The man in the Iron Mask
The man in the Iron Mask
It stands to reason, that if Louis XIV was not the son of Louis XIII, then
the identity of his true father would have been kept a deadly secret. Richelue
would have made absolute certain of that. But this person was known to
the court, he was known to the public, because Nostradamus says "the dogs
will not bark". So how could they manage to get rid of him? Poison would
have been a simple method. But the problem was, although Richelue would
have known that Louis XIII was not the father, he may not have known for
a long time, just who it really was. Anne of Austria would not likly have
told him - at least not right away.
There is a story in history
that has fascinated us now for 300 years - the man in the iron mask. Who
was he? Nobody knows for sure to this day - it was kept that much of a
secret! This man has been the subject of many books over the years, among
the best known is Alexander Dumas's Man in the Iron Mask.
The first surviving records
of the masked prisoner are from July 1, 1669, when Louis XIV's minister
the Marquis de Louvois sent a masked prisoner to the care of Bénigne
Dauvergne de Saint-Mars, governor of the prison of Pignerol, then part
of France. Louvois instructed Saint-Mars to prepare a cell with multiple
doors which were to prevent anyone from the outside ever listening
in. The masked man arrived at Pignerol in August of 1669. The prisoner
was also to be told that if he spoke of anything other than his immediate
needs he would be killed. Saint-Mars was to see him only once a day in
order to provide him with food and whatever else he required.
The first rumors of the
prisoner's identity (as a Marshal of France) began to circulate at this
point. Although the legend states that the prisoner wore the mask at all
times, it is more probable that he was masked only during transport - such
as when he was transported from prison to prison - and when there were
outside guests in the prison. Another fact is that the mask was not of
iron, but a cloth of black velvet.
Why was the prisoner masked?
Most people, including Voltaire, reasoned (then and now) that the mask
must have been used to conceal his identity, or at least, to hide his face.
There can be no doubt that the prisoner must have been famous himself or
strongly resembled someone famous like royalty.
From Pignerol, Saint-Mars
was transferred to the prison Exiles from 1681 to 1687, and then to Sainte
Marguerite in the Gulf of Cannes on April 30th 1687, until 1698.
He was carried from Exiles to Sainte Marguerite in a covered sedan chair
so that no one would see his face. When Saint-Mars became governor
of the Bastille in Paris, he brought his masked "longtime prisoner" with
him. Saint-Mars then served as governor of the Bastille until his death
in September 1708.
The entry for Thursday,
September 18, 1698, records the 3 p.m. arrival of a new governor of the
Bastille, Bénigne d'Auvergne de Saint-Mars. Du Junca writes that
Saint-Mars "brought with him, in a litter, a longtime prisoner, whom he
had in custody in Pignerol, and whom he kept always masked, and whose name
has not been given to me, nor recorded. Saint-Mars had been at Pignerol
from 1665 to 1681, so the Man in the Mask had been imprisoned for at least
18 years prior to his arrival at Bastille, and perhaps as long as 33 years.
Five years later, on November
19, 1703, Du Junca records the death and burial of the "unknown prisoner,
who has worn a black velvet mask since his arrival here in 1698." Saint-Mars
had the name "Marchialy" inscribed in the parish register, but spelling
in those days were subject to what John Noone calls "orthographical disorder.".
He was buried in Saint-Paul cemetery under the name, it is said, of Marchiali,
carrying his terrible secret with him to the tomb. Of this mysterious character
Victor Hugo wrote: “The Man in the Iron Mask, this prisoner whose name
no-one knows, whose forehead no-one has seen, a living mystery, a shadow,
an enigma, a problem.”
The prisoner was treated
with extreme courtesy by his jailors. The governor of the prison personally
took care of his linens and meals. The governor and jailors removed their
hats in his presence, remained standing until he invited them to sit, served
his meals on silver plate, and so forth--in short, etiquette accorded royalty
Who was he? Over the years, people have put forward many suggestions -
one of them being the Duke of Beaufort.
Henry IV had a mistress Gabrielle d' Estrees, Duchess of Beaufort.
They had a son Ceasar who was 2nd Duke of Vendome. This Ceasar married
the daughter of Mercoeur. They had son Francois de Vendome duke of Beaufort,
born January 16, 1616.
The Duke of Beaufort was a prominent figure in the Fronde, and a devoted
partisan of Queen Anne of Austria. His handsome appearance and sincerity,
as well as his sorties against the royal forces blockading Paris, won him
the adoration of the populace.
On July 30, 1652, he engaged in a duel with his brother in law Charles
Amadeus of Savoy, the Duke of Nemours, and killed him. Restored to
royal favour in 1658, Beaufort concerned himself with his duties as admiral.
In 1664 he led the first French troops defending Candia against the Ottamen
Turks in Algeria. He was sent as admiral and "general of the church"
to aid the Venetians in Candia / Crete against the Turks. He was presumed
to be killed in a night sortie, on June 25, 1669. His body was never recovered.
What does Nostradamus say? In the next quatrain he tells us the story of
a French Duke, who is compelled to fight in a duel. He will win the duel,
but he will be wrongly accused about something, and sent to prison for
the rest of his life. The last line indicates that his son will be a King
and he will reign before his father is stained by death. Interestingly
enough, King Louis XIV came of age in the year 1652, the same year as occured
the deadly duel between the Duke of Beaufort and his brother in law.
4-91 For the Gallic Duke compelled to fight in the duel
The ship of Melilla will not approach the monarch
Wrongly accused, perpetual prison
His son will reign before death stains
Au Duc Gaulois contrainct battre au duelle,
La nef Mellele monech n'approchera,
Tort accusé, prison perpetuelle,
Son fils regner auant mort taschera.
