The Return of Martin Guerre

Natalie Zemon Davis

Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massa husetts !ondon, "ngland

$%&' by the President and (ello)s of Harvard College *ll rights reserved Printed in the United +tates of *meri a ,- $% $& $. !ibrary of Congress Cataloging in Publi ation Data Davis, Natalie Zemon, $%,&/The return of Martin Guerre 0 1ibliogra#hy2 # 0 $0 Du Tilh, *rnault, d0 $34- 0 ,0 Guerre, Martin 0 '0 5m#ostors and im#osture6(ran e0 50 Title 0 !*7 '830889-,4' &'/,.. 5+1N -/4.8/.44%-/' : loth; '8808-3,4' 5+1N -/4.8/.44%$/$ :#a#er; Designed by Given (ran<feldt

Co#yright

For Chandler Davis

Prefa e
H5+ 1==> GR"7 out of a historian9s adventure )ith a different )ay of telling about the #ast0 The story of Martin Guerre has been re ounted many times0 5n the $38-s in !anguedo , a ri h #easant leaves his )ife, hild, and #ro#erty and is not heard from for years? he omes ba <6or so everyone thin<s6but after three or four years of agreeable marriage the )ife says she has been tri <ed by an im#ostor and brings him to trial0 The man almost #ersuades the ourt he is Martin Guerre, )hen at the last moment the true Martin Guerre a##ears0 T)o boo<s )ere immediately )ritten about the ase, one by a @udge of the ourt0 *ll over (ran e there )ere omments on it, by the great Montaigne among others0 =ver the enturies it )as retold in boo<s on famous im#ostors and auses elebres, and is still remembered in the Pyrenean village of *rtigat )here the events too< #la e four hundred years ago0 5t has ins#ired a #lay, t)o novels, and an o#eretta 0 7hen 5 first read the @udge9s a ount 5 thought, AThis must be ome a film0A Rarely does a historian find so #erfe t a narrative stru ture in the events of the #ast or one )ith su h dramati #o#ular a##eal0 1y oin iden e 5 learned that the s enarist Bean/Claude Carriere and the dire tor Daniel Cigne )ere starting a s reen#lay on the same sub@e t0 5 )as able to @oin them, and out of our ollaboration ame the film !e Retour de Martin Guerre 0 ParadoDi ally, the more 5 savored the reation of the film, the more my a##etite )as )hetted for something beyond it0 5 )as #rom#ted to dig dee#er into the ase, to ma<e histori al sense of it0 7riting for a tors rather than readers raised ne) Euestions about the motivations of #eo#le in the siDteenth entury6about, say, )hether they ared as mu h about truth as about #ro#erty 0 7at hing Gerard De#ardieu feel his )ay into the role of the false Martin Guerre gave me ne) )ays to thin< about the a om#lishment of the real im#ostor, *rnaud du Tilh0 5 felt 5 had my o)n histori al laboratory, generating not #roofs, but histori al #ossibilities 0

*t the same time, the film )as de#arting from the histori al re ord, and 5 found this troubling0 The 1asEue ba <ground of the Guerres )as sa rifi ed? rural Protestantism )as ignored? and es#e ially the double game of the )ife and the @udge9s inner ontradi tions )ere softened0 These hanges may have hel#ed to give the film the #o)erful sim#li ity that had allo)ed the Martin Guerre story to be ome a legend in the first #la e, but they also made it hard to eD#lain )hat a tually ha##ened0 7here )as there room in this beautiful and om#elling inematogra#hi re reation of a village for the un ertainties, the A#erha#ses,A the Amay/have/beens,A to )hi h the historian has re ourse )hen the eviden e is inadeEuate or #er#leDingF =ur film )as an eD iting sus#ense story that <e#t the audien e as unsure of the out ome as the original villagers and @udges had been0 1ut )here )as there room to refle t u#on the signifi an e of identity in the siDteenth enturyF The film thus #osed the #roblem of invention to the historian as surely as it )as #osed to the )ife of Martin Guerre0 5 had to return to my original metier? even from lo ation in the Pyrenees 5 )as running off to ar hives in (oiD, Toulouse, and *u h0 5 )ould give this arresting tale its first full/s ale histori al treatment, using every s ra# of #a#er left me by the #ast0 5 )ould figure out )hy Martin Guerre left his village and )here he )ent, ho) and )hy *rnaud du Tilh be ame an im#ostor, )hether he fooled 1ertrande de Rols, and )hy he failed to ma<e it sti < 0 This )ould tell us ne) things about siDteenth/ entury rural so iety0 5 )ould follo) the villagers through the riminal ourts and eD#lain the @udges9 hanging verdi ts0 *nd 5 )ould have the rare o##ortunity to sho) an event from #easant life being resha#ed into a story by men of letters 0 5t turned out to be mu h more diffi ult than 5 had thought6but )hat a #leasure to re ount the history of Martin Guerre on e again 0 N0Z0D 0 Prin eton Banuary $%&'

* <no)ledgments
5 am grateful to Prin eton University and to the National "ndo)ment for the Humanities for finan ial assistan e in #re#aring this boo<0 5 also )ant to than< the ar hivists and staff of the *r hives De#artementales of the *riege, the Haute/ Garonne, the Gets, the Pyrenees/*tlantiEues, the Gironde, and the Pas/de/ Calais for their advi e and ourtesy, )hi h made #ossible ra#id #rogress in my resear h0 Marie/Rose 1elier, Paul Dumons, and Hubert Daraud of *rtigat )ere )illing to share )ith me their memories of their village and of the story of Martin Guerre0 Bean/ Claude Carriere and Daniel Cigne gave me ne) )ays to thin< about the onne tions bet)een the Ageneral trendsA of historians and the living eD#erien e of the #eo#le0 "mmanuel !e Roy !a/ durie #rovided im#ortant en ouragement )hen it )as needed0 5deas and bibliogra#hi al suggestions )ere offered by numerous olleagues in the United +tates and (ran e2 Paul *l#ers, Gves and Ni ole Castan, 1arbara 10 Davis, 7illiam *0 Douglass, Daniel (abre, +te#hen Greenblatt, Ri hard HelmholH, Paul Hilt#old, "lisabeth !abrousse, Helen Nader, !aurie Nussdorfer, Bean/Pierre Poussou, Cirginia Reinburg, and *nn 7altner0 *lfred +oman )as generous in his advi e for the ha#ters on riminal @usti e0 The editing of Boy e 1a <man added mu h to the larity of the the teDt0 7ithout the hel# of my authenti husband, Chandler Davis, this history of an im#ostor/s#ouse ould never have eDisted 0

Contents
5ntrodu tion $ (rom Hendaye to *rtigat , The Dis ontented Peasant ' The Honor of 1ertrande de Rols 8 The Mas<s of *rnaud du Tilh 3 The 5nvented Marriage 4 Iuarrels . The Trial at RieuD & The Trial at Toulouse % The Return of Martin Guerre $- The +toryteller $$ Histoire #rodigieuse, Histoire tragiEue $, =f the !ame "#ilogue ? 4 $% ,$ '3 8, 3$ 4, $' &, %8 $-8 $$8 $,'

5ntrodu tion
("MM" 1=NN" Eui a mauvais mary, a bien souvent le oeur marryA :* good )ife )ith a bad husband often has a sorry heart; 0 A*mour #eut moult, argent #eut toutA :love may do mu h, but money more;0 These are some of the sayings by )hi h #easants hara teriHed marriage in siDteenth/ entury (ran e0 Historians have been learning more and more about rural families from marriage ontra ts and testaments, from #arish re ords of births and deaths, and from a ounts of ourtshi# rituals and harivaris 0 1ut )e still <no) rather little about the #easants9 ho#es and feelings? the )ays in )hi h they eD#erien ed the relation bet)een husband and )ife, #arent and hild? the )ays in )hi h they eD#erien ed the onstraints and #ossibilities in their lives0 7e often thin< of #easants as not having had mu h in the )ay of hoi es, but is this in fa t trueF Did individual villagers ever try to fashion their lives in unusual and uneD#e ted )aysF 1ut ho) do historians dis over su h things about anyone in the #astF 7e loo< at letters and diaries, autobiogra#hies, memoirs, family histories0 7e loo< at literary sour es6#lays, lyri #oems, and stories6)hi h, )hatever their relation to the real lives of s#e ifi #eo#le, sho) us )hat sentiments and rea tions authors onsidered #lausible for a given #eriod0 No) the #easants, more than ninety #er ent of )hom ould not )rite in the siDteenth entury, have left us fe) do uments of self/revelation0 The family histories and @ournals that have ome do)n to us from them are s#arse2 an entry or t)o on births and deaths and the )eather0 Thomas Platter an give us a #ortrait of his hard/)or<ing #easant mother2 A"D e#t one time )hen )e said good/bye to her, 5 never sa) my mother ry? she )as a ourageous and virile )oman, but rough0A 1ut this )as )ritten )hen that learned Hebraist had long sin e left his +)iss village and mountain #astures behind him 0 *s for literary sour es on the #easants, )here they eDist, they follo) the lassi al rules that ma<e villagers a sub@e t of omedy 0

Comedy is about A#ersonnes #o#ulaires,A #eo#le of lo) ondition, so the theory )ent0 A5n a style humble and lo), omedy re#resents the #rivate fortunes of men 0 0 0 5ts issue is ha##y, #leasant, and agreeable0A +o in !es Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles :the fifteenth entury olle tion of omi stones, several times re#rinted in the siDteenth entury;, an a Euisitive #easant omes u#on his )ife having seDual inter ourse )ith a friend, is mollified in his rage by the #romise of t)elve measures of grain, and then to <ee# the bargain has to let the lovers finish u#0 5n the Pro#os RustiEues, #ublished by the 1reton la)yer Noel du (ail in $38., the old #easant !ubin reminis es about )hen he got married at the age of thirty/four2 A5 hardly <ne) )hat it )as to be in love 000 but no)adays there is hardly a young man #ast fifteen )ho hasn9t tried something out )ith the girls0A The image of #easant feeling and behavior that emerges from su h a ounts is not )ithout its value6 omedy is, after all, an im#ortant )ay to eD#lore the human ondition6but it is limited in its #sy hologi al register and in the range of Asituations in )hi h villagers are #la ed 0 1ut there eDists another set of sour es in )hi h #easants are found in many #redi aments and in )hi h the ending is not al)ays ha##y2 the re ords of different ourt @urisdi tions0 5t is to the registers of the 5nEuisition that )e o)e "mmanuel !e Roy !adurie9s #i ture of the Cathar village of Montaillou and Carlo GinHburg9s study of the daring miller Meno hio0 The re ords of dio esan ourts are full of marriage ases, )hi h historians have been using to understand ho) villagers and ityfol< maneuvered )ithin the tight )orld of ustom and la) to find a suitable mate 0 *nd then there are the re ords of various riminal @urisdi tions 0 Here, for instan e, is the story told in $3'3 to the <ing by a young !yonnais villager )ho )as trying to )in a #ardon for an im#ulsive murder0 "ven allo)ing for the #hrases urged u#on him by his attorney or notary, )e have a #ortrait of an unha##y marriage2 *bout a year ago the said su##liant, having found a #artner )ith a good do)ry, married *n ely !earin and sin e then su##orted her honestly as his )ife and sought to live )ith her in #ea e0 1ut the said *n ely, )ithout rhyme or reason, too< it into her head to <ill

him, and in fa t beat him and thre) stones at him 0 0 0 The su##liant a e#ted this #ea eably, thin<ing things )ould alm do)n after a time 0 0 0 1ut then one +unday earlier this month of May, he )as Euietly eating )ith her and as<ed her for a drin< of )ine0 +he said she )ould give it to him in the head, thre) the bottle at him and s#illed )ine all over his fa e 0 0 0 Then in her fury, she #i <ed u# a tureen and )ould have )ounded the su##liant seriously if the servant/girl had not #ut herself bet)een them 0 0 0 1eing very eD ited, he #i <ed u# a bread <nife, ran after the said *n ely and stu < it in her stoma h 0 The )ife did not live long enough to tell her side of the story 0 (rom su h do uments )e learn of #easant eD#e tations and feelings at a time of sudden agitation or risis0 5n $34-, ho)ever, there ame before the Parlement of Toulouse a riminal ase that revealed #easant marriages over many years, a ase so eDtraordinary that one of the men )ho @udged it #ublished a boo< about it0 His name )as Bean de Coras, a native of the region, distinguished do tor of la)s, author of !atin ommentaries on the ivil and anon la) and humanist0 Coras9s *rrest Memorable summed u# all the eviden e, formal arguments, and @udgments in the ase and in luded his annotations u#on them0 5t )as not a omedy, he said, but a tragedy, even though the a tors )ere rusti s, A#eo#le of lo) ondition0A 7ritten in (ren h, the boo< )as re#rinted five times in the neDt siD years and had several more editions in (ren h and !atin before the end of the entury 0 Combining features of a legal teDt and a literary tale, Coras9s boo< on the ase of Martin Guerre leads us into the hidden )orld of #easant sentiment and as#iration0 That it is an unusual ase serves me )ell, for a remar<able dis#ute an sometimes un over motivations and values that are lost in the )elter of the everyday 0 My ho#e is to sho) that the adventures of three young villagers are not too many ste#s beyond the more ommon eD#erien e of their neighbors, that an im#ostor9s fabri ation has lin<s )ith more ordinary )ays of reating #ersonal identity0 5 also )ant to eD#lain )hy a story that seemed fit for a mere #o#ular #am#hlet6and

indeed )as told in that form6be ame in addition the sub@e t for a @udge9s Aone hundred and eleven beautiful annotationsA? and to suggest )hy )e have here a rare identifi ation bet)een the fate of #easants and /the fate of the ri h and learned 0 (or sour es 5 start )ith Coras9s *rrest of $34$ and the short Historia of Guillaume !e +ueur, #ublished the same year0 The latter is an inde#endent teDt, dedi ated to another @udge in the ase? in at least t)o instan es, it has material not found in Coras but )hi h 5 have verified in ar hival sour es0 5 use !e +ueur and Coras to su##lement ea h other, though in the fe) #la es )here they are in onfli t 5 give greater )eight to the @udge0 5n the absen e of the full testimony from the trial :all su h re ords for riminal ases before $4-- are missing for the Parlement of Toulouse;, 5 have )or<ed through the registers of Parlementary senten es to find out more about the affair and about the #ra ti e and attitudes of the @udges0 5n #ursuit of my rural a tors, 5 have sear hed through notarial ontra ts in villages all over the dio eses of RieuD and !ombeH0 7hen 5 ould not find my individual man or )oman in Hendaye, in *rti/gat, in +a@as, or in 1urgos, then 5 did my best through other sour es from the #eriod and #la e to dis over the )orld they )ould have seen and the rea tions they might have had0 7hat 5 offer you here is in #art my invention, but held tightly in he < by the voi es of the #ast 0

$0 (rom Hendaye to *rtigat

5N $3,. the #easant +anDi Daguerre, his )ife, his young son Martin, and his brother Pierre left the family #ro#erty in the (ren h 1asEue ountry and moved to a village in the ounty of (oiD, a three/)ee< )al< a)ay 0 5t )as not the most usual thing for a 1asEue to do0 Not that the men of !abourd )ere stay/at/homes, but )hen they traveled it )as more li<ely out to sea, to tra# )hales on the *tlanti , even as far as !abrador0 7hen they left for good, they )ere more li<ely to ross the 1idassoa River into the +#anish 1asEue ountry or do)n into +#ain, rather than turn inland north of the Pyrenees 0 *nd the men )ho moved a)ay )ere usually not heir to their family9s #ro#erty, as )as +anDi Daguerre, but younger brothers )ho ould not or )ould not remain in the an estral household0 +o im#ortant )ere these family houses to 1asEue villagers that ea h )as given a name )hi h the heir and his )ife assumed2 AThey all themselves !ords and !adies of su h/and/su h a house, even if it is only a #ig#en,A a hostile observer )as to laim later on 0 +anDi Daguerre9s house )as no #ig#en, ho)ever0 5t )as lo ated in Hendaye, right on the border bet)een (ran e and +#ain, a village of fe) houses, a ording to a traveler in $3,&, but )ith eDtensive ommon lands0 !iving bet)een the mountains, the river, and the o ean, the villagers herded shee#, fished, and farmed0 The lay soil )as not mu h good for grains other than millet, but )as eD ellent for a##le trees? the Daguerre brothers used the lay to develo# a sideline in tilema<ing0 !ife )as not easy in the !abourd, but it had its strong #oints, at least in the eyes of some visitors2 they note the beauty of the villages? the )onder and danger of the offshore )hale hunt and the dividing of the at h? the men, )omen, and hildren #laying in the )aves0 AThroughout this ountry, the #eo#le are gay 0 0 0 they are al)ays laughing, @o<ing and dan ing, )omen and men both,A )ent one omment in $3,&0 Nevertheless, +anDi Daguerre de ided to leave0 Perha#s it )as the ontinual threat of )arfare in the region? the 1asEue ountry and Navarre

)ere long sour es of dis#ute bet)een (ran e and +#ain, and the onfli ts bet)een (ranEois 5 and the em#eror Charles C had their onseEuen es for this frontier area0 5n $3,' the im#erial troo#s s)e#t through Hendaye and ravaged the !abourd? in $3,8 the #lague hit es#e ially hard? in $3,3 +anDi9s first hild Martin )as born0 Perha#s it )as something #ersonal, a Euarrel bet)een +anDi and his father, the senior Alord of the householdA :the senior e he<o@aun, as he )as alled in 1asEue;, if he )ere still alive, or )ith some other #erson 0 Perha#s Martin9s mother had urged the move, for the 1asEue )omen )ere said to be for)ard, ma<ing <no)n their )ants 0 7hatever the ause, +anDi #a <ed u# his belongings and de#arted )ith his family and his younger unmarried brother0 The an estral #ro#erty )ould remain in Hendaye, and one day Martin )ould inherit it0 +anDi ould not have sold it easily even if he had )anted to, for the (ors6that is, 5 the ustoms of the !aboured6#rohibited the alienation of #atrimonial goods eD e#t in ases of dire ne essity and then only )ith the onsent of other interested <in0 He )as free to dis#ose of his a Euets6)hatever he had a Euired by his o)n industry6 and +anDi too< )ith him enough resour es to get himself )ell established in his ne) village 0 The roads the family traveled on its tre< east )ere busy ones 0 They rossed a region of age/old trade eD hange bet)een the Pyrenees and the #lains, its e onomy no) Eui <ening as Toulouse intensified its role as a ma@or enter of redistribution0 1et)een the +ave River and the *riege River, the boundaries that )ould be im#ortant in their ne) life, moved arts of #astel balls, on their )ay to the Toulouse dyeing sho#s? flee e, )oolens rough and fine, )ood, grain, )ine, and fruit0 The Daguerres )ould have seen mer hants and #eddlers going to lo al fairs and mar<ets? herdsmen ta<ing shee# and Hnle u# to the mountains for the summer or do)n as far as the #lains of Toulouse and Pamiers for the )inter? #ilgrims finding their )ay to the still #o#ular shrine of +aint Bames of Com#ostela? and the young men leaving their villages behind them for the streets of Toulouse and else)here0 *t last the family sto##ed at *rtigat, a village lo ated in the large #lain

belo) the foothills of the Pyrenees, a fe) hours9 ride by horse from Pamiers 0 *rtigat stret hed out on either side of the !eHe, a small river om#ared to the *riege to the east and the Garonne to the )est, but still turbulent enough to overflo) its ban<s from time to time and devastate the #easants9 lands0 =n these lands and on the hills @ust above them lived some siDty or seventy families, gro)ing the millet )ell <no)n to +anDi and Pierre Daguerre but also )heat, oats, and gra#e vines, and #asturing o)s, goats, and es#e ially shee#0 * fe) artisans )or<ed in *rtigat6a bla <smith, a miller, a shoema<er, and a dressma<er? #erha#s there )as some )eaving as there surely )as at the nearby burg of !e (ossat0 Mar<et days )ere held from time to time and members of the 1an/Euels family even referred to themselves as Amer hants,A but the medieval fairs at *rtigat )ere gone and most lo al ommer e no) )ent on at !e (ossat0 *rtigat did have a resident notary by $34,, and #erha#s earlier, but in any ase a notary from !e (ossat made the rounds to )rite do)n ontra ts in the village houses 0 The e onomi lin< of *rtigat )ith nearby villages and burgs )ould have been a##arent to the Daguerres at on e0 Most im#ortant )as the ba </and/forth among *rtigat and the village of Pailhes @ust u#stream, !e (ossat @ust do)nstream, and the burg of !e Carla u# on a hill to the )est0 "D hange ould also ta<e one do)n the !eHe as far as +aint/Gbars, east over to the ity of Pamiers, and ba < to)ard the Pyrenees to !e Mas/d9*Hil0 Bean 1anEuels of *rtigat rents a mare for siD years to a #easant from Pailhes0 * mer hant from !e (ossat rents oDen to t)o farmers from !e Carla, )ho )ill #ay him )ith grain later at the +e#tember fair in Pamiers0 Behannot Drot of *rtigat goes to !e (ossat every )inter to ontra t for the sale of the flee e from his +#anish shee#? he is #aid at on e and )ill return )ith the )ool in May0 =thers sell their flee e to mer hants in Pamiers0 * she#herd from !e Carla ma<es an agreement of gasailhe :as it is alled in the langue d9o ; )ith a mer hant of +aint/Gbars2 he is granted thirty e)es, )hi h he )ill feed and #asture at his eD#ense? mer hant and she#herd )ill share the ost of his ta<ing them Au# to the mountainA and )ill s#lit

the #rofits half and half0 Bames !oHe of Pailhes has a #artnershi# )ith a mer hant of Pamiers for fifty/t)o e)es? they share eD#enses and #rofits, )ool going to Pamiers after shearing and salt going to Pailhes0 Grains and )ines move also, either in the form of rents #aid in <ind or as #ur hases made by #easants at !e (ossat and Pamiers0 +u h a busy little )orld ould not have seemed totally alien to the Daguerres, for there )as also eD hange among villages and burgs in the !abourd0 7hat )as really different from the 1asEue ountry )as the )ay the land moved, both in inheritan e and in sales0 Here in the #lain belo) the Pyrenees there )as very little effort among the ommon #eo#le to hold the family #ro#erty together0 The testaments in the area around *rtigat rarely benefit one hild but instead #rovide do)ries for the daughters and divide the inheritan e eEually among the sons, even if there are five of them0 :5f there are only daughters, the #ro#erty is divided eEually among them0; +ometimes t)o brothers or brothers/ in/la) then de ide to farm together? sometimes a brother leaves the village and beEueaths his #ortion to another heir? most often :as )e an see by the land register, the terrier, of *rtigat in the seventeenth entury; the heirs divide the land and live near one another0 7hen a household is set u# )ith t)o generations of married fol<, it is not the 1asEue ombination of the old heir and the young heir, but a )ido)ed #arent, usually the mother, )ith one of her married hildren 0 5n this situation a #ie e of inherited #ro#erty an be sold )ith mu h less hindran e than in the !abourd0 +o a #riest of !e (ossat sells a garden to a mer hant, eD#laining he has had to su##ort his old #arents for the #ast eight years0 +o *ntoine 1asle of *rtigat sells for a modest '3 livres Athe fourth #art of the goods and su ession of late Ba Eues 1asle his fatherA to a man from a nearby hamlet, and the brothers Caldeyro sell siD seterees of their land :a little under three a res; to the brothers Grose of !e Masd9*Hil, )ho are ta<ing u# residen e in *rtigat 0 That inherited #ro#erty :les #ro#res; )as sold from time to time did not mean that the #easants along the !eHe River )ere not atta hed to their lands0 7hole se tions of the @urisdi tion of *rtigat

had designations that )ere also family names2 A!es 1anEuels,A not far from the village enter? ARolsA to the )est? A!e (ustieA near the !eHe, )here the miller (ustie lived0 Plo)ed fields had names, too, as did vineyards and meado)s6Aa la #la ,A Aal sobe,A Ales asem#res,A Aal athala,A Ala bardasseA6and #easants )ho aEuired them sometimes too< these titles as an alias0$- =f ourse the identifi ation bet)een family and land )as limited at *rtigat, #robably more than it had been at Hen/daye, by the so ial and e onomi stru ture of the village0 *t its to# )ere affluent families, li<e the 1anEuels and after them the Rols, )ho had many #ar els of #ro#erty s attered throughout *rtigat, some of )hi h they farmed themselves and some rented out to other families for fiDed #ayments or a share of the ro#0 These )ere the men )ho olle ted the revenues from the hur h benefi es )ithin *rtigat, buying that right every year from the bisho# of RieuD, and )ho dire ted the #arish onfraternity at the village hur h0 They hobnobbed )ith the best families outside the )orld of the seigniors2 the !oHe of Pailhes? the 1oeri, rural traders and shoema<ers of !e (ossat? the Du (au, notaries at +aint/Gbars0 5n ontrast to this village elite )e ome a ross 1ernard 1ertrand and his )ife, )ho have an inadeEuate siDteen seterees of land to su##ort themselves and siD hildren? the she#herd Behannot Drot, )ho has to borro) )ine and grains )hen times are hard? and the (aure brothers, share ro##ers )ho are so far behind in their #ayments that they are brought to ourt by their #ro#rietor 0 None of the inhabitants of *rtigat #aid manorial dues or o)ed manorial servi es to a seignior, ho)ever0 7hatever lands they had, they held free and allodial, a fa t of )hi h they )ere very #roud0 (or at least a hundred years there had been no noble #ro#erties in the village? a ertain Bean d9"s ornebeuf, seignior of !anouD @ust to the )est of *rtigat, )as buying lands there after the Daguerres9 arrival, but he had to #ay taille on them, @ust li<e any #easant0 *ll the administration in the village belonged either to the ommunity itself or to the <ing, re#resented in the first instan e by his @udge at RieuD, a to)n several hours9 ride a)ay, by the sene hal of Toulouse, and on a##eal by the Parlement of Toulouse0 =n the

lo)est level )ere three or four onsuls of *rtigat, lo al )orthies a##roved annually by the @udge of RieuD to )ear the red and )hite hoods of village offi e0 They had @urisdi tion over agri ultural matters, su h as the ommon lands :rather small in eDtent in *rtigat; and the date for starting the )inter harvest? )ardshi#s, inventories, and au tions of goods #ostmortem? om#laints of false )eights and measures? and disru#tion of #ubli order by blas#hemy and #etty assaults0 (rom time to time they alled assemblies of the male inhabitants0 *ll of this must have a##ealed to the Daguerres, )ho had gro)n u# in an area )here :des#ite the gro)ing #o)er of the AnobleA Urtubies; the seigniorial regime had been )ea< and )here all #arishoners had the freedom to meet )henever they )ished to dra) u# statutes for their ommon needs0 5f the family had settled @ust u#stream at Pailhes, )here the Cillemurs, seigniors of Pailhes and a#tains of the Chateau de (oiD, had their astle, it )ould have been a different story0 The ase of Martin Guerre might never have run its ourse if a resident seignior or his agents had had the authority to intervene0 *s it )as, the *rtigatois had to deal mu h of the time only )ith the gossi# and #ressure of their #eers 0 *#art from its distin tive freedoms, *rtigat had a rather fluid, miDed identity0 !inguisti ally, it )as right on the border bet)een the differing nasals and liEuid sounds of Gas on and langue d9o 0 Geogra#hi ally, it )as )ithin the ounty of (oiD, but together )ith Pailhes and some other villages it fell under the government of !anguedo 0 Though near Pamiers, the seat of the dio ese of Pamiers, *rtigat )as #art of the dio ese of the more distant RieuD0 The re tor of the main #arish hur h, +aint/+ernin of *rtigat, )as named by the anons of +aint/"tienne, even farther a)ay in Toulouse? the urate of 1a@ou, a smaller #arish that fell )ithin the @urisdi tion of *rtigat, )as also #ut in #la e by a ha#ter in Toulouse0 The men of *rtigat might move a ross several boundaries in the ourse of their a tivities as farmers, she#herds, litigants, and Christians, and #eo#le alled them different things? Gas ons, A(oiDiens,A !anguedo iens0 5nto this village, then, ame the Daguerres, settling to the east of the !eHe, a Euiring land

