View source for Man in the Iron Mask

{{Short description|Unidentified prisoner in 17th-century France}}
{{about|the French historical figure}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}	
{{Infobox criminal
| name              = 
| image             = 
| image_size        =
| alt               =
| caption           =
| birth_date        = Unknown
| birth_place       = 
| death_date        = 19 November 1703
| death_place       = [[Bastille]], Paris, France
| resting_place     = [[Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis|Saint-Paul]] cemetery, Paris
| other_names       = {{plainlist|
*{{lang|fr|"Eustache Dauger"|italic=no}} 
*{{lang|fr|"La Tour"|italic=no}} 
*{{lang|fr|"L'ancien prisonnier"|italic=no}} 
*"Marchioly" 
}}
| occupation        =
| known_for         = Mystery regarding his identity
| conviction_status = Died in prison
| spouse            = <!-- Do not include unless notable or relevant to the crime involved -->
| children          = <!-- (as above) -->
| parents           = <!-- (as above) -->
| allegiance        = <!-- [[Lucchese crime family]] (only?) -->
| wanted_by         = [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Louvois]], for [[Louis XIV]]
| locations         = {{plainlist|
*[[Pinerolo|Pignerol Dungeon]]<br>(1669–1681)
*[[Exilles Fort]] (1681–1687)
*[[Île Sainte-Marguerite|Île Sainte-Marguerite Fort]] (1687–1698)
*[[Bastille#Reign of Louis XIV and the Regency (1661–1723)|Bastille Bertaudière Tower]] (1698–1703)
}}
| apprehended       = 28 July – 24 August 1669
| penalty           = Life imprisonment
|nocat_wdimage=yes}}

The '''Man in the Iron Mask''' ({{Langx|fr|L'Homme au Masque de Fer}}; died 19 November 1703) was an unidentified prisoner of state during the reign of [[Louis XIV]] of France (1643–1715). The strict measures taken to keep his imprisonment secret resulted in a long-lasting legend about his identity. Warranted for arrest on 19 July 1669 under the name of "Eustache Dauger", he was apprehended near [[Calais]] on 28 July, incarcerated on 24 August, and held for 34 years in the custody of {{lang|fr|[[Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars]]|italic=no}} in four successive French prisons, including the [[Bastille]]. He died there on 19 November 1703, and his burial certificate bore the name of "Marchioly", leading several historians to conclude that the prisoner was Italian diplomat [[Ercole Antonio Mattioli]].

His true identity remains a mystery, even though it has been extensively debated by historians, and various theories have been expounded in numerous books, articles, poems, plays, and films. During his lifetime, it was rumoured that he was a [[Marshal of France#Louis XIV, 1643–1715|Marshal of France]] or a President of ''[[Parlement#The Fronde|Parlement]]'', the [[François, Duke of Beaufort|Duke of Beaufort]], or a son of [[Oliver Cromwell]], and some of these rumours were initiated by Saint-Mars himself. Among the oldest theories is one proposed by French philosopher and writer [[Voltaire]], who claimed in his {{lang|fr|Questions sur l'Encyclopédie}} (1771) that the prisoner was an older, illegitimate brother of Louis XIV. Other writers believed that he was the King's twin or younger brother. In all, more than 50 candidates, real and hypothetical, have been proposed by historians and other authors aiming to solve the mystery.

What little is known about the prisoner is based on contemporaneous documents uncovered during the 19th century, mainly some of the correspondence between {{lang|fr|Saint-Mars|italic=no}} and his superiors in Paris, initially [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Louvois]], Louis XIV's secretary of state for war. These documents show that the prisoner was labelled "only a valet" and that he was jailed for "what he was employed to do" before his arrest, and for "what he knew". Legend has it that no one ever saw his face, as it was hidden by a mask of black velvet cloth, later misreported by Voltaire as an iron mask. Official documents reveal, however, that the prisoner was made to cover his face only when travelling between prisons after 1687, or when going to prayers within the Bastille in the final years of his incarceration; modern historians believe that the measure was imposed by Saint-Mars solely to increase his own prestige, thus causing persistent rumours to circulate about this seemingly important prisoner.

In 1932, French historian Maurice Duvivier proposed that the prisoner was [[#Eustache Dauger de Cavoye|Eustache Dauger de Cavoye]], a nobleman associated with several political scandals of the late 17th century. This solution, however, was disproved in 1953 when previously unpublished family letters were discovered by French historian [[:fr:Georges Mongrédien|Georges Mongrédien]], who concluded that the enigma remained unsolved owing to the lack of reliable historical documents about the prisoner's identity and the cause of his long incarceration.

He has been the subject of many works of fiction, most prominently in 1850 by [[Alexandre Dumas]]. A section of his novel ''[[The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later]]''—the final installment of his [[D'Artagnan Romances|D'Artagnan saga]]—features this prisoner portrayed as Louis XIV's identical twin and forced to wear an iron mask. In 1840, Dumas had first presented a review of the popular theories about the prisoner extant in his time in the chapter "L'homme au masque de fer", published in the eighth volume of his non-fiction {{lang|fr|Crimes Célèbres}}. This approach was adopted by many subsequent authors, and speculative works have continued to appear on the subject.
{{TOClimit|3}}

==The prisoner "whose name is not spoken"==
===Arrest and imprisonment===
[[File:Citadelle de Pignerol.jpg|thumb|left|Etching of the citadel and dungeon of Pignerol, in Piedmont, Italy ({{circa}} 1650)]]
The earliest surviving records of the masked prisoner are from 19 July 1669,{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=181}} when [[Louis XIV]]'s minister, the [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Marquis de Louvois]], sent a letter to [[Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars]], governor of the prison of [[Pignerol]] (which at the time was part of France). In his letter, Louvois informed Saint-Mars that a prisoner named "Eustache Dauger" was due to arrive in the next month or so.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=181}}

He instructed Saint-Mars to prepare a cell with multiple doors, one closing upon the other, which were to prevent anyone from the outside listening in.{{efn|name=nomask}} Saint-Mars was to see Dauger only once a day to provide food and whatever else he needed. Dauger was to be told that if he ever spoke of anything other than his immediate needs he would be killed, but, according to Louvois, the prisoner should not require much since he was "only a valet".{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=181–182}} Historians have noted that the name "Eustache Dauger" was written in a handwriting different from that used in the rest of the letter's text, suggesting that a clerk wrote the letter under Louvois' dictation, while someone else, very likely Louvois, added the name afterward.{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}}

Dauger was arrested by Captain Alexandre de Vauroy, garrison commander of [[Dunkirk|Dunkerque]], on 28 July{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=184}} and taken to Pignerol, where he arrived on 24 August.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=185}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=152}} Evidence has been produced to suggest that the arrest was actually made in [[Calais]] and that not even the local governor was informed of the event—Vauroy's absence being explained away by his hunting for Spanish soldiers who had strayed into France via the [[Spanish Netherlands]].{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=151}} The first rumours of the prisoner's identity (specifically as a [[Marshal of France]]) began to circulate at this point.

The [[dungeon]] at Pignerol, like the other prisons at which Dauger was later relocated, was used to incarcerate men who were considered an embarrassment to the state, and usually held only a handful of prisoners at a time.{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}} Saint-Mars's first prisoner at Pignerol was [[Nicolas Fouquet]], Marquis of Belle-Île, a former superintendent of finances who had been arrested on 5 September 1661{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=57}} and tried by order of Louis XIV on the charge of embezzlement.{{efn|name=fouquet}} On 27 December 1664,{{sfn|Lair|1890|p=409}} after a long trial, Fouquet was transferred&mdash;by [[d'Artagnan]] leading a company of 100 musketeers&mdash;from the Bastille to Pignerol, where he arrived on 16 January 1665{{sfn|Lair|1890|p=414}} and was lodged in the Angle Tower.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=289}} Two years after Dauger's arrival in August 1669, Saint-Mars's third prisoner was the [[Antoine Nompar de Caumont|Marquis de Lauzun]], who had become engaged to the [[Anne, Duchess of Montpensier|Duchess of Montpensier]], a cousin of the king, without the king's consent. For this, Lauzun was arrested in November 1671 and, with an escort of musketeers led once again by d'Artagnan, was brought to Pignerol on 16 December of that year, and lodged in rooms directly under Fouquet's cell.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=155}} Another prisoner in Saint-Mars's custody was Count [[Ercole Antonio Mattioli]], an Italian diplomat who had double-crossed Louis XIV over the purchase of the important fortress town of [[Casale Monferrato|Casale]] on the [[Duchy of Mantua|Mantuan]] border. Mattioli was kidnapped near [[Turin]] by a small team of French soldiers commanded by [[Nicolas Catinat]], and incarcerated at Pignerol on 2 May 1679.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=66–73}}

===Dauger serves as a valet===
In his letters to Louvois, Saint-Mars describes Dauger as a quiet man, giving no trouble, "disposed to the will of God and to the king", compared to his other prisoners, who were always complaining, constantly trying to escape, or simply mad.{{sfn|Noone|1988}} Dauger was not always isolated from the other prisoners. Wealthy and important ones usually had manservants; for instance, Fouquet was granted the service of two men in 1667, called Champagne and La Rivière.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=187}} These servants, however, would become as much prisoners as their masters and it was thus difficult to find people willing to volunteer for such an occupation. When Lauzun arrived in December 1671, Saint-Mars could not find him a manservant, and therefore wrote to Louvois on 20 February 1672, suggesting that Dauger would prove a good valet for Lauzun. This request was turned down, and historians believe Louvois had reasons to keep these two men apart; perhaps they knew each other.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=187–188}} 

In 1674, Champagne died and, since La Rivière was often ill, Saint-Mars again applied for permission for Dauger to act as servant, this time for Fouquet.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=188}} On 30 January 1675, Louvois gave permission for such an arrangement on strict condition that he was to serve Fouquet only while La Rivière was unavailable and that he was not to meet anyone else; for instance, if Fouquet and Lauzun were to meet, Dauger was not to be present. This injunction was reiterated by Louvois to Saint-Mars in a stern letter dated 11 March 1675. Fouquet was never expected to be released; thus, meeting Dauger was no great matter, but Lauzun was expected to be set free eventually, and it would have been important not to have him spread rumours of Dauger's existence or of secrets he might have known. Shortly thereafter, Dauger was moved from the Lower Tower to the Angle Tower, where he was lodged with La Rivière.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=189}} The important fact that Dauger served as a valet to Fouquet strongly indicates he was born a [[commoner]].{{efn|name=valet}}

On 23 November 1678, Louvois wrote directly to Fouquet to inform him that the King was disposed to soften considerably the strictures of his incarceration, subject to Fouquet writing back to Louvois&mdash;without informing Saint-Mars of the contents of his reply&mdash;concerning whether or not Dauger had talked to him, Fouquet, in front of La Rivière, "about what he was employed to do before being brought to Pignerol".{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=190}} From this revealing letter, French historian Mongrédien concluded that Louvois was clearly anxious that any details about Dauger's former employment should not leak out if the King decided to relax the conditions of Fouquet's or Lauzun's incarceration.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=191}}

After Fouquet's death on 23 March 1680, Saint-Mars discovered a secret hole between Fouquet and Lauzun's cells. He was sure that they had communicated through this hole without detection by him or his guards and thus that Lauzun must have been made aware of Dauger's existence. On 8 April 1680, Louvois therefore wrote to Saint-Mars and instructed him to move Lauzun to Fouquet's cell and to tell him that Dauger and La Rivière had been released, after secretly relocating them to a new cell in the Lower Tower of Pignerol's dungeon.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=193}}{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}} They became henceforth identified in official correspondence only as "the gentlemen of the lower tower" ("les messieurs de la tour d'en bas").{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=195–196}}

