King Dauger Research Paper

During the reign of King Louis XIV, there was a mysterious prisoner who was arrested by Captain Alexandre de Mauroy and was later taken to Pignerol (“Pseudonyms”). The prisoner was supposed to have a hidden identity, causing him to wear a mask. The legend goes that this mask is made of iron, but historians have long since dismissed this claim. People now believe that the prisoners mask was made of black velvet (Britannica). The reason that the prisoner was arrested was never divulged to the public and therefore nobody truly knows the real accusation that caused him to be arrested and jailed (Haugen 112). His name was first introduced in late July of 1669 when a letter was sent from Marquis de Louvois, the king’s minister, to Bénigne dAuvergne …show more content…
Dauger is mainly associated with Bénigne dAuvergne de Saint-Mars (further noted as St. Mars). St. Mars worked at various prisons that corresponded with the transportation of Dauger (“Beyond the Man in the Iron Mask”). He started at Pignerol in 1665 and eventually governed at Exiles, Saint-Marguerite, and finally Bastille in 1708, dying later that year (“Beyond the Man in the Iron Mask”). As Dauger moved from place to place, St. Mars followed him as his apparent keeper for his cell. Dauger had been with St. Mars since Pignerol. When Dauger first arrived at Pignerol, he was introduced to St. Mars. St. Mars was first just to transport Dauger to his cell and help him with his rations of food daily (Cataldo). When the jail learned that they would have to move Dauger to another prison, the assigned St. Mars to be his primary keeper tying him to coincide Dauger’s time in prison and possibly the true identity of the masked …show more content…
However, there was a Eustache Dauger who lived in France at the time of this mystery. Dauger was involved in many crimes around the time the mask was imprisoned (French). The crimes that he performed were considered very scandalous and embarrassing. The crimes also involved many people who were in positions of high power (French). One of the biggest scandals was that Eustache was involved in the L’affaire des poisons (Vintage). L’affaire des poisons, also known as Affair of the Poison, was a huge murder scandal where everyone in the community, everyone from nobles to the common people, were visiting female fortune-tellers for drugs and poisons (Britannica). Being involved in one of the biggest scandals in France during the 17th century would be a credulous reason for sending someone to jail. His involvement in crimes throughout his lifetime would leave the jury to give him a long and strict jail time, no matter the age of the