WEBVTT - Trial By Combat 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:03.920 Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 0:00:04.160 --> 0:00:08.520 and Grim and Mild from Aaron Minky. Listener discretion is advised. 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:20.720 It was six just a few days after Christmas, and 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:23.639 the ground at the dueling field set up behind the 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:28.240 Abbey de Saumarine de Champ's, was hard with frost. Thousands 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:31.440 of people had poured in from Paris for the spectacle. 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:35.320 They had been there since dawn, rubbing their hands together 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:39.640 for warmth, watching the rising sun, waiting for the moment 0:00:39.920 --> 0:00:45.000 the event would begin. Stands were erected on either side 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:49.840 of the field, massive constructions with wooden rails and staircases. 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:54.560 One stand was for foreign nobles visiting France. They were 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:59.040 of course seated according to rank. A second stand was 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:03.200 for members of the French court. The third set of stands, 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:06.959 the most central, was reserved for the King himself, the 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:11.280 young Charles the sixth, and his highest ranking nobility. He 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.240 had insisted that the duel be delayed until his return 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:19.600 from Flanders so he could witness it. Beneath the stands 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:23.679 for the nobility were benches for merchants and commoners, although 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:26.399 most of them were forced to stand at ground level, 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:29.640 face to face with the wooden wall that had been 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:33.160 built around the dueling arena. They tried to find a 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:36.160 spot where they could see through the planks of wood. 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:41.040 The dueling grounds, in a suburb of Paris, were originally 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:45.759 designed for jousting. They were specially converted for this singular, 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:51.120 rare event, a judicial duel. Two men had gone to court, 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.280 and the court had been unable to deliver a verdict, 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:58.360 and so the men were permitted to leave justice in 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:01.920 the hands of God. It would be a fight to 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:06.120 the death, and God's favor towards the surviving party would 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:10.200 reveal who was innocent and who was guilty. The two 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:13.880 men had originally been friends. One had served as the 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:18.359 godfather to the other's first son, but years of bitter 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:22.840 jealousy had ruined their friendship, and then the accusation of 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:27.800 a final, terrible crime would lead them here. Dressed in 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:33.800 full armor, bearing lances, axes, swords and daggers, ready to 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:39.160 kill and ready to die, the men took their oaths 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:44.880 on chairs, facing one another. The crowd remained silent. Interruptions 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:49.799 to the duel of any kind, exclamations, shouts, even involuntary 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:54.120 gasps or coughs were forbidden. On pain of losing a hand. 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.919 This was a spectacle, yes, but it was also a 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:03.440 legal proceeding. It was God's will speaking through swords. The 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:07.040 men agreed to the terms and gave their final silent 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:11.919 prayers and mounted their horses. A page shouted for them 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:18.720 to ride, and the duel began. I'm Danis Schwartz, and 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:24.520 this is noble blood. A quick note before this podcast 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:29.520 begins in earnest. This story includes references to alleged sexual assault. 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:33.560 Just heads up for any listeners who might be particularly 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:41.920 sensitive to that content. The France of the hundreds wasn't 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.680 the same as the France we have today. It was 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:47.920 about a third of its modern size, and less a 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:52.520 united country than a loosely connected group of individual fiefdoms 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:56.320 which were ruled over by minor lords. The minor lords 0:03:56.360 --> 0:04:01.200 were then in turn ruled over by overlords. The former 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:07.600 were knights and squires. Overlords with larger land holdings would 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:11.280 be counts or dukes, often members of the royal family. 