===Dauger's subsequent prisons===
[[File:Exilles02.JPG|thumb|left|[[Fortress of Exilles]]]]

Lauzun was freed on 22 April 1681.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=173}} Two months later, Saint-Mars was appointed governor of the prison of the [[Exilles Fort|Exiles Fort]] (now [[Exilles]] in Italy); he went there in September 1681, taking Dauger and La Rivière with him.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=291}} After La Rivière's death was reported in January 1687, Dauger continued to be referred to as "La Tour" by prison staff{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=25, 235}} and as the "old prisoner" ("l'ancien prisonnier") in correspondence.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=197}} In May 1687, Saint-Mars and Dauger moved to [[Île Sainte-Marguerite|Sainte-Marguerite]], one of the [[Lérins Islands]], half a mile offshore from Cannes. It was during the journey to Sainte-Marguerite that rumours spread that the prisoner was wearing an iron mask. Again, he was placed in a cell with multiple doors.{{sfn|Noone|1988}}
[[File:Lerins-iron mask prison.jpg|thumb|right|Fort of [[Île Sainte-Marguerite]]]]

On 18 September 1698, Saint-Mars took up his new post as governor of the [[Bastille]] prison in Paris, bringing Dauger with him. Lieutenant Etienne du Junca, a ''[[lieutenant général|lieutenant du roi]]'' who kept a register of all prisoners held at the Bastille, noted that the new governor "brought with him in his [[Litter (vehicle)#In Europe|palanquin]] an old prisoner he had at Pignerol, whom he keeps always masked and whose name is not spoken".{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=12}} He was placed in a solitary cell in the pre-furnished third chamber of the Bertaudière tower. The prison's second-in-command, de Rosarges, was to feed him.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=13–14}} 

When Dauger died, du Junca logged the following entry in his register:
{{quote box|border=none|fontsize=90%|quote=
On this day, Monday 19 November 1703, the unknown prisoner in the mask of black velvet who was brought here by the governor, M. de Saint-Mars, when he came from the island of Sainte-Marguerite, and who had been in his charge for a long time, felt a little unwell after attending mass and died today at 10 o'clock in the evening, without suffering a major disease. Surprised by death he did not receive the sacraments, but M. Giraut, the chaplain, had heard his confession the day before and exhorted him a little before he died."{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=32}}
}}{{clear}}
He was buried the next day under the name of "Marchioly" in the cemetery of the parish church of [[Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis|Saint-Paul]] in the presence of de Rosarges and M. Reghle, surgeon-major of the Bastille, who signed the death register, and the sum of 40 ''[[French livre|livres]]'' was paid for his burial.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=33}}

==Candidates== 
{{See also|List of candidates for the Man in the Iron Mask}}
===Contemporaneous rumours===
A week after Dauger's arrival at Pignerol, Saint-Mars wrote to Louvois (31 August 1669) reporting that the prisoner was rumoured to be a "[[Marshall of France#Louis XIV, 1643–1715|Marshall of France]] or President of ''[[The Fronde (Parlement)|Parlement]]''".{{sfn|Roux-Fazillac|2018|p=105}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=185}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=257}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|p=181}} Eight months later, Saint-Mars informed Louvois (12 April 1670) that he initiated some of these rumours himself, when asked about the prisoner: "I tell them tall tales to make fun of them."{{sfn|Roux-Fazillac|2018|p=105}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=186}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=153}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|p=182}}

Dauger was relocated to his third prison cell at the Île Sainte-Marguerite Fort in January 1687, and Saint-Mars wrote to Louvois about the latest rumours (3 May 1687): "Everyone tries to guess who my prisoner might be."{{sfn|Roux-Fazillac|2018|p=116}}{{sfn|Laloy|2018|p=16}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=117–118}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|p=66}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=265}} On 4 September 1687, the ''Nouvelles Écclésiastiques'' published a letter by Nicolas Fouquet's brother Louis, quoting a statement made by Saint-Mars: "All the people that one believes dead are not", a hint that the prisoner might be the [[François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort|Duke of Beaufort]].{{sfn|Azéma|1963|p=150}}{{sfn|Brugnon|1989|p=4}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=264–266}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|pp=103–104}} Four months later, Saint-Mars reiterated this rumour in writing to Louvois (8 January 1688), adding: "others say that he is a son of the late [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]]".{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=120}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=59–67, 125, 132, 147}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|pp=33, 191–192, 202, 215, 218, 220}}{{sfn|Fréron|1768|p=189}}

===English milord===
On 10 October 1711, King Louis XIV's sister-in-law, [[Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine]], sent a letter to her aunt, [[Sophia of Hanover|Sophia, Electress of Hanover]], stating that the prisoner had "two [[musketeers]] at his side to kill him if he removed his mask". She described him as very devout, and stated that he was well treated and received everything he desired.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=31}} In another letter sent less than two weeks later, on 22 October, she added having just learnt that he was "an English milord connected with the affair of the [[James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick|Duke of Berwick]] against [[William III of England|King William III]]."{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=31}} The Princess was clearly reporting rumours she had heard at court.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=31–33, 236}}{{sfn|Bodemann|1891|pp=288–293}}

===King's relative===
Some of the most enduring theories about the prisoner's identity, outlined in the sections below, assume that he was a relative of Louis XIV, because of the importance attached to secrecy during his incarceration which, in turn, fed the legend that he must have been one of the most important persons in the realm.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=42}} These theories emerged during the 1700s, long before historians were able to consult the archives revealing that the prisoner was "only a valet",{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=181–182}} imprisoned for "what he was employed to do", and for "what he knew".{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=190}} These early theories arose solely from their author's imagination, and boosted the romantic appeal of a sensational elucidation of the enigma.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=40–52}} Historians such as Mongrédien (1952) and Noone (1988), however, pointed out that the solution whereby Louis XIV is supposed to have had an illegitimate brother&mdash;whether older, twin, or younger&mdash;does not provide a credible explanation, for example, on how it would have been possible for Queen [[Anne of Austria]] to conceal a pregnancy throughout its full course and bear, then deliver, a child in secret.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=51}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=45}} Mongrédien concluded that "historians cannot give it the slightest credence."{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=52}}

====King's illegitimate son====
In 1745, an anonymous writer published a book in Amsterdam, ''Mémoires pour servir à l'Histoire de la Perse'', romanticising life at the French Court in the form of Persian history. Members of the royal family and locations were given fictitious Persian names,{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=33}} and their key was published in the book's third edition (1759).{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=51}} In this tale, Louis XIV's illegitimate son, [[Louis, Count of Vermandois]], is alleged to have struck his half-brother, [[Louis, Grand Dauphin]], causing the King to banish him to life imprisonment, first at the Île Sainte-Marguerite and later at the Bastille. He was made to wear a mask whenever he was to be seen or attended to, when sick or in other circumstances.{{sfn|Anonymous|1745}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=33–37}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=51–54}} The theory of Vermandois as the prisoner in the mask was later mentioned by [[Henri Griffet]], in 1769, as having circulated during the reign of Louis XIV, therefore long before 1745.{{sfn|Griffet|1769|p=323}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=236}}

In reality, there are no historical records of gossip confirming that Vermandois ever struck the Grand Dauphin.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=37–38}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=54}} In the memoirs of Louis XIV's first cousin, the [[Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier|Duchess of Montpensier]], there is mention of Vermandois having displeased the King for taking part in orgies in 1682, and being temporarily banished from court as a result. After promising to mend his way, he was sent&mdash;soon after his 16th birthday&mdash;to join the army in [[Courtrai]] during the [[War of the Reunions]] (1683–84), in early November 1683. He distinguished himself in the battle line, but died of a fever during the night of 17 November. The King was reported to be deeply affected by his son's death, and Vermandois' sister, [[Marie Anne de Bourbon]], was inconsolable while their mother, [[Louise de La Vallière]], sought solace in endless prayer at her [[Carmelites]] [[Couvent des Carmélites du faubourg Saint-Jacques|convent]] in Paris.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=38–39}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=51}}

====King's elder brother====
During his two sojourns in the Bastille in 1717–18 and 1726,{{efn|name=voltaire}} Voltaire became aware of the traditions and legends circulating among the staff at the fortress.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=40–41}} On 30 October 1738, he wrote to the [[Jean-Baptiste Dubos|Abbé Dubos]]: "I am somewhat knowledgeable about the adventure of the Man in the Iron Mask, who died at the Bastille; I spoke to people who had served him."{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=41, 237}} In the second edition of his {{lang|fr|Questions sur l'Encyclopédie}} (1771), Voltaire claimed that the prisoner was an illegitimate first son of Anne of Austria and an unknown father, and therefore an older half-brother of Louis XIV.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=47–48}} This assertion was partly based on the historical fact that the birth of Louis XIV on 5 September 1638 had come as a surprise: since [[Louis XIII]] and Anne of Austria had been childless for 23 years, it was believed they were unable to conceive, despite evidence to the contrary of the Queen's well-known miscarriages.{{efn|name=annemisc}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=47–49}} In fact, the royal couple had been living for years in mutual distrust and had become estranged since the mid-1620s. Furthermore, in August 1637, the Queen had been found guilty of treasonable correspondence with Spain and had been placed under house arrest at the [[Louvre Palace]].{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=42}} However, contemporaneous accounts nonetheless indicate that the royal couple shared a bed and conceived the future Louis XIV, either in early December 1637{{efn|name=dec1637}} or, as historians deem more likely, sometime during the previous month.{{efn|name=nov1637}}{{sfn|Kleinman|1993|p=194}}{{sfn|Mansel|2022|p=17}} The Queen's pregnancy was made public on 30 January 1638.{{sfn|Mansel|2022|p=17}}

Based on the assumption that the royal couple were unable to conceive, Voltaire theorised that an earlier, secret birth of an illegitimate child persuaded the Queen that she was not infertile, in turn prompting [[Cardinal Richelieu]] to arrange an outing during which the royal couple had to share a bed, which led to the birth of Louis XIV.{{sfn|Voltaire|1770–1771}}{{sfn|Carra|1789|pp=315–321}}{{sfn|Craufurd|1790|pp=254–356}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=40–49}}

The theme of an imagined elder brother of Louis XIV resurfaced in 1790, when French historian Pierre-Hubert Charpentier asserted that the prisoner was an illegitimate son of Anne of Austria and [[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham]], supposedly born in 1626, two years before the latter's death.{{sfn|Charpentier|Manuel|1790|pp=140–162}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=50}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=43–45}} Louis XIV was presumed to have had this elder brother imprisoned upon the Queen's death in 1666. According to Charpentier, this theory had originated with a certain Mademoiselle de Saint-Quentin, a mistress of the [[Louis François Marie Le Tellier|Marquess of Barbezieux]], son of Louvois and his successor as War Minister to Louis XIV in 1691.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=50}} A few days before his sudden death on 5 January 1701, Barbezieux had told her the secret of the prisoner's identity, which she disclosed publicly to several people in [[Chartres]] towards the end of her life in the mid-1700s. Charpentier also stated that Voltaire had heard this version in [[Geneva]], but chose to omit Buckingham's name when he began to develop his own variant of this theory in the first edition of ''[[The Age of Louis XIV]]'' (1751),{{sfn|Charpentier|Manuel|1790|pp=140–162}} finally revealed in full in {{lang|fr|Questions sur l'Encyclopédie}} (1771).{{sfn|Charpentier|Manuel|1790|pp=140–162}}

