On September 18, 1698, the most mysterious prisoner in history was transferred to the Bastille, whose face no one saw even after his death
All that is known for certain is that this prisoner was listed in the Paris fortress under number 64489001. Presumably, he was born in the 40s of the 17th century and was previously held in various prisons. In the Bastille he died five years later and was buried under the name Marchialli. All the deceased’s belongings were burned and the walls were defaced so that no message from him would remain. the site considers various versions - who was hiding behind the creepy mask and for what sins.
Version No. 1: illegitimate son
The secret prisoner was first mentioned in the “Secret Notes of the Persian Court” (1745), which directly states that he was an illegitimate son Louis XIV and his favorites Louise Françoise de Lavalliere. He bore the title of Duke of Vermandois and allegedly committed a severe fine by hitting his brother, the Grand Dauphin, in the face. For this reason, he was put behind bars, hiding his face. However, the illegitimate son of the king died at the age of 16 in 1683, and according to the records of the Jesuit confessor of the Bastille Griffe, an unknown person went to prison in 1698. By the way, a Catholic monk claimed that a velvet mask covered his face. The ironclad ones were hung on him by literary inventors.
Version No. 2: hated twin
Philosopher-educator Francois Voltaire in his historical work “The Age of Louis XIV” (1751) he wrote that the twin brother of the “Sun King” was hiding under a terrible mask. One boy was being prepared for succession to the throne, but the second was unlucky - he was carefully hidden from the public. When Louis met his mirror image, he decided to imprison him in the Bastille so as not to share the throne with anyone.
Version No. 3: adventure novel
Another version: an Italian swindler of noble blood was disfigured with a mask Ercole Antonio Mattioli– minister Charles Ferdinand of Mantua. In 1678, he concluded an agreement with the king, according to which he promised to force his duke to surrender the Casale fortress in Piedmont for 10 thousand crowns. However, the deceiver took the money, but did not do what he promised, and even sold this secret to other countries, again for a reward. It was decided to throw the state traitor into the dungeons, and put his vile face in a mask.
Version No. 4: Russian trace
The most incredible assumption is that a Russian was tortured behind an iron visor Emperor Peter I. It was during this period of time that he was in Europe on a diplomatic mission. The autocrat was caught, thrown into the fortress, and instead of him, a double returned to St. Petersburg. The version was also justified by the fact that after that trip, Peter I turned his attention to European traditions and began to implant them in Rus'.
Peter I, artist - Paul Delaroche. Source: wikipedia Version No. 5: shameful past
Turns out, Louis XIV kept secret encrypted notes, which were read by a French cryptographer. According to him, an angry king could throw a French general into the Bastille Vivienne de Bulonda, who disgraced the country in one of the battles of the Nine Years' War. Among the candidates for the prisoner in the iron mask are several dozen more people, and among them is one unknown woman.
More versions
The British insisted that the abbot was hidden under the iron mask Pregnani- secret agent Louis XIV, who disappeared while going on a secret mission in 1669 to Charles II of England. A French historian spoke of a certain priest who knew too much about the king's adultery with the marquise de Montespan. There was an assumption that the little Moor was hidden in this way Nabo- Servant of the Sun King's Wife Maria Theresa of Austria. Allegedly, she became the boy’s mistress and even gave birth to him.
On November 19, 1703, a man who spent the last four decades of his life in various prisons in France was buried in the Saint-Paul cemetery at the infamous Bastille prison. He is without a doubt the most famous prisoner in French history, although no one knows why he had to spend half his life in a cell, and, as history claims, in almost perfect isolation and with his face shackled in an iron mask.
The first known record of this unfortunate man dates back to July 1669, when the Marquis de Louvois, in a letter to Benigny d'Auvergne de Saint-Mars, the governor of the Pinerol prison, mentioned a certain Eustache Doge, who should be arrested for his actions against the crown. An excellent contender for the title of "Iron Mask".