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:16.200 One of those duchies was Normandy, ruled over by the 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:20.600 Duke of Normandy. You might vaguely remember from a history 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:24.240 class at some point, but in ten sixty six, Duke 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:28.280 William of Normandy crossed the English Channel and defeated King 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.880 Harold in the Battle of Hastings. He's now more commonly 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:35.479 referred to as William the conqueror, sometimes thought of as 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:39.599 the first King of England. But what people sometimes overlook 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.720 is the fact that William, now a monarch rivaling the 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:47.440 King of France, still kept Normandy. For a century and 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:50.960 a half, Normandy was in possession of the English crown. 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.880 France was eventually able to win it back, but the 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:58.680 land remained contentious, and when England crossed the channel to 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:03.480 reclaim it again, some nobles Normandy sided with the English. 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:07.279 But one incredibly old family that was always loyal to 0:05:07.320 --> 0:05:15.799 the French crown was the Carouge family, As his father's 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:19.960 oldest son, Jean Carouge the fourth, was well placed to 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:24.080 live a respectable life among the courts of France. His father, 0:05:24.320 --> 0:05:27.720 Jean the third, was the French equivalent of an English 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:31.719 Shire reeve or sheriff, and he was the captain of 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:35.599 the fort at Bilam. Their family line was long, but 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:39.520 it also carried with it a romantic and scandalous history. 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:43.919 Rumor had it that a distant ancestor, a man named 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:48.320 Count Ralph had fallen in love with a sorceress, meeting 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:50.280 her in the middle of the night at a pool 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:54.800 in the woods. His indiscretion was discovered by his wife, 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.640 and the next morning Ralph was found dead with his 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:04.200 throat cut. Somehow, the scorned wife was never actually accused 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:08.280 of the murder, but the very next day a mysterious 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:12.719 red mark appeared on her face. A few months after that, 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:16.840 she had a baby. When that baby, a son named Carl, 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:21.400 turned seven, the same red mark appeared on his face. 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:24.039 It was a mark that would carry down in the 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:30.520 family for seven generations. That first son was nicknamed Carl Larouge, 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:36.320 Carl the Rhett, Carl Larouge, or Carouge, but that story 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:39.680 was more a myth than anything. It didn't affect the 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:44.240 family's respectability, and certainly no one considered it a portent 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:48.560 of violence to come. The Carouge family had several fiefs 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:51.479 that they controlled, and in turn they answered to the 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:55.000 local Count of Perish. At the time Jean Carrouge the 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:58.120 fourth took his oath of loyalty, the count was a 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:02.080 man named Robert. The young Jean swore to be loyal 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:05.880 to him and as was traditional, he kissed the nobleman 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:10.760 on the lips. But Count Robert died without any heirs, 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:14.760 and so in thirteen seventy seven parish was inherited by 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:19.440 his older brother, Pierre de Lanson. Pierre was himself his 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:24.520 father's third son, and traditionally that would mean limited prospects, 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:28.640 but Pierre lucked out. His two older brothers had become 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:33.160 men of the cloth, rising to the esteemed rank of archbishops, 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:36.440 which was lovely for them but meant they couldn't inherit 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:40.800 land or titles, and then the death of Pierre's younger brother, 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:45.000 Robert meant that Pierre inherited all of his lands as well. 