====King's twin brother====
Many authors supported the theory of the prisoner being a twin brother of King Louis XIV: [[Michel de Cubières]] (1789), [[Jean-Louis Giraud Soulavie|Jean-Louis Soulavie]] (1791), [[Emmanuel, comte de Las Cases|Las Cases]] (1816), [[Victor Hugo]] (1839), Alexandre Dumas (1840), Paul Lecointe (1847), and others.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=51}} 
<!-- Aligned with this theory, a thorough examination of the French Kings' genealogy shows many twin births, in the [[Capetian dynasty]], as well as in the [[House of Valois]], the [[House of Bourbon]], and the [[House of Orléans]].{{sfn|Kermabon|1998}}
-->

In a 1965 essay, ''Le Masque de fer'' (revised in 1973 under the title ''[[Le secret du Masque de Fer]]''), French novelist and playwright [[Marcel Pagnol]], proposing his hypothesis in particular on the circumstances of Louis XIV's birth, claimed that the Man in the Iron Mask was indeed a twin brother, but born second, who would have been hidden in order to avoid any dispute over the throne holder.{{sfn|Pagnol|1973|pp=19–22}} At the time, there was a controversy over which one of twins was the elder: the one born first, or the one born second, who was then thought to have been conceived first.{{sfn|Pagnol|1973|pp=289–290, 334}}

Historians who reject this hypothesis (including [[:fr:Jean-Christian Petitfils|Jean-Christian Petitfils]]) highlight the conditions of childbirth for the queen: it usually took place in the presence of multiple witnesses—the main court's figures. According to Pagnol, immediately after the birth of the future Louis XIV at 11 a.m. on 5 September 1638, Louis XIII took his whole court (about 40 people) to the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye|''Château de Saint-Germain'']]'s chapel to celebrate a ''[[Te Deum]]'' in great pomp,{{sfn|Pagnol|1973|pp=19–22}} contrary to the common practice of celebrating it several days before childbirth.{{sfn|Dumont|1739}} Pagnol contends that the court's removal to this ''Te Deum'' had been rushed to enable the queen to deliver the second twin in secret and attended only by the midwife.{{sfn|Pagnol|1973|pp=19–22}}

Pagnol's solution&mdash;combining earlier theories by [[Jean-Louis Giraud Soulavie|Soulavie]] (1790),{{sfn|Soulavie|1790}} [[Andrew Lang]] (1903),{{sfn|Lang|2002}} [[Arthur Barnes (monsignor)|Arthur Barnes]] (1908),{{sfn|Barnes|1908}} and Edith Carey (1924){{sfn|Carey|1924}}&mdash;speculates that this twin was born a few hours after Louis XIV and grew up on the Island of [[Jersey]] under the name [[James de la Cloche]], believing himself to be an illegitimate son of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]. During a hypothetical, secret meeting in January 1669, Charles is assumed to have recognised the twin for his resemblance to the French king and revealed to him his true identity.{{sfn|Pagnol|1973|pp=330–334}} Shortly thereafter, the twin would supposedly have adopted the new identity of "Martin" as a valet to [[Roux de Marcilly]], with whom he conspired against Louis XIV, which led to his arrest in Calais in July 1669.{{sfn|Pagnol|1973|pp=137–165}} Historically, however, the real valet Martin (distinct from Pagnol's reinterpreted "Martin") could not have become "Eustache Dauger" because he had fled to London when the Roux conspiracy failed; this is well known because his extradition from England to France had at first been requested by Foreign Minister [[Hugues de Lionne]] on 12 June 1669, but subsequently cancelled by him on 13 July.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=187}} Pagnol explained this historical fact away by claiming, without any evidence, that "Martin" must have been secretly abducted in London in early July and transported to France on 7 or 8 July, and that the extradition order had therefore been cancelled because it was no longer necessary, its objective having already been achieved.{{sfn|Pagnol|1973|pp=155–156}}

====King's younger brother====
In 1791, Jean Baptiste De Saint-Mihiel proposed that the prisoner was an illegitimate younger brother of Louis XIV, fathered by [[Cardinal Mazarin]].{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=51}} This theory was based on the fact, mentioned by Voltaire in {{lang|fr|Questions sur l'Encyclopédie}} (1771), that the prisoner had told his doctor that he "believed himself to be about 60 years old", a few days before his death in 1703. De Saint-Mihiel extrapolated that the prisoner was therefore born around 1643, and could therefore only be a younger brother to the King, born in 1638.{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|pp=224–225}} It is a historical fact that, four days after Louis XIII's death on 14 May 1643, the Queen was declared Regent and appointed Mazarin as her chief minister and head of government that evening.{{sfn|Dethan|1959|pp=50–51}} Mazarin was soon believed to be her lover, and even her secret [[Morganatic marriage|morganatic husband]].{{sfn|Treasure|1984|pp=216–217}} The theory of the prisoner being an imagined, younger son of the Queen and Mazarin was rekindled in 1868 by Charles-Henri, baron de Gleichen.{{sfn|Gleichen|Grimblot|1868|ref=GleichenGrimblot1868|pp=46–50}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=51}}

====King's father====
In 1955, Hugh Ross Williamson argued that the Man in the Iron Mask was the natural father of Louis XIV. According to this theory, the "miraculous" birth of Louis XIV in 1638 would have come after Louis XIII had been estranged from his wife Anne of Austria for 14 years.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=245}}

The theory then suggests that Cardinal Richelieu had arranged for a substitute, probably an illegitimate grandson of [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]],{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=247}} to become intimate with the queen and father an heir in the king's stead. At the time, the [[heir presumptive]] was Louis XIII's brother [[Gaston, Duke of Orléans]], who was Richelieu's enemy. If Gaston became king, Richelieu would quite likely have lost both his job as minister and his life, and so it was in his best interests to thwart Gaston's ambitions.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=246}}

Supposedly, the substitute father then left for the [[New France|Americas]] but returned to France in the 1660s with the aim of extorting money for keeping his secret and was promptly imprisoned. This theory would explain the secrecy surrounding the prisoner, whose true identity would have destroyed the legitimacy of Louis XIV's claim to the throne had it been revealed.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|pp=247–248}}

This theory had been suggested by British politician [[Hugh Cecil, 1st Baron Quickswood]], who nonetheless added that the idea has no historical basis and is entirely hypothetical.{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=245}} Williamson held that: "to say it is a guess with no solid historical basis is merely to say that it is like every other theory on the matter, although it makes more sense than any of the other theories. There is no known evidence that is incompatible with it, even the age of the prisoner, which Cecil had considered a weak point;{{sfn|Williamson|2002|pp=249–251}} and it explains every aspect of the mystery."{{sfn|Williamson|2002|p=245}}  His time spent as a valet to another prisoner renders this idea doubtful, however.{{efn|name=valet}}

==== Philippe d'Orléans's younger brother ====
In 2024, Canadian author Sarah B. Madry claimed that, in January 1666, Louis XIV received his mother's confession on her deathbed that he was a child of François d'Auger de Cavoye, the captain of Cardinal Richelieu's personal guards, and his wife Marie de Cavoye. This theory aligns with historical speculation that a surrogate was arranged by Anne of Austria to answer the French state's peril of the lack of an heir for her dying husband King Louis XIII and to seek revenge at what she perceived as abuse for many years by her husband and Cardinal Richelieu. According to Madry's theory, the man in the iron mask was a younger brother of [[Philippe I, Duke of Orléans]], and that this "second son" of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria was born in October or November 1643. The child was never presented or acknowledged because of a facial genetic defect, and was therefore assigned to caretakers under the name of "Eustache Dauger". In 1669, Louis XIV ordered his imprisonment, lest the disfigured man might one day claim the throne.{{sfn|Madry|2024}}

===Italian diplomat===
Another candidate, much favoured in the 1800s, was Fouquet's fellow prisoner Count Ercole Antonio Mattioli ({{aka}} Matthioli). He was an Italian diplomat who acted on behalf of the debt-ridden [[Charles IV, Duke of Mantua]] in 1678, in selling [[Casale Monferrato|Casale]], a strategic fortified town near the border with France. A French occupation would be unpopular, so discretion was essential, but Mattioli leaked the details to France's Spanish enemies after pocketing his commission once the sale had been concluded, and they made a bid of their own before the French forces could occupy the town. At the end of April 1679, Mattioli was lured onto French soil near Turin, where he was kidnapped by a French team of two officers and four soldiers under the command of Nicolas Catinat, and incarcerated into nearby Pignerol on 2 May.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=66–73}} The French took possession of Casale two years later.{{sfn|Noone|1988}}

[[George Agar-Ellis]] reached the conclusion that Mattioli was the Man in the Iron Mask when he reviewed documents extracted from French archives in the 1820s.{{sfn|Agar-Ellis|1826}} His book, published in English in 1826, was translated into French and published in 1830. German historian Wilhelm Broecking came to the same conclusion independently seventy years later. [[Robert Chambers (journalist)|Robert Chambers]]' ''[[Chambers Book of Days|Book of Days]]'' supports the claim and places Matthioli in the Bastille for the last 13 years of his life. Since that time, letters sent by Saint-Mars, which earlier historians missed, indicate that Mattioli was held only at Pignerol and Sainte-Marguerite and was not at Exilles or the Bastille and, therefore, it is argued that he can be discounted.{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}}

===French general===
{{See also|Great Cipher#The Man in the Iron Mask}}

In 1890, Louis Gendron, a French military historian, came across some coded letters and passed them on to [[Étienne Bazeries]] in the French Army's cryptographic department. After three years, Bazeries managed to read some messages in the [[Great Cipher]] of Louis XIV. One of them referred to a prisoner and identified him as General Vivien de Bulonde. One of the letters written by Louvois made specific reference to de Bulonde's crime.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=86}}

At the [[Siege of Cuneo (1691)|Siege of Cuneo]] in 1691, Bulonde was concerned about enemy troops arriving from Austria and ordered a hasty withdrawal, leaving behind his munitions and wounded men. Louis XIV was furious and in another of the letters specifically ordered him "to be conducted to the fortress at Pignerol where he will be locked in a cell and under guard at night, and permitted to walk the battlements during the day with a 330 309." It has been suggested that the 330 stood for ''masque'' and the 309 for full stop. However, in 17th-century French ''avec un masque'' would mean "in a mask".{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=87}}

Some believe that the evidence of the letters means that there is now little need for an alternative explanation of the man in the mask. Other sources, however, claim that Bulonde's arrest was no secret and was actually published in a newspaper at the time. Bulonde was released by order of the king on 11 December 1691.{{sfn|de Grandmaison 1894; pp. 3–4}} His death is also recorded as happening in 1709, six years after that of the man in the mask.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=88}}

===Son of Charles II===
In 1908, Monsignor [[Arthur Barnes (monsignor)|Arthur Barnes]] proposed that the prisoner was [[James de la Cloche]], the alleged illegitimate son of the reluctant Protestant Charles II of England, who would have been his father's secret intermediary with the Catholic court of France.{{sfn|Barnes|1908}} One of Charles's confirmed illegitimate sons, the [[James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth|Duke of Monmouth]], has also been proposed as the man in the mask. A Protestant, he led [[Monmouth Rebellion|a rebellion]] against his uncle, the Catholic [[James II of England|King James II]]. The rebellion failed and Monmouth was executed in 1685. However, in 1768, a writer named Saint-Foix claimed that another man was executed in his place and that Monmouth became the masked prisoner, it being in Louis XIV's interests to assist a fellow Catholic like James, who would not necessarily want to kill his own nephew. Saint-Foix's case was based on unsubstantiated rumours and allegations that Monmouth's execution was faked.{{sfn|Noone|1988}}