But was this his real name? This cannot be confirmed or refuted, since analysis of the letter showed that the name of the criminal was signed by another person, perhaps even after the letter was written by the author himself. And this is another mystery that shrouds the already insoluble mystery of history.
We also have numerous references to this person in the works of writers of that time, which inspire more confidence. For example, Voltaire mentions him in his work Le siècle de Louis XIV ("The Age of Louis XIV"). As you know, Voltaire was imprisoned in the Bastille in 1717, where he spent about a year. Naturally, he met with many prisoners, and some of them stated in a conversation with the enlightenment thinker that they allegedly came into contact with the mysterious prisoner while he was alive.
The existence of the man in the iron mask has also been noted in other historical references, such as Le mémoire secret pour servir à l'histoire de la Percy ("The Mysterious Memory") by an unknown author, the writings of one of the most famous journalists of the French Revolution, Baron Friedrich Melchior von Grimm and personal diary of Etienne de Junc, one of the Bastille employees who witnessed the death of a prisoner.
However, the source that made this prisoner famous among the masses was Alexandre Dumas's The Man in the Iron Mask, which was the third and last in a series of stories that began with the adventures of the Three Musketeers. The book, although believed to be completely fictitious, appears to contain some reliable information, as the author has conducted a fairly detailed investigation into the case. French classic literature was often inspired by real stories of people, around which additional details were created and colorful action took place (this also applies to The Count of Monte Cristo, which was based on biographical accounts of a real person).
In any case, as already mentioned, the order for Doge's imprisonment was given by the Marquis de Louvois, Louis XIV's secretary for military affairs. Among other things, it was stipulated that Dauger was to be kept in high-security prisons, where he would have the right to communicate only with a very narrow circle of people (in particular, jailers and other high-ranking officials). And if he ever dared to talk to anyone about something that did not relate to his natural needs and requirements, he should have been executed immediately. To achieve this goal, Dauger was placed under the supervision of Benigny d’Auvergne de Saint-Mars himself, who was supposed to ensure that all orders “from above” were carried out until the end of the prisoner’s life.
But as early accounts of Dauger's life behind bars say, these strict rules began to be forgotten over time. For example, he received permission to become a prison servant for former finance minister Nicolas Fouquet when his servant was ill. The only condition was that he should not meet anyone else except Fouquet. If there were strangers in the cell, Doge was not supposed to go there. But why were Fouquet given such amenities? It has been suggested that, although he was to remain in prison for the rest of his life, he was not prohibited from receiving guests or corresponding with the most influential people of the time. 
The fact that Dauger became someone's servant and then served as a laborer in the same prison is also significant. Given the rules of the era, if he had been a royal, or even just a high-ranking relative, or related to earls, marquises, and viscounts, he would not have been allowed to serve. Has someone of royal blood been jailed for life on dubious charges? Perfect! (such prisoners were entitled to a whole staff of servants and other benefits of the nobility). To be “on the premises”, having noble roots? Unthinkable.
In any case, the main reason we still remember this poor fellow, and not a hundred other prisoners, is his mask. Why was his face hidden from the public? Some historians argue that this is nothing more than a trick by the ambitious Bénigny d'Auvergne de Saint-Mars, who came up with it during the transfer of a prisoner to Saint-Marguerite in 1687 to impress the crowd by pointing out the importance of the criminal he himself the king entrusted him with guarding. It was after this “transfer” that a rumor appeared among the people that the prisoner was forced to always wear an iron mask.
On September 18, 1698, Saint-Mars received another promotion and this time became the manager of the Bastille. It was at this point that Dauger was again transferred to a Paris prison. According to Voltaire and other prisoners who saw a man in an iron mask within the walls of the old fortress, this man never took off the mask. However, it should be noted that the aforementioned Lieutenant de Junca, who served there, repeatedly claimed that the mask was, in fact, made of black velvet.