:#erha#s buying someone else9s#ro#res;, and establishing a tile)or<s as they had at Hendaye0 The brothers had a @oint household, for a time any)ay, and they #ros#ered6Athey be ame rather omfortable for #eo#le of small estate,A as the #am#hleteer Guil/laume !e +ueur said of them later0 Their holdings in reased on the hills u# to)ard 1a@ou, and along )ith their tiles and bri <s, there )as no) )heat, millet, vines, and shee#0 To be a e#ted by the village they had to ta<e on some !anguedo )ays0 Daguerre be ame Guerre? if Pierre had used the 1asEue form of his name, 1etrisantH or even Petri, he no) hanged it0 +anDi9s )ife #robably ontinued to arry bas<ets of grain on her head, but she restit hed her headdress and the de orations on her s<irt so as to fit in )ith her neighbors0 *t the #arish mass, she )ould have to get used to the fa t that here )omen did not #ush ahead of the men to ma<e their offerings, did not go about the hur h to olle t for the vestry, and did not serve as sa ristans 0 *nd all of them )ould have be ome more fluent in the langue d9o and be ome a ustomed to a )orld )here the )ritten )ord )as used more freEuently than at Hendaye0 AThe language of the 1asEues,A )rote Budge de Coras, Ais so obs ure and diffi ult that many have thought that it an not be eD#ressed by any )ritten hara ters0A 5n fa t, an edition of #oetry in 1asEue )as #rinted at 1ordeauD in $383, but )hat administrative re ords and ontra ts there )ere in the !abourd )ere <e#t in Gas on or in (ren h0 5n their native land the Guerres )ould have done their business orally in 1asEue, +#anish, or Gas on0 5n the area bet)een the Garonne and the *riege, they often did it before notaries0 The latter )ere s attered about in many small burgs, and even before the royal "di t of Cillers/Cotterets of $3'% reEuired it, they dre) u# ontra ts in (ren h )ith o asional )ords and s#ellings in = itan0 The Guerres develo#ed enough )riting s<ills to <ee# sim#le a ounts, though, li<e most inhabitants of *rtigat, they never signed their ontra ts )ith their names and they #robably ould not read0 5ndeed, there )as no s hoolmaster at *rtigat to tea h them to do so 0

7hile they )ere sin<ing their roots into the village, their family gre)0 +anDi9s )ife gave birth to more hildren, and four daughters survived the #erils of infan y0 Pierre Guerre too< a )ife of his o)n, and follo)ing the 1asEue ustom in )hi h married brothers ordinarily did not live together, he seems to have moved into a se#arate house not far from +anDi9s0 +ome division of #ro#erties )as #resumably made bet)een the brothers as )ell0 *nd then, in $3'&, the Guerres )ere #resent at a ontra t that mar<ed ho) far they had ome in their eleven years in *rtigat2 the marriage of l+anDi9s only son Martin to 1ertrande de Rols, daughter of the )ell/ off Rols family on the other side of the !eHe 0 That 1ertrande9s father thought this an a e#table mat h bears further )itness to the relative o#enness of the village to ne) omers during these years0 *nother family, the Groses, had moved from !e Mas/d9*Hil and )ere ma<ing good, asso iating )ith the 1anEuels and being hosen as onsuls0 Many marriages )ere ontra ted )ithin the @urisdi tion of *rtigat, sometimes bet)een s#ouses from ea h #arish as )ith the Rols and the Guerres, but inevitably some brides or grooms ame from farther a)ay0 Beanne de 1anEuels married Phili##e Du (au from +aint/Gbars, )hile *rnaud de 1ordenave brought in his young )ife and her mother from a village in the dio ese of Couserans 0 Though the 1asEue ountry )as more distant yet, immigrants from that region )ere not un<no)n in the dio ese of RieuD2 over on the Garonne in Palaminy, for eDam#le, lived 1ernard Guerra and his )ife Marie Dabadia, both good 1asEue names0 Perha#s the Guarys of *rtigat also ame initially from the !abourd 0 The s#ouses in the Rols/Guerre ontra t )ere unusually young0 The )or< of histori al demogra#hers )ould have us eD#e t them to be at least in their late teens, but Martin )as only in his fourteenth year? and if 1ertrande )as as young as she later said, her
1ertrande said in her om#laint to the @udge of RieuD that Abeing a young girl, nine to ten years old, she )as married to Martin Guerre, also very young at the time and near to the same age as the su##liantA :Bean de Coras, *rrest Memorable du Parlement de Tholose 000 JParis, $3.,K, #0i;0 1ut Martin Guerre )as su##osed to be thirty/five at the time of the trial in $34- :Coras, #0 .4;, and the testimony about the number of years he lived )ith 1ertrande, and the li<e, ma<es him lose to fourteen at the time of the )edding0 1ertrande had #robably rea hed the stage of

marriage )as illi it by anon la)0 The Rols and the Guerres )ere very eager for an allian e, ho)ever, and the urate of *rtigat, Messire Ba Eues 1oeri, )as from a lo al family and evidently #ut u# no obstru tion0 *s !e +ueur )as to omment, Athus the ho#e for some #osterity settles in the minds not only of <ings but of ountry fol<, and they ta<e are to marry their hildren in tender years0A *long )ith future #rogeny, goods and eD hange of servi e )ere surely onsiderations0 The Guerre tile)or<s may have been im#ortant to the Rols, and 1ertrande9s brother im#ortant to the Guerres, )ith all their daughters0 The marriage ontra t of 1ertrande and Martin has not survived, but )e an assume its ontent from numerous others that have0 Marriage in the area bet)een the Garonne and *riege )as not usually a time for large transfers of land from one #easant family to/ another? the bul< of the #ro#erty )as <e#t, as )e have seen, to be divided among the sons in inter vivos gifts and testaments0 +till, daughters )ere given money for their do)ry eEuivalent to the sale #ri e of, say, a vineyard or a field0 5n modest households the #ayment )as s#read over several years0 *ffluent families #aid it to the ne) ou#le all at on e, and in a fe) ases they added a bit of land0 The do)ry of young 1ertrande de Rols )as #robably of the latter <ind2 a ash #ayment of from 3- to $3- livres6a small gift for a ity bride but generous by ountry standards6and a vineyard )est of the !eHe alled Del/bourat0 :5t )as neDt to other Rols lands and is found among the Guerre holdings later in the siDteenth entury0; 1eyond this there )ere the household goods and lothes that ame )ith every bride in the region2 a bed )ith feather #illo)s, sheets of linen and )ool, a bed over, a offer )ith lo < and <ey, and t)o or three dresses of different hues 0 The hildren )ere married in the hur h of *rtigat, )here 1ertrande9s grandfather *ndreu and other an estors lay buried0 Then a )edding #ro ession )ent ba < to the house of +anDi Guerre, )here in 1asEue fashion the young lord of the household )ould eD#e t to live )ith the old0 *fter an evening of banEueting, the ou#le )as es orted to 1ertrande9s marriage bed 0
#uberty too 0

5nto their room at midnight burst the young village revelers, led by Catherine 1oeri, a relative of the urate of *rtigat0 +he )as arrying their AresveilA Heavily seasoned )ith herbs and s#i es, the drin< )ould ensure the ne)ly)eds ardent mating and a fertile marriage 0

,0 The Dis ontented Peasant

N=TH5NG H*PP"N"D in 1ertrande9s marriage bed, it seemed, neither that night nor for more than eight years after)ard 0 Martin Guerre )as im#otent? the ou#le had been A ast under a s#ell0A That may not have been the first of Martin9s misfortunes 0 Perha#s it )as not so easy for the boy from the !abourd to gro) u# in *rtigat0 There )ere languages to sort out2 his #arents9 1asEue and their a ented langue d9o and the language s#o<en by the #eo#le he sa) at the tile)or<s, at harvest, and at mass 0 +ometimes he must have been allo)ed to #lay )ith the village youngsters6their elders om#lained about the hildren stealing gra#es off the vines6and surely he )as teased be ause of his name, Martin0 5t )as ommon enough in Hendaye, but strange in those years among the Behans, *rnauds, Bameses, *ndreus, Guilhaumes, *ntoines, Peys, and 1ernards of *rtigat0 That it )as the name of a nearby #arish made no differen e0 Martin )as )hat the #easants alled an animal, an ass, and in lo al tradition the bear that the she#herds sa) u# in the mountains 0 5n the Guerre family, the young lord of the household had to o#e not @ust )ith one but )ith t)o #o)erful male #ersonalities, both )ith fiery tem#ers0 1ehind him there N )ere nothing but girls, his sister Beanne and three others, and his ousins, the daughters of Pierre Guerre6nothing but #isseuses 0 Then, )hen his #enis had barely begun to gro) behind his od#ie e, another girl ame into his life, 1ertrande de Rols 0 5t may never have rossed +anDi Guerre9s mind that his son )ould have trouble onsummating the marriage0 The union of so young a lad might be thought )rong in the village be ause he )ould la < the e onomi means and the @udgment to have a family of his o)n and be ause the )atery and tender AhumorsA of his adoles ent body might #rodu e )ea< semen :so #eo#le believed in the siDteenth entury;0 1ut on e a boy had his #ubi hair, the #ri <s of the flesh )ere thought to start naturally? if anything, they )ere too strong 0

(or a )hile Martin and his family might have ho#ed the im#oten e )ould #ass0 5n the 1asEue ountry there )as a ustom that allo)ed young men Athe freedom to try out their )omen 0 0 0 before marrying themA? maybe this ould be loo<ed at as a #eriod of seDual trial0 1ut Martin )as gro)ing u# to be a tall, slender youth, very agile in the )ay 1asEue men )ere su##osed to be and good at village s)ord#lay and a robati s0 1ertrande )as gro)ing into a beautiful young )oman :AbelleA )ould be the first )ord Coras later used to des ribe her;0 +till nothing ha##ened 0 1ertrande9s family )as #ressing her to se#arate from Martin? sin e the marriage )as un onsummated, it ould be dissolved after three years and she )ould be free by anon la) to marry again 0 5t )as humiliating, and the village surely let them <no) about it0 * married ou#le )ho had not had a #regnan y after a ertain #eriod of time )as a #erfe t target for a harivari, a aribari or alivari, as < )as alled in the area around Pamiers0 The young men )ho fen ed and boDed )ith Mar/ tin must have dar<ened their fa es, #ut on )omen9s lothes, and assembled in front of the Guerre house, beating on )ine vats, ringing bells, and rattling s)ords0 5t )as indeed humiliating 0 Martin )as be)it hed0 1ertrande said later that the t)o of them )ere AtiedA by Athe harms of a sor eressA so that they ould not #erform the marriage a t6a sor eress @ealous of the Guerres and their fine allian e )ith the Rols or the agent of a @ealous man or )oman0 :Today a husband9s im#oten e is often blamed on the dominan e or ar#ing of his )ife0 5n the siDteenth entury, it )as usually blamed on the #o)er of a )oman outside the marriage0; Given the tradition of #o#ular uring both in the !abourd and in the ounty of (oiD, the ou#le must have onsulted a lo al )ise )oman more than on e0 (inally, after some eight years, an old )oman Aa##eared suddenly as if from heavenA and told them ho) to lift the s#ell0 They had four masses said by #riests and )ere given sa red hosts and s#e ial a<es to eat0 Martin onsummated his marriage? 1ertrande on eived immediately, and a son )as born and ba#tiHed )ith his grandfather9s 1asEue name +anDi 0

1ut things )ere still not )ell )ith the ne) father0 5f )e an @udge Martin Guerre9s state of mind from ho) he hose to s#end the neDt t)elve years of his life, there )as very little he li<ed about *rtigat beyond his s)ord#lay and a robati s )ith the other young men0 His #re arious seDuality after years of im#otEn e, his household of sisters )ho )ould soon be marrying, his #osition as heir, no) unders ored by the arrival of his son +anDi, he )anted none of it0 *t best the relationshi# bet)een the old landlord and the young landlord )as deli ate in a 1asEue household? one an imagine )hat it )as li<e bet)een the insistent father +anDi and the relu tant son Martin 0 Mu h of the time historians of #o#ulation movement thin< of #easant migration as due only to e onomi onsiderations? the ase of the Guerres sho)s this is not the )hole story0 Martin dreamed of life beyond the onfines of fields of millet, of tile)or<s, #ro#erties, and marriages0 He had traveled some2 he had been east to Pamiers for his onfirmation and undoubtedly on other tri#s, and he had been )est to Mane on the +alat River, )here he had made friends )ith the lo al hotel<ee#er0 1ut everything led ba < to *rtigat0 Cillage so iety in fa t did have institutions that allo)ed a young man a breathing s#a e, a res#e table if tem#orary release from the onstraints of family life0 5n the 1asEue ountry, it )as the sea and )haling tri#s? surely Martin had heard about this from his un le and his #arents0 Throughout the Pyrenees and the #lain belo) them, it )as the movement of she#herds )ith their flo <s, as !e Roy !adurie has sho)n so beautifully for Pierre Maury of Montaillou 0 The first )as not a #ra ti al o#tion for a resident of the inland ounty of (oiD? the se ond )as no longer a so ial o#tion for the best families in *rtigat0 The men )ho too< shee# Ato the mountainA )ere not held do)n by the ro#s, trading, and other business of the !eHe valley 0 Could one find other )ays to leaveF There )as a s hool at !e (ossat? young DominiEue 1oeri had studied there and )ould go off to university and be ome a ba helor of la)s0 There )ere the bands and legions of (ranEois 5, being raised in !anguedo as else)here0

1a < in the !abourd there )ere Daguerres )ho had served in the <ing9s army0 "ven a dignified notary in !e Masd9*Hil dreamed about it and dre) #i tures of soldiers in his registers0 *nd there )as +#ain, luring men every year from the dio ese of RieuD0 Pey del RieuD from +aint/Gbars, Ahaving made u# his mind to go to +#ain and earn his living,A ma<es his )ill before he de#arts so his sister an have his #ro#erty if he should die0 (ran ois 1one/ ase from !anouD ta<es his )ife )ith him to 1ar elona, but there are also marriage ontra ts in )hi h the groom s#e ifies ho) the bride )ill be fed and lodged by his #arents if he should de ide to go to +#ain after the )edding0 None of these )ere ourses to )hi h +anDi Guerre )ould have given assent for his son Martin0 1ut then in $38&, )hen the infant +anDi )as several months old and Martin in his t)enty/fourth year, something ha##ened to ma<e the onsent of the old landlord irrelevant0 Martin AstoleA a small Euantity of grain from his father 0 +in e they )ere both living in the same household, this theft #robably refle ted a struggle for #o)er bet)een the t)o heirs0 1ut in any ase theft )as un#ardonable by the 1asEue ode, es#e ially if done )ithin the family0 AThe 1asEues are faithful,A Budge Pierre de !an re )as to )rite? Athey believe that theft is the )or< of a debased soul, of a lo) and ab@e t heart? it bears )itness to the demeaning neediness of a #erson0A Martin Guerre had no) #la ed himself in an im#osssible situation0 A(or fear of the severity of his father,A he left6he left his #atrimony, his #arents, his son, and his )ife6and not one )ord )as heard from him for many years0 5t )ould be interesting to <no) )hether Martin Guerre retra ed his father9s @ourney of t)o de ades earlier and visited the !abourd0 His status as heir )as no) in doubt, and he may not have )anted to see Bohanto Daguerre and his other ousins lest they get )ord to his family of his )hereabouts0 1ut he )ould at least have vie)ed his birth#la e and the )aves off its shores0 7hat is ertain is that he rossed the Pyrenees into +#ain, learned to s#ea< Castilian, and ended u# in 1urgos as a la <ey in the household of (ran is o de , MendoHa, a ardinal of the Roman Catholi Chur h 0

5n $33-, 1urgos )as a flourishing ity of some $%,---, still the ommer ial a#ital of Castille, enter for the distribution of )ool, and host to #ilgrims going to +aint Bames of Com#ostela0 Named bisho# of its magnifi ent athedral that year )as (ran is o de MendoHa y 1obadilla, former bisho# of Coria, s holar and humanist, friend during their lifetimes of "rasmus and Cives, a ardinal sin e $388, and #art of the im#erial #arty at the first session of the Coun il of Trent0 5nvolved )ith high #oliti s for the hur h and for Charles C, Don (ran is o remained in 5taly for several years0 To #resent his letters of nomination to the athedral ha#ter in *ugust $33-, he sent his brother Pedro de MendoHa, a omendador of the +#anish military order of +antiago and a#tain in the +#anish army0 Presumably Pedro sa) to it as )ell that the household in the bisho#9s #ala e )as running smoothly and ould do business for the #relate during his absen e 0 5t )as at this #ala e that the young #easant from *rtigat must have be ome a la <ey0 He )as no) at the bottom of a )orld of im#ortant men, of aristo rati anons from the athedral, great mer hants from the *yuntamiento of 1urgos, ne)ly arrived Besuits, and others )ho ame and )ent in the bisho#9s household 0 He )at hed the elaborate ritual of the athedral, a far ry from the #arish mass at 1a@ou and *rtigat0 He moved about the ro)ded ity )ith a s)ord and in the livery of one of the greatest houses of +#ain0 Did he ever have any regrets for the village he left behind or tell his onfessor about his #astF Then Martin #assed into the servi e of (ran is o9s brother Pedro, )ho had #erha#s noti ed his #hysi al #ro)ess, and as one of Pedro9s entourage )ent into the +#anish army0 *t some #oint he )as ta<en to (landers and be ame #art of the for e that Phili# 55 )ould use against the (ren h at +aint/
The #hrase from Coras is2 Athis Martin Guerre, )ho )ent as a youth to +#ain, )here the Cardinal of 1urgos and after)ards his brother made use of him as a la <eyA :#0 $'.;0 (ran is o de MendoHa did not reside in his bisho#ri until +e#tember $33., and Martin had left 1urgos at that time0 5 have assumed that he )as a la <ey at the bisho#9s #ala e in 1urgos before (ran is o9s arrival0 5t is on eivable that someho) he be ame a servant in the ardinal9s household in Rome and +iena6)hi h )ould have introdu ed Martin Guerre to even more novelties6but there is no mention of an 5talian stay by either Coras or !e +ueur0 The 1asEues )ere #riHed as la <eys in the siDteenth entury be ause of their ala rity0 Gargantua has a 1asEue la <ey? Montaigne s#ea<s of their love of movement :Rabelais, Gargantua, h0 ,&? Montaigne, "ssais, 555, h0 $'; 0

Iuentin0 5t may never have o urred to him that he ould be guilty of high treason0 1ut then it may not have o urred to him that he )ould ever )ant to go ba < to (ran e 0 7herever he )as serving6either along )ith his master Pedro in the light avalry or in the infantry6Martin survived the first days of the +#anish bombardment of the Pi/ ard to)n )ithout in@ury 0 Then ame *ugust $-, +aint !a)ren e9s day, $33., and the armies of Phili# 55 routed the (ren h troo#s )ho had ome to relieve the besieged ity, <illing many men and ta<ing #risoners, from the onstable of (ran e on do)n0 A7e olle ted mu h booty, )ea#ons, horses, golden hains, silver and other things,A a +#anish offi er ro)ed in his @ournal0 Pedro de MendoHa too< t)o #risoners, for )hom he re eived '-- e us in ransom0 *s for Martin Guerre, a (ren h arEuebus had hit him in the leg0 5t had to be am#utated, and the days of Martin Guerre9s agility )ere over 0

'0 The Honor of 1ertrande de Rols

7H"N M*RT5N GU"RR" left on his adventures, his )ife )as no more than t)enty/t)o years old0 The Abeautiful young )omanA may also have loo<ed at her #ast )ith some regrets 0 *s best )e an see, 1ertrande had s#ent her hildhood )ith at least one brother and lose to her mother9s side, learning to s#in and do other )oman9s )or<0 Girls in *rtigat and nearby villages )ere sometimes sent out to servi e in another household6)e find a mer hant9s )ife in !e (os/sat leaving dresses to her servant, for eDam#le6but in families li<e 1ertrande9s they more often hel#ed at home until they married 0 *nd then before 1ertrande had time to dan e to the violins )ith a village lad at the *ssum#tion Day feast in *rtigat or go through some other ourtshi# ritual, she )as )ed to Martin Guerre0 That she had started her Aflo)ers,A as the female menstrual flo) )as alled, is #robable, else the families )ould not have allo)ed the fertility drin< the night of the )edding, intended to fa ilitate her #regnan y0 1ut young as she )as and in a strange house, she had the same seDual malaise as did Martin? she too )as Abe)it hed,A as she said to the ourt of RieuD years later0 No) )it hes ordi/ 7 narily dealt only )ith the male organ )hen trying to #revent inter ourse bet)een husband and )ife0 1ut it ould ha##en to a )oman2 as eD#lained by the inEuisitors in the Malleus Malefi arum, Athe devil an so dar<en the )ife9s understanding that she onsiders her husband so loathsome that not for all the )orld )ould she allo) him to lie )ith her0A 1ertrande might not have #ut it in these )ords, but it seems lear that for a )hile she )as relieved that they ould not have inter ourse0 Get, )hen urged by her relatives to se#arate from Martin, she firmly refused0 Here )e
5ndeed, )hile re#orting 1ertrande9s )ords, Coras9s annotation assumed that it )as Martin )ho )as under a s#ell and des ribed only the forms of en hanting the male 0 (emale Aim#oten eA )as due, he said, to natural auses, su h as the )oman9s being Aso narro) and losed in her se ret #arts that she ould not endure arnal inter ourse )ith a manA :##08-/ 88;0 1ut this )as not the ase )ith 1ertrande0 The anonists also #aid little attention to the o ult auses of female im#oten e0 Pierre Darmon, !e Tribunal de 59im#uissan e :Paris, $%.%;, ##0 8&/3, 0

ome to ertain hara ter traits of 1ertrande de Rols, )hi h she )as already dis#laying in her siDteenth year2 a on ern for her re#utation as a )oman, a stubborn inde#enden e, and a shre)d realism about ho) she ould maneuver )ithin the onstraints #la ed u#on one of her seD0 Her refusal to have her marriage dissolved, )hi h might )ell have been follo)ed by another marriage at her #arents9 behest, freed her tem#orarily from ertain )ifely duties0 5t gave her a han e to have a girlhood )ith Martin9s younger sisters, )ith )hom she got on )ell0 *nd she ould get redit for her virtue0 *s Coras )as to say of her refusal to se#arate from Martin, Athat a t, li<e a tou hstone, offered great #roof of the honnestete of the said de Rols0A +ome of the *rtigat good)ives may have )ell uttered the same sentiments0 Then )hen 1ertrande )as ready for it, the old )oman Aa##eared suddenly as if from heavenA and hel#ed to lift the s#ell 0 +he finally gave birth to a hild, an event that meant for her :as it did for village )omen )hose marriages began more smoothly; the first real ste# into adulthood0 1ertrande had learned of that adult )omen9s )orld from her o)n mother, from her 1asEue mother/in/ la), and her godmothers0 7hat did it hold in store for herF (irst, a )orld )here organiHational stru ture and #ubli identity )ere asso iated eD lusively )ith males0 The #arti le Ade,A so often found in )omen9s names in and around *rtigat, did not ome from the #easants trying to a#e the nobility, but )as a )ay of sho)ing the lassifi ation system of village so iety0 1ertrande )as Ade Rols,A her father )as Rols? Beanne )as Ade 1anEuels,A her father )as 1anEuels? *rnaude )as Ade Tor,A her father )as Tor0 The heirs along the !eHe River )ere al)ays the male hildren, as )e have seen, unless the family )as unfortunate enough to have only girls0 The village onsuls summoned male villagers to their deliberations, onvo<ing )ives and )ido)s only )hen there )as an order to be given 0 5n the everyday life of the fields and the households, ho)ever, the )omen )ere al)ays im#ortant0 They #erformed the hara teristi ally female tas<s of hoeing, trimming the vines, and utting the gra#es0 Bointly )ith their husbands, they rented and