===Eustache Dauger de Cavoye===
In his letter to Saint-Mars announcing the imminent arrival of the prisoner who would become the Man in the Iron Mask, Louvois gave his name as "Eustache Dauger". Historically, this was deemed to be a prison pseudonym, and a succession of historians therefore attempted to find out the prisoner's real identity. Among them, Maurice Duvivier (1932) wondered if, instead, "Eustache Dauger" might not be the real name of a person whose life and history could be traced; he therefore combed the archives for surnames such as Dauger, Daugers, d'Auger, d'Oger, d'Ogiers and similar forms. He discovered the family of François d'Oger de Cavoye, a captain of Cardinal Richelieu's guard of musketeers, who was married to Marie de Sérignan, a [[lady-in-waiting]] at the court of Louis XIV's mother, Queen Anne of Austria. François and Marie had 11 children, of whom six boys and three girls survived into adulthood.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=211}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=212–213}}

Their third son was named Eustache, who signed his name as "Eustache Dauger de Cavoye". He was born on 30 August 1637 and baptised on 18 February 1639.{{efn|name=cavatars}} When his father and  two eldest brothers were killed in battle, Eustache became the nominal head of the family. In his 1932 book, Duvivier published evidence that this man had been involved in scandalous and embarrassing events, first in 1659, then again in 1665,{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=211}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=212–213}} and speculated that he had also been linked with ''[[Affair of the Poisons|l'Affaire des Poisons]]''.{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=222–228}}

====Disgrace====
In April 1659, Eustache Dauger de Cavoye and others{{efn|name=roissy}} were invited by the [[Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart|duke of Vivonne]] to an Easter weekend party at the castle of [[Roissy-en-Brie]]. By all accounts, it was a debauched affair of merry-making, with the men involved in all sorts of sordid activities, including attacking an elderly man who claimed to be Cardinal Mazarin's attorney. It was also rumoured, among other things, that a [[black mass]] was enacted and that a pig was baptised as "[[Carp]]" in order to allow them to eat pork on Good Friday.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=212}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=213–215}}

When news of these events became public, an inquiry was held and the various perpetrators jailed or exiled. There is no record as to what happened to Dauger de Cavoye but, in 1665, near the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], he allegedly killed a young [[Page (occupation)|page boy]] in a drunken brawl involving the Duc de Foix. The two men claimed that they had been provoked by the boy, who was drunk, but the fact that the killing took place close to where Louis XIV was staying at the time meant that this crime was deemed a personal affront to the king and, as a result, Dauger de Cavoye was forced to resign his [[French Royal Army|commission]]. His mother died shortly afterwards. In her will, written a year earlier, she passed over her eldest surviving sons Eustache and Armand, leaving the bulk of the estate to their younger brother Louis. Eustache was restricted in the amount of money to which he had access, having built up considerable debts, and left with barely enough for "food and upkeep".{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=216}}

====Affair of the Poisons====
{{main|Affair of the Poisons}}
In his 1932 book, Duvivier also linked Eustache Dauger de Cavoye to the [[Affair of the Poisons]], a notorious scandal of 1677–1682 in which people in high places were accused of being involved in black mass and poisonings. An investigation had been launched, but Louis XIV instigated a cover-up when it appeared that his mistress [[Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan|Madame de Montespan]] was involved.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=225}} The records show that, during the inquiry, the investigators were told about a surgeon named Auger, who had supplied poisons for a black mass that took place before March 1668. Duvivier became convinced that Dauger de Cavoye, disinherited and short of money, had become Auger, the supplier of poisons, and subsequently "Eustache Dauger".{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=222–228}}

In a letter sent by Louvois to Saint-Mars on 10 July 1680, a few months after Fouquet's death in prison while "Eustache Dauger" was acting as his valet, the minister adds a note in his own handwriting, asking how it was possible that Dauger had made certain objects found in Fouquet's pockets—which Saint-Mars had mentioned in a previous correspondence, now lost—and "how he got the drugs necessary to do so".{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=194}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=220}} Duvivier suggested that Dauger had poisoned Fouquet as part of a complex power struggle between Louvois and his rival [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert|Colbert]].{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=221}}

====Dauger de Cavoye in prison at Saint-Lazare====
In 1953, however, French historian Georges Mongrédien published historical documents{{efn|name=cavoye}} confirming that, in 1668, Eustache Dauger de Cavoye was already held at the [[Prison Saint-Lazare]] in Paris—an asylum, run by monks, which many families used in order to imprison their "[[black sheep#Idiomatic usage|black sheep]]"—and that he was still there in 1680,{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=220}} at the same time that "Eustache Dauger", was in custody in Pignerol, hundreds of miles away in the south. These documents include a letter dated 20 June 1678, full of self-pity, sent by Dauger de Cavoye to his sister, the Marquise de Fabrègues,{{efn|name=sarret}} in which he complains about his treatment in prison, where he had already been held "for more than 10 years", and how he was deceived by their brother Louis and by Clérac, their brother-in-law and the manager of Louis's estate.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1953|pp=56–57}}

Dauger de Cavoye also wrote a second letter, this time to the King but undated, outlining the same complaints and requesting his freedom.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1953|pp=57–58}} The King responded in a letter to the head of Saint-Lazare on 17 August 1678,{{efn|name=stlazare}} telling him that "M. de Cavoye should have communication with no one at all, not even with his sister, unless in your presence or in the presence of one of the priests of the mission". The letter was signed by the King and Colbert.{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=231–234}} A poem written by Louis-Henri de Loménie de Brienne, an inmate in Saint-Lazare at the time, indicates that Eustache Dauger de Cavoye died as a result of heavy drinking in the late 1680s. Historians consider all this proof enough that he was not involved in any way with the man in the mask.{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=233}}{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}}

===Valet===
In 1890, French historian [[Jules Lair]] published an extensive, two-volume biography of Nicolas Fouquet in which he relates Eustache Dauger's arrival at Pignerol in August 1669,{{sfn|Lair|1890|p=453}} his subsequent role as Fouquet's valet, and their secret interactions with Lauzun.{{sfn|Lair|1890|p=454}} Lair believed that "Eustache Dauger" was the new prisoner's real name, that he was French, [[Roman Catholic (term)|Catholic]], and a professional valet who had been employed for a specific task which was never clarified: "he was probably one of these men tasked with a shady mission&mdash;such as the removal of documents or kidnapping, or perhaps worse&mdash;and whose silence is secured by death or imprisonment once the deed is done."{{sfn|Lair|1890|p=454}} Lair also conjectured an explanation for Louvois's obsessive insistence that Dauger and Lauzun should be kept apart at all times, by reference to the fact that Dauger was arrested near Dunkirk during the negotiations of the [[Secret Treaty of Dover]], in which Lauzun had also participated. Lair asserted that the two men knew each other or, at the very least, had been aware of each other.{{sfn|Lair|1890|pp=454–455}}

In 2016, American historian Paul Sonnino speculated that Eustache Dauger could have been a valet of Cardinal Mazarin's treasurer, Antoine-Hercule Picon. A native of Languedoc, Picon, upon entering the service of Colbert after Mazarin's death, might have picked up a valet from Senlis, where the name "Dauger" abounds. In his book, Sonnino asserts that Mazarin led a double life, "one as a statesman, the other as a loan shark", and that one of the clients he embezzled was [[Henrietta Maria]], the widow of [[Charles I of England]]. According to Sonnino's theory, Louis XIV was complicit and instructed his ambassador in England to stonewall Charles II over the return of his parents' possessions. In 1669, however, Louis wanted to enlist Charles in a war against the Dutch and therefore worried about the subject of Mazarin's estate entering into the negotiations. Sonnino concludes by stating that Eustache Dauger, who might have been Picon's valet, was arrested and incarcerated for revealing something about the disposition of Mazarin's fortune, and that this is why he was threatened with death if he disclosed anything about his past.{{sfn|Sonnino|2016|pp=155–156}}{{sfn|Deamer|2016}}{{sfn|Egnal|2021}}

In 2021, British historian Josephine Wilkinson mentioned the theory proposed by French historian  Bernard Caire in 1987, whereby "Eustache" was not the prisoner's first name but his real surname. Since French historian Jean-Christian Petitfils had earlier asserted that "Dauger" was a misspelling of "Danger" (or d'Angers), Caire suggested that this appellation was used to indicate the prisoner originated from the town of [[Angers]].{{efn|name=danger}}{{sfn|Wilkinson|2021|pp=238–239}} Wilkinson also supported the theory proposed by Petitfils&mdash;and by Jules Lair in 1890&mdash;that, as a valet (perhaps to [[Henrietta of England]]), this "Eustache" had committed some indiscretion which risked compromising the relations between Louis XIV and Charles II at a sensitive time during the negotiations of the Secret Treaty of Dover against the [[Dutch Republic]]. In July 1669, Louis had suddenly and inexplicably fallen out with Henrietta and, since the two had previously been very close, it did not go unnoticed. Wilkinson therefore suggested a link between this event and this valet's arrest in Calais later that month.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2021|pp=247–253}}

==Historical documents and archives==
===History of the Bastille archives===
When the Bastille was stormed on 14 July 1789, the mob were surprised to find only seven prisoners,{{efn|name=bastille}}{{sfn|Funck-Brentano|1932|pp=114–115}} as well as a room full of neatly kept boxes containing documents that had been carefully filed since 1659. These archives held records, not only of all the prisoners who had been incarcerated there, but also of all the individuals who had been locked up, banished into exile, or simply tried within the limits of Paris as a result of a ''[[lettre de cachet]]''. Throughout the 18th century, archivists had been working zealously at keeping these records in good order and which, on the eve of the French revolution, had amounted to hundreds of thousands of documents.{{sfn|Funck-Brentano|1932|pp=6–7}}

As the fortress was being ransacked, the pillaging lasted for two days during which documents were burned, torn, thrown from the top of towers into the moats and trailed through the mud.{{sfn|Funck-Brentano|1932|p=7}} Many documents were stolen, or taken away by collectors, writers, lawyers, and even by Pierre Lubrowski, an attaché in the Russian embassy—who sold them to emperor [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] in 1805, when they were deposited at the [[Hermitage Palace]]—and many ended up dispersed throughout France and the rest of Europe.{{sfn|Funck-Brentano|1932|p=7}}{{sfn|Funck-Brentano|1899|p=52}} A company of soldiers was posted on 15 July to guard the fortress and, in particular, to prevent any more looting of the archives. On 16 July, the Electoral Assembly created a commission assigned to rescue the archives; on arrival at the fortress, they found that many boxes had been emptied or destroyed, leaving an enormous pile of papers in a complete state of disorder. During the session of 24 July, the Electoral Assembly passed a resolution enjoining citizens to return documents to the Hôtel de Ville; restitutions were numerous and the surviving documents eventually stored at the city's library, then located at the convent of Saint-Louis-de-la-Culture.{{sfn|Funck-Brentano|1932|pp=9-10}}{{sfn|Funck-Brentano|1899|pp=53–54}}{{sfn|Tuetey|1894|p=636}}{{efn|name=convent}}

On 22 April 1797, [[Hubert-Pascal Ameilhon]] was appointed chief librarian of the [[Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal]] and obtained a decree that secured the Bastille archive under his care.{{sfn|Funck-Brentano|1932|p=10}} However, the librarians were so daunted by this volume of 600,000 documents that they stored them in a backroom, where they languished for over forty years. In 1840, François Ravaisson found a mass of old papers under the floor in his kitchen at the Arsenal library and realised he had rediscovered the archives of the Bastille, which required a further fifty years of laborious restoration; the documents were numbered, and a catalogue was compiled and published as the 20th century was about to dawn. Eventually, the archives of the Bastille were made available for consultation by any visitor to the Arsenal library, in rooms specially fitted up for them.{{sfn|Funck-Brentano|1932|pp=12–13}}