Dauger died in prison on November 19, 1703. San Mars described him as "disposed to the will of God and to the king" in contrast to most of the prisoners. If it is true that he was forced to hide his face under a mask and serve Fouquet, then perhaps this prisoner was recognizable or had an obvious resemblance to another person, most likely from high society (whether by direct relationship or pure coincidence).
But the question remains, was he just a humble servant or had the misfortune of witnessing something that the king kept secret, or was he like one of the representatives of the ruling elite? Why didn't the disgruntled king and the French authorities simply kill him? People from the peasant class could easily be executed due to the slightest accusations (not always fair), for example, for communication with the devil or theft of ears of corn from the royal fields. Why did they take the risk of letting him live even though they took steps to preserve his anonymity? And if he was of royal blood, why was he allowed to work as a servant? And for that matter, why was he allowed to regularly communicate with Fouquet, to whom he could tell his secret, and he, in turn, would let it slip in one of his letters to the outside? So it wasn't that big of a secret that was kept behind this mask.
It goes without saying that a minor historical fact would not ultimately lead to numerous speculations, theories and searches for evidence in support of any of them. According to Voltaire, the man in the iron mask was the elder illegitimate brother of Louis XIV (from Anne of Austria's relationship with Cardinal Mazarin), while according to Dumas, the mysterious prisoner was none other than Louis XIV's twin, who was born a minute later before and thus should have become the rightful king of France.
Another theory is that he was the real father of King Louis XIV. Everyone knows that Louis XIII was quite old at the time of the “miraculous” birth of Louis XIV. But an heir was needed so that Louis XIII's brother Gaston d'Orléans would not receive the throne. Cardinal Richelieu and the queen herself were against him for various political reasons. Therefore, according to the defenders of this assumption, the cardinal and Anna found another man, who became the biological father of the Dauphin. Like other theories, there is no actual proof of this, but at least it explains why the prisoner loved the king so much, despite the fact that the same king imprisoned him for life. Of course, it would be cruel to force one's own father to live in prison as a slave, assuming that Louis knew that he was his father. And if he didn’t know, then why keep him alive or put him in prison at all? There were no DNA tests back then, and people wouldn’t have believed it if any man had talked about having a relationship with the queen.
One of the most compelling theories to date in terms of history and plausibility comes from a coded letter from King Louis XIV about General Vivien de Bulonde, who incurred the ruler's wrath when he fled from approaching Austrian troops, abandoning wounded soldiers and provisions to the enemy. After the encryption was solved, scientists were able to read the following:
“His Majesty knows better than any other man the consequences of this act, and he also knows how deeply our defeat has damaged our cause, a failure which we must make up for during the winter. His Majesty wishes you to immediately arrest General Bulond and convey him to the fortress of Pinerol, where he will be locked in a cage under guard, and measures 330 and 390 should be taken against him.”
What are “measures 330 and 309”?
According to scientists, “330” meant wearing a mask, and “309” meant life imprisonment, but, again, these are only the conclusions of historians. Perhaps the king simply had a penchant for shackling prisoners he didn’t particularly like in masks as punishment. But the main inconsistency in this theory is that General Vivien de Bulonde died in 1709, while the “Iron Mask” died six years earlier (according to records found in the archives).
What then to do with Eustache Doget? Does this mean that this mystery of the great Bastille is not connected with his name? It is known for certain that Estache Dauger de Cavoy, the son of the captain of the guard of Cardinal Richelieu, really existed and was born in 1637. In his youth he joined the army, but was forced to resign in disgrace after killing a young man in a drunken brawl. Later, he was imprisoned. Due to endless complaints about his imprisonment to his sister and letters to the king asking him to improve his conditions, in 1678 Louis ordered a ban on his correspondence and ordered him to be protected from all visitors, except when a priest was present at the “date”.