The second line is rather obscure, but it mentions a ship and Melilla. Melilla was a Moroccan seaport, thus hinting at the Ottaman empire. One must note that the referrence to the "ship" could be a reference to the fact that the Duke of Beaufort was in fact an admiral - And he certainly did "never approach the monarch" - his son King Louis XIV!
The Duke of Beaufort
10-42 The humane realm of Anglican offspring,
He will cause his realm to hold to peace and union:
War half-captive in its enclosure,
For long will it cause them to maintain peace.
Le regne humain d'Angelique geniture,
Fera son regne paix vnion tenir,
Captiue guerre demy de sa closture,
Long temps la paix leur fera maintenir.
In this quatrain, the first line
refers to the “miraculous birth” of Louis XIV. It could also possibly be
construed to be a word play on the English, or Anglican. Is it possible
that this Queen's lover was an Englishman? It was rumored at the French
court of the time that Anne of Austria had an affair going with the Duke
of Buckingham, who was English. Rumours also made the circuit that she
was having an affair with the Duke of Beaufort. He was French, but interestingly
enough, the name Beaufort refers to a castle in Anjou, France. It
is the only current Dukedom in England to take its name from a place outside
the British Isles.
During this King's reign, says Nostradamus, he will keep the peace for
a long time - which indeed he did. In the original French, the last line
reads Longtemps la paix leur fera maintenir. The word maintenir is rather
a sly play on the name of Louis’ mistress at this time, Madame Maintenon.
Queen Anne
8-23 In the Queen's coffers,
letters will be found,
No signature, without
any name of author
The offers will be concealed
by the government
So that no one will know
who the lover is.
Is Queen Anne, wife of King Louis XIII of France, the lady Nostradamus
speaks of in this quatrain? It would seem more than likely that it is.
Possibly in the numbering of it, 8-32, we could be given a clue as to the
date 1632 or so. Anne of Austria, born Dona Ana Maria Mauricia of Spain
on September 22, 1601, was the first child of King Phillip III and Margaret
of Austria.
Her marriage with the French King Louis XIII proved to be difficult for
her. She was treated badly by an overbearing mother in law, and suffered
great humiliation at the hands of her husband, who was more interested
in his boy toys than he was in his wife.
If Richelieu, who was the government of the day, knew about any affairs,
certainly he would have kept it silent - and there was nothing that Richelieu
did not know about during his years in power in France. He had the most
formidable system of underground spies imaginable. Sometimes he kept silent
about what he found out, sometimes he told, but always, he used it as blackmail
to suit his own agenda.
It is an absolute certainty that this Queen's husband was not the
father of Louis XIV, who was born on September 5, 1638. This being the
case, who was it? Nostradamus isn't saying in this quatrain, but he does
give us a few clues in some of his other ones.
4-93 A serpent will be
seen near the royal bed,
By a lady of the night,
the dogs shall not bark.
Then to be born in France
a Prince so royal,
That the Princes will
all say he came from heaven.
Some of the verses concerning Louis XIV, France’s great Sun King, are just
priceless! Quatrain 4-93 predicts that France will have an “Illegitimate
King” so to speak. The real father of this great prince is no stranger
to the royal palace - or the royal bed either, as Nostradamus points out
here - “The dogs will not bark”. Everyone will marvel at his
conception, and say he must have come from God.
No other monarch in French history fits this one quite like Louis XIV!
His parents were Louis XIII and Anne of Austria according to the history
books, but even the history books themselves have doubts upon whether in
fact Louis XIII was his real father or not.
It was assumed at the time that Louis XIII had homosexual leanings, because
he always surrounded himself with young men. For 18 long years it was a
barren marriage, and there was no sign of an heir for the French throne.
Then, as a miracle, Anne of Austria became pregnant, and gave birth on
Sept 5, 1638, to the greatest King in French history, Louis XIV. Who was
the real father? Nostradamus does not say, but he hints that it was someone
very close in the royal circle. Note that he gives us two digits of the
date 1639 in the numbering of this quatrain, 4-93.
6-3 The river that proves
the new Celtic heir,
Will be in great discord
with the empire.
The young prince through
the ecclesiastical people,
Will remove the scepter
of the crown of concord.
This quatrain as well hints at Louis illegitimate birth! The river of Line
one is the Rhine. According to an ancient French legend, they took their
newly born kings and threw them into the Rhine to see if they could swim
up it or not - that being the criteria for which they judged if the infant
was lawfully born or not!
He is also correct in line two of this quatrain, since the Rhine river
was definitely in discord during this period in time. The 30 years war
had opened on May 21 1635, just a few years before Louis was born. Cardinal
Richelue who ran the French empire almost single-handedly, had made a commitment
to support the Protestant princes in their war with the Catholic Hapsburg
empire by declaring war on Spain. The condition was, that France was to
receive the left bank of the Rhine river from Breisach to Strasbourg.
Line 3 indicates that during his minority the young prince will be guided
and ruled by the “Ecclesiastical people” - this is more true in the case
of Louis XIV than any other monarch, since the Cardinals Richilue and Mazzarin
completely ran the empire during his minority.
Note in the numbering of this quatrain, 6-3, Nostradamus has given us two
digits of the date this miracle Prince was born, 1635, or if one were to
turn the 6 upside down, it would read 39, yielding the same digits as the
other quatrain gives us.
Is Nostradamus solving two of history's mysteries in this quatrain?
Was the Duke of Beafort really the father of the Sun King Louis XIV, and
was the man in the iron mask really the duke of Beaufort?