===Other archives===
In addition to the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, several other archives host historical documents that were consulted by historians researching the enigma of the Man in the Iron Mask: the [[:fr:Archives diplomatiques|Archives of the Foreign Ministry]] (Archives des Affaires étrangères),
the [[Archives Nationales (France)|Archives Nationales]], 
the [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]],
the [[Sainte-Geneviève Library]],
and the [[Defence Historical Service|Service Historique de la Défense]] ({{aka}} Anciennes Archives de la Guerre).{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|p=8}}

===Historians of the Man in the Iron Mask===

In his historical essay published in 1965 and expanded in 1973, Marcel Pagnol praised a number of historians who consulted the archives with the goal of elucidating the enigma of the Man in the Iron Mask: Joseph Delort (1789–1847), Marius Topin (1838–1895), Théodore Iung (1833–1896), Maurice Duvivier (18??–1936), and Georges Mongrédien (1901–1980).{{sfn|Pagnol|1973|pp=14–18}} Along with Pierre Roux-Fazillac (1746–1833), François Ravaisson (1811–1884), Jules Loiseleur (1816–1900), [[Jules Lair]] (1836–1907), and [[Frantz Funck-Brentano]] (1862–1947), these historians uncovered and published the bulk of historical documents that enabled some progress to be made towards that goal.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=234–254}}{{sfn|Pagnol|1973|pp=14–18}}

In particular, Mongrédien was the first to publish (1952) a complete reference of historical documents on which previous authors had relied only selectively.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=7–8}} He was also one of the few historians who did not champion any particular candidate,{{efn|name=fewhist}} preferring instead to review and analyse objectively the facts revealed by {{em|all}} the documents.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=8–9}} Giving full credit to Jules Lair for being the first to propose the candidacy of "Eustache Dauger" in 1890,{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=181}} Mongrédien demonstrated that, among all the state prisoners who were ever in the custody of Saint-Mars, only the one arrested under that name in 1669 could have died in the Bastille in 1703, and was therefore the only possible candidate for the man in the mask. Although he also pointed out that no documents had yet been found that revealed either the real identity of this prisoner or the cause of his long incarceration, Mongrédien's work was significant in that it made it possible to eliminate all the candidates whose vital dates, or life circumstances for the period of 1669–1703, were already known to modern historians.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=18}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=181-201,227–231}}

In October 1965, Mongrédien published a review, in the journal ''La Revue des Deux Mondes'', of the first edition of Pagnol's essay. At the end of this review, Mongrédien mentioned being told that the [[Defence Historical Service|Archives of the Ministry of Defense]] located at the Château de Vincennes still held unsorted and uncatalogued bundles of Louvois's correspondence. He speculated that, if this were the case, then these bundles might contain a letter from July 1669 revealing the reasons for "Eustache Dauger{{" '}}s arrest near Dunkirk.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1965|p=427}}

==In popular culture==
===Literature===
In addition to being the subject of scholarly research carried out by historians, the Man in the Iron Mask inspired literary works of fiction, many of which elaborate on the legend of the prisoner being a twin brother of Louis XIV, such as Alexandre Dumas's popular novel, ''[[Le Vicomte de Bragelonne]]'' (1850).{{efn|name=dumas}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=232–233}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|pp=287–288}}

====Novels====
* Mouhy, Charles de Fieux, Chevalier de, (1747). ''Le Masque de Fer ou les Aventures admirables du Père et du Fils''. The Hague: Pierre de Hondt.
* [[Jean-Joseph Regnault-Warin|Regnault-Warin, Jean-Joseph]] (1804). ''L'Homme Au Masque de Fer'', 4 vol. in-12. Paris: Frechet.
* Guénard Brossin de Méré, Élisabeth (1821). ''Histoire de l'Homme Au Masque de Fer, ou les Illustres Jumeaux'', 4 vol. Paris: Lebègue.
* Dumas, Alexandre (1848–1850). ''Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, ou Vingt ans plus tard'', 19 vol. Paris: Michel Lévy.   
* Letourneur, L. (1849). ''Histoire de l'Homme au masque de fer''. Nancy.
* Leynadier, Camille (1857). ''Le Masque de fer''. Paris.  
* Meynaud, Joachim (1869) [1st pub. 1858]. ''Le Masque de fer, journal de sa captivité à Sainte-Marguerite''. Nancy: Wagner.  
* Robville de, T. (1865). ''L'Homme au masque de fer ou Les Deux Jumeaux''. Paris.
* Koenig, E. A. (1873). ''L'Homme au masque de fer, ou le somnambule de Paris''. Zurich: Robert.
* [[Octave Féré|Féré, Octave]] (1876). ''L'Homme au masque de fer''. Paris.
* [[Fortuné du Boisgobey|Du Boisgobey, Fortuné]] (1878). ''Les deux merles de M. de Saint-Mars''. Paris: E. Dentu.
* Ladoucette, Edmond (1910). ''Le Masque de fer''. Paris: A. Fayard.
* [[Paul Féval, fils|Féval (fils), Paul]]; Lassez, Michel (1928). ''L'évasion du masque de fer''. Paris: A. Fayard.
* [[Renée Dunan|Dunan, Renée]] (1929). ''Le masque de fer ou l'amour prisonnier''. Paris: Bibliothèque des Curieux.
* [[Arthur Bernède|Bernède, Arthur]] (1930). ''L'Homme au masque de fer''. Paris: Éditions Tallandier.
* Kerleck de, Jean (1931) [1st pub. 1927]. ''La Maîtresse du Masque de Fer''. Paris: Baudinière.
* Refreger, Omer (alias [[Léo Malet]]) (1945). ''L'Évasion du Masque de fer''. Paris: Les Éditions et Revues Françaises.
* Masini de, Clément (1964). ''La Plus dramatique énigme du 18ème siècle : la véritable histoire de l'homme au masque de fer''. Paris: Édition du Scorpion.
* Cyrille (1966). ''Masques de fer''. Paris: Éditions Alsatia.
* Desprat, Jean-Paul (1991). ''Le Secret des Bourbons''. Paris: André Balland. {{ISBN|978-2-7158-0835-5}}.
* Dufreigne, Jean-Pierre (1993). ''Le Dernier Amour d'Aramis''. Paris: Grasset. {{ISBN|978-2-2464-2821-3}}.
* Benzoni, Juliette (1998). ''Secret d'État, tome III, Le Prisonnier masqué''. Paris: Plon. {{ISBN|978-2-2591-8590-5}}.

====Plays====
[[File:Albert Morrow - The Man in the Iron Mask.jpg|thumb|230px|right|upright|<div style="text-align: center">[[Albert Morrow]]'s poster for Max Goldberg's play at the London [[Adelphi theatre]], starring [[Norman Forbes-Robertson|Norman Forbes]] (1899).</div>]]
* Arnould (1790). ''L'Homme au masque de fer ou le Souterrain''. Pantomime in four acts, performed at the ''[[Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique]]'' on 7 January 1790.
* Le Grand, Jérôme (1791). ''Louis XIV et le Masque de fer ou Les Princes jumeaux''. Tragedy in five acts and in verse, first performed at the ''[[:fr:Théâtre Molière (Paris)|Théâtre Molière]]'' in Paris on 24 September 1791.
* Arnould & Fournier (1831). ''L'Homme au masque de fer''. Drama in five acts, performed at the ''[[Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe#Third theatre|Théâtre de l'Odéon]]'' on 3 August 1831.
* [[Thomas James Serle|Serle, Thomas James]] (1832). ''The Man in the Iron Mask : an historical play in five acts''. First performed at the [[Royal Coburg Theatre]], 1832.{{sfn|Serle|1830s}}{{sfn|Ledger|1869}}
* [[Victor Hugo|Hugo, Victor]] (1839). ''Les Jumeaux''. Unfinished drama. Paris, 1884.
* Dumas, Alexandre (1861). ''Le Prisonnier de la Bastille''. Drama in five acts, first performed at the ''[[Cirque Olympique#Cirque Olympique on the Boulevard du Temple|Théâtre du Cirque Impérial]]'' on 22 March 1861.
* Maurevert, Georges (1884). ''Le Masque de fer''. Fantasy in one act. Paris.
* [https://theatricalia.com/person/enq/max-goldberg Max Goldberg] (1899). ''The Man in the Iron Mask''. Performed at the London [[Adelphi Theatre]], 11 March–20 May 1899 (68 perf.). The cast included [[Norman Forbes-Robertson|Norman Forbes]], [[Valli Valli]], and [[William L. Abingdon]].{{sfn|Cady|Nelson|Cross|2016}}
* Villia (1909). ''L'Homme au masque de fer''. Drama in three acts, preceded by a historical review of recent works. Paris.
* [[Maurice Rostand|Rostand, Maurice]] (1923). ''Le Masque de fer''. Play in four acts and in verse, first performed at the ''[[Théâtre Mogador#History|Théâtre Cora Laparcerie]]'' on 1 October 1923.
* Richter, Charles de (1955). ''Le Masque de fer''. Comedy in one act. Toulon.

====Poems====
* [[Alfred de Vigny|Vigny, Alfred de]], (1821). ''La Prison'', in ''Poèmes antiques et modernes'' (1826). Paris: Urbain Canel.
* Quinet, Benoît (1837). ''Derniers moments de l'Homme au masque de fer''. Dramatic poem. Bruxelles: Hauman, Cattoir et Cie.
* Leconte, Sebastien-Charles (1911). ''Le Masque de fer''. Paris: Mercure de France.

===Music===
* [[John St John (died 1793)|John St John]] (1789). ''The Island of St. Marguerite'' (Opera).{{sfn|George|1938}}
* [[Hugo Riesenfeld]] (1929). Soundtrack of the film ''[[The Iron Mask]]''.
* [[Lud Gluskin]] & [[Lucien Moraweck]] (1939). Soundtrack of the film ''[[The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film)|The Man in the Iron Mask]]''.
* [[Allyn Ferguson]] (1977). Soundtrack of the film ''[[The Man in the Iron Mask (1977 film)|The Man in the Iron Mask]]''.
* [[Billy Bragg]] (1983). "The Man in the Iron Mask" (Song), in ''[[Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy]]''.
* [[Paul Young]] (1985). "The Man in the Iron Mask" (Song), in ''[[The Secret of Association]]''.
* [[Nick Glennie-Smith]] (1998). Soundtrack of the film ''[[The Man in the Iron Mask (1998 film)#Soundtrack|The Man in the Iron Mask]]''.
* [[Heartland (band)|Heartland]] (2002). "The Man in the Iron Mask" (Song), in ''Communication Down''.{{sfn|Rock Report|2002}}
* Samurai Of Prog (2023). ''The Man in the Iron Mask'' (Album).{{sfn|Neudorf|2024}}

===Film and television===
[[File:Ironmaskposter.jpg|thumb|230px|right|upright|<div style="text-align: center">Poster of the 1929 film, starring [[Douglas Fairbanks]].</div>]]
Several films have been made around the mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, including:
''[[The Iron Mask]]'' (1929) starring [[Douglas Fairbanks]];
''[[The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film)|The Man in the Iron Mask]]'' (1939) starting [[Louis Hayward]];
[[The Man in the Iron Mask (1977 film)|the British television production]] starring [[Richard Chamberlain]] (1977); and
[[The Man in the Iron Mask (1998 film)|the American film]] starring [[Leonardo DiCaprio]] (1998). These films were all loosely adapted from Dumas' book ''[[The Vicomte de Bragelonne]]'', where the prisoner was an identical twin of Louis XIV and made to wear an iron mask, per the legend created by Voltaire.{{sfn|Dumas|1850}}{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}}

In the Japanese Manga ''[[Berserk (manga)|Berserk]]'' (1989), one of the protagonists, [[Griffith (Berserk)|Griffith]], was imprisoned, tortured, and forced to wear an iron mask. He becomes an antagonist shortly thereafter. In the Japanese manga ''[[One Piece]]'' (1997), one of the protagonists, [[Sanji (One Piece)|Sanji]], was imprisoned during childhood and forced to wear an iron mask, resembling the story of the French prisoner.