)or<ed the land, sheared shee#, and too< o)s and alves in ontra ts of gasailhe0 * ertain Maragille Cortalle, )ido) from +aint/Gbars, even a Euired eighteen lambs by herself en gasailhe, #romising to maintain them Aas a good father of the familyA for four years0 They s#un thread for the )eavers of !e (ossat and made loaves of bread to sell to other villagers0 7omen li<e Marguerite alias !a 1rugarsse of !e Carla lent out small sums of money, )hile the )ives and )ido)s of rural mer hants, su h as 1ertrande de Gouthelas and +uHanne de Robert of !e (ossat, made substantial sales in grain, millet, and )ine0 They )ere, of ourse, mid)ives, and )ith fe) surgeons resident in the area they did mu h of the uring0 The )omen )ere most de#endent on the good )ill of their husbands and sons )hen they )ere left as )ido)s0 5n #rin i#le, the ustoms of the !anguedo guaranteed the )ido) the return of everything she had brought to the marriage as her do)ry #lus an Ain reaseA of one third of the value of that do)ry0 5n fa t, in *rtigat and surrounding burgs and villages, the marriage ontra ts do not say this0 They s#ell out the )ife9s rights to the husband9s estate only in the s#e ial ase )here her #arents or )ido)ed mother #lan to live @ointly )ith the ou#le0 Most de isions are made in the husband9s )ill0 *t best he #rovides that his )ife an have the usufru t of all his goods so long as she lives Ain )ido)hoodA :some )ills add Aand in virtueA;0 5f he really trusts her or )ants to re)ard her Afor her agreeable servi es,A he s#e ifies that she an en@oy his goods A)ithout having to turn over a ounts to anyone in the )orld0A 5f she an not get along )ith his heirs, then he ma<es detailed #rovision for her2 seven Euarters of grain and one barrel of good )ine ea h year, a dress and a #air of shoes and sto <ings every t)o years, )ood for her heating, and the li<e0 5f she remarries, then he gives her a lum# sum, )hi h may be eEuivalent to her do)ry or to her do)ry and the in rease 0 The realities of this #easant )orld en ouraged not only the s<ills of a good farm )ife, but the )oman9s ability to get her )ay )ith the men and to al ulate her advantages, say, in remaining a )ido)0 * )ife of *rtigat ould never ho#e to have the #osition of the noble Rose d9"s#aigne, !ady of Durfort, an heiress )ho )as buying u#

lands and harassing her share ro##ers @ust to the east of the village0 1ut she ould ho#e to en@oy the res#e t of other village )omen and informal #o)er as a )ido), being addressed by the )orthy title of Na, able to besto) a vineyard on a ne)ly married son and hosen on all her god hildren0 *nd the )omen seem to have gone along )ith the system, #assing it on through the dee# tie and hidden om#li ity of mother and daughter0 *s )ives, they sele ted their husbands as their universal heirs? as )ido)s, they usually #referred their sons as heirs over their daughters0 They )ere dee#ly offended and sought redress )hen insulted as a Abagasse,A a #rostitute0 5ndeed, one good)ife of !e (ossat sued a neighbor )oman, not only for hitting her in a Euarrel over #oultry but also for alling her a Ahen0A These )ere the values that 1ertrande de Rols gre) u# )ith0 5n all her later adventures, 1ertrande never sho)ed herself as )anting to be outside this village so iety, to be re@e ted by it or to leave it0 1ut she did see< to ma<e her o)n )ay0 5t may have hel#ed to have had the eDam#le lose at hand of her mother/inla), one of those self/assured 1asEue females0 The )omen of the !abourd, often heirs and mistresses in their o)n right, )ere <no)n for their AeffronteryA and )ould later be notorious as )it hes0 Bust as 1ertrande, no) mother to a son, )as establishing herself on a ne) footing )ith her mother/in/la), Martin Guerre disa##eared )ithout a tra e0 This )as a atastro#he0 "ven for #easants )ho en@oyed a good gossi#, the uneD#e ted disa##earan e of an im#ortant villager )as troubling, leaving an anomalous ga# among the young married ou#les0 (or the Guerres from the 1asEue ountry, here )as yet another s andal to live do)n 0 Martin9s #arents died )ithout ne)s of their son0 The elder +anDi finally forgave him, leaving a testament naming Martin as heir both to the #ro#erty in Hendaye and the lands in *rtigat0 The lo al notaries <ne) )hat to do )hen the universal heir )as absent2 Aif he is dead or does not return,A the formulas )ent, others are substituted in his #la e0 (or the time being, Pierre Guerre )ould be the administrator of the onsiderable #ro#erties of his late brother and the guardian of Martin9s unmarried sis/ters 0

*t some #oint in those years6most li<ely in the early $33-9s in the )a<e of the elder +anDi9s death6Pierre Guerre made an effort to salvage the relationshi# bet)een the Guerres and the Rols and to hel# Martin9s abandoned )ife0 No) a )ido)er )ith daughters of his o)n, he married 1er/ trande9s )ido)ed mother0 Their marriage ontra t )ould have been of the elaborate <ind, dra)n u# at the establishment of a @oint household0 1ertrande9s mother )ould have brought )hatever money or goods her husband had left her in the event that she remarried? Pierre )ould have made #romises to su##ort 1ertrande and her son +anDi? and they )ould have de ided ho) to share any ne)ly a Euired goods0 The neighboring house in )hi h the old landlord and the young landlord had lived )as #resumably leased for short terms6no one )ould have trusted the young 1ertrande to maintain it under the ir umstan es 6and Pierre Guerre too< over the headshi# of a household of mostly females on his o)n land 0 1ertrande9s status )as mu h redu ed by all these events 0 Neither )ife nor )ido), she )as under the same roof )ith her mother again0 Neither )ife nor )ido), she had to fa e the other village )omen at the mill, the )ell, the tile)or<s, and at the harvest0 *nd there )as no easy remedy for her in the la)0 +in e the laDer days of Po#e *leDander 555 in the t)elfth entury, the do tors had insisted that a )ife )as not free to remarry in the absen e of her husband, no matter ho) many years had ela#sed, unless she had ertain #roof of his death0 =f the alternate traditions in the ivil la), it )as the harsher one of Bustinian that had #revailed0 The Parle/ment of Toulouse ited it in @udging a marriage ase in $33.2 ADuring the absen e of the husband, the )ife annot remarry unless she has #roof of his death 0 0 0 not even )hen he has been absent t)enty years or more 0 0 0 *nd the death must be #roven by )itnesses, )ho give sure de#ositions, or by great and manifest #resum#tions0A =f ourse #easants might try to get around the la)6it )ould hardly be the first time6and fabri ate
Coras does not give the date of the marriage of Pierre Guerre and 1ertrande9s mother :##0 4./4&;, but this seems the most #robable time0 Pierre9s daughters are never referred to as sisters or half/sisters of 1ertrande, and he must have had them by a first marriage0 7hatever e onomi arrangements her husband had made for her in his )ill, 1ertrande9s mother )ould have been indu ed by her daughter9s #redi ament to remarry 0

ne)s of a dro)ning or a bullet, or sim#ly ignore the la) if there )ere a oo#erative #riest in the village0 1ut 1ertrande hose not to do so0 Her #ra ti al interest <e#t her lose to her son and )hat )ould some day be his inheritan e0 There )as also her stiff/ne <ed sense of herself and her re#utation0 7hatever glan es or invitations ame her )ay, the beautiful young )oman lived :so everyone )ould later attest; Avirtuously and honorably0A Mean)hile she )or<ed, she raised her son +anDi, and she )aited 0 +he may have been hel#ed through her solitude by her four sisters/inla) and by the )ise )oman )ho had ounseled her during her be)it hment0 The re tors )ho had su eeded Messire Ba Eues 1oeri in the hur h of *rti/gat )ere neither of them from lo al families and may not have al)ays resided in the #arish? 1ertrande may have elaborated on her troubles only to +aint Catherine, )hose ha#el )as in the emetery0 1ut she surely refle ted on her life, dividing it into thirds as she did later )hen #resenting herself to the @udge of RieuD2 the nine or ten years of her hildhood, the nine or ten years of her marriage, the years of her )aiting, )hi h lengthened into eight or more0 1eyond a young )omanhood )ith only a brief #eriod of seDuality, beyond a marriage in )hi h her husband understood her little, may have feared her, and surely abandoned her, 1ertrande dreamed of a husband and lover )ho )ould ome ba <, and be different0 Then in the summer of $334, a man #resented himself to her as the long/ lost Martin Guerre 0 Previously he had been <no)n as *rnaud du Tilh, alias L Pansette 0

8 The Mas<s of *rnaud du Tilh

DU T5!H 7*+ * ommon#la e name in Gas ony and !anguedo , and often heard in the dio ese of !ombeH, )here *rnaud )as born0 His father *rnaud Guilhem du Tilh had his roots there in the village of +a@as? his mother, a 1arrau, ame from nearby !e Pin0 These #la es )ere to the north)est of the dio ese of RieuD and )ell beyond the Garonne? it )ould ta<e a good day9s ride to get from +a@as to *rtigat 0 Contem#oraries alled *rnaud9s ountry the Comminges 0 ARi h in grains,A his om#atriot (ran ois de 1elleforest )rote about it, Ari h in )ines, fruits, hay, )alnut oil, millet, and other things ne essary for life0 The Comminges abounds in men, as brave fighters as ould be 0 0 0 and there are innumerable large burgs, ri h villages, and an ient astles, )ith more nobles than in any other #art of (ran e0A *rnaud du Tilh )ould #robably have des ribed his ountry in less glo)ing terms0 +a@as had its seignior, Bean de CiHe and then his son +everie? the #o)erful old house of Com/minges/ Peguilhan #ossessed the seigniory of !e Pin0 This ould mean not only the usual #ayments but also interferen e in village life, as in Mane )here the seignior tried to limit the inhabitants9 rights to have a tavern and a but her/ D sho#0 The Aabundan e of #eo#leA ould mean not only eDtra arms for farm )or< but also #ressure on the su##ly of land? the notaries in the dio ese of !ombeH often found themselves dra)ing u# ontra ts for share ro##ing0 5t )as an a tive e onomi region, ho)ever, aught u# in the orbit of Toulouse0 Peasants from +a@as and !e Pin )ent to Rieumes and farther a)ay to !Tsle/en/Dodon, !ombeH, Gimont, and Toulouse to buy or sell grain, )ine, loth, and )ood? to ta<e on shee#, goats, and oDen en gasailhe? and to deliver flee e and s<ins0 +a@as itself )as one of the smaller villages in the vi inity of Rieumes0 =n its hills and slo#es lived some thirty to forty families, most of them in farming and herding, several involved in )eaving linen loth and in a fe) other rural rafts0 !e Pin )as larger, more the siHe of *rtigat and )ith a )ider range of artisans,

though the first resident notary #robably a##eared only in the seventeenth entury 0 The du Tilhs and the 1arraus )ere Euite ordinary families in this rural so iety0 5n $33$, )hen a dio esan visitation ame round, they are not listed among the onsuls and bas/siniers of their villages6 not among the Dabeyats, Daubans, de +oles, and +aint *ndrieus )ho deliberated on lo al matters and too< harge of the #arish vestry0 5nstead they stood among the middle ran<s of the #easants, )ith enough fields and vineyards so that )hen *rnaud Guilhem died and divided his #ro#erty eEually among his sons :the #ra ti e in +a@as and !e Pin as it )as in *rtigat;, there )ould be a little land for *rnaud 0 The one thing note)orthy about the du Tilhs )as their son *rnaud0 His youth )as the o##osite of Martin Guerre9s0 He gre) u# in a family of boys, )ith )hom he got on )ell0 He )as rather short and sto <y, and not es#e ially ade#t at the village s#orts 0 1ut he )as )onderfully fluent of tongue and had a memory an a tor )ould envy0 He )as the <ind of lad )hom the vi ars of +a@as, almost the only #eo#le in the village )ho ould sign their names, )ould have identified as a #otential #riest and sent off to s hool0 5f they tried, they must have been sorely disa##ointed0 *rnaud du Tilh be ame <no)n as Adissolute,A a youth of Abad life,A Aabsorbed in every vi e0A This meant drin<ing and seDual adventures, #erha#s at the taverns of Rieumes, #erha#s )ith the #rostitutes at Toulouse0 He be ame <no)n as Pansette, Athe belly,A a man )ith big a##etites, and he must have loved the arnivals, the ostuming, the dan ing, and all the games of the festive Ayouth abbeysA :youth grou#s;, )hi h )ere so mar<ed a #art of village life in Gas ony0 He )as Eui <tem#ered and heard to s)ear often on the head, body, blood, and )ounds of Christ, not as offensive #erha#s as insulting the Cirgin Mary but nonetheless asso iated )ith riotous #eo#le, )ho #layed ards and gambled0 +o lever )as Pansette that he began to be sus#e ted of magi , almost a om#liment )hen one realiHes that it )as said not about an old rone but about a gregarious youth in his early t)enties0 5n his )ay, *rnaud du Tilh )as as mu h at odds )ith family and #easant

#ro#erty as )as Martin Guerre in *rtigat0 Though his doings too< him do)n to Pouy/de/Touges and as far a)ay as Toulouse, he restlessly dreamed of something beyond the seigniory of +a@as, beyond the hills of the Dio ese of !ombeH 0 There )as al)ays the #ossibility of the <ing9s band of foot soldiers, those AadventurersA among )hom the Gas ons loomed so large0 The notaries at Gimont )ere often alled u#on to dra) u# )ills for the soldiers going off to )ar from the region0 *fter a series of #etty thefts, Pansette left to serve Henri 55 on the battlefields of Pi ardy0 Did the t)o runa)ays ever meet before *rnaud du Tilh de ided to im#ersonate Martin GuerreF 5n her om#laint to the @udge of RieuD, 1ertrande de Rols said that they might have <no)n ea h other as fello) soldiers6Aand the said du Tilh, as is #lausible, ould have a om#anied the said Martin to )ar and, under #reteDt of friendshi#, heard from him numerous #rivate and #arti ular things about himself and his )ifeA6a suggestion that led Coras to )rite an annotation on friendshi# and its betrayal0 =ne line of *rnaud9s testimony at RieuD ould su##ort some #rior onne tion bet)een the t)o, that is, his re#ort of the #la es and #eo#le that Martin Guerre had allegedly visited in (ran e and +#ain during his absen e, all of )hi h )as subseEuently verified by the ourt 0 This information ould have ome from Martin, or from others that <ne) him0 1ut it is hard to see ho) they ould have been intimates in the army, sin e Martin )as fighting for the <ing of +#ain, the enemy of the <ing of (ran e, and *rnaud may have returned from Pi ardy before Martin had even left 1urgos0 +till, the t)o young men may have met in their )anderings around the region or else)here0 *s a Athought eD#eriment,A let us imagine )hat might have ta<en #la e if the heir from *rtigat be ame friends )ith the golden/tongued #easant from +a@as0 They learn that they loo< ali<e, even though Martin is taller, thinner, and a little dar<er than *rnaud0 They hear this from other #eo#le rather than observing it, for siDteenth/ entury villagers do not build u# an image of their fa es by freEuent glan es in a mirror :an ob@e t not found in a #easant household;0 5t is unsettling and fas inating, and sin e there is a sto < of #o#ular sayings about ho) the sha#e of the eye

or the set of the @a) signify ertain hara ter traits, they )onder )hether their resemblan e is more than s<in/dee#0 They eD hange onfiden es0 Martin eD#resses himself )ith ambivalen e about his #atrimony and his )ife, #erha#s seems to im#ly to his loo</ali<e, Ata<e her0A *nd Pansette says to himself, A7hy notFA *t any rate, one of the fe) things *rnaud later onfided to a +a@as a Euaintan e during his *rtigat days )as, AMartin Guerre is dead, he gave me his goods0A$- This is a #ossible s enario, but it is not the one to )hi h *rnaud du Tilh finally onfessed0 He laimed he had never en ountered Martin Guerre before he )ent to *rtigat0 5f true, this ma<es the im#osture all the more interesting :more marvelous, Amirabilis magisA, said the #am#hleteer !e +ueur; and more #sy hologi ally #robable2 it re#resents the differen e bet)een ma<ing another #erson9s life your o)n and merely imitating him 0 *rnaud had ome ba < from the army am# in Pi ardy around $33', #resumably after the battles of Therouanne, Hesdin, and Calen iennes0 Passing through Mane along the +alat River one day, he en ountered t)o friends of Martin, Master DominiEue Pu@ol and the hotel<ee#er Pierre de Guilhet, )ho too< him for the missing man from *rtigat0 *t this #oint the tri <ster in Pansette sna##ed to attention0 He informed himself as unningly as he ould about Martin Guerre, his situation, his family, and the things he used to say and do0 He )or<ed through Pu@ol, Guilhet, and Aother familiar friends and neighborsA of the Guerres, and the first t)o may a tually have be ome his a om#li es0 5n that )orld of busy motion, he ould get information through the gossi# net)or<s )ithout a tually going to *rtigat6and it )as #lentiful, in luding domesti details, su h as the lo ation of the )hite hosen that Martin had left in a ertain trun< before he had de#arted0 He learned the names of many of the villagers and about Martin9s relations )ith them 0 He inEuired about the !abourd and #i <ed u# a fe) )ords of 1asEue0 5t too< many months for *rnaud to #re#are his role, for he arrived in *rtigat only in $3340 :5t is un<no)n )here *rnaud )as living during this #eriod of #re#aration0 He may not have gone ba <

to +a@as and his old Alife of dissolution0A; 7as it so unusual for a man in siDteenth/ entury villages and burgs to hange his name and fashion a ne) identityF +ome of this )ent on all the time0 The Daguerres left Hen/daye, be ame the Guerres, and hanged their )ays0 "very #easant )ho migrated any distan e might be eD#e ted to do the same0 *nd )hether you moved or not, you might a Euire a ni <name, an alias0 5n *rtigat it often had to do )ith your #ro#erty, and in +a@as it had to do )ith you2 one o *rnaud9s fello) villagers )as ni <named Tambourin, the drum, and he of ourse )as Pansette 0 1ut to ta<e on a false identityF *t arnival time and at other feastdays, a young #easant might dress as an animal or as a #erson of another estate or seD and s#ea< through that disguise 0 5n a harivari, one villager might #lay another, might serve as a stand/in for the #erson being humiliated for his or her ina##ro#riate marriage or bad marital ondu t0 1ut these )ere tem#orary mas<s and intended for the ommon good 0 There )as also more self/interested de e#tion2 healthy beggars #retending to be lame or blind and #eo#le ounterfeiting an identity to olle t an inheritan e or other)ise gain some e onomi advantage0 +torytellers re ounted the History of the Three 1rothers2 t)o im#ostors )ho tried to laim the inheritan e of the true son? the #rin e found out )ho the latter )as by ordering the three of them to shoot arro)s at the father9s or#se 0 Real #eo#le tried it too0 5n $33., for instan e, a ertain *urelio Chitra ha, native of Damas us, arrived in !yon, assumed the name of the late Callier Trony, and )ent about olle ting sums due to Trony until the nuns to )hom Trony9s goods had been ad@udged dis overed the hoaD and had him arrested0 The same year, only a fe) streets a)ay, *ntoine (erlaH and Bean (ontanel )ere busily laiming to be Mi hel Mure? ea h hose a different notary and )as issuing 5=U9s and re ei#ts in his name until Mure found out about it 0 No) *rnaud du Tilh surely had something to gain in his move from +a@as to *rtigat, for Martin Guerre9s inheritan e )as larger than his o)n0 1ut it is lear that in his elaborate #re#arations, his

investigations, his memoriHation6even #erha#s his rehearsals6 Pansette )as moving beyond the mas< of the arnival #layer and the strategems of the mere inheritan e see<er to forge a ne) identity and a ne) life for himself in the village on the !eHe0

3 The 5nvented Marriage

TH" N"7 M*RT5N did not go straight to *rtigat0 *s !e +ueur re#orted it, he )ent first to a hostelry at the neDt village, #robably Pailhes0 He told the hotel<ee#er he )as Martin Guerre and )e#t )hen his )ife and family )ere mentioned0 The )ord s#read to his four sisters, )ho rushed to the inn, greeted him )ith delight, and )ent ba < for 1ertrande0 7hen she sa) him, ho)ever, she re oiled in sur#rise0 Not until he had s#o<en to her affe tionately, reminding her of things they had done and tal<ed about, s#e ifi ally mentioning the )hite hosen in the trun<, did she fall u#on his ne < and <iss him? it )as his beard that had made him hard to re ogniHe0 Pierre Guerre loo<ed him over steadily as )ell and did not believe he )as his ne#he) until he reminis ed about their a tivities together0 (inally Pierre embra ed him and than<ed God for his return 0 "ven then the ne) Martin did not leave for *rtigat, but stayed at the hostelry to rest from his tri# and re over from an illness 0 :!e +ueur laims he had the #oD and )as sho)ing a urious fineness of ons ien e in #rote ting 1er/trande9s body from sy#hilis )hen he )as about to defile her soul and her marriage bed0; This gave 1ertrande the han e to ta<e are of him and gradually get used to him0 This gave him the han e to learn more about the #ast of Martin Guerre 0 7hen he )as better, she too< him ba < to his house, )el omed him as her husband, and hel#ed him get rea Euainted )ith the villagers 0 The ne) Martin9s re e#tion in *rtigat had mu h the same hara ter0 He greeted #eo#le by name and, if they seemed not to re ogniHe him, tal<ed to them about the things they had done together ten or fifteen years before0 He eD#lained to everyone that he had been off serving in the army of the <ing of (ran e, had s#ent some months in +#ain, and )as no) eager to be on e again in his village )ith his relatives, his son +anDi, and es#e ially his )ife 1ertrande0 5 thin< )e an a ount for the initial a e#tan e by

family and neighbors )ithout having re ourse to the ne roman y of )hi h *rnaud )as later a used and )hi h he al)ays denied0 (irst of all, he )as )anted in *rtigat6)anted )ith ambivalen e #erha#s, for returning #ersons al)ays dash some ho#es and disturb #o)er relations, but )anted more than not0 The heir and householder Martin Guerre )as ba < in his #la e0 +e ond, he ame announ ed, #redis#osing #eo#le to #er eive him as Martin Guerre0A Then this #er e#tion )as onfirmed by his om#elling )ords and his a urate memories0 5t )as true that he did not loo< eDa tly the same as the Martin Guerre )ho had left0 1ut then the Guerres had no #ainted #ortraits by )hi h to re all his features, and it might be thought natural for a man to fill out as he gre) older and for a #easant to be hanged by years of soldiering0 Thus )hatever doubts #eo#le had, they silen ed or even buried them for a )hile and allo)ed the ne) Martin to gro) into his role 0 7hat of 1ertrande de RolsF Did she <no) that the ne) T Martin )as not the man )ho had abandoned her eight years beforeF Perha#s not at the very first, )hen he arrived )ith all his AsignsA and #roofs0 1ut the obstinate and honorable 1ertrande does not seem a )oman so easily fooled, not even by a harmer li<e Pansette0 1y the time she had re eived him in her bed, she must have realiHed the differen e? as any )ife of *rtigat )ould have agreed, there is no mista<ing Athe tou h of the man on the )oman0A "ither by eD#li it or ta it agreement, she hel#ed him be ome her husband0 7hat 1ertrande had )ith the ne) Martin )as her dream ome true, a man she ould live )ith in #ea e and friendshi# :to ite siDteenth/ entury values; and in #assion 0 5t )as an invented marriage, not arranged li<e her o)n of eighteen years earlier or ontra ted in a ustomary )ay li<e that of her mother and Pierre Guerre0 5t started off )ith a lie but, as 1ertrande des ribed it later, they #assed their time Ali<e true married #eo#le, eating, drin<ing, and slee#ing together0A * ording to !e +ueur, the APseudo/MartinusA lived )ith 1ertrande AEuietly, )ithout strife, and ondu ted himself so )ell in every )ay )ith her that no one ould sus#e t any de eit0A 5n the marriage bed of the beautiful 1ertrande things no) )ent )ell0 7ithin three years, t)o daughters )ere born

to them? one died, but the other, 1er/narde, be ame +anDi9s little sister 0 The eviden e for the relationshi# bet)een the ne) Martin and 1ertrande omes not from this #ea eful #eriod of three years, but from the time )hen the invented marriage )as alled into doubt 0 Get it every)here attests to his having fallen in love )ith the )ife for )hom he had rehearsed and her having be ome dee#ly atta hed to the husband )ho had ta<en her by sur#rise0 7hen he is released from #rison in the midst of later Euarrels, she gives him a )hite shirt, )ashes his feet, and re eives him ba < into her bed0 7hen others try to <ill him, she #uts her body bet)een him and the blo)s0 1efore the ourt he addresses her AgentlyA? he #uts his life in her hands by saying that if she s)ears that he is not her husband he )ill submit Ato a thousand ruel deaths0A 5n ha##ier times, they tal<ed together0 5t )as Ain onversing day and nightA that the ne) Martin added to his store of information about 1ertrande, the Guerres, and *r/tigat0 +u h intimate eD hanges bet)een husband and )ife in the siDteenth entury are thought to be an ideal of Christian humanists and Protestant moralists, realiHed, if at all, in households mu h more elevated than those of *rtigat0 1ut as !e Roy !adurie has suggested for an earlier #eriod, the = itan delight in onversation )as eD#ressed not only at the evening gathering among neighbors, but also in the )ords of #easant lovers0 The ne) Martin ertainly had more to dis uss )ith 1ertrande than the ro#s, the shee#, and the hildren0 *mong other things, so one must surmise, they de ided to ma<e the invented marriage last 0 +u h an a tion may have been easier to @ustify for #eo#le oming out of enturies of #easant eD#erien e in mani#ulating #o#ular rituals and the Catholi la) on marriage0 (rom the late t)elfth entury to $348, )hat made a marriage in anon la) )as the onsent of the #artners and their onsent alone? if they too< ea h other as husband and )ife in )ords of the #resent, even in the absen e of the #riest or any )itness, eD hanged to<ens of onsent, and es#e ially if they then )ent on to have inter ourse, they )ere @oined in an indissoluble union0 The hur h disa##roved

of this A landestineA #ath to marriage,L but there )ere al)ays *s 1eatri e Gottlieb )rites, A asuists and la)yers dis ussed landestine marriage as a sin and a nuisan eA :AThe Meaning of Clandestine Marriage,A in R0 7heaton and T0 >0 Haraven, eds0, (amily and +eDuality in (ren h History some #eo#le, es#e ially in the villages, )ho used it for reasons of their o)n2 they )ere minors and their #arents )ere o##osed to the marriage? they )ere marrying )ithin a #rohibited degree of <inshi# and ould not get a dis#ensation? they )anted to have inter ourse and this )as the only )ay to do it? one of the #artners )as already married to a #erson in another #la e 0 7hat this tradition offered to the ou#le in *rtigat )as no Eui < solution to their #arti ular #redi ament0 The ne) Martin )as dealing after all )ith a landestine identity, and 1ertrande )ould have had diffi ulty in sEuaring #ossible bigamy )ith her sense of honor, not to mention her ons ien e0 1ut it did allo) them the #ossibility of on eiving of marriage as something that )as in their hands to ma<e, indeed, as in their hands alone 0 7hat )as not, by any stret h of the imagination, under their ontrol by Catholi tea hing )as their souls0 Though eventually both of them )ere to eD#ress guilt about their behavior, it is unli<ely that they ever onfessed their sins fully to the #riests of *rtigat or 1a@ou0 (rom all a ounts they )ere onsidered to be a res#e table ou#le during the years of #ea eable marriage? any #riest )ho had heard at "aster onfession that the ne) Martin had on e been Pan/sette )ould have eD ommuni ated them as notorious adulterers unless they se#arated immediately0 This raises the JPhiladel#hia, $%&-K, #03,;0 5t )as a nuisan e be ause of the many ases of brea h of #romise or bigamy )hi h ame u# before the s#iritual ourts, and one ould hardly establish #roof )hen there )ere no )itnesses0 *t the last session of the Coun il of Trent in $348, the Chur h determined that for a marriage to be valid it must hen eforth be #re eded by the reading of banns and #erformed by a #arish #riest0 5t too< a long time for the lergy to #ut a sto# to the older #ra ti e0 5n (ran e the main om#laint )as that landestine marriage allo)ed hildren to ma<e a valid and indissoluble union