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:49.600 The new count came down to Parchet and established his 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:54.760 court at Argenta, where Jean Carrouge dutifully joined him. Jean 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:59.280 was given the mostly symbolic position of court chamberlain, a 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.760 respect of role, and he quickly made friends with another 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:06.560 of the new count's chamberlain's, a man named Jacques Lagree. 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:11.920 Lagree was from a slightly less esteemed family. His father 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:16.040 was a minor squire, but Lagree was well educated, which 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:19.000 was unusual and which even led to him taking minor 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:23.840 clerical orders. He was considered affable and usually noted as 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:28.720 being particularly strong and tall. He was also rumored to 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:33.120 be a slight womanizer. Him taking minor clerical orders didn't 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.240 forbid him from getting married and bearing at least a 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:40.600 few heirs. Jean likes Lagree well enough that after he 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:43.800 got married and had a son, he named Jacques Lagree 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:48.600 the baby's godfather, a majorly important role in the thirteen hundreds. 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:53.199 But Jean gar Rouge wasn't the only one charmed by Lagree. 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:57.640 Count Pierre almost immediately took a liking to him, honoring 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:01.760 him with court positions and gifts, spending time with him. 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:05.200 It was obvious to everyone in court that Lagree was 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:09.040 the Count's favorite and that he would quickly be advancing 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:14.720 in the political ranks beyond his title of chamberlain. Lagree 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:17.439 was granted the position of captain at the fourth of 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:22.439 m and the Count gave him an extravagant gift, an estate, 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:30.880 a very nice estate called annual Fouqon friendships sometimes fall apart. 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:35.120 The two men, Jean Carrouge and Jacques Lagree, we're about 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:37.560 the same age, and they have been more or less 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:42.079 social equals until they weren't they're slow drift away from 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:46.160 one another became even more pronounced. In thirteen eighty, when 0:09:46.240 --> 0:09:50.679 Jean was dealing with personal tragedy. Both his wife and 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:54.360 his only child, the son that Lagres had once held 0:09:54.400 --> 0:10:00.160 as godfather, died. Torn apart by grief and frustration and 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:04.040 at his middling position in Count Pierre's court, Jean Carouge 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.040 went off on a military campaign to try to bolster 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:11.199 his reputation. Over the five months that he was serving 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.200 under the king's command, John did manage to raise his 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:18.000 profile slightly, and he became known as a respectable soldier. 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:21.520 But also in the time of way, Jehan came to 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:25.200 understand the painful truth of the risk he was taking 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:29.640 out on the battlefield. He had no living heirs, and 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:33.040 if he died, the Carouge name would die with him, 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:36.520 all of the property, the reputation that his family had 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:41.600 built up for generations. It would disappear, inherited by someone else, 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:46.040 someone with a different family name and a different family line. 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:50.560 So when Jean Carouge returned home after half a year away, 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.880 it was with the determination that he would find a 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:58.160 bride as quickly as possible, and he did a young 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:02.240 woman named Marguerite de Thibe, likely still a teenager at 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:07.280 the time. Marguerite was described by contemporary sources as being 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:12.120 wealthy and very beautiful. The latter was a perk. The 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:15.640 former was essential for Jean Carouge. Though he had a 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:18.960 good family name, he didn't quite have the wealth to 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:23.600 match Marguerite in that regard was a perfect fit for him. 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:28.000 Her family was rich, but their reputation was a little tarnished. 