The problem with Kavoy's story is that he was kept in Saint-Lazare and the man in the iron mask was in Pinerol. In addition, Cavoy does not fit into the description of San Mars as “disposed to the will of God and to the king,” and among documents from that time there is evidence that he died in the 1680s, long before another famous one went to the next world us Eustache Doge.
We know very little about the man in the iron mask and are not sure whether he was actually guilty of a terrible crime against the king or was forced to hide his face so that no one would recognize him as another person. Or maybe he really was an ordinary guy named Eustache Doget and a simple servant who “annoyed” the king, but not so much as to kill him. Although, what must a servant be guilty of in order to be locked in a damp cell infested with rats, without the opportunity to communicate with people and with the humiliating duty of wearing an ugly mask? Who knows, perhaps the king's favorite favorite is involved? But on the other hand, this is such an intriguing story that scientists will struggle for centuries to unravel the identity and fate of the “Iron Mask.”
Iron Mask - the most mysterious prisoner of the era of Louis XIV remained in history under this name. All that is reliably known about this man is the number under which he was registered in the Bastille (64489001). Presumably, he was born in the 40s of the 17th century. He was kept in different prisons. In 1698 he was finally placed in the Bastille, where he died.
Historical information
In fact, prisoner No. 64489001 did not wear an iron mask, but only a velvet mask. It was supposed to hide his identity from outsiders, but in no way serve as a means of torture (like an iron one). Even the guards themselves did not know what kind of criminal was wearing this mask. Its mystery gradually became the reason for the emergence of numerous legends and speculations.
The prisoner in the iron mask was first mentioned in the Secret Notes of the Persian Court, published in Amsterdam in 1745. The author of the notes indicates that under number 64489001 the illegitimate son of the royal Louis XIV and his beloved, the Duchess de La Vallière, was kept in the casemate. He bore the title of Count of Vermandois. In conclusion, he was caught for slapping his brother, the Grand Dauphin.
This version is absolutely untenable, since the real Count of Vermandois died at the age of 16 in 1683. Before that, he managed to take part in the war with Spain, so he simply did not have time for such a long imprisonment. Jesuit Griffe, who served as a confessor at the Bastille, recorded that the mysterious prisoner was first brought to the Bastille in 1698, and he died in 1703.
Elder brother or twin of Louis XIV
Later, Francois Voltaire suggested that the gentleman in the iron mask could be the half-brother of Louis XIV himself. The king did not need rivals, so he imprisoned his brother in the Bastille, having previously obliged him to wear a mask on his face. Obviously, all the mystery that surrounded this prisoner could be connected with this. Voltaire expressed this conjecture in his 1751 work “The Age of Louis XIV.”
Anne of Austria was considered infertile for a long time. Then she gave birth to an illegitimate son, after which the legitimate heir to the throne, Louis XIV, was born. The latter, having learned about the presence of an older brother, decided to end his life. In addition, there were rumors that Louis himself was not the king’s own son. This called into question his right to the crown.
Louis XIV could not execute the son of the French queen and his own brother, so he chose to imprison the unfortunate young man forever. Wearing a mask is a way to hide a secret that could cause a coup. History has not preserved the name of this supposed older brother.
There have also been speculations that the Iron Mask is actually the twin brother of Louis XIV. The appearance of male twins among the royal couple spontaneously gave rise to a lot of problems with the succession to the throne. One of the queen's sons had to be sacrificed in order to maintain stability in the country. The boy was raised secretly. Having matured, Louis XIV learned about his twin brother, who looked like him like a reflection in a mirror. Fearing for his crown, Louis ordered the elimination of his rival.
Ercole Mattioli
The fourth version was the assumption that the famous Italian adventurer Ercole Antonio Mattioli was hiding under the mask. In 1678, an agreement was concluded between him and Louis XIV: Mattioli undertook to persuade his overlord to give the king the fortress of Casale. The Italian successfully sold this state secret to several countries for a substantial reward. For this he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the French government.