The movie ''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra]]'' (2009) features fictional character James McCullen IX who is the ancestor of the modern day antagonist James McCullen XXIV. In the 1600s, McCullen IX was caught selling weapons to both sides of an unspecified war, and an example was made of him by welding a burning iron mask to his face.

In the second season of the television show ''[[The Flash (2014 TV series)|The Flash]]'' in 2014, the Man in the Iron Mask is held hostage by [[Hunter Zolomon]]/Zoom, who pretends to be the superhero [[Flash (Jay Garrick)|Flash]]. The Man in the Iron Mask is eventually revealed to be the real Jay Garrick of his universe, and a doppelganger of Henry Allen, Barry Allen/The Flash's father.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

The Man in the Iron Mask is portrayed as the Duc de Sullun (inversion of ''nullus'', Latin for 'no one') in the first two episodes of the third season of the TV drama series ''[[Versailles (TV series)|Versailles]]'' (2018). In the program, he is visited in the Bastille by Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, on his search to find men to send to the Americas, and is revealed to be the secret father of Louis XIV and Philippe I. The Man, who is never named, had an affair with Anne of Austria due to her struggle to produce an heir with Louis XIII. The affair was done with Louis' condonement.

In "[[What If... the Avengers Assembled in 1602?]]", the eighth episode of the [[What If...? season 2|second season]] (2023) of the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] [[Disney+]] series ''[[What If...? (TV series)|What If...?]]'', the Man in the Iron Mask is a variant of [[Bruce Banner (Marvel Cinematic Universe)#1602|Bruce Banner]], who is freed by [[Peggy Carter (Marvel Cinematic Universe)#Captain Carter|Captain Peggy Carter]], breaking the iron mask after transforming into [[the Hulk]].

== Gallery ==
{{Gallery
|title= Fictional depictions of the Man in the Iron Mask
|width=250| height=250
|align=center
|mode=nolines
|whitebg=no
|noborder=yes
|footer=
|File:Man in the Iron Masque crop.jpg
 |{{center|{{lang|fr|L'Homme au Masque de Fer}}.<br />Anonymous print (1789)}}
|File:Masque de fer selon Warin.jpg
 |{{center|''L'Homme au masque de fer'',<br />by [[Jean-Joseph Regnault-Warin]] (1804)}}
|File:The Man in the Iron Mask in his prison on the Sainte Marguerite Island.jpg
 |{{center|''Le Masque de fer dans sa prison des îles Sainte Marguerite'',<br />by Jean-Antoine Laurent ({{circa}} 1814)}}
|File:The Man in the Iron Mask - Once a Week, 25 August 1860.png
 |{{center|''The Man in the Iron Mask'',<br />in ''[[Once a Week (magazine)|Once a Week]]'' (1860)}}
|File:La masque de fer.jpg
 |{{center|''L'homme au masque de fer'',<br />by [[Alphonse de Neuville]] (c. 1872)}}
|File:Man in the iron mask 19c.jpg
|{{center|''The Man in the Iron Mask'',<br />by Unknown (19th century)}}
}}

==Explanatory footnotes==
<!-- Do NOT imbed {{sfn}} templates within {{notelist}} prose, as they break references; instead, use {{harv}} templates without <ref>...</ref> and before punctuation. -->
{{notelist |refs=

{{efn|name=nomask
|Noone pointed out that Louvois was concerned Dauger should not communicate, rather than that his face should be concealed {{harv|Noone|1988|p=272}}. Later, Saint-Mars elaborated upon instructions that the prisoner should not be seen during transportation. The idea of keeping Dauger in a velvet mask was Saint-Mars's own, to increase his self-importance {{harv|Noone|1988|p=272}}.
}}

{{efn|name=fouquet
|After arresting Fouquet on 5 September 1661, d'Artagnan and an escort of 100 musketeers took him to the [[Château d'Angers]], where he arrived two days later {{harv|Mongrédien|1956|p=77}}. On 1 December 1661, he  was transferred to the [[Château d'Amboise]] {{harv|Mongrédien|1956|p=99}} and, on 25 December, to the dungeon at the [[Château de Vincennes]], where he arrived on the 31st {{harv|Lair|1890|p=113–114}}. His trial began on 4 March 1662 {{harv|Mongrédien|1956|p=102}}. On 30 May 1663, he was transferred to the Bastille {{harv|Mongrédien|1956|p=127}}. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on 22 December 1664 {{harv|Mongrédien|1956|p=191}} and taken to Pignerol five days later {{harv|Lair|1890|p=409}}. 
}}

{{efn|name=valet
|Historians have also argued that 17th-century protocol made it unthinkable that a gentleman, let alone an aristocrat, would serve as a manservant, casting some doubt on speculation that Dauger was in some way related to the king {{harv|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}}.
}}
{{efn|name=voltaire
|Voltaire was imprisoned twice in the Bastille: first, from 16 May 1717 till 14 April 1718 {{harv|Mongrédien|1961|p=40}}, for writing satirical verse accusing the [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Régent]] of incest with his daughter {{harv|Fitzpatrick|2000|p=64}}; and second, from 17–26 April 1726 {{harv|Mongrédien|1961|p=40}}, prior to his exile to England on 2 May for two and a half years {{harv|Pearson|2005|pp=67,85}}, for an argument with [[Guy Auguste de Rohan-Chabot]] whom Voltaire had challenged to a duel {{harv|Pearson|2005|pp=66–67}}.
}}
{{efn|name=annemisc
|Anne of Austria delivered a stillborn child in December 1619 {{harv|Dulong|1980|p=30}}{{harv|Kleinman|1993|p=88}} and suffered four further miscarriages: in the Spring of 1621 {{harv|Dulong|1980|p=30}}, in March 1622 {{harv|Kleinman|1993|pp=105–107}}, in November 1626 {{harv|Dulong|1980|p=70}}, and in April 1631 {{harv|Mongrédien|1961|p=49}}{{harv|Kleinman|1993|p=159}}.
}}
{{efn|name=dec1637
|According to a contemporary account {{harv|Kleinman|1993|p=193}}, on the night of 5 December 1637, the King was caught in a storm in the centre of Paris and was unable to reach his own bed, which had been arranged for him at the [[Princes of Condé|Condé]] estate in [[Saint-Maur-des-Fossés#Château|Saint-Maur]], south-east of [[Vincennes]]. Cut off from his household staff, he was persuaded by the Captain of the Queen's Guard to spend the night at the Louvre; as a result, the King and Queen ate together and, since there was no royal bed available except the Queen's, slept together as well, resulting in Louis XIV's birth exactly nine months later {{harv|Noone|1988|p=42}}{{harv|Kleinman|1993|pp=193–194}}.  
}}
{{efn|name=nov1637
|The reliable ''[[La Gazette (France)|La Gazette]]'' recorded that the royal couple lodged in [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye|St Germain]] from 9 November till 1 December 1637, before heading to Paris. On 2 December, the King travelled from Paris to [[Crosne, Essonne|Crosne]]–instead of Saint-Maur–whence he went to [[History of the Palace of Versailles#Louis XIII|Versailles]] on 5 December while the Queen remained in Paris. Kleinman contends that the King might well have stopped over in Paris on his way to Versailles, but even if he had spent the night of 5 December with the Queen, it doesn't imply this was the first time they shared a bed since August. The Queen's doctor, [[Charles Bouvard]], calculated that her pregnancy had begun at the end of November {{harv|Kleinman|1993|p=194}}.
}}
{{efn|name=danger
|In 1970, Petitfils asserted that, in the first letter about the prisoner, Louvois wrote his name as "Eustache Danger", and that later transcriptions of the name misinterpreted the letter "n" as a "u" {{harv|Petitfils|2004|pp=47, 151}}. In 1987, Caire suggested that "Eustache" was the prisoner's surname, and that "Danger", as well as later spellings of "Dangers" or "d'Angers" in the correspondence related to this prisoner, referred to [[Angers]] as his place of birth or the town with which he was mostly associated {{harv|Wilkinson|2021|pp=238–239}}{{harv|Caire|1989|pp=1–6}}.
}}
{{efn|name=cavatars
|After Duvivier's publication, two further theories emerged about Eustache Dauger de Cavoye's parentage, both proposing he was a half-brother of Louis XIV. In 1954, Rupert Furneaux had him as a son of Louis XIII and Marie de Sérignan {{harv|Furneaux|1954|pp=157–171}}. Twenty years later, Marie-Madeleine Mast suggested he was a son of Anne of Austria and François d'Oger de Cavoye {{harv|Mast|1974}}, an idea echoed by [[Harry Thompson]] {{harv|Thompson|1987|pp=173–180}}. 
}}
{{efn|name=roissy
|The other participants at the party in Roissy-en-Brie were:
[[Armand de Gramont, Comte de Guiche|Armand de Gramont, count of Guiche]];
[[Philippe Jules Mancini|Philippe Jules Mancini, duke of Nevers]] ([[Cardinal Mazarin]]'s nephew and heir);
[[Roger de Bussy-Rabutin]];
Bertrand de Manicamp; 
and a young priest (and future cardinal) called [[Étienne Le Camus]] {{harv|Mongrédien|1961|p=212}}{{harv|Noone|1988|p=213}}.
}}
{{efn|name=cavoye
|Mongrédien published two letters in an article for the 15 April 1953 issue of the French historical journal ''XVII<sup>e</sup> siècle'' 
 {{harv|Mongrédien|1961|p=220}}. In that article, he wrote that he owed his ability to publish them "to the extreme consideration of M<sup>me</sup> la baronne de Sarret de Coussergues, and her two daughters, M<sup>lle</sup> de Sarret and M<sup>me</sup> la comtesse Emmanuel de Bertier de Sauvigny, who were kind enough to extract two previously unpublished documents from their family archives, to send me photocopies, and to authorise me to publish [them]."
In the first of these two letters, addressed to his sister, the Marquise de Fabrègues, and dated 20 June 1678, Dauger de Cavoye mentions that he has been held in captivity "for more than ten years". In the second letter, addressed to the king but undated, he mentions that he has been "detained in the prisons of St Lazare by a ''lettre de cachet'' [issued] by Your Majesty for the last eleven-and-a-half years" {{harv|Mongrédien|1953|pp=55–58}}.
}}
{{efn|name=sarret
|In a footnote, Mongrédien explained that the Marquise de Fabrègues was Eustache's eldest sister, Louise-Henriette, who had married François-Antoine de Sarret, marquis de Fabrègues et de Coussergues, ''maréchal de camp''. Widowed in December 1674, she survived until 1696 {{harv|Mongrédien|1953|p=56}}.
}}
{{efn|name=stlazare
|Noone mentions that this letter from Louis XIV "was brought to the author's attention by Stanislas Brugnon (...) [and] can be consulted in the register of the King's Orders in the National Archives in Paris" {{harv|Noone|1988|p=233}}, reference: "AN O1 22, folio 156" {{harv|Petitfils|2004|p=246}}.
}}
{{efn|name=bastille
|These seven prisoners included four forgers: Béchade, Laroche, La Corrège and Pujade; they had falsified bills of exchange to defraud two Parisian bankers. During their trial at the [[Grand Châtelet]], they were being held at the Bastille, where they were consulting daily with their lawyers. The fifth prisoner was the young Comte de Solages, who had committed a heinous crime and was held at the Bastille in consideration for his family, who were paying his board. The remaining two were mad men: Tavernier and de Whyte, who should have been in an asylum and were soon transferred to the [[Charenton (asylum)|Asile de Charenton]] {{harv|Funck-Brentano|1932|p=114}}.
}}
{{efn|name=convent
|"Bibliothèque de la Bastille. 1017. — Catalogue des livres en feuilles, reliés et brochés, qui sont déposés à Saint-Louis-de-la-Culture, provenant de la Bastille, mis en ordre par le sieur Poinçot, libraire, certifié véritable par Poinçot et par Agier, ci-devant commissaire aux papiers de la Bastille. 14 juin—15 septembre 1790. Bibl. de l'Arsenal, Mss., no. 6495, fol. 1. Cf. ALFRED FRANKLIN, les Anciennes Bibliothèques de Paris, t. III, p. 201, 292." <u>Translation</u>: "Bibliothèque de la Bastille. Item #1017. — Catalogue of books in loose pages, bound in leather or in paper, which were deposited at Saint-Louis-de-la-Culture, originally from the Bastille, set in order by Mr. Poinçot, librarian, certified genuine by Poinçot and by Agier, aforementioned commissioner of the Bastille papers. 14 June—15 September 1790." {{harv|Tuetey|1894|p=91}}. 
}}
{{efn|name=fewhist
|The other historians who have not proposed a candidate are: [[Augustin Cabanès]] {{harv|Cabanès|1938|p=13}}, [[:fr:Jules Loiseleur|Jules Loiseleur]] and [[:fr:Fernand Bournon|Fernand Bournon]] {{harv|Mongrédien|1961|p=8}}, as well as [[John Noone]] {{harv|Noone|1988|pp=252–277}}.
}}
{{efn|name=dumas
|Ten years before publishing the novel, Dumas had reviewed the popular theories about the prisoner extant in his time in the chapter "{{lang|fr|L'homme au masque de fer}}", published in the eighth volume of his non-fiction {{lang|fr|Crimes Célèbres}} (1840) {{harv|Dumas|1840}}.
}}
}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|20em}}