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:31.120 His father was a Norman who had sided with the 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:34.800 English in the fight against the French king. A marriage 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:38.640 with the karuga Is, an old and loyal family, would 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:45.760 help bolster Marguerite's family's reputation. Jacques Lagree wasn't present at 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:49.960 the wedding, nor at any of the celebratory festivities that followed, 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:54.920 but the relationship between Jean and Lagree would soon become 0:11:55.080 --> 0:12:01.200 even more strained. In marrying Marguerite Thibeville, Jean Carouge was 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:05.319 especially hoping that her dowry would include her father's lovely 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:10.720 estate at Anneure Faucon. There was only one problem. Those 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:13.959 lands had been purchased by Count Pierre a few years 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:18.679 prior for eight thousand livres. Jean tried to wrestle the 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:22.000 lands back from Pierre, even going so far as to 0:12:22.040 --> 0:12:25.920 take him to court. The issue became so heated that 0:12:26.000 --> 0:12:29.400 eventually Pierre had to go to his cousin, the king, 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:34.480 to once and for all established the formal written royal 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:39.200 approval for the purchase of the lands. And here's the kicker. 0:12:39.800 --> 0:12:44.120 Perhaps you remember, Count Pierre had already given the land 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:48.520 away as a gift to his favorite chamberlain, Jacques Lagree. 0:12:52.480 --> 0:12:56.240 So the relationship between Jacques Lagree and Jean Carorouge at 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:59.760 this point was bitter, and from this point on, the 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:05.079 relationship between Jean and Count Pierre would be downright antagonistic. 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:08.880 Over the next three years, the two men would be 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:13.320 embroiled in legal battle after legal battle. After the death 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:16.960 of his father, Jean would sue the Count again because 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:20.360 Jean had been expecting to inherit his father's position as 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:24.400 captain of the castle at Bilm. After the death of 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:28.280 his father, Jean sued the Count again because Jean had 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:32.200 been expecting to inherit his father's position as captain of 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:35.840 the Fort of Biln. That was traditionally how things went 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:39.439 at the time, and for what it was worth Lagree 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:43.240 had already been made captain of a fort, but disliking 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:46.880 Jean Carrouge, the count passed him over, and the Count 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.720 would spite him yet again when he would deny Jean 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:53.439 permission to buy a few neighboring fiefs to expand his holdings. 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:59.000 All the while Jens resentment and jealousy towards Lagris simmered 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:03.000 a very slight that Count Pierre made toward him, Jean 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:07.559 imagined Lagres behind it, whispering in the Count's ear, influencing 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:12.360 him against him. But even pre enemies can sometimes find 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:16.880 ways to mend fences, and in thirteen eighty three, Jean 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:21.040 Carouge and Jacques Lagree found themselves at the same party 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:24.560 thrown by a squire named Jean Crispin. The two men 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:27.560 saw each other from across the room. They were both 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:32.360 wearing their family colors, Causian red with silver accents and 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:36.720 Lagree in silver with red. They shook hands and Jean 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:40.880 politely introduced Lagree to his wife, Marguerite, for the first time. 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:46.280 Lagree was charmed onlookers remarked how taken he had seemed 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:51.600 by Marguerite. The next year, Carouge went on another campaign 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:56.720 to bolster his reputation. Though that military expedition itself was 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:59.880 a failure, and Carouge lost five of his nine men 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.880 along with a good amount of his money, he still 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:06.480 came out fairly well in terms of his reputation. He 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.240 was even awarded a knighthood on the field of battle. 