General Bulond
The reason for the emergence of another version was the secret notes of Louis XIV. The French king kept encrypted diaries, which were deciphered several centuries later by the famous cryptographer Etienne Bazerie. It turned out that the masked prisoner could also be the French general Vivien de Bulonde, who covered himself and France with indelible shame in one of the battles of the Nine Years' War. This version, like all others, has not been proven 100%.
The real Peter I
Various historians and researchers, intrigued by the great mystery, continued to put forward all sorts of versions regarding the identity of the prisoner in the iron mask. Most historians came to the conclusion that it could have been one of the conspirators who dared to take aim at royal power. Among them: the Lorraine Armoise, the royal minister Fouquet, Cardinal Mazarin, etc.
Another version even concerned Russia. According to it, Peter I himself, and the true tsar, was imprisoned in the Bastille. In 1698 - precisely when prisoner No. 64489001 appeared in the Bastille - the Russian Tsar was allegedly replaced. Peter I was then carrying out a diplomatic mission (“Grand Embassy”) in Europe.
The true, Orthodox Russian Tsar, who sacredly revered traditions, went abroad. The European returned, dressed in a “basurman dress” and with a whole bunch of innovations wild for patriarchal Rus'. After this, they began to say that Peter the Great had been replaced abroad with an impostor. This substitution was later associated with the Iron Mask. It is still not known who actually wore it.
Iron Mask - the most mysterious prisoner of the era of Louis XIV remained in history under this name. All that is reliably known about this man is the number under which he was registered in the Bastille (64489001). Presumably, he was born in the 40s of the 17th century. He was kept in different prisons. In 1698 he was finally placed in the Bastille, where he died.
Historical information
In fact, prisoner No. 64489001 did not wear an iron mask, but only a velvet mask. It was supposed to hide his identity from outsiders, but in no way serve as a means of torture (like an iron one). Even the guards themselves did not know what kind of criminal was wearing this mask. Its mystery gradually became the reason for the emergence of numerous legends and speculations.
The prisoner in the iron mask was first mentioned in the Secret Notes of the Persian Court, published in Amsterdam in 1745. The author of the notes indicates that under number 64489001 the illegitimate son of the royal Louis XIV and his beloved, the Duchess de La Vallière, was kept in the casemate. He bore the title of Count of Vermandois. In conclusion, he was caught for slapping his brother, the Grand Dauphin.
This version is absolutely untenable, since the real Count of Vermandois died at the age of 16 in 1683. Before that, he managed to take part in the war with Spain, so he simply did not have time for such a long imprisonment. Jesuit Griffe, who served as a confessor at the Bastille, recorded that the mysterious prisoner was first brought to the Bastille in 1698, and he died in 1703.
Elder brother or twin of Louis XIV
Later, Francois Voltaire suggested that the gentleman in the iron mask could be the half-brother of Louis XIV himself. The king did not need rivals, so he imprisoned his brother in the Bastille, having previously obliged him to wear a mask on his face. Obviously, all the mystery that surrounded this prisoner could be connected with this. Voltaire expressed this conjecture in his 1751 work “The Age of Louis XIV.”
Anne of Austria was considered infertile for a long time. Then she gave birth to an illegitimate son, after which the legitimate heir to the throne, Louis XIV, was born. The latter, having learned about the presence of an older brother, decided to end his life. In addition, there were rumors that Louis himself was not the king’s own son. This called into question his right to the crown.
Louis XIV could not execute the son of the French queen and his own brother, so he chose to imprison the unfortunate young man forever. Wearing a mask is a way to hide a secret that could cause a coup. History has not preserved the name of this supposed older brother.
There have also been speculations that the Iron Mask is actually the twin brother of Louis XIV. The appearance of male twins among the royal couple spontaneously gave rise to a lot of problems with the succession to the throne. One of the queen's sons had to be sacrificed in order to maintain stability in the country. The boy was raised secretly. Having matured, Louis XIV learned about his twin brother, who looked like him like a reflection in a mirror. Fearing for his crown, Louis ordered the elimination of his rival.