===Sources===
====Books====
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book
 |author = Anonymous
 |date = 1745
 |type = softcover
 |title = Mémoires pour servir à l'Histoire de la Perse
 |language = French 
 |location = Amsterdam
 |publisher = 
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Agar-Ellis
 |first = George
 |author-link = George Agar-Ellis
 |date = 1826
 |type = hardcover
 |title = The True History of the State Prisoner : Commonly Called The Iron Mask
 |location = London
 |publisher = John Murray
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Azéma
 |first = Xavier
 |date = 1963
 |type = softcover
 |title = Un Prélat Janséniste : Louis Foucquet évêque et comte d'Agde, 1656–1702
 |page = 150
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Barnes
 |first = Arthur
 |author-link = Arthur Barnes (monsignor)
 |title = The Man of the Mask
 |date = 1908
 |type = hardcover
 |location = London
 |publisher = Elder & Co 
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Bodemann
 |first = Eduard
 |title = Aus den Briefen der Herzogin Elisabeth Charlotte von Orleans an die Kurfürstin Sophie von Hannover
 |language = German 
 |date = 1891
 |location = Hannover 
 |publisher = Hahn'sche Buchhandlung
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Cabanès
 |first = Augustin 
 |author-link = Augustin Cabanès
 |language = French 
 |series= Toute l'Histoire
 |volume= 4
 |title = Les Secrets de l'Histoire
 |trans-title = History's Secrets
 |chapter = L'Énigme du 'Masque de Velours'
 |pages = 5–13
 |type = softcover
 |date = 1938
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1897
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Flammarion
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Carey
 |first = Edith F.
 |others = Illustrations by Henry B. Wimbush
 |year = 1924
 |edition = 2nd
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1904
 |type = hardcover
 |title = The Channel Islands
 |language = English 
 |location = London
 |publisher = A&C Black 
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Carra
 |first = Jean-Louis 
 |language = French 
 |title = Mémoires Historiques et Authentiques sur la Bastille
 |volume = I
 |pages = 315–321
 |type = softcover
 |date = 1789
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Buisson
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last1 = Charpentier
 |first1 = Pierre-Hubert
 |last2 = Manuel
 |first2 = Louis-Pierre 
 |date = 1790
 |type = hardcover
 |title = La Bastille dévoilée, ou Recueil de pièces authentiques pour servir à son histoire
 |volume= 3 
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Desenne
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
 |url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1518446h/f452.item
 |access-date= 15 October 2023
 |via= BnF Gallica
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Craufurd
 |first = Quintin <!-- Not: "Quentin" -->
 |author-link = Quintin Craufurd
 |date = 1790
 |type = hardcover
 |title = The History of the Bastile: With a Concise Account of the Late Revolution in France. To Which is Added, An Appendix, Containing, Among Other Particulars, An Enquiry into the History of the Prisoner with the Mask.
 |location = London
 |publisher = T.Cadell
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Dethan
 |first = Georges
 |editor-last = Mongrédien
 |editor-first = Georges
 |date = 1959
 |title = Mazarin
 |chapter = Chapitre I: Le jeune Monsignore à la conquête de Richelieu
 |language = fr
 |pages = 7–51
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Hachette
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Dulong
 |first = Claude
 |date = 1980
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 |title = Anne d'Autriche, Mère de Louis XIV
 |language = fr
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 |isbn = 978-2-0100-4474-8 <!-- Also: 2-702-80362-8 -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Dumas
 |first = Alexandre
 |others = Arnould; Fournier; Fiorentino; Mallefille 
 |author-link = Alexandre Dumas
 |title = Crimes Célèbres
 |language = French 
 |volume = VIII
 |date = 1840
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Administration de Libraire
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Dumas
 |first = Alexandre
 |author-mask = 1
 |title = [[The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later]]
 |chapter = [[The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later#Part Three: The Man in the Iron Mask (Chapters 181–269)|The Man in the Iron Mask]]
 |date = 1850
}}
* {{cite book
 |editor-last = Dumont
 |editor-first = Jean
 |editor-link = Jean Dumont (publicist)
 |title = Supplément au Corps Universel Diplomatique
 |volume = IV
 |page = 176
 |date = 1739
}}

* {{cite book
 |last = Fitzpatrick
 |first = Martin
 |editor-last1 = Grell
 |editor-first1 = Ole Peter
 |editor-last2 = Porter
 |editor-first2 = Roy
 |title = Toleration in Enlightenment Europe
 |chapter = Toleration and the Enlightenment Movement 
 |date = 2000
 |edition = 1st
 |type = hardcover
 |location = 
 |publisher = Cambridge University Press
 |isbn = 978-0-521-65196-7
 |page = 64, footnote 91
}}

* {{cite book
 |last = Fréron
 |first = Élie Catherine
 |author-link = Élie Catherine Fréron
 |date = 1768
 |type = hardcover
 |title = L'Année Littéraire
 |volume = XXXII
 |chapter = Lettre de [[François Joseph Lagrange-Chancel|François Joseph de La Grange-Chancel]] (1758)
 |page = 189
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = 
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Funck-Brentano
 |first = Frantz 
 |author-link = Frantz Funck-Brentano
 |date = 1932
 |type = softcover
 |title = Les secrets de la Bastille (Tirés de ses archives)
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Flammarion
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Funck-Brentano
 |first = Frantz 
 |author-mask = 1
 |translator-last = Maidment
 |translator-first = George
 |date = 1899
 |edition = 1st
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1898
 |trans-title = Légendes et archives de la Bastille
 |type = hardcover
 |title = Legends of the Bastille
 |language = English 
 |location = London
 |publisher = Downey & Co 
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Furneaux
 |first = Rupert 
 |author-link = Rupert Furneaux
 |year = 1954
 |type = hardcover
 |title = The Man behind the Mask
 |location  = London
 |publisher = Cassell
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |author1 = Charles-Henri Gleichen
 |author2 = Paul Grimblot
 |date = 1868
 |orig-date = First published 1847. Leipzig: J.B. Hirschfeld (in German)
 |type = hardcover
 |title = Souvenirs
 |chapter = IV : Le masque de fer
 |pages = 46–50
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Léon Techener
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
 |chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/souvenirs00grimgoog/page/n107/mode/2up
 |via= Internet Archive
 |ref=GleichenGrimblot1868
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Griffet
 |first = Henri
 |author-link = Henri Griffet
 |date = 1769
 |type = hardcover
 |title  = Traité des différentes sortes de preuves qui servent à établir la vérité de l'Histoire
 |chapter = Chapitre XIII : Examen de l'anecdote de l'homme au masque
 |pages = 291–327
 |language = French 
 |location = Liège 
 |publisher = J. F. Bassompierre 
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ELYOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA291  
}}
* {{Cite book
 |last = Kleinman
 |first = Ruth
 |date = 1993
 |title = Anne d'Autriche
 |language = French 
 |orig-date = First published 1985. Columbus: Ohio State University Press (in English)
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Fayard
 |isbn = 978-2-2130-3030-2
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Lair
 |first = Jules 
 |date = 1890
 |edition = 1st
 |type = hardcover
 |title = Nicolas Foucquet procureur général surintendant des finances, ministre d'état de Louis XIV
 |volume = II
 |pages = 453–486, 527–539
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Plon
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Laloy
 |first = Emile
 |date = 2018
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1913
 |type = softcover
 |title = Enigmes du Grand Siècle : Le Masque de fer, Jacques Stuart de la Cloche, l'Abbé Prignani, Roux de Marsilly
 |language = French 
 |location = London
 |publisher = Forgotten Books
 |isbn = 978-0-243-04888-5
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Lang
 |first = Andrew
 |author-link = Andrew Lang
 |date = 2002
 |title = The Valet's Tragedy and Other Stories
 |edition = 2nd
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1903
 |type = softcover
 |location = Harlow
 |publisher = Longamns & Co / IndyPublish
 |isbn = 978-1-4043-0293-8
}}
* {{cite book
 |editor-last = Ledger
 |editor-first = Edward
 |date = 1869
 |edition = 2nd
 |type = hardcover
 |title = The Era Almanack and Annual 1869
 |chapter = Biographical Memoranda of Living Dramatic Authors
 |pages = 20–21
 |location = London
 |publisher = Open Court Publishing
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
 |chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/sim_era-almanack-and-annual-the-dramatic-and-musical_1869/page/20/mode/2up
 |via = Internet Archive
 |quote = SERLE, Thomas James, (...) Engaged at Covent Garden Theatre, and opened in ''Hamlet'', November, 1825, and repeated it with ''Jaffier'', ''Othello'', &c.; remained three seasons (...); translated and adapted ''Dominique, Victim of St. Vincent''; and ''Man in the Iron Mask'', playing the principal characters.  
}}
* {{Cite book
 |last= Madry
 |first= Sarah B.
 |date= 2024
 |title= Second Son: Man in the Iron Mask
 |location= Red Deer, AB, Canada
 |publisher= Locate Press
 |isbn= 978-1-998414-00-0
}}
* {{Cite book
 |last = Mansel
 |first = Philip
 |date = 2022
 |orig-date = First published 2019. London: Allen Lane
 |type = softcover
 |title = King of the World: The Life of Louis XIV
 |location = London
 |publisher = Penguin Random House
 |isbn = 978-0-241-96058-5
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Mast
 |first = Marie-Madeleine 
 |author-link = 
 |year = 1974
 |type = softcover
 |title = Le Masque de Fer
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Tchou
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite journal
 |last = Mongrédien
 |first = Georges 
 |author-link = <!-- Georges Mongrédien -->
 |date = 15 April 1953
 |title = Deux documents inédits sur le Masque de Fer
 |trans-title = Two previously unpublished documents about the Man in the Iron Mask
 |journal = XVII<sup>e</sup> siècle
 |number = N<sup>os</sup> 17–18
 |pages = 55–58
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Société d'étude du XVII<sup>e</sup> siècle 
 |url = https://archive.org/details/xviie-siecle_1953_17-18/page/54/mode/2up?view=theater
 |via = Internet Archive
}}