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:13.600 Now Jean was technically higher rank than Jacques Lagree, who 0:15:13.640 --> 0:15:17.280 was still a squire, but John was also close to bankrupt, 0:15:17.640 --> 0:15:19.840 and by the time he returned to Parchet he was 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:24.880 exhausted and resentful, especially once he became aware of how 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:28.840 much higher Laguis Starr had risen socially in the time 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:31.760 he was gone, and how much money Lagree had been 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:36.480 given by generous noblemen. Jean was barely home a fortnight 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:39.400 before he had to continue on to Paris in order 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:43.040 to collect his back wages. He left his wife, Marguerite, 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:46.080 staying with his own mother, her mother in law, Nicole. 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:51.560 It was during this brief trip that everything would change. 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.920 Jacques Lagree would allegedly commit the crime that would send 0:15:56.000 --> 0:16:00.400 him and Jean Carrouge on the unstoppable path towards battle 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:09.520 to the death. Marguerite recounted the story later on January 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:15.480 eighty six, Jacques Lagree squire, a man named Adam Lovell, 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:19.840 knocked on the door. Typically, a servant would have answered 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:22.800 the door, but Marguerite's mother in law was attending to 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:25.640 business in the next town over, and she had taken 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:28.920 most of the servants with her, and so Margaret opened 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.720 the door herself to find Lovell, who bowed deeply and 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:35.840 informed her that Jacques Lagree had come to call on her. 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:39.880 Jacques knew that her husband was away, he loved her, 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:43.720 and he wanted to see her. Marguerite told the squire 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:47.160 that she had no interest in seeing Lagree, but Lagree 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:51.920 came forward anyway and forced himself through the door. He 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:56.080 offered Marguerite money in exchange for sex, which she refused, 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:00.880 and then Jacques Lagree raped Marguerite on her bed while 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:04.199 his squire helped hold her down. He told her that 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:07.240 he would kill her if she told anyone, and then 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:12.280 he left and closed the door behind him. Marguerite was silent, 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.520 drowning in the shame and terror, until her husband returned 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.959 a few days later. She barely looked at him throughout 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:23.040 dinner and couldn't offer more than a word. The rest 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:26.679 of the evening while they prepared for bed. Only after 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:30.080 everyone in the house was asleep that night did Marguerite 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:32.480 fling herself on to her knees at the side of 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:37.280 her husband's bed. Weeping, she told him everything that had happened. 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:42.000 Barely able to contain his rage, John summoned a group 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:46.080 of his friends courtiers, including his mother and Marguerite's family. 0:17:46.800 --> 0:17:50.240 This was, after all, her virtue and their honor on 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:55.160 the line. Marguerite repeated her story exactly how it happened 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:59.119 to the assembled group. Should you have told me a falsehood, 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:02.280 Jan said to his wife, nevermore shall you live with me? 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:06.480 Marguerite shook her head. Everything she had said was true. 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:13.480 Then Jean said, stoically, the squire shall die. The brain 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:17.240 trust of friends and family that John had assembled filed 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:21.800 formal charges against Lagres at Count Pierre's court, but neither 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:25.200 Jean nor Marguerite went to the count in person. They 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:27.880 were well aware that there was no chance that Count 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:31.399 Pierre would ever rule against his favorite in favor of 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:35.600 a man he hated, and they were right. Count Pierre 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:40.639 dismissed the charges almost immediately, and so Jean Carrouge took 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:47.720 his grievance to the king. The King of France at 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:50.680 this time was a young Charles the six a man 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:54.200 we've talked about in this podcast, particularly in the context 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:58.000 of the tragic Ball of the Burning Men, a party 0:18:58.240 --> 0:19:01.520 during which several of his courtiers would burn to death 