Ercole Mattioli
The fourth version was the assumption that the famous Italian adventurer Ercole Antonio Mattioli was hiding under the mask. In 1678, an agreement was concluded between him and Louis XIV: Mattioli undertook to persuade his overlord to give the king the fortress of Casale. The Italian successfully sold this state secret to several countries for a substantial reward. For this he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the French government.
General Bulond
The reason for the emergence of another version was the secret notes of Louis XIV. The French king kept encrypted diaries, which were deciphered several centuries later by the famous cryptographer Etienne Bazerie. It turned out that the masked prisoner could also be the French general Vivien de Bulonde, who covered himself and France with indelible shame in one of the battles of the Nine Years' War. This version, like all others, has not been proven 100%.
The real Peter I
Various historians and researchers, intrigued by the great mystery, continued to put forward all sorts of versions regarding the identity of the prisoner in the iron mask. Most historians came to the conclusion that it could have been one of the conspirators who dared to take aim at royal power. Among them: the Lorraine Armoise, the royal minister Fouquet, Cardinal Mazarin, etc.
Another version even concerned Russia. According to it, Peter I himself, and the true tsar, was imprisoned in the Bastille. In 1698 - precisely when prisoner No. 64489001 appeared in the Bastille - the Russian Tsar was allegedly replaced. Peter I was then carrying out a diplomatic mission (“Grand Embassy”) in Europe.
The true, Orthodox Russian Tsar, who sacredly revered traditions, went abroad. The European returned, dressed in a “basurman dress” and with a whole bunch of innovations wild for patriarchal Rus'. After this, they began to say that Peter the Great had been replaced abroad with an impostor. This substitution was later associated with the Iron Mask. It is still not known who actually wore it.
The truth about the man in the iron mask
Who among us doesn't like detective stories? An intriguing plot, mysterious characters and a completely unexpected solution to a seemingly insoluble problem. All this attracts the attention of fans of the detective genre.
However, unfortunately, most detective stories are short-lived, and only a few of them could last for centuries. One of them is the story of the “Iron Mask,” the dark secret of a prisoner doomed to wear the black mask on his face until the end of his days.
More than 300 years have passed since the time when the Unknown first appeared in one of the gloomy royal castles in a black velvet mask that covered his face (later popular rumor replaced velvet with iron). What versions have not been put forward about the man in the Iron Mask over the years.
According to one version, the king of England miraculously escaped execution was hidden under the mask. Another nominates the illegitimate son of Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV, for this unenviable role. There was also an assumption that the mysterious prisoner was the “king of the Parisian markets”, the Duke de Beaufort.
Each of these versions, as a rule, refutes the others, and none of them can withstand comparison of the facts known from historical documents. For many years, researchers have tried to find out the truth. For two centuries, an army of detectives and historians struggled to solve this mystery. And it would have remained unsolved if not for the Moscow scientist Yuri Borisovich Tatarinov. It was he who managed to shed light on the mysterious story of the prisoner in the Iron Mask.
Tatarinov began his investigation by selecting real facts. He had dozens of historical documents in his hands. Thanks to them, the scientist immediately rejected all “literary versions” and came to the conclusion that the search for the Iron Mask must be carried out among those prisoners who arrived in Paris on September 18, 1698 from the Mediterranean island of Sainte-Marguerite, accompanied by the new commandant of the Bastille.
At the beginning of the investigation, the Moscow scientist identified 8 “suspects,” but later 5 characters in the “detective story” disappeared for various reasons. The three most credible candidates for the role of the Iron Mask remain. This is Nicolas Fouquet, the former superintendent of finances of King Louis XIV, the mysterious “servant” Eustache Dauger and the minister of the Duke of Mantua, Count Mattioli. Now, out of three “suspects,” it was necessary to choose one - the one who had been hiding his face under a mask for many years.