)ithout the onsent of their #arents0 5n (ebruary $33., Henri 55 issued an edi t on landestine marriages, )hi h )as to be the sub@e t of a treatise by Bean de Coras 0 )hole Euestion of Protestantism in *rtigat0 5t is #ossible, even #robable, that the ne) Martin and 1ertrande de Rols )ere be oming interested in the ne) religion, in #art be ause they ould dra) from it another @ustifi ation for their lives 0 Protestant #roselytiHers )ere s#reading the )ord in the ounty of (oiD by $3'4, and #eo#le )ere already leaving Pa/miers and !e Mas/d9*Hil for Geneva in $33$0 *fter $33. the movement gre) in strength, and in $34$ !e Mas, en ouraged by the eDam#le of its Protestant ountess Beanne d9*lbret, #ronoun ed itself a Reformed to)n0 !e Carla, even loser to *rtigat, be ame a bastion of the Reformed Chur h0 There )ere stirrings also in the villages and burgs along the !eHe River0 The onservative Catholi Ba Eues de Cillemur, seignior of Pailhes, <e#t a tight hand on his #easants, but in !e (ossat there )as an im#ortant grou# of families Asus#e ted of the ne) religionA in $34'0 5n $34& the hur h of *rtigat )as leansed of its AidolsA and its altar smashed, not merely by Reformed soldiers but also by lo al onverts0 * later dio esan visitation referred to this as a #eriod )hen Athe inhabitants of the said *rtigat )ere Huguenots0A * movement of this am#litude must be #re#ared for0 5t means that a de ade earlier in the traffi that lin<ed *rtigat )ith Pamiers, !e (ossat, +aint/Gbars, !e Carla, and !e Mas/d9*Hil, Protestant ideas )ere flo)ing along )ith the flee e, grain, and )ine0 5t means that *ntoine Caffer, the #astor from Geneva )ho )as #rea hing in the +aint/Cin ent emetery at (oiD in $334, #assed through *rtigat as )ell0 5t means that someone in the village had a Reformed Ne) Testament or a Protestant tra t in (ren h and )as reading it aloud in langue d9o to his neighbors 0 "ven if they )ere still having their infants ba#tiHed at the Catholi fonts, some of the #eo#le listening to the #riest )ere loo<ing for)ard to the day )hen a Protestant #astor )ould ta<e the urate9s #la e 0 Mean)hile the lo al lergy )ere not in the best #osition to fight ba <0 7hen Messire Pierre !aurens du Caylar be ame re tor of

*rtigat around $33', he had to fa e a ourt ase )ith a om#eting andidate, resolved only by the Par/lement of Toulouse0 :The same thing had ha##ened to DominiEue de Claveria in the $38-s and to Ba Eues 1oeri in the $3'-s0; The #arish #riest of 1a@ou )as one of the Drot brothers, from a modest family and unable to arry mu h )eight in the village 0 7hat eviden e is there that our invented ou#le )as tou hed by the ne) tea hingF (irst,the Rols family be ame Protestant2 they besto)ed =ld Testament names li<e *braham on their hildren, and in the seventeenth entury, )hen most *rtigatois )ere good Catholi s, there )ere still Rolses trudging over to !e Carla for Reformed servi es0 *s for the ne) Martin, 5 doubt that he arrived in *rtigat already onvin ed of the Gos#el of the 7ord0 The bisho# of !ombeH, *ntoine =livier, )as thought to be a Protestant sym#athiHer and there )as an im#ortant Protestant movement in *rnaud9s dio ese, but the eD/soldier *rnaud du Tilh had other things on his mind bet)een $33' and $334 and may not have been residing in +a@as0 5nstead 5 thin< he be ame o#en to the ne) ideas in *rtigat, )here the life he )as fashioning for himself )as o#erating li<e a onversion eD#erien e, )i#ing a)ay the blas#hemer, the young man Aof bad life,A if not totally the tri <ster 0 7hatever the ase, it is signifi ant that no #riest of *rtigat or 1a@ou #layed a ma@or role in the subseEuent trials of the ne) Martin at RieuD and Toulouse0 They must have been among the one hundred and eighty )itnesses heard before the ase )as through, but )hat they had to say did not find its )ay into Coras9s summary of all the telling eviden e on either side0 *lso signifi ant is the res#e t that the ne) Martin sho)ed for the t)o @udges delegated to Euestion him, Bean de Coras and (ran ois de (errieres, men )ho )ere already attra ted to Protestantism in $34- and )ho be ame its staun hest su##orters in the Parlement of Toulouse0 He as<ed that they return for his final onfession, )hi h in luded no Catholi formulas or referen es to the saints, but sought only God9s mer y for sinners )ho #la ed their ho#e in Christ on the ross 0 7hat ho#e might the Protestant message have offered to the ne) Martin and 1ertrande during the years they )ere living together as

Atrue married #eo#leAF That they ould tell their story to God alone and need not ommuni ate it to any human intermediary0 That the life they had )illfully fabri ated )as #art of God9s #roviden e0 Perha#s too they heard some e hoes of the ne) marriage la) established in Reformed Geneva after $383 0 There, marriage )as no longer a sa rament? and a )ife abandoned by her husband, A)ithout the )ife having given him any o asion or being in any )ay guilty,A ould after a year of inEuiry obtain from the Consistory a divor e and #ermission to remarry 0 1ut even if they did a##ro#riate and a##ly su h ideas to themselves, they must have realiHed that there )as still no sure )ay ahead0 Ho) to eD#lain to a Reformed Consistory the rebirth of *rnaud du Tilh as Martin GuerreF The ne) Martin had )on over 1ertrande de Rols as his a om#li e, at least for a time, but ould an im#ostor ount on the other #eo#le in *rtigatF

4 Iuarrels
H" N"7 M*RT5N )as not only a husband, but also an heir, a ne#he), and an im#ortant #easant #ro#rietor in *rtigat0 5t )as in these roles that the trouble finally began0 The house that had on e belonged to the elder +anDi Guerre no) be ame the home of the ne) Martin0 His t)o unmarried sisters #robably moved ba < in )ith him, as )ould be eD#e ted in 1asEue ustom0 (rom there, he and 1ertrande too< #art in the village )orld of hos#itality, god/ #arentage, and eD hange, visiting )ith Pierre Guerre and his )ife :1ertrande9s mother, )e remember;, Martin Guerre9s married sisters, 1ertrande9s brother, and other neighbors and friends )ho )ere to testify about his identity later on0 Catherine 1oeri, )ho years before had brought the ineffe tive #otion to 1ertrande9s marriage bed, the !oHes from Pailhes, the Del Pe h family, saddlers from !e Carla, Bames Delhure and his )ife 1ernarde *rHel of Pamiers and *rtigat :1ernarde )as #erha#s the godmother of the baby 1ernarde Guerre; )ere all #art of their ir le of omfortable rural families 0 Nor )as the ste# into farm life hard for the ne) Martin? )heat, millet, vines, and shee# )ere )hat he already <ne) from the dio ese of !ombeH0 There )ere also tile)or<s in the vi inity of +a@as, but sin e bri <s are not listed among the transa tions of the ne) Martin, it seems that Pierre Guerre maintained ontrol over this family enter#rise0 7hat )as im#ressive )as ho) the ne) Martin develo#ed the Guerre holdings in a ommer ial dire tion? he be ame a rural Amer hantA li<e Bean 1anEuels, dealing in grains, )ine, and )ool u# and do)n the !eHe and farther0 5n *rti/gat it )ould be diffi ult to be ome the lessor/manager of a great estate6 the most su essful #ath for a rural a#italist in !anguedo 6for there )ere no noble or abbatial #ro#erties )ithin the @urisdi tion 0 Perha#s he )as able to @oin the men )ho rented the benefi e of *rtigat in $33& and $33% :there is a la una in the a ounts for those years;, but he ertainly be ame involved in buying, selling, and leasing land0 That is to say, he tried to ta<e ommer ial

advantage of the #ro#erties that +anDi Guerre had arefully a Euired in *rtigat and #assed on to his heir Martin0 1ertrande de Rols must have been delighted )ith this turn of events, for the )ife of a rural mer hant often be ame a mer hant herself0 1ut Pierre Guerre began to bal<0 *t first he had been glad to have his ne#he) in the village and had bragged about him to his ronies, su h as Bean !oHe, a onsul of Pailhes0 Then the ne) Martin started to sell #ar els of the #ro#res, a #ra ti e not un ommon in the a tive land mar<et of the !eHe valley, as )e have seen, but not in a ord )ith 1asEue ustom0 7hen he #ro#osed to #ut a ne) lease on some an estral #ro#erty in Hendaye, or even to sell it, Pierre Guerre must have been horrified0 Mean)hile Martin embar<ed on another ourse of a tion that brought the #o)erful Guerre anger to the fore0 He as<ed Pierre to give him the a ounts he had <e#t after the elder +anDi9s death, )hen he had been administrator of his ne#he)9s #ro#erty0 He as<ed him ni ely6Ain fair )ords,A )hi h the gifted Pansette al)ays had on the ti# of his tongue6 but sus#e ted that Pierre )as )ithholding some of the inheritan e, and in any ase he )anted the #rofits Pierre had olle ted from it0 (or a long time they bantered about this goodnaturedly, but finally in late $33& or early $33% the ne) Martin brought a ivil suit against Pierre before the @udge of RieuD0 +u h a tions )ere not unheard of among #easant families0 1y the ustoms of the !abourd, Pierre )ould have been eD#e ted to have an inventory made of his ne#he)9s goods at the start of his administration and to #ut do)n a de#osit as guarantee that he )ould return them in good ondition0 5n the dio ese of RieuD, )ido)s )ith rights to their husband9s goods )ere eD#e ted to turn a ounts over to their hildren )hen they ame of age unless the husband had s#e ifi ally #rovided that they A)ere not to be bothered0A 5ndeed, in *rtigat the ami able handing over ot a guardian9s a ounts and the revenues from the #ro#erty )as done before a notary, @ust so there )ould be no
*ll that Coras re#orts on this suit is that the ne) Martin A)as onstrained to #rose ute JPierre GuerreK before the ourt for the re overy of his goods2 but as for the #rofits and the turning over of a ounts, the un le Pierre Guerre )ould hear nothing of itA :##0 ''/'8;0 This sounds li<e a settlement in )hi h Pierre agreed to turn over the rest of the inheritan e and the ne) Martin agreed to dro# the demand for the a ounts and for )hat )as left of the revenues 0

misunderstanding09 (or Pierre Guerre, ho)ever, the ne) Martin had gone too far 0 5t may be that he felt the ir umstan es of Martin9s absen e did not entitle him to any re)ards0 5t may be that he felt a ne#he) )hom he had Abrought u# from hildhoodA should not reEuire su h ontra tual arrangements and ertainly should not resort to litigation0 5t may be that the old #atriar h resented the hallenge to his authority? he had said no and he meant no0 Perha#s it )as sim#ly )hat the ne) Martin laimed it )as6Aavari e,A the desire to <ee# the goods and revenues for his o)n household, his daughters and sons/inla) 0 *t any rate, the doubts that the nimble Martin had Euieted at his first a##earan e no) ame into the o#en and #roliferated in Pierre9s mind0 7hy had he forgotten so many 1asEue #hrases, some of )hi h must have been bandied about all throughout his hildhoodF 7hy )as he no longer interested in s)ord#lay and a robati sF That sto <y body he had a e#ted as his ne#he)9s adult form no) seemed alien0 7hen he loo<ed arefully at +anDi, the boy did not resemble the man sharing 1ertrande9s bed0 *bove all, Athe 1asEue is faithful0A (or a small theft of grain from his father, Martin Guerre had left his #atrimony in dishonor0 No) an im#ostor )as in the #ro ess of shamelessly stealing it from the heir0 Pierre onvin ed his )ife and sons/in/la) of the terrible truth 0 1ertrande9s mother )as in om#lete a ord )ith her husband, not only as an obedient s#ouse but also as a #ra ti al )oman and a good mother, devoted to the best interests of her daughter0 Hadn9t she begged 1ertrande years before to se#arate from Martin and ma<e a better mat h during his years of im#oten eF No) she must save her daughter from the dishonor of adultery0 Together they #ressed 1ertrande to bring a ase against the man she )as living )ith0 1ertrande stubbornly refused 0 (or the neDt year and more the Guerre family )as divided, and the Euarrel s#read to the )hole village and beyond0 Pierre Guerre )ent about telling everyone that the ne) Martin )as a fa<er )ho had tri <ed him0 He as<ed his friend Bean !oHe to hel# him #ut u# money to have the im#ostor <illed0 !oHe refused, sho <ed that he

)ould harm his ne#he)0 Martin )ent about saying that his un le had made u# this story be ause he had as<ed for the a ounts0 The village shoema<er said that, if he )ere Martin Guerre, )hy had his feet gro)n so mu h smaller over the yearsF Martin9s sisters insisted that the ne) Martin )as their brother :they may have #referred him to their un le as head of the family and its #ro#erty;? Pierre9s sons/in/la) insisted that the ne) Martin )as a liar0 :7hat 1ertrande9s brother said is not re#orted0; 1ertrande )as fero ious in defense of him as AMartin Guerre her husbandA2 AHe is Martin Guerre my husband Jshe is re#orted as sayingK or else some devil in his s<in0 5 <no) him )ell0 5f anyone is so mad as to say the ontrary, 59ll ma<e him die0A *nd then )hen Pierre Guerre and his sons/in/la) beat him )ith a lub, 1ertrande #rote ted him, as has been re ounted, by her o)n body 0 The onsuls of *rtigat undoubtedly dis ussed the matter of Martin Guerre at many meetings in the s#ring and summer of $33%0 7ith o#inion so s#lit in the village, they ould never have arbitrated the dis#ute0 (or some, the ne) Martin )as an u#standing householder, husband, and rural mer hant, un@ustly slandered by a greedy un le? for others, he )as a glib im#ostor robbing an established family of its re#utation0 +till others )ere unsure )here the truth lay0 =n both sides the rural family is #riHed, but on the one more )eight is given to the )ishes of the younger generation to go off and see the )orld for a )hile, and to ma<e de isions for itself about ho) #ro#erty is to be used? and on the other more )eight is given to the de isions of the elders and to long/term ontinuity in family behavior 0 5t )ould be interesting to <no) if this differen e of o#inion onverged )ith any other differen es that ut a ross village so iety0 Coras tells us that there )ere about as many su##orters of the ne) Martin as there )ere of Pierre Guerre in and around *rtigat, but outside the Guerre family he reM #orts s#e ifi #ositions in only three instan es2 Catherine 1oeri and Bean !oHe su##orted Martin and the shoema<er su##orted Pierre0 7hat is sure is that *rtigat )as not stru tured along stri t lan lines, su h as those that divided Montaillou bet)een the Clergues and the *Hemas some

t)o hundred and fifty years before0 Rather it had #oliti al institutions that favored allian es among the to# families in *rtigat and neighboring villages0 The 1anEuels, the !oHes, and the 1oeris had their o)n ir les and de#endents, but )e an see from notarial ontra ts that they overla##ed0 Iuarrels that bro<e out, li<e this one, did not al)ays follo) stri t lines of family0 5f 5 )ere to haHard a guess about the Martin Guerre ase, it )ould be that the lo al Protestant sym#athiHers tended to believe the ne) Martin and the Catholi s tended to believe Pierre Guerre 0 1e that as it may, in the late summer and fall of $33%, t)o events o ured that made the situation of Martin and 1er/trande mu h )orse0 * soldier from Ro hefort #assed through *rtigat and, seeing the dis#uted man, announ ed to )itnesses that he )as a de eiver0 Martin Guerre had been in (landers and had lost a leg t)o years before during the siege of +aint/Iuentin0 The real Martin Guerre had a )ooden leg, the soldier said, and then )ent on his )ay 0 +o after eleven years the original Martin Guerre )as #erha#s still alive, and the #roofs of the ne) Martin9s fabri ation )ere multi#lying0 5t seemed more and more li<ely that Pierre Guerre )ould find a )ay to ta<e the im#ostor to ourt0 The ou#le had to be #re#ared to ounter his arguments, and no) they #robably )or<ed out the strategy they )ould eventually follo) during the trials0 His testimony must be as om#lete as #osssible on every as#e t of the life of Martin Guerre, from the !abourd on, and must al)ays mat h her testimony? there must be intimate details that no one ould hallenge0 Maybe then the ourt )ould rule that he )as the real Martin Guerre and 1ertrande9s ste#father )ould be silen ed 0 +o Pansette9s rehearsals began on e again0 The old life )as gone over yet another time, the )edding, the festivities, the im#oten e relived, the brea<ing of the s#ell reeD#erien ed 0 1ertrande sear hed her memory for a seDual e#isode6#erha#s even embroidered it6)ith )hi h they ould sur#rise the ourt 0 :Coras said later of su h testimony that it )as Avery mu h easier to understand than it )as to tell or )rite do)n0A; Then ame another blo)0 * farm building belonging to Bean d9"s ornebeuf, seignior of

!anouD, )as burned do)n, and he a used the ne) Martin of arson and had the sene hal of Toulouse im#rison him in that ity0 The "s or/nebeufs )ere #art of the #etty nobility in the !eHe valley, )ith Bean9s #ro#erties lo ated in the #arish @ust to the )est of *rtigat0 He had been buying land in *rtigat, ho)ever, and in $33)as one of those ta<ing on the lease of its benefi e along )ith *ntoine 1anEuels and others0 Perha#s his building had in fa t been set ablaHe by some farmers of *rtigat )ho resented the #enetration of a gentleman into a village so #roud that it had no seignior0 1ut it )as the u#start #easant/mer hant Martin Guerre, the enter of s andal, )hom "s ornebeuf too< as his target, and in the ourse of his om#laint6evidently ti##ed off by Pierre Guerre 6he told the @udge that the #risoner Ahad usur#ed the marriage bed of another man0A 1ertrande )as in great distress0 +he seems to have moved her household ba < in on e more )ith her mother and Pierre Guerre0 +he )ent to Toulouse :#erha#s her first tri# there in all her thirty/t)o years;, brought money and other ne essities to Martin in #rison, and made <no)n her vie) that this man )as her husband and that Pierre Guerre and his )ife )ere trying to oer e her to a use him falsely 0 "s ornebeuf s eviden e against the ne) Martin )as not very good0 Had he been the seignior of *rtigat, he might have #revailed, but before the +ene haussee of Toulouse he had to dro# the arson harge and the #risoner )as released 0 5n the meantime Pierre Guerre had ta<en ste#s to find out )ho the de eiver really )as0 5n this region of omings and goings and of eDtensive gossi#, it is sur#rising that he had not dis overed anything earlier0 The ne) Martin himself had left lues in the ourse of his travels0 *t Pouy/de/Touges, for eDam#le, a village south of +a@as falling )ithin the dio ese of RieuD, he had been re ogniHed as *rnaud du Tilh by the inn<ee#er? he had as<ed him to say nothing, for AMartin Guerre is dead? he has given me his goods0A * ertain Pelegrin de !iberos had alled him Pansette? the ne) Martin had hushed him but fell out of hara ter suffi iently to give him t)o hand<er hiefs to ta<e to his brother, Bean du Tilh0 +ome su h story got ba < to Pierre Guerre, and no) he ould give

another name to the traitor in their midst2 *rnaud du Tilh alias Pansette, a man of bad life from +a@as0 To at h the liar, though, he )ould have to lie0 He falsely #resented himself to the @udge of RieuD as agent for 1ertrande de Rols0 :Possibly he did it )ith a notariHed do ument? )hen Master Bean Pegulha ame from !e (ossat to *rtigat to dra) u# ontra ts, he often used Pierre Guerre9s house as a #la e to )or<0; 5n 1ertrande9s name he got #ermission to have a formal inEuiry o#ened about the man alling himself Martin Guerre and to have him immediately made #risoner )ith the use of several armed men, as the la) allo)ed in those s#e ial ases )here the a used )as thought li<ely to flee and Ato have a very bad re#utation, reviled for several enormous offenses0A 7hen the ne) Martin returned from #rison in Toulouse in Banuary $34-, Pierre )as ready for him0 1ertrande re eived him )ith tenderness, )ashing his feet and ta<ing him into her bed 0 Cery early the neDt morning, Pierre and his sons/in/la), all armed, seiHed him in 1ertrande9s name and had him bundled off to #rison in RieuD0n !et us #ause here a moment and as< )hether su h a situation )as inevitable0 To #ut it another )ay, if the real Martin Guerre had never ome ba <, ould *rnaud du Tilh have gotten a)ay )ith itF +ome of my #ragmati fello) historians have suggested that, if the im#ostor had not as<ed for the a ounts and had follo)ed more losely the un le9s eD#e tations in regard to the family #ro#erty, he ould have #layed Martin Guerre for years and no one )ould have minded0 =n the other hand, re ently )hen 5 tal<ed about 1ertrande and *rnaud )ith #eo#le in *rtigat )ho )ere still familiar )ith the old story, they smiled, shrugged their shoulders, and said, AThat9s all very )ell6but that #retty ras al, he lied0A 5 thin< the #eo#le in *rtigat are loser to the mar<0 Not that *rnaud du Tilh, )ith more #ruden e and foresight, might not have arranged a different s enario for himself0 Not that *rnaud )as the only liar in *rtigat2 )e have @ust aught Pierre Guerre in a falsehood, and )e )ill hear of others before )e are done0 1ut a big lie, a )ho##er6es#e ially one im#osed by a single #erson on others6has troublesome onseEuen es both for #ersonal feelings and for so ial relationshi#s 0