0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:06.520 when their wild man costumes caught on fire. But that 0:19:06.600 --> 0:19:09.440 tragedy would still be several years in the future at 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:12.399 this point, and it would be several more years after 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:17.960 that before Charles the sixth madness would emerge. At this point, 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:20.640 he was just a young king willing to hear out 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:24.760 the accusations from one night against one squire. The case 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:29.960 met before Parliament on July nine, eighty six. Jacques Lagree, 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:34.840 denying everything, outraged at the very accusation, hired a man 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:37.800 widely considered to be the best lawyer of the time, 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:41.320 a man named Jean the Cook. The Cook's notes are 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:45.120 one of historian's main sources of details for the proceeding 0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:48.840 of the trial. His notes also mentioned for the record 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:52.959 that even though he was defending Lagree, he had doubts 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:56.720 as to whether Lagres was actually as innocent as he claimed. 0:19:57.560 --> 0:20:01.879 Lagreise family perhaps also doubt being his innocence. Tried to 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:05.399 get him to insist on being tried through the Church, which, 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:08.160 because he was a cleric in the Minor Orders, would 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:12.240 be his right. The Church probably would be more sympathetic 0:20:12.280 --> 0:20:15.840 to him and it would remove the option of deadly 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:21.040 trial by combat, But Lagris refused. He was innocent, he said, 0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:25.040 and he wanted to challenge the accusations against him directly. 0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:30.480 Before the men presented their cases, Jean Carrouge threw a 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:35.320 glove to the floor, literally throwing down a gauntlet, challenging 0:20:35.440 --> 0:20:39.879 Lagree to a duel. Lagres picked it up, symbolically accepting. 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:43.600 The king ruled that a trial by combat would only 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:46.320 be permitted if the court could not come to a 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:51.200 definitive verdict. In the meantime, they heard the evidence. Adam 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:55.280 Lovell and all of Lagree's servants testified, all defending their 0:20:55.320 --> 0:20:59.680 master against the accusations against him. When Jacques Lagree testified 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:02.720 himsel elf, he talked about how Jean had always been 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:05.480 jealous of him and how he was famous for having 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:08.560 a temper. He said that he believed Jehan had made 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:11.879 up this entire story, and threatened to beat his wife 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:14.680 if she didn't go along with it. Plus, it would 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:17.680 have been impossible for him to ride that far fifty 0:21:17.720 --> 0:21:21.800 miles round trip in one evening in the snow, and besides, 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:27.000 he had an alibi. I'm cross examination those last points 0:21:27.080 --> 0:21:30.480 hit a bit of a snag. Lagres admitted that a 0:21:30.560 --> 0:21:34.680 man of his resources and riding ability would in fact 0:21:34.720 --> 0:21:37.919 have been able to ride fifty miles round trip, even 0:21:37.960 --> 0:21:42.720 in the snow. And slightly more damning, one of the 0:21:42.720 --> 0:21:46.360 men who was supposed to corroborate his alibi couldn't make 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:49.720 it to court because he himself had been arrested in 0:21:49.800 --> 0:21:55.640 Paris during the trial, arrested for rape. But the most 0:21:55.680 --> 0:22:00.280 important testimony of all came from Marguerite herself. Mar Great 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:03.639 was visibly pregnant when she took the stand, although because 0:22:03.720 --> 0:22:06.960 medical science at the time believed that a woman couldn't 0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:11.240 conceive from rape, that wasn't considered a relevant piece of evidence. 0:22:11.880 --> 0:22:14.639 But the very fact that Marguerite was telling the world 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:18.680 what had happened to her at all was considered powerful evidence. 0:22:19.520 --> 0:22:23.320 It would be scandalous and shameful to her family. Why 0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:25.640 would a woman ever go through all of this if 0:22:25.640 --> 0:22:30.919 it wasn't true? The court deliberated, and they came to 0:22:30.960 --> 0:22:35.840 their decision, or rather their nondecision, the case would be 0:22:35.960 --> 0:22:39.800 left in the hands of God. Jean Carrouge and Jacques 0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:43.879 Lagree would have a trial by combat, and it wasn't 0:22:43.960 --> 0:22:47.880 just the men's lives at stake. If Lagree was victorious, 0:22:48.400 --> 0:22:57.320 Marguerite would burn at the stake for perjury. The duel 0:22:57.440 --> 0:23:01.280 was originally scheduled for November of that year, but King 0:23:01.359 --> 0:23:05.640 Charles demanded that it be pushed back until December twenty nine, 0:23:05.720 --> 0:23:08.840 when he would be back from a campaign in Flanders. 