The task was not an easy one, and the scientist first decided to find out the reasons and circumstances of the arrest of each of the three possible candidates for the role of the Iron Mask.
After studying many historical documents, the scientist learned:
Nicolas Fouquet, who became fantastically rich from trade and speculation, a rival of the “Sun King” himself, was caught in dirty tricks and, by order of the king, was arrested on September 5. Accused of financial fraud and sedition (Fronde conspiracy), Fouquet was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment. In January 1665, Fouquet crossed the threshold of the castle of the Pignerol fortress.
Next on the list was the mysterious “servant” Eustache Doget, who was brought to the castle on August 24, 1669. Eustache Doget was arrested by order of Louis XIV as having caused royal discontent. Together with the prisoner, an order came to keep this prisoner in complete secrecy in a special punishment cell with double doors, with one meal only. On pain of death, he was forbidden to talk even with the commandant about anything other than everyday needs, and to convey any news about himself. There is also a version that the name Eustache Doget is nothing more than a pseudonym, since the draft orders for his arrest and delivery to Pignerol were nameless.
The third prisoner of the Pignerol castle was the minister of the Duke of Mantua, Count Mattioli, who was delivered on May 2, 1679. Accused of revealing to the rulers of Austria, Spain and Venice the secret of a deal between the king and the duke for the sale of the border town of Casale, Mattioli was brought to the castle in strict secrecy. His face was hidden by a black velvet mask. This was the beginning of the prison journey of the three main “suspects”.
However, finding out the reasons and circumstances of the arrest of these three people, unfortunately, could not clarify anything. Then Yuri Borisovich decided to trace their further fate. And here Tatarinov discovered that the fates of these people intersected in a strange way.
1674, September - when one of Fouquet’s servants, a certain Monsieur Champagne, died, the commandant of the Saint-Mars fortress gave none other than the prisoner Estache Doget into the service of the ex-minister. At the same time, Saint-Mars warned Fouquet that no one except the ex-minister himself and his second servant La Riviera should communicate with Doget.
In January, Fouquet was sent a “personal message” from one of Louis XIV’s close associates, Louvois. “You will learn,” wrote Louvois, “the precautions mentioned by Saint-Mars, required by the king, which are taken to prevent Eustache Dauger from communicating with anyone other than you. The King expects you to make every effort, for you know why no one should know what he knows."
Fouquet agreed and as a reward received permission, signed by Louis, to meet his family. However, literally a week after receiving the letter, the ex-minister fell ill. 1680, March - a rumor spread about the unexpected death of the former intendant of finance. But no one has ever seen the documents - death certificates, autopsy and funeral certificates. (The date of Fouquet’s official death is considered to be March 23, 1680, but his body was given to relatives for burial only a year later, so no one could determine for sure whether it was Fouquet. Along with this, Colbert’s employees spread a legend that the ex-minister was allegedly released and died on the way to the capital in Chalon-on-Saône...
After the mysterious death of Fouquet, exactly a month later, according to documents, Count Mattioli died, and an unknown prisoner appears in one of the cells of the castle-prison, whose face is hidden under a black velvet mask. Fouquet's strange death also affected the fate of the third prisoner, Eustache Dauger. 1681, September - the former “servant” was transported in a closed stretcher to Fort Exile, located in the South-Western Alps (a rumor spread among the people at that time that Fouquet’s servants were released after his death).
Dauger spent six years at Fort Exile and in 1687, accompanied by Saint-Mars, was transferred to Sainte-Marguerite, to a cell specially prepared for him. 1698, September - the last move in Eustache Doge's life took place. Saint-Mars arrived with him at the Bastille as governor, replacing the deceased Besmo. 5 years later (November 19, 1703) Doge died. He was buried under a new fictitious name - Marscioli, similar to the name of the missing prisoner Pignerol Mattioli.