* {{cite book
 |last = Mongrédien
 |first = Georges 
 |author-mask = 1
 |author-link = <!-- Georges Mongrédien -->
 |date = 1956
 |edition = 1st
 |type = softcover
 |title = L'Affaire Foucquet
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Hachette
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}

* {{cite book
 |last = Mongrédien
 |first = Georges 
 |author-mask = 1
 |author-link = <!-- Georges Mongrédien -->
 |date = 1961
 |edition = 2nd
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1952
 |type = softcover
 |others = Illustrated cover
 |title = Le Masque de Fer
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Hachette
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Noone
 |first = John  
 |author-link = John Noone
 |date = 1988
 |type = hardcover
 |title = The Man behind the Mask
 |location = Gloucester
 |publisher = Alan Sutton
 |isbn = 978-0-86299-475-4
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Pagnol
 |first = Marcel 
 |author-link = Marcel Pagnol
 |date = 1973
 |edition = 2nd
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1965
 |type = hardcover
 |title = [[Le secret du Masque de Fer]]
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Éditions de Provence
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{Cite book
 |last = Pearson
 |first = Roger
 |author-link = Roger Pearson (literary scholar)
 |title = Voltaire Almighty: A Life in Pursuit of Freedom
 |location = London
 |publisher = Bloomsbury
 |date= 2005
 |isbn= 978-0-7475-7495-8
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Petitfils
 |first = Jean-Christian 
 |date = 2004
 |edition = 3rd Revised
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1970
 |type = softcover
 |title = Le masque de Fer - Entre histoire et légende
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Perrin
 |isbn = 978-2-2620-2171-9
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Roux-Fazillac
 |first = Pierre  
 |year = 2018
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1800
 |type = softcover
 |title = Recherches historiques et critiques sur l'Homme au Masque de Fer
 |language = French 
 |location = New York
 |publisher = Wentworth Press 
 |isbn = 978-0-341-39381-8
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Serle
 |first = Thomas James
 |author-link = Thomas James Serle
 |date = 1830s
 |edition = 1st
 |type = hardcover
 |title = The Man in the Iron Mask : an historical play in five acts
 |location = London
 |publisher = John Dicks Press
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
 |url = https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175035139974&seq=3
 |via = Internet Archive
 |quote = First performed at the [[Royal Coburg Theatre]], 1832
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Sonnino
 |first = Paul
 |date = 2016
 |type = hardcover
 |title = The Search for the Man in the Iron Mask: A Historical Detective Story
 |location = Lanham, MD
 |publisher = Rowman & Littlefield 
 |isbn = 978-1-4422-5363-6
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Soulavie
 |first = Jean-Louis
 |others = Louis François Armand du Clessis Richelieu
 |author-link = Jean-Louis Giraud Soulavie
 |title = Mémoires du Maréchal Duc de Richelieu
 |volume = III
 |year = 1790
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Firmin Didot
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Thompson
 |first = Harry
 |author-link = Harry Thompson
 |title = The Man in the Iron Mask
 |date = 1987
 |location = London
 |publisher = Weidenfeld and Nicolson
 |isbn = 978-0-297-79051-8
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Treasure
 |first = Geoffrey R R
 |author-link = 
 |title = Seventeenth century France
 |date = 1984
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1966
 |edition = 2nd Reprinted
 |location = London
 |publisher = John Murray
 |isbn = 978-0-7195-3823-0
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Tuetey
 |first = Alexandre
 |author-link = :fr:Alexandre Tuetey 
 |date = 1894
 |type = hardcover
 |title = Répertoire général des sources manuscrites de l'histoire de Paris pendant la Révolution française
 |trans-title = General catalogue of manuscript sources about the history of Paris during the French revolution 
 |volume = III
 |page = 636
 |language = French 
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Imprimerie Nouvelle
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
 |url = http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k58190304.pdf
 |via = [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]
 |quote = (Église) de Saint-Louis-de-la-Culture
}}
* {{cite book
 |author = Voltaire
 |author-link = Voltaire
 |year = 1770–1771
 |type = hardcover
 |title = Questions sur l'encyclopédie
 |language = French 
 |location = Geneva
 |publisher = 
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Wilkinson
 |first = Josephine
 |title = The Man in the Iron Mask: The Truth about Europe's Most Famous Prisoner
 |date = 2021
 |edition = 1st
 |type = softcover
 |location = Stroud
 |publisher = Amberley Publishing Limited
 |isbn = 978-1-4456-9393-4
}}
* {{cite book
 |last = Williamson
 |first = Hugh Ross
 |author-link = Hugh Ross Williamson
 |title = Who Was the Man in the Iron Mask? And Other Historical Enigmas
 |chapter = 16. The Man in the Iron Mask
 |url = https://archive.org/details/whowasmaninironm00ross
 |date = 2002
 |edition = 2nd
 |orig-date = 1st pub. 1957
 |type = softcover
 |location = London
 |publisher = Penguin Classic History
 |pages = 239–254
 |isbn = 978-0-141-39097-0
}}
{{refend}}

====Conference proceedings====
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite conference
 |conference = Actes du Colloque International, Cannes 12–13 Septembre 1987
 |last = Caire
 |first = Bernard
 |date = 1989
 |title = Il y a trois siècles, le Masque de fer
 |chapter = Eustache et son secret
 |language = French 
 |location = Cannes, France
 |publisher = OMACC
 |isbn = <!-- None. Pre-1970 ISO 2108 publication. -->
}}
* {{cite conference
 |last = Brugnon
 |first = Stanislas
 |date = 1989
 |title = Il y a trois siècles, le Masque de fer
 |chapter = Identité de l'Homme au Masque de fer
 |language = French 
 |location = Cannes, France
 |publisher = OMACC
}}
{{refend}}

====AV Media====
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite episode
 |last = Lincoln 
 |first = Henry
 |author-link = Henry Lincoln
 |series = [[Timewatch]]
 |title = The Man in the Iron Mask
 |url = 
 |medium = Television documentary
 |network = [[BBC]] 
 |location = London
 |date = 1988
 |access-date =
 |ref = {{sfnref|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}}
}}
{{refend}}

====Websites====
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web
 |editor1-last = Cady
 |editor1-first = Thirza
 |editor2-last = Nelson
 |editor2-first = Alfred L.
 |editor3-last = Cross
 |editor3-first = Gilbert B.
 |date = 2016
 |title = Royal Adelphi Theatre : Calendar for 1898–1899
 |at = [Scroll down to: 11 March 1899.]
 |location = London
 |publisher = The Adelphi Calendar Project
 |url = https://www.umass.edu/AdelphiTheatreCalendar/m98d.htm#Label008
 |access-date = 2 December 2024
 |website = umass.edu
 |quote = 11 March 1899. ''The Man in the Iron Mask''. Title Comment:  "Suggested by an episode in ''The Vicomte de Bragelonne'' of Alexandre Dumas". Author: Max Goldberg.
}}
* {{cite web
 |last = Deamer
 |first = Kacey
 |date = 6 May 2016
 |title = Mysterious 'Man in the Iron Mask' Revealed, 350 Years Later
 |url = https://www.livescience.com/54669-man-in-the-iron-mask-identified.html
 |access-date = 21 May 2020
 |website = livescience.com
}}
* {{cite web
 |last = Egnal
 |first = Cleo 
 |date = 23 September 2021
 |title = Who The Man In The Iron Mask Really Was According To Historians
 |url = https://www.ranker.com/list/the-real-man-in-the-iron-mask/cleo-egnal
 |access-date = 18 October 2021
 |website = ranker.com
}}
* {{cite web
 |last = George
 |first = Dorothy
 |date = 1938
 |title = Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the British Museum
 |volume = VI
 |series = ''Object: The iron-mask'' (Etching on paper; Museum number 1866,1114.624.)
 |url = https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1866-1114-624
 |access-date = 1 December 2024
 |website = britishmuseum.org
 |quote=  The taking of the Bastille, see BMSat 7550, &c, naturally revived interest in the Man in the Iron Mask (d. 1703) and it was reported that his body still masked, had been found chained in a dungeon. Cf. the opera, ''Island of St. Marguerite'', by the Hon. John St. John, based on Voltaire's account of the Man in the Iron Mask, in which the Temple of Liberty rises from the ruins of the castle. Drury Lane, 13 Nov. 1789. Genest, vi. 586. Cf. also Blake's poem, "The French Revolution" (1791).
}}
* {{cite web
 |last = Neudorf
 |first = Jon 
 |date = 10 February 2024
 |title = The Samurai Of Prog: The Man in the Iron Mask
 |url = https://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=24693
 |access-date = 1 December 2024
 |website = Sea of Tranquility
 |quote= (...) This time the concept takes us back to 17th century France and the reign of King Louis XIV. In 1669 a man was arrested and subsequently held for over three decades in several French jails, including The Bastille. His name was kept a mystery as his face was covered with an iron mask. Oliviero Lacagnina who provides keyboards wrote all the music and provided the main idea behind the concept. (...)
}}
* {{cite web
 |author = Rock Report 
 |date = 2002
 |title = Heartland: Communication Down
 |url = https://www.rockreport.be/albums/heartland-communication-down
 |access-date = 1 December 2024
 |website = rockreport.be
}}
{{refend}}

====Magazines and newspapers====
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite news
 |last = de Grandmaison
 |first = Geoffroy
 |date = 9 January 1894
 |title = Variétés historiques : Le Masque de fer
 |pages = 3–4
 |work = L'Univers
 |url = http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k708294v.pdf
 |via = [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]
 |ref = {{sfnref|de Grandmaison 1894; pp. 3–4}}
}}
* {{cite journal
 |last = Mongrédien
 |first = Georges 
 |author-link = <!-- Georges Mongrédien -->
 |date = 1 October 1965
 |title = Autour du Masque de Fer
 |pages = 421–427
 |journal = Revue des Deux Mondes (1829–1971)
 |location = Paris
 |publisher = Société de la Revue des Deux Mondes 
 |jstor = 44591413 
 |url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/44591413
 |url-access = registration
 |access-date = 28 August 2022 
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{AmCyc Poster|Iron Mask, Man in the|Man in the Iron Mask}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Iron Mask |volume= 14 |last= Chisholm |first= Hugh |author-link= Hugh Chisholm | pages = 834-838 |short= 1 }}
* [https://esat.sun.ac.za/index.php/L%27homme_au_Masque_de_Fer List of plays and films about the Man in the Iron Mask at the Encyclopaedia of South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance (ESAT)]
{{The Man in the Iron Mask|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man In The Iron Mask, The}}
[[Category:Man in the Iron Mask| ]]
[[Category:Works based on The Three Musketeers]]
[[Category:17th-century births]]
[[Category:1703 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century French people]]
[[Category:People of the Ancien Régime]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of France]]
[[Category:Unidentified people]]
[[Category:French people who died in prison custody]]
[[Category:French folklore]]
[[Category:Masks]]
[[Category:People associated with the Affair of the Poisons]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Punitive masks]]
[[Category:Alexandre Dumas characters]]