0:23:09.080 --> 0:23:12.320 He didn't want to miss what was quickly becoming the 0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:16.959 most exciting event of the year. Between the time that 0:23:17.040 --> 0:23:20.200 the trial happened and the duel would take place, both 0:23:20.280 --> 0:23:24.040 Marguerite and King Charles his wife, the young Queen Isabeau, 0:23:24.520 --> 0:23:28.639 gave birth to sons. Marguerite's son was healthy, but the 0:23:28.720 --> 0:23:31.840 young Prince was ill, and he died just a day 0:23:31.880 --> 0:23:35.720 before the duel was scheduled to take place. Rather than 0:23:35.800 --> 0:23:40.360 shroud the palace in mourning, King Charles the six, perhaps 0:23:40.400 --> 0:23:44.919 already showing an early stage of madness, became frenzied. He 0:23:45.040 --> 0:23:49.440 demanded an endless dream of parties and festivities that would 0:23:49.440 --> 0:23:54.159 culminate in the massive event of the judicial duel. The 0:23:54.320 --> 0:23:58.640 stands were teeming with people, noblemen, both French and from 0:23:58.680 --> 0:24:03.080 around Europe. Separate stands were built for women with specially 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:06.960 made aisles to make it easier for ladies overcome from 0:24:06.960 --> 0:24:11.600 the blood or violence to excuse themselves. On the ground, 0:24:11.920 --> 0:24:14.920 peasants and merchants elbowed each other to try to get 0:24:14.960 --> 0:24:19.280 better views. Marguerite wore black and she sat in the 0:24:19.400 --> 0:24:22.719 carriage overlooking the field where the duel would be taking place. 0:24:23.560 --> 0:24:28.000 Her husband approached her moments before he went to the field. Lady, 0:24:28.200 --> 0:24:31.440 from your accusation and in your quarrel, I am thus 0:24:31.480 --> 0:24:35.679 adventuring my life to combat Jacques Lagree. He said, you 0:24:35.760 --> 0:24:39.960 know whether my cause be loyal and true. Marguerite, knowing 0:24:40.000 --> 0:24:43.560 full well with this battle risked for both of them, replied, 0:24:44.480 --> 0:24:47.439 my lord, it is so, and you may fight securely 0:24:47.560 --> 0:24:51.520 for your cause is good. Both men that came onto 0:24:51.520 --> 0:24:55.800 the dueling ground from opposite sides, wearing full metal armor, 0:24:56.280 --> 0:24:59.520 each was armed with a lance, a long sword and 0:24:59.680 --> 0:25:03.360 at and a dagger. They each also carried with them 0:25:03.400 --> 0:25:06.679 a jug of wine, some bread coins to pay for 0:25:06.720 --> 0:25:09.240 the use of the field. And a fodder for their 0:25:09.240 --> 0:25:12.320 horse on the off chance at the battle would require 0:25:12.359 --> 0:25:15.120 them to stop for the night and then start again 0:25:15.160 --> 0:25:20.960 the next morning. Sitting on throne like chairs on raised platforms, 0:25:21.000 --> 0:25:24.520 both men swore an oath in front of the silent crowd. 0:25:25.440 --> 0:25:29.080 This was a legal proceeding. Anyone who disturbed the duel 0:25:29.119 --> 0:25:32.040 by entering the field of battle would be put to death. 0:25:32.680 --> 0:25:36.199 Anyone who disturbed the proceeding by shouting or crying out 0:25:36.520 --> 0:25:40.399 would risk losing a hand. So though the field was 0:25:40.480 --> 0:25:44.879 teeming with spectators, it was an eerie and silent place. 0:25:45.840 --> 0:25:49.040 Soon it would only be filled with the sound of horses, 0:25:49.080 --> 0:25:55.359 hoofs and clashing metal. Both men prepared, adjusting their lances, 0:25:55.640 --> 0:26:00.119 mounting their horses, and then a herald cried out, do 0:26:00.280 --> 0:26:08.040 your duty, and the duel began. They charged at each other, 0:26:08.280 --> 0:26:11.840 both with their lances drawn, and both broke their lances 0:26:11.960 --> 0:26:15.280 on the other's shield. They continued to loop around on 0:26:15.320 --> 0:26:20.640 their horses, this time swinging their battle axes at one another. Lagree, 0:26:20.840 --> 0:26:23.800 the stronger man was able to get a killing blow 0:26:23.840 --> 0:26:27.439 with his axe to the neck of Caruge's horse, but Cauge, 0:26:27.800 --> 0:26:31.000 leaping safely from his dying mount, was able to kill 0:26:31.080 --> 0:26:34.920 Agrees horse from the ground. Now the men were facing 0:26:34.960 --> 0:26:39.080 off on foot with their long swords. Carug slipped and 0:26:39.119 --> 0:26:42.159 fell to the ground, and Lagree approached and managed to 0:26:42.200 --> 0:26:45.880 stab him in the thigh. But even bleeding and writhing 0:26:45.920 --> 0:26:49.919 in pain, John was determined. Still on the ground, his 0:26:50.040 --> 0:26:53.920 thigh in open wound, he grabbed Lagree by his armor 0:26:54.200 --> 0:26:58.160 and pulled him off balance. Lagree fell onto his back, 0:26:58.720 --> 0:27:01.879 his armor two v to allow him to rise again. 0:27:02.880 --> 0:27:06.240 Now Jean Carrouge had the upper hand. He tried to 0:27:06.320 --> 0:27:09.720 stab Lagree through his metal armor, but the plating was 0:27:09.800 --> 0:27:13.960 too thick, and so Jean straddled his enemy and used 0:27:14.000 --> 0:27:17.200 the handle of his small dagger to break the face 0:27:17.280 --> 0:27:20.840 plate on the front of Lagrez's helmet. With his sharp 0:27:20.920 --> 0:27:25.240 dagger inches from Lagree's eye, Jean Carorouge asked Lagree to 0:27:25.320 --> 0:27:29.199 confess what he did in the name of God, and 0:27:29.280 --> 0:27:32.920 on the peril and damnation of my soul, I am innocent, 0:27:33.359 --> 0:27:37.800 Jacques Lagree responded. Jean Carrouge didn't need to hear anything else. 0:27:38.640 --> 0:27:44.359 He stabbed Lagree in the neck and killed him. Stumbling, 0:27:44.480 --> 0:27:47.560 he rose to his feet. Have I done my duty? 0:27:47.840 --> 0:27:51.840 He asked? The court. Still shaking, he pulled off his 0:27:51.920 --> 0:27:55.440 helmet and knelt before the king. For his victory, King 0:27:55.520 --> 0:27:58.960 Charles gifted him a thousand livres and an annual income 0:27:58.960 --> 0:28:03.560