(rom the villagers and from the Guerre family, )ho to some eDtent had to give assent to his lie, *rnaud reEuired onstant om#li ity0 He )as not a rural 5ago, evilly turning #eo#le against one another0 1ut as he be ame an u#standing householder and father in someone else9s name, he ould never a <no)ledge his lie and never give them a han e to #ardon him0 5n this )ay a dee# uneasiness, un ertainty, and )ariness )ould inevitably gro) in village and family relations 0 7hen #eo#le began to )onder #ubli ly about his identity, they also began to sus#e t him again of magi 0 *nd no) there )as mu h more fear behind the allegation than )hen it )as made about him during his youth 0 (or *rnaud, his lie )ould reate a disturbing inner distan e bet)een him and other villagers0 5 have argued that he )as not @ust an im#ostor trying to ta<e Martin Guerre9s money and run 0 Mu h of )hat the 1asEue Pierre Guerre dreaded in the ne) Martin9s selling of #ar els of the #ro#res and demanding the a ounts an be inter#reted other)ise6and must have been by his *rtigat su##orters6as an a e#table, innovative form of #easant behavior in !angue/do 0 7hat the ne) Martin )anted to do )as to stay, to ome ba <, as he did from every tri#, to 1ertrande9s marriage bed0 His as<ing for the a ounts )as a sign of ho) omfortable he felt in his role0 1ut in his head there must al)ays have been an out, not the out that gives a reative release from one9s fello)s and allo)s reintegration :A5 am a Christian and an rise above all thisA; or allo)s at least insight and survival :A5 am a 1asEue and this is not really my ountryA;, but a shameful out :A5 have no genuine obligation to these #eo#leA; 0 (or 1ertrande, )ho <ne) the truth, there )ere yet other onseEuen es of the lie0 +he had tried to fashion her life as best she ould, using all the lee)ay and imagination she had as a )oman0 1ut she )as also #roud of her honor and her virtue and )as, as she )ould say later in ourt, God/fearing0 +he )anted to live as a mother and family )oman at the enter of village so iety0 +he )anted her son to inherit0 7ould God #unish them be ause of the lieF *nd if their marriage )ere only an invention, )as she a

shameful adulteress in her mother9s eyes and in those of the other village )omenF *nd )ould her daughter 1ernarde be stained, sin e it )as said that a hild on eived in adultery )as mar<ed )ith the sins of its #arentsF +he loved the ne) Martin, but he had tri <ed her on e? might he after all not tri < her againF *nd )hat if the other Martin Guerre ame ba <F During the rest of the day after the ne) Martin had been hastened off to #rison in RieuD, 1ertrande )as #ut under great #ressure from her mother and her ste#father0 They even threatened to thro) her out of the house if she did not formally a##rove Pierre9s a tion0 The stubborn )oman al ulated and made her #lans0 +he )ould go along )ith the ourt ase against the im#ostor and ho#e to lose it0 +he )ould follo) the strategy she had )or<ed out )ith the ne) Martin about testimony and ho#e that the @udge )ould de lare him her husband0 1ut given all her doubts and the lose alls of the #ast fe) months, she )ould also be #re#ared to )in the ase, ho)ever terrible the onseEuen es for the ne) Martin 0 During the day she sent lothing and money off to the #risoner in RieuD0 That evening after dar< she a##roved the a tions Pierre Guerre had underta<en as her agent, and rendered herself as #laintiff before the @udge of RieuD against the man )ho had assumed the #erson of Martin Guerre, her true husband0

. The Trial at RieuD

TH" C=URT =( RieuD )as ertainly not un<no)n to the families of *rtigat0 There )ere al)ays dis#utes that ould not be settled lo ally and ended u# there in litigation2 Behanard !oHe sued the absentee bisho# of RieuD for #ayment on an annual #ension o)ed the #arish? #easants sued ea h other over the #ossession of a #ie e of land? Beanne de 1anEuels found herself at odds there )ith another heiress07hen the ase of Martin Guerre began, many of the #eo#le )ho testified in it had some notion of the osts and dangers of the <ing9s @usti e as )ell as of its #otential benefits 0 The @udge himself re eived only a middling sum among the salaries #aid out to the magistrates de#endent on the Parlement of Toulouse0 1ut in the )orld of RieuD he )as an im#ortant figure, om#eting su essfully for #restige and #o)er )ith the lo al seigniors0 5n $34- (irmin Cayssiere may already have had the #ost? a li entiate in la) and a staun h Catholi , he )as later in harge of investigating Huguenot atta <s on hur h #ro#erty in the dio ese0 Together )ith the <ing9s attorney at RieuD and la)yers in the ourt, the @udge fa ed one of the most #uHHling ases of his areer 0 Ta<ing on someone else9s name and #erson )ith inten/ tion to defraud )as thought a serious rime in siDteenth/ entury (ran e0 There )as no fiDed #enalty for it, but on e the <ing9s attorney had @oined the ase )ith the A ivil #arty,A as 1ertrande de Rols )as alled, the a used )as threatened )ith more than fines0 5f onvi ted, he might be senten ed to #hysi al #unishment and even death0 Here, )here the honor and life of a man )ere at sta<e, the #roof )as su##osed to be A ertain, indubitable, and learer than day0A 1ut ho), in a time )ithout #hotogra#hs, )ith fe) #ortraits, )ithout ta#e re orders, )ithout finger#rinting, )ithout identity
"ven )ith finger#rints, there an be dis#ute, as sho)n by the elebrated Giulio Canella ase in Turin in $%,./$%'$0 (inger#rints sho)ed the dis#uted man to be the #rinter Mario 1runeri, but the )ife of Professor Canella laimed nonetheless that he )as her husband0 !eonardo + ias ia, NN teatro delta memoria :Turin, $%&$; 0

ards, )ithout birth ertifi ates, )ith #arish re ords still irregular if <e#t at all6ho) did one establish a #erson9s identity beyond doubtF Gou ould test the man9s memory, though there )as al)ays the #ossibility that he had been oa hed0 Gou ould as< )itnesses to identify him, and ho#e that they )ere a urate and truthful0 Gou ould onsider s#e ial mar<s on his fa e and body, but their signifi an e ould only be established by )itnesses )ho re olle ted the earlier #erson0 Gou ould loo< to see )hether he resembled other members of the family0 Gou ould he < his hand)riting, but only if he and the earlier #erson ould both )rite and you had sam#les of the latter9s )or<0 The ourt of RieuD had to try to eDtra t some <ind of truth from su h eviden e, and hen eforth the dis ourse of the villagers about Martin Guerre )ould be bent to its #ur#oses0 The first ste# )as to olle t information from the )itnesses named by the ivil #arty, a list undoubtedly dra)n u# by both 1ertrande and Pierre 0 :Pierre )ould have listed #ersons he ho#ed )ould su##ort the a usation, 1ertrande those she ho#ed might ast doubt u#on it0; To save on the osts, )hi h had to be #aid from the #urse of the ivil #arty, most of the de#ositions )ere #robably ta<en in *rtigat or nearby rather than at RieuD0 =ne an imagine the flurry )hen the @udge or his agent a##eared on the s ene, )ith o#inions #roffered right and left by the lo al notaries and by Master DominiEue 1oeri, ba helor of la)s at !e (ossat0 The )itnesses )ere s)orn to tell the truth and, after they finished, the eDaminer read ba < )hat they had said )ord for )ord :or at least this )as )hat he )as su##osed to do; so that they ould hange or add to it0 Then they signed their names, if they <ne) ho), or made a mar< 0 =n e the <ing9s attorney had a han e to study all this testimony and give his o#inion, the @udge o#ened the hearings at RieuD0 He summoned the #risoner, and Euestioned him about the a usations and the life of Martin Guerre, and listened to )hat he had to say in his o)n defense0 Then he eDamined 1ertrande de Rols, after )hi h he gave another hearing to the a used to see if he ould restate )hat she had said0 *t this @un ture the @udge too< seriously the #risoner9s laim, su##orted by testimony from those named by

the ivil #arty, that Pierre Guerre )as for ing 1ertrande to bring the suit against her )ill? she )as removed from Pierre9s house and lodged else)here0 NeDt ame the reeDamination of the )itnesses and their onfrontations )ith the #risoner0 :The ivil #arty is still #aying the osts0; The @udge ma<es sure the )itness stands by )hat he or she said in the de#osition, and the defendant is alled0 The latter starts off by ma<ing his re#ro hes, his ob@e tions to the )itness and his assessment of the )itness9 redibility, even before he <no)s )hat had been said about him0 This is his only han e to thro) doubt on the hara ter of his a users, and he must ma<e the most of it0 Then the )itness9 de#osition is read aloud, and the defendant hallenges it )herever he needs to, giving alibis and as<ing Euestions 0 +ome ases ended right there after the onfrontations, so lear to the <ing9s attorney and the @udge )as the guilt or inno en e of the a used0 1ut not the trial of Martin Guerre0 The defendant had named )itnesses )ho ould su##ort the laims he had made during his hearings and the onfrontations0 1ertrande had still not dro##ed her a usation against him, and he )as sure he ould #rovide eviden e that she )as being suborned0 Nor )as the @udge satisfied )ith the testimony? he )anted to learn more about this enigmati #easant )oman from *rtigat, about the re#utation of the other )itnesses, and about the identity of the #risoner0 The <ing9s attorney )as instru ted to round u# the )itnesses for the defendant :no) it )as his turn to #ay osts? he )ould have to de#osit the money in advan e;0 * monitoire )as read )ith solemn eremony in the hur hes of *rtigat, +a@as, and their environs, a letter )arning anyone )ho <ne) the truth about these matters to
Coras says that the defendant as<ed that 1ertrande be #ut Ain some house belonging to res#e table #eo#leA and that this )as done :##0 '., 83;0 He omments that AformerlyA )omen might be seEuestered in a nunnery :#0 '&;0 The dio ese of RieuD had four female houses, all Euite aristo rati and none lo ated bet)een *rtigat and RieuD2 the abbey of +alenEues near !e Mas/d9*Hil and #riories at !ongages, !a Gra e/ Dieu, and +ainte/CroiD/Colvestte :!0 H0 Cottineau, Re#ertoire to#o/bibiiogra#hiEue des *bbayes et Prieures JMa on, $%'3/$%'%K, ols0 $'$3, $48', ,$&', ,%',;0 There )as also a house of Poor Clares at Pamiers0 None of these )as #ra ti al for 1ertrande, )ho )as #robably lodged first )ith a trust)orthy family at *rtigat and, during her testimony at RieuD, )ith a family there 0

reveal it to the @udge under threat of eD ommuni ation0 "ven the Protestants must have ta<en this seriously, ho)ever mu h they doubted the #riest9s #o)ers 0 =ne hundred and fifty #eo#le ame to RieuD to testify before the trial )as through0 5n village after village in t)o dio eses, #eo#le )ere as<ing themselves ho) you ould tell )ho a man )as6a man snat hed from the <no)n onteDt of fields and family and no) on dis#lay in the ourt hambers of RieuD 0 The )itnesses in *rtigat )ere almost all in a ord on one thing only2 )hen the #risoner ame into their midst, he greeted everyone by name and reminded them a urately of things they had done together in #re ise ir umstan es many years before 0 1eyond this they disagreed, as did the )itnesses oming from else)here0 (orty/five #eo#le or more said that the #risoner )as *rnaud du Tilh alias Pansette, or at least not Martin Guerre, sin e they had eaten and drun< )ith one or the other of them sin e hildhood0 These in luded Carbon 1arrau, *rnaud du Tilh9s maternal un le from !e Pin? #eo#le Pansette had made ontra ts )ith long ago? and three men )ho had re ogniHed the #risoner as du Tilh even )hile he )as living as 1ertrande de Rols9s husband0 *bout thirty to forty #eo#le said that the defendant )as surely Martin Guerre? they had <no)n him sin e the radle0 These in luded Martin9s four sisters, his t)o brothersin/ la), and Catherine 1oeri from one of the most res#e ted families in the lo ality 0 Those )itnesses )ho had <no)n Martin Guerre before he left *rtigat sttet hed their memories t)elve years ba <0 Peasants might be eD#e ted to have good visual memories6 there are many sights, sha#es, and olors that they have to <ee# in mind in the ourse of their )or<6but here again there )as disagreement 0 +ome )itnesses maintained that Martin had been taller, thinner, and dar<er than the a used, had a flatter nose and more #ro@e ting lo)er li# and a s ar on his eyebro) that )as no)here to be seen on this im#ostor0 The shoema<er told his story about the different shoe siHes, Martin9s larger than the #risoner9s0 =ther )itnesses insisted that Martin Guerre had eDtra teeth in his @a), a

s ar on his forehead, three )arts on his right hand? and ea h of these )as dis overed on the #risoner 0 (inally, there )as a large grou# of )itnesses, around siDty or more, )ho refused to identify the #risoner one )ay or another 0 Perha#s they feared some retribution if they too< a #osition, a alumny suit from the defendant if he should be de lared inno ent or trouble )ith Pierre Guerre0 1ut )hat they said #ubli ly )as more straightfor)ard2 the #risoner really did resemble Martin Guerre, des#ite all the testimony about li#, eyebro), and nose0 They )ere not sure )ho he )as and, in a ase of su h onseEuen e, ho) ould they #resume to ma<e a @udgmentF During these )ee<s, the )oman )ho )as see<ing a @udgment had a diffi ult and lonely time0 +he )as living in unfamiliar surroundings a)ay from the ne) Martin, )ho must have been )ondering about her loyalty0 Her mother and ste#father )ere ho#ing that this ase )ould leave the de eiver dead or at least in the galleys? her sisters/in/la) )ere no doubt as<ing themselves )hy she had brought the om#laint at all0 The honor of 1ertrande de Rols had be ome the sub@e t of a monitory letter read from #ul#its in the !eHe valley and beyond0 *nd in her testimony she had to be agey? she must say only )hat the defendant had learned in the #ast about Martin Guerre so that he ould not be tri##ed u# in his ans)ers, but nothing that ould leave her o#en to a harge of adultery0 +he had to mani#ulate the image of the )oman/easilyde eived, a s<ill that )omen often dis#layed before offi ers of @usti e any time it )as to their advantage 0 Possibly 1ertrande had the han e to tal< to an attorney before the hearings at RieuD, but in the #resen e of the @udge, his ler<, and the <ing9s attorney, she )as on her o)n0 5t )as hard to #resent herself in this man9s )orld, even for a )oman )ho held her head high and s#o<e her mind in the village0 1ut she ans)ered the @udge9s Euestions about the life of Martin Guerre, from the too/early marriage to the young man9s de#arture, and then she volunteered some ne) details0 The ourt must hear about the im#oten e of Martin Guerre and ho) it ended, and about an even more #rivate moment bet)een them 0

They had been at a )edding long ago and for la < of marriage beds : ubilia;, 1ertrande had to s#end the night )ith her ousin? by agreement, Martin re#t into the bed after the other )oman had fallen aslee#0 :!e +ueur sto#s his a ount here, but 1ertrande did not, going on to tell Athe things they had done before, during, and after the se ret a t of marriage0A&; 1ertrande #layed her double role #erfe tly, until her onfrontation )ith the #risoner0 5t )as a deli ate situation for him too, and he had to raise ob@e tions to her redibility )ith are2 she )as Aa res#e table )oman and honestA )ho told the truth, eD e#t )hen she said he )as an im#ostor? in that she )as being oer ed to lie by Pierre Guerre0 He then made a test of her love and eD#ressed his o)n, saying to the @udge that if she )ould ta<e an oath that he )as not her husband Martin Guerre, he )ould submit to any death the ourt hose0 *nd 1ertrande )as silent0 5f the )ife of Martin Guerre )as divided, the ne) Martin seemed never so )hole as during the trials0 =n enter stage, all his )its tuned to #roving )ho he )as, he never missed a ste# in any re olle tion, )hether it )as des ribing the lothes that individual guests )ore at Martin Guerre9s )edding or telling ho) he snea<ed into bed )ith 1ertrande and her ousin in the dar< of the night0 He bubbled )ith details about his a tivities in (ran e and +#ain after he had left *r/tigat, giving names of #ersons )ho )ould onfirm his a ount :the ourt he <ed and they did;0 His assessment of the )itnesses in his onfrontations must have been unusually good6Avivement et vallablement re#ro heH,A said Coras later in evaluating the hallenges to Carbon 1arrau and others A)ho gave in su h detail fa ts )hi h )eigh against the #risoner0A 7hat he said )e an only imagine0 To Carbon 1arrau, #erha#s, A59ve never seen this man before in my life0 *nd if he is my un le, )hy an9t he #rodu e other members of the family )ho say soFA To the shoema<er2 AThis man is a drin<ing om#anion of Pierre Guerre0 !et him sho) his re ords about the siHe of my feet0 *nd )ho else an su##ort his liesFA *ll of this seems to have been done by the defendant )ithout benefit of legal advi e0 The ordinan e of Cillers/Cotterets of $3'% had made it #ossible to deny the right of ounsel to the a used in a riminal trial, though re ent

resear h is sho)ing that it )as not often invo<ed0 * la)yer )ould have been in his element advising the ne) Martin, for his ase bristled )ith issues on )hi h he might have held u# #ro eedings and a##ealed, from his armed arrest before daybrea< on0 1ut the trial too< only a fe) months, des#ite the monitory letter and all the )itnesses0 =ne sus#e ts that the #risoner, )ith his leverness and good ear, Eui <ly #i <ed u# the <inds of arguments that )ould ma<e an im#ression on men trained in the la)0 The a used entered his defense on one issue2 Pierre Guerre9s hatred of him be ause of his suit over the #ro#erty0 Having failed to <ill him, he and his sonsin/ la) had hat hed this #lot against him, even inventing a ne) <ind of rime, im#osture0 A5f ever a husband )as ill treated by his lose relatives, it )as ertainly he6and un@ustly A He should be freed and Pierre Guerre #unished as a alumniator )ith the same harsh #enalty that he, Martin, )ould re eive for fraud0 *fter the last grou# of )itnesses )as heard, the <ing9s attorney #ressed for a final senten e0 The eviden e )as hard to evaluate, and the @udge9s reEuest for a re#ort on the defendant9s resemblan e to the sisters and son of Martin Guerre made matters no learer0 The #risoner did not resemble +anDi? he did resemble the sisters0 The hand)riting test ould not be used be ause if by han e the defendant ould no) )rite his name :and it )as the small grou# of rural mer hants )ho )ere virtually the only villagers other than notaries and #riests )ho ould sign their ontra ts;, neither Pansette nor Martin Guerre had ever done so in earlier days 0 The ourt might have onsidered #assing a senten e to torture the defendant to see if he )ould onfess2 for that to be done, the la) reEuired strong eviden e of his guilt from the testimony of one irre#roa hable )itness or ir umstantial eviden e from t)o )itnesses0 1ut the @udge of RieuD did not bother )ith it0 Perha#s he
Coras @ustified this la) of the talion in his annotation :#0 '3;, but the riminal @udge Bean 5mbert in his ontem#orary handboo< of @udi ial #ra ti e said that it )as no longer in effe t0 Persons ondemned for alumnious a usation )ere usually #unished )irh a formal eremony of a#ology and a tine0 Considering the urrent abuse of a usation, 5mbert sometimes )ished the la) of talion )as ba < in use0 Bean 5mbert, 5nstitutions (orenses, ou #ra tiEue iu/di iaire :Poitiers, $34';, ##0 884, 8%& 0

thought it )ould be unsu essful :and ne) resear h on the Parlement of Paris is sho)ing that torture did not yield a onfession very often;0 Perha#s he thought he had a good enough ase )ithout a onfession, and that this defendant )ould sim#ly a##eal the senten e of torture to the Parlement of Toulouse 0 1e that as it may, the @udge de lared the defendant guilty of ta<ing on the name and #erson of Martin Guerre and abusing 1ertrande de Rols0 The ivil #arty had demanded that he beg her #ardon in a #ubli eremony and #ay her ,--- livres as )ell as her osts for the trial0 The <ing9s attorney as<ed for death, )hi h su#erseded 1ertrande9s reEuest0 This )as not too sur#rising2 in $33. the +ene haussee of !yon had ondemned t)o men to be hanged for ma<ing false ontra ts in another man9s name for only a fe) months0 The @udge of RieuD senten ed the #risoner to be beheaded and Euartered6a urious om#liment, for beheading )as su##osed to be reserved for nobles0The ondemned man a##ealed immediately to the Parle/ment of Toulouse, #rotesting his inno en e0 +hortly after)ard he )as ta<en to that ity under guard and at his o)n eD#ense0 The great #ile of #a#ers generated by the ase ame along )ith him, #aid for by 1ertrande0 =n *#ril '-, $34-, the Criminal Chamber of the Parlement already had before it the ase of AMartin Guerre, #risoner in the Con ier/gene0

& The Trial at Toulouse

TH" P*R!"M"NT =( T=U!=U+" )as in the one hundred and seventeenth year of its eDisten e, its buildings renovated and the numbers of its offi eholders in reasing0 The #o)er of that body in !anguedo )as very great indeed05n $34- it )as not only @udging ivil and riminal ases on a##eal and sometimes in the first instan e, and <ee#ing a )at h on the a tivities of the lo)er ourts in its region, but also de iding )hat to do about anti/ Catholi image brea<ers in Toulouse and sending ommissioners out to investigate illegal assemblies and )ea#on arrying, heresies, and murders in the dio ese of !ombeH0 5ts #residents and @udges )ere a )ealthy and )ell/edu ated elite, o)ning fine houses in Toulouse and estates in the ountry and a Euiring titles of nobility by one means or another0 Their @udi ial robes )ere be oming more s#lendid, and they )ere addressed in terms of res#e t and honor2 Aintegerrimus, am#lissimus, meritissimus,A says Bean de Coras of one of them in a dedi ation )ritten before he had @oined their ran<s? Aeruditissimus et aeEuissimusA of another? and of the )hole Parlement, Agravissimus san tissimusEue +enatus0AThe Criminal Chamber, or !a Tournelle as it )as alled, )as one of the five hambers of the Parlement and made u# T of a rotaring grou# often to eleven @udges and t)o or three #residents0 Those )ho ha##ened to be sitting on it for the a##eal of AMartin GuerreA in luded some of the luminaries of the ourt 0 There )as the learned Bean de Coras, )ith all his legal #ubli ations0 There )as Mi hel Du (aur, former @udge in the +ene haussee and no) a #resident of the Parle/ment? from a family of distinguished men of the la), he )as married to a 1ernuy, )hose do)ry ame from #rofits in the Toulouse #asteldye trade0 Bean de Mansen al himself, the first #resident of the Parlement, ame do)n from the high hamber for the last days of the trial0 =)ner of a s#lendid Renaissan e house in the ity, he also had #ro#erty in the dio ese of !ombeH, not far from the village )here *rnaud du Tilh )as born 0

!in<ed by their )or< and even by marriage :the daughter of @udge "tienne de 1onald )ould shortly marry Mansen/ al9s son;, the men assigned to !a Tournelle in $34- )ere also beginning to sense strong differen es among them0 Three of the @udges soon emerged as strong Protestants6 Bean de Coras, (ranEois de (errieres, and Pierre Robert6and a fe) others, su h as Mi hel Du (aur, )ere at least sym#atheti to the Reformed ause0 =n the other side, Mansen al )as a loyal Catholi and the more intransigent #resident Bean Daffis and Ni holas !atomy later used every means at their dis#osal to stam# out the ne) heresy 0 (or the time, though, they ould share an interest in the urious ase that had ome u# to them from the ourt of RieuD 0 They had all had years of eD#erien e in the Parlement6old +imon Reynier had been hearing ases for almost forty years, and Bean de Coras, the last a##ointed, had been a @udge sin e $33'6 but had they ever onsidered the ase of a )ife )ho laimed that she had mista<en another man for her husband for more than three yearsF *dultery, on ubines, bigamy, yes, but a husband )ho )as an im#ostorF The Chamber de ided that Bean de Coras )ould be the re#orter for the #ro eedings, )hi h meant that he )ould loo< losely into the issues and finally #re#are a re#ort on all the arguments and ma<e a re ommendation for the senten e0 (ranEois de (errieres )as ommissioned to hel# him in his inEuiries and in Euestioning )itnesses0 To start )ith, the ourt )ould hear 1ertrande de Rols, )ho had as<ed to a##ear, and Pierre Guerre as )ell0 7hile these t)o )ere ma<ing their )ay from *rtigat to Toulouse, the man still insisting that he )as Martin Guerre )as sitting )ith his legs in hains in the Con iergerie0 This )as no s#e ial treatment? the es a#e rate from the Con iergerie had been so high that all the men there eD e#t debtors and those o)ing fines )ere in hains unless they )ere very ill0 He )as free to tal< to anyone )ithin earshot, and )e an imagine him, )ith his irre#ressible tongue, regaling the men )ho )ere in #rison )ith him2 an alleged <idna##er from Car assonne? a notary, a #riest, and a s#urma<er from Pamiers, all a used of heresy? and t)o mysterious men laiming to be from A*stara#s in !ittle "gy#t0A 5n

early May 1ertrande and Pierre )ere heard, and then before the )hole Chamber they ea h had their onfrontation )ith the defendant0 There seems to have been no #roblem )ith language2 the trial )as su##osed to be ondu ted Ain the verna ular of the area,A and all the members of the ourt )ere from the region 0 1ertrande began )ith a statement intended to onvin e the @udges that she had never been the #risoner9s a om#li e? she <ne) that her honor had been stained, but it )as all be ause of the tra#s laid for her by other #eo#le0 +he s#o<e )ith tre#idation, her eyes fiDed on the floor :AdefiDis in terram o ulis satis tre#ideA;0 The #risoner then addressed her )ith animation :Aala riori vultuA; and affe tion, saying that he )anted no harm to ome to her and that he <ne) this )hole affair had been staged by his un le0 He sho)ed a fa e Aso assured,A omments Coras, Aand so mu h more so than the said de Rols that there )ere fe) @udges #resent )ho )ere not #ersuaded that the #risoner )as the true husband and that the im#osture ame from the side of the )ife and the un le0A *fter the t)o onfrontations, the Criminal Chamber ordered Pierre and 1ertrande both to be im#risoned, Pierre #resumably not too lose to AMartin GuerreA and 1ertrande in the se tion of the Con iergerie reserved for )omen0 No) there resumed the telling and retelling of the life of Martin Guerre0 Coras and (errieres intervie)ed 1ertrande first0 5f she had )anted to betray him at this #oint, all she had to do )as tell a story he ould not re#eat? instead she adhered to the teDt they had agreed u#on months before0 Then many times over they Euestioned the defendant, trying in vain to tri < him into a mista<e0 Coras re#orted2 His remar<s sustained at length and ontaining so many true signs, gave great o asion to the @udges to be #ersuaded of the inno en e Jof the defendantK, and beyond that to admire the feli ity of his memory, for he re ounted innumerable events that ha##ened more than t)enty years before0 The ommissioners by every means #ossible tried to sur#rise him
A5t is sometimes #ermissible for @udges to lie,A a @udge of the Parlement of Toulouse )as later to )rite, Ain order to un over the truth about rimes and felonies0A 1ernard de !a Ro he/(lavin, TreiHe livres des Parlemens de (ran e :Geneva, $4,$;, boo< &, h0 '% 0

