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The Mysterious Man of the Bastille Revealed
The original Bastille in the Place de la Bastille has been demolished, and a bronze column is erected in the center of the square to commemorate the overthrow of the feudal monarchy again by the French Revolution in 1830. It is located on the right bank of the Seine River in Paris, east of Paris. It is the site of many student movements.
The mysterious man of the Bastille
In the Bastille, there lived a mysterious man who, for 34 years in captivity, wore a velvet mask to hide his true identity. In 1703, the sixtieth year of the reign of King Louis XIV of France, the mysterious man died in the Bastille.
A French princess once described this person in a letter to a British royal friend, writing: “For many years there has been a man who has been wearing a mask and has lived in the Bastille until his death, two warriors. Always be by his side, as long as he takes off his mask, he will be killed… There must be something strange here, because other than that, he is well treated, living comfortably, and supplies everything. But no People know who he is.”
Mysterious man’s life experience
The identity of this person has always been an unsolved mystery in the Bastille, and there are different opinions about his life experience.
The romantic novelist Alexandre Dumas once wrote a book called “The Man in the Iron Mask”. Alexandre Dumas changed the velvet mask into an iron mask. His novels led the general public to believe that the unknown prisoner was either King Louis XIV of France himself or his twin brother.
According to Voltaire, the “Iron Mask” was escorted to the Bastille after a period of imprisonment on the island of St. Margaret. What is puzzling is that before the escort, the Marquis of Loire, the Minister of Defense, visited him in person on the island, and he was extremely courteous during the conversation. What is even more surprising is that when he was imprisoned, he was personally accompanied by the warden, Mr. Mars, and had lunch with him, and it was the same every day after that.
While in the Bastille, the “Iron Mask” was also treated differently from other prisoners and given a dedicated room. In historical records, “The Man in the Iron Mask” was described as a quiet man who never caused trouble. He “succumbed to the will of God and the will of the king,” and he never complained about his situation. As for who he was, he kept his mouth shut.
There are more mysterious explanations. Since his arrest in the port of Dunkirk in 1669, the prisoner has been closely controlled. When he was taken to Pinoro Prison, near Turin (then French territory), the warden, Saint Mas, received a letter: “If he speaks to you of anything outside the sphere of daily life, you will Threat him with execution.”
Every time St. Mas was transferred to another prison, the prisoner followed him, carrying him along in a sedan chair sealed with wax paper to prevent curious prying eyes. Saint-Mas was transferred to the Bastille in 1698, when the prisoner had been under arrest for 30 years.
Politician and scholar Lord Quaxvaux believes that this mysterious figure is the biological father of King Louis XIV of France. Louis XIII and Anna of Austria were childless for 22 years and later separated. However, after 14 years of separation, the queen actually gave birth to a son, Louis XIV, and his father is likely to be the imprisoned person.
According to legend, because Louis XIV was very similar to him, Louis XIV ordered him to be hidden. Until his death, he still used a pseudonym: Eustach Doug, a professional servant.