Perhaps Dauger could know a lot about Fouquet, in particular the secret of the events of March 23, 1680 - the time of Fouquet’s possible “transformation” into the “unknown” prisoner of Pignerol. In addition, Doge possessed, according to historians, his own secrets.
Having carefully analyzed (using the system analysis method) all the data obtained, the scientist built a matrix to solve this problem. Its lines were a chronological list of events taken from the “nodal” documents, and the columns were the prisoners of Pignerol. At the intersections of rows and columns - the correspondence of one of the heroes of the tragedy to the event described in the document. But, having conducted thought experiments with all the “undertrials,” Tatarinov was unable to come to any definite conclusion.
He was never able to reasonably put an “iron mask” on any of the “suspects”; At some crossroads, contradictions constantly appeared.
The “Mattioli – Iron Mask” version of the 16 most important documents did not touch upon 9 at all, and could not explain one.
The version regarding Dozhe did not intersect with four and could not explain one.
Fouquet's version passed over two documents in silence, did not explain one, and interpreted 5 documents with a stretch, that is, with certain assumptions. As a result, each version was given up. None of the “under investigation” approached.
Having made such a bleak conclusion, Yuri Borisovich was ready to admit defeat and agree with the skeptics who categorically declared that the 300-year-old secret would never be revealed. But suddenly an original thought struck him: what if the mask was worn by two or even three prisoners, one after the other?
Thus, the trio of “subjects” he chose, Fouquet – Mattioli – Dauger, was ideally suited to solving this problem. After the death of the first prisoner with a black mask on his face - Fouquet - it was put on Count Mattioli. However, a month later he also died. Then the mask was put on Doge, who, having spent many years sitting next to Fouquet, knew too much.
It was Doget who was the same mysterious prisoner who was brought to Paris in the “iron mask”. There, in solitary confinement in the Bastille, he lived out his last years. The “servant” paid with two decades of secret solitary confinement for knowing the secrets of Fouquet, whom he happened to serve in Pignerol.
This is how, thanks to the “identification matrix” invented by Yu.B. Tatarinov, the secret of the many faces of the Iron Mask was revealed. But then the question immediately arises: why hide Doge’s face under a mask? After all, it is known that until March 23, 1680, he did not wear it. The scientist explains it this way: the mask was originally required to hide a well-known face, and then to hide the fact that this person no longer exists.
However, having found the answer to one riddle, we immediately received another in return. Who is Fouquet's "mysterious servant" Eustache Doge? After all, if Doge is a pseudonym, then who is he really? And if Fouquet actually died on March 23, 1680 from a fatal illness, then is the Doget mask justified? Was there a need for a mask at all if Doget was a little-known person? After all, it is known that in Pignerol he did not wear a mask and walked freely with Fouquet around the castle grounds.
And at the same time, from the beginning of 1679, his exit from the cell was strictly prohibited. This man was subjected to a set of precautions that had never been used on any other prisoner. And again numerous versions started working. Who was not offered for this role!
The Englishman A. Barnes suggested that it could be Abbe Pregnani, a secret agent of Louis XIV, who was sent on a secret mission in March 1669 to Charles II of England and whose disappearance coincided with the date of Doge's arrest in Dunkirk. A historian from France, E. Lalois, suggested that the mysterious Iron Mask of the Bastille is a priest who witnessed the amorous adventures of the monarch with Madame Montespan. It was also suggested that Eustache Doger was none other than the twin brother of Louis XIV himself. And finally, lawyer P.-M. Dijol suggested that the little Moor Nabo, who was in the service of Queen Maria Theresa, became a prisoner of the Bastille. But none of these versions have yet found documentary evidence.
Thus, as a result of solving one riddle, historians received another, no less interesting. And now they have to find the answer to the question: who was hiding under the guise of the mysterious “servant” Eustache Doger? This mystery is still waiting for its researchers.
