The Real and Bloody Trial by Combat That Inspired ‘The Last Duel’
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s medieval epic, The Last Duel, galloped into theaters this week, is the latest adaptation of Eric Jager’s The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France, a true story of trial by combat in medieval France.
The combat in question involved Jean de Carrouges (Damon), a French knight, and Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), who agreed to a “trial by combat,” a judicially sanctioned settlement for legal disputes. (The method was used to settle legal charges where a witness was missing and where only the parties involved could testify. Their hands would legally settle the dispute. Or, as the film contemporizes the legal battle: “truth does not matter; there is only the power of men.”) This particular duel is notable for being the final duel—the last duel!—in the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Paris.
The Resources for the Historical European Martial Arts and Sports Community notes the duel was also significant for its records. Few trials by combat were actually described by contemporary sources. While legal texts explain how the trial ought to play out, the actual weapon-clashing details are absent from many historical records.
Not the case with this duel. There are five sources that describe the fight, including one written by Le Gris’ lawyer. The accounts differ slightly in how the fight unfolded, with some describing the fight opening with a round of mounted jousting (as it does in Ridley Scott's film; in most accounts, both men began on horseback), and others saying the two started fighting immediately on foot.
Here’s what likely happened.
Is The Last Duel based on a true story?
Yes. The duel took place on December 29, 1386, and was presided over by French king Charles VI. The accused was Jacques Le Gris, who was said to have raped Jean de Carrouges’s wife, Marguerite. According to Jager’s research, Le Gris assaulted Marguerite while Carrouges was traveling to Paris, telling her after the attack, “Lady, if you tell anyone what has happened here, you will be dishonored. If your husband hears of it, he may kill you. Say nothing, and I will keep quiet, too.”
While French women did speak out against sexual assault, it was exceedingly rare for these charges to reach court. According to a French register, only 12 rape cases, taking place within several hamlets, were heard in court between 1314 and 1399.
Marguerite risked more than disbelief by making her charge. If her claim were found to be false, she would be found guilty of false witness and burned at the stake. Marguerite, however, did tell Carrouges, who appealed the case with the king. He then challenged Le Gris to a judicial duel to settle the case.
The trial by combat carried the same consequence as a false accusation. Since the outcome was said to be God’s judgement, legal right would be determined by physical might: if Carrouges killed Le Gris, then the rape charge would be considered true; if Carrouges was killed, it would be as if the rape never happened, and Marguerite would be killed for false testimony.
These were the stakes on December 29 when the duel began.
Here is the account from Michel Pintoin, a monk and official historian of King Charles VI. It’s possible Pintoin witnessed the events of the duel first hand, making his account perhaps the most accurate of the fight.
"As soon as the marshal gave the signal for mutual attack, the two men abandoned their horses and, with threatening swords lowered, advanced in slow steps and engaged one another bravely and boldly. In this first attack, the other man [Le Gris] pierced Lord Jean’s thigh with his sword. This blow would have served him well if he had pressed it into the lord’s wound; but, having drawn it out right away, blood arose, a spectacle for the crowd."
"Although Jean was wounded, it increased his courage rather than his confusion. At this point, a great horror stifled the audience. With hope favouring neither one man nor the other, voices and spirits were muffled."
"Then Jean, marshaling his soul into his strength, stepped in closer and exclaimed “Our quarrel is judged this day!” With his left hand, he seized the peak of Jacques’ helmet and drew the man to himself. Stepping back a little, he threw him alone to the ground, prostrate and weighed down by heavy armour. Having done that, he drew his sword and killed his enemy with great difficulty, because he was encased in armour."
"Even though the vanquished man had not renounced his claim when the victor threw him down and commanded him many times to admit the truth, it was adjudged that he [Le Gris] be dragged to the gibbet, as was the custom for duels."
In the end, Carrouges killed Le Gris.
What happened to Carrouges and Marguerite?
The two earned wealth and prestige after the event. Carrouges died ten years later in combat with the Ottoman Turks. Marguerite’s later years aren’t known to historians, though some suggest she entered a convent—having been guilty of false accusation the whole time. For those who have seen The Last Duel, you'll know the text at the end of the film suggests otherwise: that she never remarried and lived in peace with her child for decades longer.
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