in some lie, but ould get no advantage on him nor indu e him to res#ond other than truthfully in all things 0 7itnesses )ould have to be Euestioned, that )as lear, and some t)enty/five to thirty )ere heard by the ommissioners, hosen both from those )ho had already testified and from those )ho had not0 *gain there )ere onfrontations )ith the defendant6Carbon 1arrau )e#t )hen he sa) the #risoner in hains6but AMartin GuerreA made his hallenges to him as he had done before0 +ome seven )itnesses )ere summoned to Toulouse at the end of May s#e ifi ally to have onfrontations )ith 1ertrande0 5n the shameful situation of being a #risoner herself, she had to fa e her sister/in/ la) Beanne Guerre and im#ortant men from the !eHe valley su h as Bean !oHe and Bean 1anEuels, )ho #resumably gave testimony bearing on )hether she had been suborned 0 =ver the summer of $34- Bean de Coras sifted through all this eviden e and de ided )hat he should say in a re#ort0 5t may have been a relief to s#end his time on Martin Guerre0 His De iuris *rte, a ma@or treatise, had a##eared earlier in the year, and he )as not yet at )or< on anything ne)0 Mean)hile the #oliti al situation in (ran e )as disEuieting in the )a<e of the failed Protestant ons#ira y of *mboise a fe) months before, and Toulouse itself )as full of onfrontations bet)een su##orters of the ne) religion and su##orters of the old0 +ome days )hen the Criminal Chamber )as senten ing hereti s, he @ust stayed a)ay 0 He <ne) )here the truth lay there and )as not yet ready to #ut all his #ubli for e behind it0 5t )as easier for the moment to find out the truth about a man9s identity 0 The additional testimony from )itnesses turned out to add very little2 nine or ten #eo#le )ere sure the #risoner )as Martin Guerre, seven or eight said he )as *rnaud du Tilh, and the rest said they did not <no)0 Coras embar<ed u#on a systemati analysis of the )itnesses and their testimony? this he must have found )anting in the @udgment at RieuD0 The )eight of numbers from the t)o trials argued against the defendant0 7hat ounted, ho)ever, )as not the number of )itnesses testifying to an identity, but the Euality of those )itnesses6)hether they )ere #eo#le of integrity, doing9

their best to tell the truth, or )hether they s#o<e merelyF from #assion, fear, or interest6and the li<elihood of their testimony0 (or this #arti ular ase Coras thought the testimony of lose relatives )as of the highest value0 They should be most li<ely to re ogniHe a man Abe ause of the loseness of bloodA and be ause they had gro)n u# )ith him0 1ut here he found relatives ma<ing #ositive identifi ation on both sides 0 To ondemn a #erson, a ourt must have #roof that a rime has really been ommitted and that the a used is the #erson )ho did it0 "ven a onfession standing alone )as not suffi ient to establish these t)o fa ts, for a defendant might not onfess the truth, )ith or )ithout torture0 5n any ase, there )as no onfession here0 Could #roof be established by the traditional rule reEuiring the testimony about observed a ts by t)o )itnesses )orthy of reden eF Coras had some #re ise fa ts attested to, but there )ere #roblems ea h time0 (or eDam#le, Pelegrin de !iberos s)ore that the defendant had res#onded to the name *rnaud du Tilh and had given him t)o hand<er hiefs for his brother Bean? but he )as the only )itness so to de#ose and he )as effe tively hallenged by the defendant0 T)o #eo#le testified that they had heard the soldier from Ro hefort announ e that Martin Guerre had lost a leg at the battle of +aint/ Iuentin, but be ause it )as only AhearsayA this ould not arry full )eight 0 The tangible eviden e, ta<en into onsideration in siDteenth entury riminal ases even though it )as not #art of the medieval theory of ho) #roof )as established, also did not yield any lear/ ut ans)ers0 Mu h of it rested on the testimony of #eo#le )ho re olle ted )hat Martin Guerre loo<ed li<e, and #erha#s they )ere lying or sim#ly betrayed by memory 0 Those )ho laimed that the #risoner had the same mar<s and s ars as Martin Guerre had ea h #i <ed on a different )art or fingernail? no t)o testified to the same mar<0 =n the other hand, if it )ere true that the young Martin Guerre had thinner legs than the
+ee belo), #0 &3, on the general Euestion of the testimony of lose relatives in a riminal ase and on the brothers of *rnaud du Tilh 0

defendant, eD#erien e often sho)ed that #eo#le )ho )ere slender in their youth be ame heavier as they advan ed in age 0 That the a used <ne) almost no 1asEue ould mean that he )as not Martin Guerre be ause it )as not li<ely Athat a native 1asEue )ould not <no) ho) to s#ea< his language,A or it ould sim#ly mean that having left !abourd so young he had never really learned his #arents9 tongue0 Coras )as Ain great #er#leDity,A but the re#orter had to ma<e a re ommendation0 The more he refle ted on the eviden e, the more li<ely it seemed that the defendant )as )ho he said he )as and that the senten e of the @udge of RieuD should be reversed 0 He onsidered the eviden e about 1ertrande0 +he )as a )oman )ho had lived Avirtuously and honorably,A so information #rodu ed by the monitory letter had onfirmed0 +he had shared her bed )ith the #risoner for more than three years, Aduring )hi h long interval it is not li<ely that the said de Rols )ould not have re ogniHed him for a stranger if the #risoner had not been truly Martin Guerre0A +he had insisted for months that he )as her husband in o##osition to her ste#father and her mother, even #rote ting him from harm )ith her o)n body, and had re eived him in her bed only a fe) hours before signing the om#laint0 Then, before the @udge of RieuD, she had refused to s)ear that he )as not Martin Guerre0 This added nothing one )ay or the other to the truth of the matter, for in riminal ases Athe #roof by oath is not legitimate0A 1ut it did indi ate her state of mind, and this im#ression )as reinfor ed by her un ertain and nervous manner during the onfrontation )ith the defendant before the Criminal Chamber in May0 5t seemed #robable, as 1ertrande had earlier been heard to laim herself, that she had been oer ed into bringing a false a usation 0 He onsidered Pierre Guerre0 =ne )onders )hat )ent on )hen the @urist from Realmont had his hearings )ith the elderly *rtigat tilema<er )ith his 1asEue a ent0 Ho) did the un le eD#ress his anger and sense of grievan e against the im#ostor, and sin e Coras )as using AmannerA as an indeD of the good faith of his )itnesses, ho) did this influen e his re ommendation that Pierre Guerre be la##ed into hainsF *t any rate, the eviden e he had

before him did not #ut the man in a good light0 The litigation about the a ounts and its out ome )ere on re ord, #roviding a strong motive for a false a usation0 Pierre himself had onfessed to misre#resenting himself as 1ertrande9s agent before the @udge of RieuD0 His ons#ira y )ith his )ife and his sons/in/la) to have the defendant <illed had been des ribed by Aseveral )itnesses,A in luding the re#utable Bean !oHe0 This )as suffi ient #roof to )arrant an order to torture Pierre Guerre to see if he )ould onfess to attem#ted murder, alumnious a usation, and the suborning of testimony from 1ertrande de Rols0 5ndeed, !e +ueur laims that the Criminal Chamber )as onsidering su h a ste#, though it never got to the #oint of #assing the senten e 0 7hatever the ase, Coras vie)ed false a usation as a grave and too freEuent rime, a deliberate #lan to do evil to one9s neighbor against God9s eighth ommandment 0 (inally there )as the a used0 Mu h eviden e argued in his favor0 Coras onsidered the four sisters of Martin Guerre to be eD e#tionally good )itnesses, Aas res#e table and honest )omen as there are in Gas ony, )ho have al)ays maintained that the #risoner )as surely their brother Martin Guerre0A :Their su##ort may have loo<ed es#e ially disinterested to Coras, for they )ould have even less han e to inherit Guerre #ro#erties if Martin Guerre had yet another son0; That the defendant resembled them seemed more telling than his la < of resemblan e to +anDi, Coras said, for he )as loser to them in age, )hile +anDi )as only a boy of thirteen0 There )as also the tested fa t of the #risoner9s assured and #erfe t re all of everything about the life of Martin Guerre, in luding the intimate details #resented by the #laintiff herself0 The re#orts that *rnaud du Tilh had been dissolute, Agiven over to every <ind of )i <edness,A did not harm the #risoner9s ase? if anything, they hel#ed it, for he did not a##ear to be that <ind of man 0 * de ision for the defendant )ould give eD#ression to the #rin i#le of Roman la) Athat it )as better to leave un#unished a guilty #erson than to ondemn an inno ent one0A More im#ortant, it )ould give )eight to a #referen e in the ivil la) )hi h )as ta<en

very seriously by the ourts in siDteenth/ entury (ran e2 it )ould favor marriage and the hildren issuing from it0 A5n situations )here there is some doubt,A said Coras, Athe su##ort either of marriage or of hildren 0 0 0 shifts the balan e0A 1ertrande )ould have a husband? +anDi and 1ernarde a father 0 The Criminal Chamber )as about to ma<e its final @udgment of the ase, o#inions being Amore dis#osed to the advantage of the #risoner and against the said Pierre Guerre and de Rols,A )hen a man )ith a )ooden leg a##eared at the buildings of the Parlement of Toulouse0 He said his name )as Martin Guerre 0

% The Return of Martin Guerre

*(T"R M*RT5N GU"RR" had his leg shot off at the battle of +aint/Iuentin, he had t)o #ie es of good fortune0 (irst, he did not die of his )ound, but survived the surgeon9s treatment and )as able to hobble around on a )ooden leg0 +e ond, his masters, either Pedro de MendoHa or his brother, the Cardinal, as<ed Phili# 55 to assist Martin in his redu ed ir umstan es0 The <ing re)arded him for his servi e to +#ain by a #osition for life as a lay brother in one of the houses of the military order of +aint Bohn of Berusalem0 This order )as the stri test in the ountry in reEuiring #roofs of nobility for its <nights? the ban<ers of 1urgos begged in vain to have the rules bent for them0 Martin Guerre arried on as before, a small #art of an all/male )orld dominated by aristo rats 0 7hy did he ever de ide, after an absen e of t)elve years, to ross the Pyrenees on his )ooden leg and ome ba < to his old lifeF This is the greatest mystery in the story of Martin Guerre 0 Coras says nothing about his reasons, though he suggests that Martin dis overed the im#osture only after his return0 !e +ueur laims that he )ent first to *rtigat )hen he arrived, heard )hat had ha##ened, and left immediately )ith +anDi for Toulouse0 There are #roblems )ith !e +ueur9s a ount, ho)ever, for it ma<es it diffi ult to eD#lain the sisters9 sur#rise in the last days of the trial 0 +till it is on eivable that Martin Guerre returned by han e, @ust in the ni < of time0 He ould have )earied of the restri ted a tivity of a religious house and, layman that he )as, de ided that it )as better to live )ith his im#airment in the bosom of his family, )here he might have some authority0 The #ea e of Cateau/Cambresis had been signed by +#ain, (ran e, and "ngland the year before, and the ardinal of 1urgos had been assigned by Phili# 55 to meet his bride "lisabeth de Calois at the (ren h border in De ember $33%0 Martin Guerre might ho#e that in this time of re on iliation he )ould be #ardoned for his soldiering for +#ain 0 More li<ely, 5 thin<, is that he heard of the trial before his return0 Pierre Guerre )ould ertainly have ho#ed to get ne)s to him, if he

)ere still alive0 The ase )as being dis ussed in villages throughout !anguedo , and the @udge of RieuD had sent investigators as far as +#ain to he < the testimony of the ne) Martin about his visit there0 The burghers of Toulouse and la)yers from else)here )ere also tal<ing about the affair, even though the @udges )ere not su##osed to reveal their deliberations to anyone outside the ourt and the #ubli )as not allo)ed to attend the trial until the final senten ing0 7ord also might have been #assed to the original Martin Guerre through the order of +aint Bohn of Berusalem, for it had several houses in !anguedo and the ounty of (oiD0 7ho am 5, Martin Guerre might have as<ed himself, if another man has lived out the life 5 left behind and is in the #ro ess of being de lared the heir of my father +anDi, the * husband of my )ife, and the father of my sonF The original Martin Guerre may have ome ba < to re#ossess his identity, his #ersona, before it )as too late 0 =n e he got to Toulouse about late Buly, he )as #la ed in the ustody of the guard of the Parlement, and hearings began 0 ANe) omerOA the defendant is said to have shouted )hen his onfrontation began )ith the man from +#ain, Aevildoer, ras alO This man has been bought for ash and has been instru ted by Pierre Guerre0A *t the last minute he had arrived to trouble the holy estate of matrimony? the a used )ould unmas< him or be )illing to be hanged0 *nd, strange to behold, the man )ith the )ooden leg remembered events in the house of Martin Guerre less )ell than the #risoner 0 5t )as a moment of trium#h for the #erson )ho had on e been alled Pansette0 5t )ould be a mista<e to inter#ret his behavior that day and in the neDt fe) )ee<s as sim#ly a des#erate attem#t to stay alive0 !ive or dead, he )as defending the identity he had fashioned for himself against a stranger0 :The reader )ill re all that it is most li<ely that the t)o men never met before0; Coras and (errieres had ten or t)elve more hearings se#arately )ith the t)o men, as<ed the ne) omer AhiddenA Euestions on sub@e ts not broa hed before, verified his ans)ers, then dis overed that the defendant ould res#ond @ust about as )ell 0

The a used seemed to have an air of magi about him0 Trying to ta<e him off guard, President de Mansen al as<ed him ho) he had invo<ed the evil s#irit that taught him so mu h about the #eo#le of *rtigat0 Coras said that he #aled and for on e hesitated, to the @udge a sure sign of guilt0 This rea tion, 5 thin<, may have resulted not only from the defendant9s sense of danger, but also from anger that his natural s<ills )ere being so misre#resented 0 The Criminal Chamber then moved on to a final set of onfrontations0 Carbon 1arrau )as alled on e again and this time also *rnaud du Tilh9s brothers, thereby violating :as )as in reasingly the ase in the siDteenth entury; a medieval rule that brothers ould not bear )itness against ea h other in a riminal ase0 The du Tilhs fled rather than ome to Toulouse 0 (or Pierre Guerre, haggard from his months in #rison, the ommissioners arranged a theatri al test0 The ne) omer )as #la ed among a grou# of men all dressed ali<e0 Pierre re ogniHed his ne#he), )e#t, and re@oi ed that at last his fortune )as hanging 0 (or the sisters, alled in se#arately, the t)o Martins )ere / #la ed side by side0 *fter studying the one/legged man for a )hile, Beanne said, AThis is my brother Martin Guerre0A +he had been de eived all the time by the traitor )ho resembled him0 +he hugged Martin, brother and sister )e#t, and so )ith the other sisters as )ell 0 5t )as the turn of 1ertrande de Rols0 Had her s#irits flagged after some three months in the Con iergerieF +he had lost )eight and been ill, but at least some of the )omen in #rison )ith her )ere a used of heresy, )hi h meant the #ossibility of dis ussing the Gos#el )ith them0 *lso #resent )as a #ro#ertied )oman, )ho li<e 1ertrande )as a #laintiff )ho had been im#risoned0 Get another #risoner left for a )hile to give birthN 5t )as a )oman9s )orld and may have reminded 1ertrande of the years of )aiting for Martin Guerre9s return0 +he )as suffi iently steeled to the different #ossible out omes of her situation so that )hen she arrived at the Criminal Chamber she )as able to #lay her role Euite )ell 0 *fter one loo< at the ne) omer, she began to tremble and )ee# :this a ording to Coras, )ho onsidered it the duty of a good

@udge to note the eD#ressions of his )itnesses; and ran to embra e him, as<ing his #ardon for her fault, ommitted be ause she had been over)helmed by the ruses and sedu tions of *rnaud du Tilh0 =ut tumbled all the #re#ared eD uses2 your sisters believed him too readily? your un le a e#ted him? 5 )anted to have my husband ba < so mu h that 5 believed him, es#e ially )hen he <ne) su h #rivate things about me? )hen 5 realiHed he )as a fraud, 5 )ished 5 )ere dead and )ould have <illed myself eD e#t that 5 )as afraid of God? the minute 5 <ne) he had stolen my honor, 5 too< him to ourt 0 Martin Guerre sho)ed not a single sign of sorro) at the tears of 1ertrande de Rols, and )ith a fier e and severe ountenan e :assisted #erha#s by memories of the +#anish #rea hers he had been among; said, A!eave aside these tears 0 0 0 *nd don9t eD use yourself by my sisters nor my un le? for there is neither father, mother, un le, sister, or brother )ho ought better to <no) their son, ne#he), or brother than the )ife ought to <no) her husband0 *nd for the disaster )hi h has befallen our house, no one is to blame but you0A Coras and (errieres reminded him that he bore some guilt here, having abandoned 1ertrande in the first #la e, but he )ould not be moved 0 Martin Guerre had no) been re ogniHed0 "ven )ithout a onfession, the ourt had suffi ient #roof for a definitive @udgment0 Bean de Coras #re#ared a ne) re#ort and drafted a senten e? the Criminal Chamber agreed u#on a teDt0 *rnaud du Tilh alias Pansette )as found guilty of Aim#osture and false su##osition of name and #erson and of adultery0A Des#ite the sus#i ion of magi and diaboli invo ation in the last )ee<s of the trial, this )as not mentioned in the senten e0 Du Tilh )as ondemned to #erform an amende honorable, a #ubli a#ology, and then to be #ut to death in *rtigat 0 The #enalty #robably reEuired some dis ussion among the @udges0 * term in #rison )as not one of the #ossibilities for *rnaud du Tilh, of ourse, for #risons )ere only for #eo#le a)aiting trial and onvi ted debtors0 The hoi e lay among fines, various <inds of #hysi al #unishment :)hi##ing, branding, mutilation;, banishment,

a term ro)ing in the <ing9s galleys, and death0 (or this ase Coras ould find virtually no teDts in (ren h la) to #rovide guidan e? Asu##osition of name and #ersonA )as treated little outside the limited ase of forging a signature0 The an ient teDts varied )idely, some treating im#osture as a game that need not be #unished, others assigning a mild #unishment, others banishment, a very fe) death0 5n $3', a royal edi t had made #ossible the death #enalty for Athe multitudeA of #eo#le dra)ing u# false ontra ts and ma<ing false de#ositions before the ourts, but @udi ial #ra ti e )as not uniform0 Coras may have heard )hat had ha##ened in $33. to the a##eal of t)o !yon im#ostors :the ones signing ontra ts as Mi hel Mure; from their senten e of death by the +ene haussee of !yon2 the Parlement of Paris moderated their #unishment to )hi##ing and nine years in the galleys0 The neDt time the +ene haussee had to senten e an im#ostor, the Gree< Citra/ ha )ho olle ted the debts o)ed a dead man, it ondemned him to restore all the sums )rongly ta<en, to #ay 3-- livres to the <ing, and to be banished from (ran e 0 Du Tilh9s )as a more serious rime, ho)ever0 5t involved stealing a heritage, )hi h ould be om#ared to a )oman9s misre#resenting her illegitimate hild to her husband as his o)n so that the hild ould inherit0 More im#ortant, he had ommitted adultery, a rime that Coras thought should be #unished more severely and onsistently in general0 The Parlement of Toulouse )as handing out death #enalties for adultery only )here so ial obligation had been shar#ly violated, as in $33', )hen a @udge9s ler< )as ondemned to be hanged for slee#ing )ith his master9s )ife, and in $334, )hen a lando)ner9s )ife )as onvi ted of adultery )ith her share ro##er :both )ere hanged;0 =ut of these onsiderations ame the hoi e of the death senten e for *rnaud, a hoi e for )hi h at least one man of the la) )as later to ta<e the ourt to tas<0 He )ould not be beheaded though, as the @udge of RieuD had #res ribed, but hanged, as befitted a mere ommoner )ho )as a dissolute betrayer0 The ourt )ould not go so far as to burn him alive, but be ause of his detestable rime his or#se )ould be burned Aso that the memory of so miserable and abominable a

#erson )ould disa##ear om#letely and be lost0A 5n a fe) )ays the Criminal Chamber treated the interests of *rnaud du Tilh )ith onsideration, a ta ti that made things easier for Martin Guerre and 1ertrande de Rols but that also sho)s some lingering res#e t for the man )ho had daHHled them )ith his testimony0 His daughter 1ernarde )as found to be legitimate, the ourt de iding to a e#t 1ertrande9s laim that she thought she )as having inter ourse )ith Martin Guerre )hen the hild )as on eived0 Here there )as am#le #re edent0 (or a hild to be a bastard, both #arents had to be ons ious of the ir umstan es? the hildren of a )oman una)are that she had married a #riest )ould be legitimate 0 More unusual, the ourt did not onfis ate the goods and #ro#erties of *rnaud du Tilh in the dio ese of !ombeH and turn them over to the <ing, as )as done most of the time )ith a riminal ondemned to death0 5nstead, after 1ertrande had been reimbursed for her eD#enses for the trial, the goods )ould #ass to their hild 1ernarde 0 (urthermore, the ondemned man )as not senten ed to be tortured before his eDe ution so as to indu e him to name his a om#li es, )hat )as alled being given Ala Euestion #realable0A Coras did re ommend torture on some o asions? earlier in $34he and President Daffis had signed a senten e #roviding that a ertain Bean Thomas alias !e Provin ial A)ill be #ut to the Euestion to <no) from his mouth the truth about the abuses, rimes, and evil s#ells im#uted to him0A 1ut the Criminal Chamber may have thought that the astonishing *rnaud )as unli<ely to brea< 6and if he did, they ertainly did not )ant him to name 1ertrande de Rols as his a om#li e at the last minute 0 (or the Chamber had to de ide )hat to do about the )oman #risoner in the Con iergerie0 7hat ould one say about the beautiful )ife so easily de eived and so obstinate in her errorF *fter mu h dis ussion, the @udges agreed to a e#t her good faith? the female seD )as, after all, fragile0 +he )ould not be #rose uted for fraud, bigamy, or adultery :a #enalty for the last in these ir umstan es might have #la ed her in a onvent until her

husband de ided he )ould ta<e her ba <;, and her daughter )ould be legitimate 0 +o too )ith Martin Guerre0 The ourt s#ent a,long time de iding )hether harges should be made against him for having deserted his family for so many years and for having fought for the enemies of (ran e0 They finally de ided that his de#arture ould be attributed to his youth, Athe heat and levity of youth, )hi h )as then boiling u# in him,A and that his serving Phili# 55 ould be blamed on his masters, )hom as a la <ey he )as bound to obey, rather than on any desire Ato offend his natural #rin e0A Given )hat had ha##ened to his leg, to his goods, and to his )ife, he had been #unished enough 0 Nor )ould Pierre Guerre be #rose uted for his )rongful re#resentation of himself as 1ertrande9s agent or for his s heme to murder *rnaud du Tilh0 He had already ris<ed goods and even his life in #ushing the ase against the im#ostor2 if it had been lost6as it almost )as6he )ould have fa ed a heavy #enalty for false a usation before a ourt of la) 0 "verything in the ourt9s final @udgment )as intended to enfor e the riteria that Coras had been using earlier to @ustify a senten e in favor of the ne) Martin2 it su##orted marriage and the hildren issuing from it0 =n +e#tember n, President de Mansen al summoned 1ertrande de Rols, Martin Guerre, and *rnaud du Tilh to a##ear before the )hole Chamber 0 Pansette insisted he )as Martin Guerre, no matter )hat the #resident said0 Mansen al then tried to re on ile 1ertrande and Martin, rebu<ing them for their faults and urging them to forget the #ast0 The defendant interru#ted him re#eatedly, hallenging every )ord 0 5t )as the ne) Martin9s #oorest #erforman e6or else his sin erest0 He had lost, and it )as no) his turn to be the @ealous husband0 To the ourt he ame a ross as im#udent and #etulant, and a ordingly it made a last/minute hange in the senten e0 5t )as intended that he ma<e t)o formal a#ologies, one before the Chamber, one at *rtigat0 He )ould no) have to do only the latter0

7ho <ne) )hat he )ould say before the ourtF =n +e#tember $,, the Parlement o#ened its doors so that the #ubli ould hear the senten ing0 * huge ro)d #ushed into the ourtroom? in their midst seems to have been young Mi hel de Montaigne, no) a @udge at the Parlement of 1ordeauD 0 Mansen al read the de ree absolving Martin Guerre, 1ertrande de Rols, and Pierre Guerre and denying the a##eal of *rnaud du Tilh alias Pansette, A alling himself Martin Guerre0A He )ould start his #ubli a#ology in front of the hur h of *rtigat and then be led through the village and eDe uted before the house of Martin Guerre0 The @udge of RieuD )ould ta<e harge of the affair0 Coras did not re ord the eD#ression on the fa es of 1ertrande de Rols and *rnaud du Tilh 0 (our days later the gibbet had been built in front of the house in )hi h 1ertrande9s marriage bed had been installed some t)entyt)o years before0 The family )as all ba < from Toulouse, and #eo#le had ome from miles around to see the im#ostor and )itness the eDe ution0 The village )as no longer divided as it had been for a year or more0 The lie )as in the o#en no), and the ritual )ould begin by )hi h the liar )ould be humiliated, see< #ardon, and be ast out 0 Pansette did his best to ma<e it a memorable o asion0 He began the day by ta<ing ba < his old name0 He volunteered his onfession to the @udge of RieuD, starting )ith his being hailed as Martin Guerre by the t)o men at Mane0 "verything had been done by natural means, his and those of ertain a om#li es, )hom he named0 Nothing )as due to magi 0 1ertrande9s role he on ealed
Coras9s a ount of this is very strange0 7hy #unish *rnaud du Tilh9s misbehavior by lifting one of the a#ologiesF 7ould it not have been more a##ro#riate to hange the a#ology before the ourt to a more humiliating one before the villageF "ither Coras is misre#resenting )hat ha##ened, or )e have here another eDam#le of the miDed feelings of the @udges to)ard the eDtraordinary *rnaud du Tilh 0

