” meant life imprisonment, but, again, these are only the conclusions of historians. Perhaps the king simply had a penchant for shackling prisoners he didn’t particularly like in masks as punishment. But the main inconsistency in this theory is that General Vivien de Bulonde died in 1709, while “ Iron mask"Died six years earlier (according to records found in the archives).

What then to do with Eustache Doget? Does this mean that this mystery of the great Bastille is not connected with his name? It is known for certain that Estache Dauger de Cavoy, the son of the captain of the guard of Cardinal Richelieu, really existed and was born in 1637. In his youth he joined the army, but was forced to resign in disgrace after killing a young man in a drunken brawl. Later, he was imprisoned. Due to endless complaints about his imprisonment to his sister and letters to the king asking him to improve his conditions, in 1678 Louis ordered a ban on his correspondence and ordered him to be protected from all visitors, except when a priest was present at the “date”.

The problem with Kavoy's story is that he was kept in Saint-Lazare and the man in the iron mask was in Pinerol. In addition, Cavoy does not fit the description of San Mars as “disposed to the will of God and to the king,” and among documents from that time there is evidence that he died in the 1680s, long before another famous one went to the next world us Eustache Doge.

We know very little about the man in the iron mask and are not sure whether he was actually guilty of a terrible crime against the king or was forced to hide his face so that no one would recognize him as another person. Or maybe he really was an ordinary guy named Eustache Doget and a simple servant who “annoyed” the king, but not so much as to kill him. Although, what must a servant be guilty of in order to be locked in a damp cell infested with rats, without the opportunity to communicate with people and with the humiliating duty of wearing an ugly mask? Who knows, perhaps the king's favorite favorite is involved? But on the other hand, this is such an intriguing story that scientists will struggle for centuries to unravel the identity and fate of the “Iron Mask.”

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 secretly. 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. The French king 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.