Coras says only that he onfessed that Asome #eo#le had given him se ret information and advi eA :#0 &';0 !e +ueur says he named At)o #eo#leA )ho had hel#ed him :*dmiranda historia de Pseudo Martino 0 0 0 J!yon, $34$K, #0 ,,;0 Perha#s they )ere the t)o friends of the missing man )ho had first mista<en him for Martin 0

from start to finish0 * ording to Coras :though not to !e +ueur;, he also onfessed to several #etty thefts in his youth 0 Then li<e any good #easant father he made his testament0 He listed all his debtors and reditors in money, )ool, grain, )ine, and millet and reEuested that they be #aid from the #ro#erties he had inherited from *rnaud Guilhem du Tilh and others? they )ere urrently being o u#ied by Carbon 1arrau0 To ma<e sure that his un le #aid, he started a ivil suit against him, #resumably to be arried on by his eDe utors0 His daughter 1ernarde6no) 1ernarde du Tilh6 he made his universal heir? his brother Bean du Tilh of !e Pin and a ertain DominiEue Rebendaire of Toulouse )ere to be her guardians and the eDe utors of his )ill 0 The amende honorable started )ith the ondemned man on his <nees in front of the hur h in the traditional garb of the #enitent6 )hite shirt, bare head, and bare feet, )ith a tor h in his hands0 He as<ed #ardon of God, the <ing, the ourt, Martin Guerre and 1ertrande de Rols, and Pierre Guerre0 !ed through the village )ith the hangman9s ro#e on his ne <, the goldentongued #easant addressed the ro)ds0 He )as the *rnaud du Tilh )ho had shamelessly and raftily ta<en the goods of another and the honor of his )ife0 He ommended the @udges in Toulouse for their investigation and )ished that the honorable Bean de Coras and (ranEois de (errieres ould be #resent to hear him no)0 "ven on the ladder u# to the gibbet he )as tal<ing, #rea hing to the man )ho )ould ta<e his #la e not to be harsh )ith 1ertrande0 +he )as a )oman of honor, virtue, and onstan y, he ould attest to it0 *s soon as she sus#e ted him, she had driven him a)ay0 5t had ta<en great ourage and s#irit to do )hat she had done0 =f 1ertrande he as<ed only that she #ardon him0 He died as<ing God for mer y through his son Besus Christ0

$- The +toryteller
+H=RT!G *(T"R TH" +"NT"NC5NG of *maud du Tilh, the Parlement of Toulouse re essed for t)o months, as it did every +e#tember0 Bean de Coras did not leave immediately for his ountry home in Realmont0 5nstead he )ent to his study in Toulouse and began to )rite the story of the man )hose burning had been intended to effa e his memory forever0 1y = tober i, $34-, he )as most of the )ay through a first draft 0 +imultaneously, a young man named Guillaume !e +ueur )as re ording his version of the same events0 There )as something about the story that tou hed their o)n lives, something disturbing and amaHing that needed to be told 0 5t is diffi ult to dete t the a##eal of the ase for Guillaume !e +ueur, for he is a little/<no)n figure0 1orn to a )ealthy and #ro#ertied mer hant of 1oulogne/sur/Mer in Pi ardy, !e +ueur )as sent off to Toulouse to be trained in the ivil la)0 His brother Pierre be ame a royal finan ial offi er and by the end of $34$ )as using his house in 1oulogne for Aassemblies and #rayers a ording to the ne) religion0A Guillaume seems to have shared his sentiments and for a time )as #art of the entourage of the Protestant Prin e of Conde0 1y $344 he )as a la)yer in the +ene haussee of the 1oulonnais, several years later its lieutenant of streams and forests0 5n $3%4 he )as to )rite the first history of his native to)n, a )or< of some merit0 "ven before this !a CroiD du Maine had heard of him, des ribing him in his 1ibliotheEue of $3&8 as A#oet in !atin and (ren h0A He <ne) Gree< as )ell, translating the Gree< version of the third boo< of Ma abees into !atin verse for an edition of $344 0 *lso to his redit is the A*dmirable History of the Pseudo/ Martin of Toulouse,A )hi h he om#osed in !atin and )hi h )as ir ulating in that ity in manus ri#t not long after the trial0 He dedi ated it to Mi hel Du (aur, fourth #resident of the Parlement and a member of the Tournelle all during the ase of Martin Guerre0 *s !e +ueur said later in a dedi ation to Chan ellor Mi hel de !9Ho#ital, he had

been Aado#ted into the family and lientele of the Du (aurs, a house sur#assing all in the region for its singular erudition, integrity of life, s#lendor and honor0A His eviden e on the trial )as #robably ta<en from the #resident9s o)n )ords and #a#ers6he refers to himself as having A olle tedA :A olligebatA; the story6and #erha#s he )as #resent in the ourt in some minor a#a ity0 7hat is ertain is that in $34- Guillaume !e +ueur ho#ed to rise )ithin the )orld of la) and legal rhetori al ulture, and that he also had literary and lassi al interests of his o)n0 *bout Bean de Coras )e <no) a great deal0 He )as illustrious, A larissimus,A as his #ublishers had been saying about him on his title #ages for some time0 5n the year of the Martin Guerre trial, his o)n A!ifeA had a##eared, told by a former student, *ntoine Usilis, as the #refa e to Coras9s De iurh *rte0 He )as born about $3$3 in Realmont in the *lbigeois, the oldest of four boys, and )as raised in Toulouse, )here his father Bean de Coras, a li entiate in la), )as an advo ate in the Parlement0 *lready at the age of thirteen, young Bean )as inter#reting the ivil la) from a #odium in Toulouse :or so the story goes;, and in his neDt years, )hile studying ivil and anon la) at *ngers, =rleans, and Paris, he )as often as<ed to tea h as )ell0 He then )ent to Padua, offered one hundred #ro#ositions as sub@e ts for his do toral dissertation, and )on a laim for his feli itous res#onses0 5n $3'4 at the age of t)enty/one, he )as granted his do torate by Phili##us De ius, Athat great luminary of the la)0A :Coras said later that De ius )as then so senile he ould not remember a )ord of the la), and s#ent fifteen minutes trying to utter the first #hrase of his oration 0 (inally the degree had to be granted by someone else0 The ane dote suggests that Coras did not al)ays ta<e himself so seriously as a young #rodigy0; Returning to Toulouse, Coras )as hired as a regent at the university and be ame elebrated as a le turer on the ivil la) 0 He himself re#orts the a##lause of his listeners, )hile Usilis says that no one ould remember any #rofessor dra)ing su h ro)ds 0 He #ersonally had been #resent )hen Coras had #oured forth his s#ellbinding oratory before t)o thousand #eo#le, Ahis voi e

smooth, flo)ing, lear, and melodious0A This is all the more im#ressive )hen )e realiHe that la) le tures at Toulouse )ere often given from five to ten o9 lo < in the morning0 During those years of early glory, Coras had another relation )ith the la), not mentioned by Usilis2 he be ame a litigant0 His mother Beanne de Termes died at Realmont and by her testament of $38, left him all her goods and #ro#erty0 Master Bean Coras the elder obstru ted the eDe ution of the )ill, and Master Bean de Coras the younger sued him in a ase finally de ided in $388 by the Parlement of Toulouse0 The son9s inheritan e )as onfirmed and the father ordered to allo) him to ma<e an inventory, but Coras senior )as given usufru t of the goods and #ro#erty for the rest of his life0 The t)o men made u# eventually6Coras )as to dedi ate a )or< to him in $38%6but li<e the omi #resentation of his do toral eremony, the suit against his father suggests some ambivalen e in his attitudes to)ard order and authority0 Mean)hile Coras himself be ame a husband and father, and mu h to his delight0 A(ortunate matrimonyA he said in his legal teDt De Ritu Nu#tiarum, and he inserted a se tion on his )ife Catherine 1oysonne, the daughter of a Toulouse mer hant, right into his ommentary0 The ou#le soon had hildren, a daughter Beanne and then a son Ba Eues, the latter also )arranting a noti e in the midst of a legal dis ussion2 AGesterday *#ril $', $384, 5 )as moved )ith in redible @oy, for 5 be ame through our healthy Catherine the father of a little son0A +ought after as tea her, Coras moved his family to Calen e, )here he gave instru tion in ivil la) from $383 through $38%, and then s#ent t)o years le turing at (errara0 *ll this time he )as )riting and #ublishing !atin ommentaries on the Roman la), on sub@e ts ranging from marriage and ontra ts to @udi ial a tions and the onstitution of the state0 *t least from $38$ on, he had been sending his manus ri#ts to #rinting houses, es#e ially in !yon, the enter for legal #ubli ations0 *nd the la) students loved his boo<s2 ACorasissimaA one of them )rote in the margin neDt to an es#e ially a#t #hrase on the sub@e t of inheritan e by minors 0 The editions also reveal t)o interesting sides to Coras0 (irst, a )illingness to gro), to rethin<, to reinter#ret0 He often tells his

readers, A5 first )or<ed on this in Toulouse in su h and su h a year, 5 am revising it no) in (errara0A +e ond, a shre)d sense of ho) to advan e his areer0 His earliest boo<s are already dedi ated to the (irst President of the Parlement of Paris and to Mansen al, (irst President of the Parl ment of Toulouse0 The ardinals of Chatillon and !orraine are sent a##ro#riate )or<s )hen the time omes0 This #aid off in Banuary $33', )hen a va an y o urred in the Parlement of Toulouse0 He had returned to that ity from (errara for a sad reason2 his )ife Catherine 1oysonne died and he ame ba < for a #eriod of mourning0 Henri 55 #rofited by his #resen e in (ran e to see< advi e on royal dealings )ith the du<e and the ardinal of (errara, and then a##ointed Coras to the o#ening0 5n (ebruary $33', Bean de Coras too< his oath as @udge, or onseiller, in the Parlement )here his father had long been an advo ate 0 5n the seven years that #assed bet)een Coras9s ne) @udi ial role and the ase of Martin Guerre, his life too< other ne) turnings0 He married again? he be ame more and more interested in the Protestant ause? and he began to thin< of other goals for his #ubli ations0 His se ond )ife )as Ba /Euette de 1ussi, a )ido) and his ousin, and also the nie e of a royal Master of ReEuests0 Childless from her first marriage, she remained so in her se ond, but mothered Ba Eues de Coras suffi iently to refer to him al)ays as Amy son0A 7e <no) of Bean9s relations )ith her mostly from letters eD hanged several years after the trial, but they an nonetheless suggest his o)n eD#erien e of marriage in the earlier #eriod 0 Coras is eD#ressively, dee#ly, almost foolishly fond of Ba Euette de 1ussi0 ANever )ife #resent or absent )as so herished and loved by husband as you are and )ill be0A A5 beg you believe that day and night at every hour and minute 5 dream of you, 5 )ait for you, 5 desire you and love you so mu h that )ithout you 5 don9t eDist0A He sends her boo<s to read, Aa naughty dress,A and At)o #ens )ell formed and s#lit to my taste li<e you,A and tells her if it is old at Realmont, Adon9t slee# alone, so long as it9s not )ith a mon<A :a #un6moine )as an old (ren h )ord for Abed)armerA;0 He gives her #oliti al re#orts and ne)s of the Reformed ause? he instru ts

her about ho) to re eive im#ortant visitors and messages to deliver0 He frets about her health and about )hether she returns his affe tion0 7hen he does not hear from her, he )rites, Athis ma<es me believe in s#ite of myself that 5 am not so engraved in the bo)els of your memory as 5 have al)ays )ished0A 5n fa t, Ba Euette is some)hat reserved to)ard her husband 0 The game of their marriage is that he is the #ursuer and she the #ursued0 He signs his letters AGour your your and a hundred thousand times your Bean de CorasA? she signs hers AGour very humble and obedient )ife0A He earnestly see<s her o#inion on )hether he should a e#t an im#ortant #ost? she )rites ba < Ayour )ill be done,A )hi h brings from him a )ounded letter )ith a formal signature, as on a de ree0 Mean)hile, des#ite ill health, she runs their #ro#erties )ith great om#eten e, renting out lands, having fen es re#aired, revie)ing taille boo<s, and ordering fields to be so)n )ith millet and oats0 +he sends him ne)s and boo<s she has read, garters she has stit hed for him, a#ons and medi inal )ater for his eyes0 +he ho#es he is A ontent and @oyous0A Husband and )ife )ere es#e ially united by their ommitment to the ne) religion0 (or Bean de Coras, there )ere many hannels by )hi h he ould have learned about Protestantism6for eDam#le, from #eo#le around the Du hess Renee in (errara, that enter for religious refugees from (ran e0 7hen his ma@or teDt on anon la) a##eared in $38&, the Para#hrases in universam sa erdotiorum materiam, he ertainly )as not yet a onvert2 he a e#ts the legitima y of the #a#a y, saying merely that the #o#e should al)ays be a faithful #astor and not a tyrant0 1y $33., his treatise against landestine marriages is at least onsistent )ith Protestant sentiments in its ritiEue of anon la), its anti i#ation that he )ould be atta <ed by Avenomous alumny 0 0 0 under #reteDt of religion,A and its affirmation that all its arguments A onformed to the )ord of God0A Coras9s Petit dis ours 0 0 0 Des manages landestinement et irreveremment ontra tes mar<ed another de#arture in his life0 5t )as the first boo< he #ublished in the verna ular0 The goal of this Gas on )as not the usual literary one of enri hing the (ren h language, Afor )hi h 5 onfess to be little favored by my native and

thorny )ay of s#ea<ing0A Rather he )anted to influen e #ubli o#inion2 #arental onsent to their hildren9s marriages )as a sub@e t that Abelonged no less to those )ithout <no)ledge of letters than to the trained, learned, and s holarly0A He dedi ated the boo< to Henri 55, )hose re ent edi t on landestine marriages he )as here su##orting and )ho not long after)ard granted to Coras a nine/year A#rivilege,A a mono#oly on sales, for any )or< of his o)n that he )anted to #ublish or re#rint0 This unusual gift #ermitted Coras more ontrol than most authors of his day over the #rinting of and #rofits from his )riting0 He used it in $33& for a (ren h translation of a dialogue bet)een the em#eror Hadrian and the #hiloso#her "#i tetus, dedi ated to the Dau#hin, and then in $34- for his great syntheti )or< on the stru ture of la), De iuris *rte, dedi ated to the Chan ellor of (ran e0 5n $34-, )hen Bean de Coras too< u# his tas<s in the Criminal Chamber, he )as forty/five years old and, as the above eviden e suggests, he )as not a man of uniform sentiments and onsistent goals0 He had sha#ed a brilliant areer but he also had made a higher ommitment to Protestantism, )hi h )ould eventually ost him areer and life0 *s a s#e ialist in the Roman la), he )as a firm believer in the ordered family and in the #o)er of the sovereign :Asub@e ts must obey their magistrates li<e their o)n #arents,A he said;, but he )as soon to be im#li ated in Protestant resistan e movements in Toulouse and in (ran e0 He )arns families against Athe re <less #assions of iove,A but at the very thought that he an olle t his )ife a month hen e, he runs to get out the trun< and begins #a <ing her taffeta s<irts 0 7hen Bean de Coras ame into onta t )ith AMartin Guerre,A he re ogniHed a man )ith some of his o)n Eualities0 Peasant though he )as, the #risoner )as #oised, intelligent, and :es#e ially; eloEuent0 AHe seemed not merely to be re ounting things to the @udges,A said !e +ueur, Abut to ma<e them ome to life before their eyes0A A5 do not remember having read of any man )ho had so su essful a memory,A said Coras0 He also seemed an honorable family man, in love )ith his beautiful )ife 0 That he had sued his un le for the a ounts did not seem so outrageous to a son )ho had sued his father for an inventory0 5f 5

am right that AMartin GuerreA )as a Protestant sym#athiHer, Coras )ould have had yet another reason to find him a #erson he ould believe 0 Then the man )ith the )ooden leg a##eared in ourt Ali<e a mira le,A an a t of #roviden e, of God9s gra e, to #rote t Pierre Guerre and to sho) Bean de Coras that he )as )rong0 Coras had been thin<ing about the dangers of lying a ou#le of years earlier in his translation of the dialogue bet)een Hadrian and "#i tetus 0 Hadrian2 7hat is it that man an not seeF "#i tetus2 The heart and the thought of others 0 The @udge omments, A*nd in truth there is nothing bet)een men more detestable than feigning and dissimulating, though our entury is so unfortunate that in every estate, he )ho <no)s best ho) to refine his lies, his #retenses and his hy#o risy is often the most revered0A Did Coras ever dream that he )ould be so fooled, and by someone )hose tri <s he had to admireF 7hat a )ell/ )rought and longlasting a hievement )as this im#osture6 Athe thousand ne essary liesA of *rnaud du Tilh0 :AHe ans)ered so )ell,A said !e +ueur, Ahe almost seemed to be #laying0A; !a)yers, royal offi ers, and )ould/be ourtiers <ne) all about self/fashioning 6 to use +te#hen Greenblatt9s term6 about the molding of s#ee h, manners, gesture, and onversation that had hel#ed them to advan e, as did any ne) omer to high #osition in the siDteenth entury0 7here does self/fashioning sto# and lying beginF !ong before Montaigne #osed that Euestion to his readers in a selfa usatory essay, Pansette9s inventiveness #osed it to his @udges 0 Coras9s first res#onse )as to deny that this )as a ase of human inventiveness0 5nstead, *rnaud )as a magi ian, aided by an evil s#irit0 He )as a trea herous #erson and Coras ould have no regrets about his death, neithet from a @udi ial nor from a moral #oint of vie)0 Coras9s se ond res#onse )as to re ogniHe that there )as something dee#ly fas inating about *rnaud du Tilh )hi h s#o<e to his o)n onfli ting feelings and to the situation of the #eo#le in his o)n lass6and that there )as something not only #rofoundly )rong but also #rofoundly right about the invented

marriage of the ne) Martin and 1ertrande de Rols0 +o he sat do)n at his des< and shar#ened his #ens0 *nother ne) turn in his )or<, another edition in (ren h0 1ut most of all this boo< )ould allo) him 0to @udge on e again the man he had @ust eDe uted2 to ondemn him on e again, but also to give him, or at least his story, another han e 0

$$0 Histoire #rodigieuse, Histoire tragiEue

C=R*+9+ *rrest Memorable is an innovative boo< of ontradi tory images and miDed genres0 !e +ueur9s *d/miranda historia, though it has some original features to it, fits readily into the genre of the ne)s a ount, so im#ortant in this entury before the #eriodi al #ress0 * #am#hlet of small format, it sim#ly tells the story from the arrival of the Guerres in *rtigat to the eDe ution of *rnaud du Tilh, dra)ing an a##ro#riate moral at the end0 A* friendA in Toulouse sent the manus ri#t to Bean de Tournes, the elebrated humanist #rinter of !yon, )ho sometimes #ublished ne)s a ounts0 He did not even )ait to get a royal #rivilege for the )or<, but #rinted it in !atin right a)ay0 *nother o#y ame into the hands of the #ublisher Cin ent +ertenas in Paris0 1y the end of Banuary $34$, +ertenas had had the )or< translated into (ren h and had a Euired a siD/ year #rivilege for it from the <ing0 He #ublished it )ithout the name of its author, under the title Histoire *dmirable d9un (auD et +u##ose Mary, advenue en !anguedo , 59an mil inE ens soiDante0 Ne)s of the im#osture began to ir ulate li<e other AterribleA and AmarvelousA ases of murder, adultery, fire, and flood0 Mean)hile on (ebruary ,, $34$, Bean de Coras signed the dedi ation of his manus ri#t and sent it to the mer hant/#ublisher *ntoine Cin ent of !yon, transferring to him his rights under the general nine/year #rivilege0 Until that year Cin ent had brought out very fe) boo<s in the verna ular? rather he had built his fortune on !atin editions, in luding Coras9s De a tionibus of $333 and his De iuris *rte of $34-0 The ne) title had mu h that )as alluring and fresh about it to a buyer of $34$2 *rrest Memorable, du Parlement de Tolose, Contenant une histoire #rodigieuse, de nostre tem#s, ave ent belles, P do tes *nnotations, de monsieur maistre Bean de Coras, Conseiller en ladite our, P ra##orteur du#ro es0 Pronon e es *rret tH GeneraulD le Dii +e#tembre MD!Q 0

Budgments in riminal ases )ere sometimes #ublished in (ran e, su h as that of the 5talian ondemned for having #oisoned the Dau#hin of (ran e in $3'40 Colle tions of de rees, ivil and riminal, )ere beginning to a##ear0 1ut here the senten e too< u# only t)o #ages of a $$./#age boo<, and the @udge himself, rather than reserving his omments for a learned treatise on riminal la), )as broad asting them far and )ide 0 Coras may be the first legal figure in (ran e to eD#loit one of his o)n riminal ases for a )or< in the verna ular0 *nd then there )as that #hrase, Aa #rodigious history0A Cery mu h in the air these days )ere olle tions of A#rodigiesA6of )ondrous #lants and animals, of double suns and monstrous births0 Bust the year before Cin ent +ertenas had brought out the Histoires #rodigieuses of Pierre 1oaistuau, and )hen he #ublished !e +ueur9s little boo<, the term )as transferred in an o#ening sonnet to the story of the false Martin2 AThe most #rodigious stories you an readN(rom Christian times or #agan 0 0 0 N7ill seem li<e nothing to youN*fter the sham husband0A Coras #ut the )ord right in his title, using it )ith the same meaning as 1oaistuau, )ho had on e been his student at Calen e0 The #rodigious is strange, though not ne essarily uniEue? it is more rare than other events of its <ind0 +o this im#osture sur#assed any others that had been heard of 0 The inside of Coras9s boo< at first glan e resembles a traditional legal ommentary, )ith its diale ti bet)een TeDt and *nnotation0 5n fa t most of the TeDt is not an offi ial do ument that Coras is iting, but rather )hat he alls ATeDte de la toile du #ro es,A the )eb of the ase, s#un by Coras himself? and the *nnotations often have nothing to do )ith the la) 0
+in e the "di t of Cillers/Co terets in $3'%, all @udi ial #ro edure had ro he in (ren h0 5n ivil ases, )hi h )ere o#en to the #ubli , the la)yers9 formal #leas )ere sometimes #rinted and be ame by the end of the siDteenth entuiy an a##re iated literary genre :Catherine "0 Holmes, !9"loEuen e @udi iaire de $4,- a $44- JParis, $%4.K;0 Criminal ases, in ontrast, )ere in #rin i#le losed to the #ubli until the reading of the senten e, and, as in the Martin Guerre ase, there might often be no #leading by la)yets0 This meant that any subseEuent literary treatment of the ase reEuired mu h re onstru tion by the author 0

This ne) use of a traditional form gave more freedom to Coras than he had en@oyed before, even though his !atin treatises had been Euite )ide/ranging0 (irst it gave him a han e to omment on entral issues in the legal #ra ti e of his day2 )itnesses, eviden e, torture, and the nature of #roof0 Here )as a ase )here the AbestA )itnesses turned out to be mista<en, hearsay eviden e turned out to be true, and the @udges almost )ent astray0 5t gave him a han e to dis uss marriage and its #roblems, the )edding of hildren before the age of #uberty, im#oten e, desertion, and adultery0 There )as also room for religious refle tion on su h matters as blas#hemy and for some sly digs at Catholi ism0 Holy )afers and s#e ial a<es as a means to lift a s#ell of im#oten e )ere Avain su#erstitionsA? one should #ray and fast instead0 His annotation on magi also reveals a Protestant sensibility2 redeemed by Christ9s #assion, )e must beg him to Araise our hearts 0 0 0 so that by the light of his )ords, )e an hase a)ay all the illusions, artifi es, and im#ostures, by )hi h the devil al)ays tries to tra# the hildren of God and his Chur h0A 7as there any more fundamental sense in )hi h Coras sa) the story of Martin Guerre as onveying a Protestant messageF +ome of the ir umstan es surrounding its a##earan e suggest that there )as0 The #ublisher *ntoine Cin ent )as a ma@or figure in the (ren h Reformed Chur h? later in $34$, he a Euired the royal #rivilege for the Calvinist Psalter, a verna ular bestseller that )as to outstri# the *rrest Memorable0 Coras dedi ated the boo< to Bean de Monlu , bisho# of Calen e, )hose ideas )ere found hereti al by the Paris Theology (a ulty that same year0 !e +ueur9s initial #ubli ation also had something of a Protestant setting2 an author moving to)ard Calvinist sentiments? a dedi ation to Budge Mi hel Du (aur, sus#e ted of hereti al sym#athies? a #rinter, Bean de Tournes, )ho )as a su##orter of the ne) religion0 Could the )oes of the Guerres ever have ome about, Coras and !e +ueur may have as<ed, in the Reformed ity of Geneva, )here a ne) la)r and an assiduous Consistory )ould never have #ermitted so youthful a marriage, )ould have divor ed 1ertrande betimes, and )ould have Eui <ly un overed adulteryF *nd )as it not a Protestant God sending ba < the man )ith the

)ooden leg in time to undo the over)eening onfiden e of the @udges of the Parlement of ToulouseF 5f Coras and !e +ueur had su h vie)s, it must be said that they are not im#osed by their teDts0 The *rrest Memorable easily found readers of both religions, and it )as #rinted later in Paris by Catholi houses0 Cin ent +ertenas, +ueur9s #ublisher in Paris, )as also Catholi 0 Coras9s dedi ation suggests only the light #ur#oses of the boo<2 it had Aan argument so beautiful, so dele table, and so monstrously strangeA that it should bring the bisho# re reation and release from his )orries0 5ndeed, miDture in tone and miDture in form are the entral hara teristi s of the *rrest Memorable0 Here is a la) boo< that alls into Euestion the )or<ings of the la)? an histori al a ount that raises doubts about its o)n truth0 This is a teDt that moves among the moral tale, omedy, and tragedy0 Heroes seem villains and villains seem heroes, and the story is told in t)o )ays at the same time 0 The legal matriD of the *rrest Memorable hel#s to reate this om#leDity0 The TeDt is organiHed li<e Coras9s re#ort to the Chamber, )here he had to develo# arguments both for and against the a used0 No) he an set off a TeDt in )hi h he refers to Athe defendantA and Athe said du TilhA against *nnotations in )hi h he refers to Athis rusti ,A Athis le)d fello),A and Athis #rodigious offender0A 5n addition, Coras eDaggerates ertain things and omits others6)e might even say that he lies a little6in sha#ing his a ount0 (irst, he ma<es *rnaud du Tilh9s memory even more marvelous than it )as2 !e +ueur re#orts at least his forgetting the name of a god#arent at Martin Guerre9s onfirmation, but in Coras he never forgets0 +e ond, he #resents himself and the ourt as less onvin ed of *rnaud9s inno en e than in fa t they )ere 0 He never mentions that 1er/trande and Pierre )ere im#risoned for months, a fa t given by !e +ueur and, more im#ortant, re orded t)i e in the registers of the Parlement0 The senten e of +e#tember $,, $34-, a tually des ribes 1ertrande de Rols and Pierre Guerre as Aformerly #risoners in onne tion )ith the matterA? as he re#rodu es the de ree in his boo<, Coras su##resses all of this and substitutes Aet 0A Nor )as the omission sim#ly to save s#a e,

for Coras added to the #rinted de ree several rimes of )hi h *rnaud du Tilh )as not a tually onvi ted 2 Aabdu tion, sa rilege, #lagiat Jin Roman la), stealing a #erson for sale or other abuseK, lar eny, and other a tions ommitted by the said #risoner0A Coras9s annotation on these rimes made them essentially eDtensions of fraudulent im#ersonation and adultery, but they also gave him a han e to argue that 1ertrande )as oer ed and that the death #enalty )as )arranted0 =n the )hole these eDaggerations and omissions )or<ed to strengthen the *rrest Memorable as a moral tale0 *rnaud du Tilh9s #rodigious Eualities are built u# by om#arison )ith bibli al, lassi al, and more re ent im#ostors0 The #hysi al resemblan e that nature allo)ed bet)een unrelated #eo#le )as already strange enough but, sear h as he might, Coras ould find no eDam#le )here resemblan e both of fa e and of manner6the Athousand ne essary liesA6had been so su essful for so long0 5n the thirteenth entury, the false Count 1ald)in of (landers, des#ite his many #roofs, had al)ays been doubted by the ount9s daughtet Beanne0 Here the relatives had a e#ted the im#ostor and, A)hat must arouse greater admiration,A even his o)n )ife had lived )ith him familiarly for over three years A)ithout ever #er eiving or even sus#e ting the fraud0A This version of the ase assigns the full daHHling #o)er of de e#tion to *rnaud0 5t #ermits the a usation that he is a magi ian6Coras says he ould not rid himself of this o#inion even though du Tilh denied any diaboli art 6and it leads )ithout doubt to du Tilh9s eDem#lary eDe ution 0 5t also asts 1ertrande as a du#e, understandable given Athe )ea<ness of her seD, easily de eived by the unning and raftiness of men0A 1ut there is something bothersome about this version, to husbands and lovers both0 5n those freEuent omi stories of the time, )here one #erson is substituted for another for lovema<ing in the dar< of night, it is rare that the tri <ed #erson an tell the differen e0 :5 <no) of only one ountereDam#le2 the old
Coras had diffi ulty only )ith lar eny, for Bustinian had not #res ribed death for this rime0 1y sho)ing that the theft )as large :Martin9s inheritan e; and that it involved trea hery and disturbing the #ea e of marriage, Coras said it ould )arrant #unishment by death :##0 $,4/ $,.; 0

<night in the Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, )ho notes the differen e bet)een the serving maid9s firm breasts and his )ife9s mature form0 ; 1ut 1ertrande9s )as a true story, not a titillating literary onvention, and it )ent on for more than a night0 7as the )ea<ness of the seD really so great that )ives ould not tell the differen e bet)een married love and adulteryF The u <olded Martin Guerre learly thought not, as )e <no) from the )ords attributed to him in ourt by both Coras and !e +ueur0 *nd it is hard to imagine that the Coras )e have seen dealing )ith Ba Euette de 1ussi ould onsistently believe that )omen )ere so easy to tri <0 The @udge left other loo#holes in his moral tale )hi h allo)ed it to be re ast in another genre0 7here is its heroF * moral tale is su##osed to begin )ith the hero9s de#arture, and end )ith his return, his unseating of the false hero, and his marriage0 1ut Martin Guerre9s de#arture is for the most #art re#roved? his return, though #rovidential, sho)s him unforgiving and unre#entant? he does not )in the memory ontest )ith Pansette? and Coras gives no indi ation that the subseEuent reunion )ith 1ertrande )ill be a ha##y one 0 !e +ueur, )ho also treats Martin )ith little sym#athy, at least in luded the s ene in )hi h President Mansen al tried to re on ile Martin and 1ertrande? this is missing from Coras0 *n even more urious omission from the first edition of the *rrest Memorable is the a ount of *rnaud du Tilh9s onfession and eDe ution0 That there )as a onfession is mentioned t)i e in #assing 6a hurried reader might not digest the fa t6but the $34$ edition brea<s off )hen the ondemned man is sent to the @udge of RieuD0 Coras leaves his audien e some room for doubt about )hether the Criminal Chamber a tually did get the right man 0 =nly in the $343 edition does Coras eliminate ambiguity by des ribing )hat *rnaud onfessed at *rtigat, and the ambiguity is
His dealings )ith his daughter Beanne de Coras also suggest he held her in high regard0 5n +e#tember $33% he translated !es DouHe reigles of Giovanni Pi o della Mirandola from !atin into (ren h for her, to serve as a defense in rime of tem#tation0 The )or< a##eared in #rint in $343 in !yon, along )ith a ne) edition of the *rrest Memorable 0

reintrodu ed immediately by a ne) *nnotation in )hi h he des ribes the )hole story as a AtragedyA2 TeDt2 +eeing and onsidering that the most #rivate and #arti ular friends of the said Martin Guerre mistoo< him for Martin 000 he got the idea to #lay the tragedy you have been hearing0 *nnotation IU52 5t )as truly a tragedy for this fine #easant, all the more be ause the out ome )as )ret hed, indeed fatal for him0 =r at least it ma<es it hard to tell the differen e bet)een tragedy and omedy 0

The #rinter of the $3., edition elaborated on this, using the )ord Atragi omedy,A )hi h )as in reasingly finding its )ay into siDteenth/ entury (ten h literary theory and #ra ti e0 AThe Protasis, or o#ening, is @oyous, #leasant and diverting, ontaining the ruses and unning tri <s of a false and su##osed husband0A :Readers might thin< they )ere holding in their hands 1o a io9s De ameron or the He#tameron of Marguerite of Navarre or the #i aresEue !aHarillo de Tormes0; AThe "#itasis, or middle #art, un ertain and doubtful be ause of the dis#utes and ontention during the trial0 The Catastro#he or issue of the Morality is sad, #itiful and miserable0A !e +ueur, too, #ut his sim#ler a ount in another light by alling it a tragedy several times0 The originality of Coras9s vision of this #easant story should be stressed0 The (ren h tragi omedy ended ha##ily and used aristo rati figures for its leading #ersonages0 The Hhtoires tragiEues of the 5talian 1andello, translated, retold, and #ublished by Pierre 1oaistuau in $33%, did onne t the tragi )ith A#rodigiousA #assion6an asso iation also suggested by *rnaud and 1ertrande6but none of the hara ters there )ere villagers 0

5nterestingly enough, the tetm Atragi omedyA is first used in the #rologue to Plautus9 *m#hitryon, a #lay about im#ostures, )hi h had editions in !atin and (ren h in the early siDteenth entury 0

That Coras ould on eive of Aa #lay of tragedy bet)een #ersons of lo) estateA de#ended on his being able to identify himself some)hat )ith the rusti )ho had remade himself 0 5n Coras9s A omitragi A version, *rnaud du Tilh still has ertain #rodigious Eualities0 He is om#ared to Bu#iter disguised as *m#hitryon in order to sedu e his )ife0 He is om#ared )ith and found to sur#ass the great rememberers of antiEuity, su h as +ene a9s friend Portius !atro0 1ut he also has a om#li es, in luding 1ertrande )ho, not at all de eived, de ides to fashion a marriage )ith him0 :This 1ertrande is #resent in Coras9s teDt, but is less #rominent than the du#ed )ife0 The #ossibility of an honorable )oman dis#osing of her body as she #leases is mu h more disturbing than the self/fashioning of Pansette0 5t is the sub@e t of nightmares, as )hen Coras )rites to Ba Euette of Aa strange dream that 5 had yesterday that before my eyes you )ere remarried to another, and )hen 5 re#roa hed you for the )rong you )ere doing me, you res#onded by turning your ba < on me0A; Here one an a##rove the u <olding of the on e im#otent and no) fara)ay husband0 Here *rnaud du Tilh be omes a <ind of hero, a more real Martin Guerre than the hardhearted man )ith the )ooden leg0 The tragedy is more in his unmas<ing than in his im#osture 0

$, =f the !ame
59M +"ND5NG G=U 0 0 0 one of my *rrests of Martin B! Guerre, ne)ly re#rinted for the fifth time,A Bean de Coras )rote his )ife in De ember $34.0 He ould ta<e #ride in ho) )ell his boo< )as doing, even #erha#s in the editions #ublished in Paris and 1russels in $343 in violation of his nine/year #rivilege0 The format )as smaller no), a sure sign that the boo< ost less and that #ublishers )ere eD#e ting to rea h a larger mar<et0 5n early $3., Parisian #ublishers brought it out under their o)n royal grant for ten years 0 1y then Coras )as rarely thin<ing about the *rrest Memorable 0 He had Euarreled first )ith his Catholi olleagues in the Parlement after the Calvinist u#rising in Toulouse in May $34, :)itnesses laimed that arEuebuses )ere fired from the )indo)s of Coras9s to)nhouse, )hi h he hotly denied;0 1y early $34& the Protestant @udges had not only been eD#elled from the Parlement but )ere ondemned for high treason and hanged in effigy0 Coras )as serving the ause as han ellor for the Huguenot Eueen of Navarre, Beanne d9*lbret0 1a < in Toulouse after #ea e )as made, he and (ranEois de (errieres )ere im#risoned in the )a<e of the +aint 1artholome)9s Day massa res in Paris0 5n = tober $3., they )ere lyn hed in their red robes by a Catholi mob in front of the Parlement building0 Coras9s )or<s ontinued to be #ublished, ho)ever0 7hile #eo#le )ere fighting about the true and false hur h and the devil9s de e#tions, the boo< about the im#ostor/ husband had another Paris #rinting in $3.%0 !atin translations of the first edition ame out in (ran<furt in $3.4 and $3&& :one of them finding its )ay to "ngland; and then at the end of the entury in !yon, #ublisher 1arthelemy Cin ent too< u# his father9s author on e again0 The boo< )as bought first and foremost by la)yers and @udges, )ho signed their names in the flyleaves, )rote notes in the margins, had it bound together )ith Coras9s Para#hraHe sur 59"di t des Manages dandestinement ontra teH or )ith other boo<s on marriage la)0 1y the early seventeenth entury, AParrest de Martin GuerreA )as listed among entral teDts for anyone being

trained in @uris#ruden e0 1ut it )as also being en@oyed for )ider literary #ur#oses? one su h reader bound it together )ith !e +ueur9s *dmiranda historia 0 !e +ueur9s )or< follo)ed the eD#e ted #ath of a ne)s a ount as it is #rinted and re#rinted and transformed into a #o#ular legend0 5n the first edition in (ren h, !e +ueur9s om#arisons )ith Bu#iter, Mer ury, *m#hitryon, and +osius had disa##eared? *rtigat had be ome A*rtigneA and du Tilh ATylie,A never again to be orre ted0 1y the time of a $4$3 edition, 1ertrande has be ome Aa )oman of noteA in the title and the event has be ome timeless6ta<ing #la e Aduring these last troublesA6)ith no referen e to the battle of +aint/Iuentin and Phili# 55 0 7e <no) something of the rea tion to the story from those readers )ho de ided to retell it or omment on it0 Bean Pa#on, royal @udge in the (oreH, in luded it in his Re ueil d9arrestH notables of $343 under the se tion on adultery0 He )as es#e ially stru < by the Amulti#li ation of rimesA of *rnaud du Tilh :a multi#li ation, )e re all, #erformed by Coras for the #rinted edition; and onsidered that almost anyone of them might deserve the death #enalty0 (or Geraud de Maynard, a former student of Coras and later @udge in the Parlement of Toulouse, it )as 1emarde du Tilh9s legitima y and her right to inherit the goods of her ondemned father )hi h made u# the Notables 0 0 0 Iuestions du Droit0 "tienne PasEuier featured the ase of Martin Guerre in his Re her hes de la (ran e among other trials that had ended )ith mira ulous #roofs0 Dra)ing details es#e ially from !e +ueur9s a ount, the distinguished Paris @udge thought6and he )as sure )omen )ould agree6that Martin Guerre ought to have been #unished for having abandoned his )ife in the first #la e 0 (or those )riters less interested in the #oints of la), it )as the marvelous, the A#rodigiousA features of the story that )ere a##ealing0 The s holar/#rinter Henri "stienne used it to sho) that a story from Herodotus of su essful im#osture )as not so unbelievable0 Gilbert Cousin and *n/toine Du Cerdier sand)i hed it in bet)een a ounts of #easant revolts, omets and floods, transformations of females into males, and #oliti al ons#ira ies0

(ran ois de 1elleforest #la ed it in a ha#ter on remar<able #hysi al resemblan es in his ontinuation of 1oaistuau9s Histoires #rodigieuses0 :He )as evidently in the ro)d the day the senten e )as #ronoun ed at Toulouse0 =ne )onders if 1elle/forest re alled that Pansette )as his fello) ountryman )hen he said that the husbands of the Comminges treat their )ives Agently and not )ith that roughness that is im#uted to Gas ons0A ; 7hatever their literary or #rofessional motives, all these )riters )ere in a ord in ma<ing *rnaud du Tilh the inventive figure in the tale, to be admired and feared, envied and re@e ted 0 +ome mentioned the #ossibility of magi but did not stress it, sin e im#ersonation )as not the <ind of damage that )it hes )ere being a used of in ontem#orary trials0 The self/fashioning 1ertrande has entirely disa##eared from these retellings, as have any doubts about the rightness of the senten e0 5t should be added, ho)ever, that )e have no female ommentary on the story until the t)entieth entury0 Ba Euette de 1ussi9s rea tion to her husband9s gift boo< is unre orded0 5 doubt that she believed that 1ertrande de Rols ould have been de eived for so long0 There are t)o eD e#tions to these generaliHations about male res#onses to the story of Martin Guerre0 =ne omes from the #oet *uger Gaillard, Protestant and former soldier from the *lbigeois0 5n his *mours#rodigieuses of $3%,, #ublished in (ren h and = itan, he identifies not )ith the Ahardened de eiverA :Ale trom#eur aguerriA; but )ith the tri <ed )ife2 000 in 1eam and in (ran e Many girls have 5 seen )ith the same a##earan e, +o they ould hange #la es readily *nd de eive me easily 0 He re@oi es that he is in love )ith a Moorish )oman, )hom he )ould be able to re ogniHe even if he had been absent a hundred
The harming novel by Banet !e)is, The 7ife of Martin Guerre, differs from my histori al a ount in most res#e ts, but they tesemble ea h other in #resenting a 1ertrande )ho is not a du#e and )ho has some inde#enden e of s#irit 0

years0 The other eD e#tion is Montaigne in his ADes boyteuDA :=f the !ame;, )hi h first a##eared in $3&&0 5t is often thought that this essay introdu es the Toulouse ase only in identally to a dis ussion of )hy )it hes should not be burned, but in fa t the issues that Montaigne raises are not onfined to sor ery and there are e hoes of Coras and his teDt throughout0 Montaigne insists ho) diffi ult it is to <no) the truth about things and ho) un ertain an instrument is human reason0 ATruth and falsehood have both ali<e ountenan es 0 0 0 7ee beholde them )ith one same eye0A Montaigne himself admits to getting arried a)ay in the heat of an argument, eDaggerating the na<ed truth by the vigor of his )ords 0 Get )e all insist u#on our o#inions, for ing them on others by iron and fire0 1etter to be tentative than to be re <lessly sure, to be an a##renti e at siDty than to #resent oneself as a do tor at ten 0 5t is at this #oint, at the very enter of ADes boyteuD,A that Montaigne tal<s eD#li itly of the ase of Martin Guerre2 1eing yong, 5 sa) a la) ase, )hi h Corras, a Counsellor of Tholouse, aused to be #rinted, of a strange a ident of t)o men, )ho #resented themselves one for another0 5 remember :and 5 remember nothing else so )ell; that me thought he #roved his im#osture, )hom he ondemned as guiltie, so )ondrous/strange and so far/eD eeding both our <no)ledge and his o)ne, )ho )as @udge, that 5 found mu h boldness in the senten e, )hi h had ondemned him to be hanged 0 Montaigne )ould have )ithheld his @udgment, li<e the siDty #easants of *rtigat and +a@as )ho ould not tell the differen e bet)een Martin Guerre and *rnaud du Tilh0 !et us re eive some forme of senten e that may say2 AThe Court understands nothing of it,A more freely and ingenuously than did the *reo#agites, )ho finding themselves urged and entangled in a ase they ould not )ell leare or determine, a##ointed the #arties to ome againe and a##eare before them a hundred yeares after 0
5t should be temembered that at the end of the trial, )hi h Montaigne )itnessed, *rnaud du Tilh )as still maintaining that he )as Martin Guetre 0 Moreover, Montaigne may have tead only the first edition of Coras9s *rrest, )hi h does not s#ell out *rnaud9s onfession 0

Montaigne stresses the #oor eviden e there is for su h irrevo able de isions as burning a )it h0 To <ill #eo#le, one needs a luminous and shar# larity0 He ites the 5talian #roverb that AHe <no)es not the #erfe t #leasure of Cenus that hath not layne )ith a lim#ing )oman0A +ome #eo#le a##ly it to men as )ell, arguing that )hat they la < in their legs they ma<e u# for in their genitals0 5s not this a su#reme eDam#le of the lameness of our reasoning, of ho) our imagination gets the best of usF Montaigne )onders about the AtermeritieA of those )ho @udge? for him Athere is no other senten e or arrest than that of ne essitie, and im#uissan e to #ro eede further0A Montaigne is too hard on the long/dead Coras in ADes boyteuD,A but in a urious )ay his essay eD#resses an essential message of the *rrest Memorable0 Coras had a ted li<e a do tor )hen he )as little more than ten, and the devi e )ith )hi h he signed his boo< )as A* raison edeA :To reason yield;? yet he had admitted at forty/five ho) his reason had misled him and ho) diffi ult it )as for a @udge to se#arate truth from lies0 Coras had re ommended a death senten e )hen he might have re ommended the galleys or banishment, but it )as his o)n multivalent re#resentation of the ase that made it #ossible for Montaigne to rebu<e him0 *nd Montaigne9s tas< )as easier2 he )as )riting not as a @udge but Aby )ay of dis ourse,A )hereas Coras had fa ed a divided family and village a)aiting the ourt9s de ision 0 Reading the *rrest Memorable and Montaigne9s essay together gives ea h a ne) meaning0 Montaigne <ee#s oming ba < to images of legs2 the gouty legs of the #rin e su##osedly ured by the A)ondrous deedesA of a #riest? the thin legs of the (ren h and the thi < legs of Germani us, both eD#lained by horseba < riding? the deformed legs of the #leasure/giving lame )oman0 He himself is deformed, that is, diffi ult to understand2A5 have seene no su h monster, or more eD#resse )onder in this )orld than myself 0 0 0 The more 5 freEuent and <no) myselfe, the more my deformitie astonieth me and the lesse 5 understand myselfe0A The legs of Martin Guerre and *rnaud du Tilh had also been a sour e of ontroversy, but )as even the man Aarrived from +#ain )ith a

)ooden legA all that lear a signF (rom Hora e, one <ne) that #unishment omes on a lim#ing leg, but nonetheless at hes u# to even the fleetest riminal0 1ut one also <ne) the #o#ular saying that lies ome on a lim#ing leg, for you an9t go very far )ith them0 Coras believed he had found out )ho the im#ostor )as, but at the heart of his *rrest Memorable is an un ertainty as unsettling as Montaigne9s 0

"#ilogue

5N $34', )hen our neDt information is available about the village of *rtigat, everyone is ba < in #la e and doubts are gradually being #lo)ed under0 Pierre Guerre and Martin Guerre are brought to settle a dis#ute among t)o neighboring families? it is de ided that *0 Rols )ill be one of those to arbitrate the Euarrel and everyone agrees to sti < by the de ision0 Pierre still has dealings )ith the ourt of RieuD, ho)ever? he has sued an im#ortant rural mer hant, Bames Delhure, and his )ife 1ernarde 0 This may )ell have been an effort to regain for the Guerre family some of the #ro#erty sold by *rnaud du Tilh0 Coras had thought that Martin Guerre )ould have a right to void these ontra ts, though the buyers should be allo)ed to <ee# )hatever #rofits they had made from the land in the interim 0 *bout Martin Guerre and 1ertrande de Rols there is no immediate eviden e, but )e an see that there )as a basis for an armisti e bet)een them0 5f she )ere an adulterer, then he )as a u <old0 : 5n any ase, there )as an old lo al tradition that re on iled adulterers to their s#ouses )ith the #ayment of a fine0,; +he had to live do)n her easy a e#tan e of the im#ostor, he his irres#onsible desertion of the family0 He no) had )ondrous adventures to re ount of his 5 life )ith the great in fara)ay #la es, and he needed a )ife to ta<e are of him in his infirmity0 :The #o#ular terror of being ri##led is suggestd by the !anguedo urse Ale mau/lube vous trousse,A may your leg/sores turn you lame0'; +he no) had all <inds of s<ills and an authority she had la <ed before, and she needed a husband and father for her hildren0 +omeone may have had to give )ay on the Euestion of religion, for Martin #robably returned from his ardinal and his house of +aint Bohn of Berusalem a good Catholi , )hile 1ertrande may have been a Protestant 0 "ven 1ertrande9s marriage bed had ne) a tivity in it, so one learns from the division of #ro#erties made among the sons of the late Martin Guerre in $3%80 +anDi had died, but not before #assing on
1 rnard du Tilh evidently stayed )ith her mother0 *rnaud du Tilh9s goods had been ad@udged to her Ain order hat Martin not be res#onsible for giving her a do)ry0A !e +ueur, Histoire, " iir 0

his name to a godson in the neDt generation, +anDi Rols0 The tile)or<s, three houses, and numerous #ar els of land on either side of the !eHe are s#lit among Pierre and Gas#ard Guerre, Martin9s sons by 1ertrande, and Pierre the younger, his son :born around $3.3; by his se ond )ife0 :Martin9s des endants are learly living in !anguedo rather than 1asEue fashion0; 5n the mid/ seventeenth entury there is again a Martin Guerre in the village, and he has at least siD other relatives arrying on the family name, in luding Master DominiEue the notary? *nne de Guerre is )ell married to a 1anEuels0 The Guerres and the Rols are on the best of terms, serving as god#arents to ea h other9s hildren, o)ning neighboring #ro#erties, and in some ases holding fields @ointly0 Does this mean that life )ent on as if the im#osture had never o urredF that the values of rightful su ession and ontra ted marriage rolled along and obliterated all tra e of inventionF 5 thin< not0 1ertrande ould not have forgotten her life )ith *rnaud du Tilh, and the village must have found a )ay to tal< about it )ithout re<indling old dis#utes too mu h0 That )ord rea hed them about Coras9s boo< seems ertain6surely the notaries and mer hants going ba < and forth to RieuD )ould hear of it6but it also seems very unli<ely that the *rtigatois )ould )ant the *rrest Memorable read aloud at their evening gatherings or )ould a e#t this outsider9s version as their o)n 0 The lo al story )ould be told along )ith other ne)s of the latest village bastard or the latest migrant from the !eHe valley to +#ain, )ho too< a on ubine and had a se ond family during his years there0 1ut it lasted, beyond the other ane dotes and through ma@or u#heavals su h as the 7ars of Religion 0 +ome t)enty/eight years ago in *rtigat, a young mother, herself a re ent immigrant from (ren h Catalonia, )as om#laining over her baby arriage to a village grandmother, ANothing ever ha##ens in *rtigat0A APerha#s not no),A ans)ered the grandmother, Abut in the siDteenth entury 000A *nd she related the story of Martin Guerre 0 The story of Martin Guerre is told and retold be ause it reminds us that astonishing things are #ossible0 "ven for the historian )ho has

de i#hered it, it retains a stubborn vitality0 5 thin< 5 have un overed the true fa e of the #ast6or has Pansette done it on e againF