Martin Guerre
Not all impostors pretend they are kings or queens. Nor do they always lie and cheat in order to win fame or riches, as the intriguing tale of Martin Guerre shows. Though it happened more than 500 years ago, this case continues to fascinate historians, writers and playwrights. Moreover, it continues to vex philosophers and moralists. After all, it’s clear that the impostor in the story was not really the bad guy – indeed, would his ‘victims’ have been better off living a lie?
It was in 1548 that the 24-year-old Martin Guerre left his home in Hendaye, south-west France. He had been caught stealing corn and ran away out of shame, leaving his wife and son behind. Then, suddenly, in the summer of 1548, a bearded man claiming to be Martin walked back into their lives. Not only did he look kind of similar to Martin, but he also knew everything there was to know about his life. Most of the town people were convinced. More importantly, his wife saw and heard enough to convince her that her love had returned. They were reunited and, by all accounts, were very happy together and they even had two more children.
Shortly after Martin left town, his own father had died. However, his father’s brother, Martin’s uncle, was still alive. And he was very skeptical indeed. He became even more suspicious when a soldier passing through the town informed him that he had fought along Martin in Spain and that Martin had lost a leg after being hit by a cannon. The uncle persuaded Martin’s wife to support the accusations he brought against him. Three years after arriving into the town, the man claiming to be Martin was put on trial, accused of being an impostor.
The trial was sensational. Dozens of witnesses came forward. Some, including Martin’s four sisters, testified that the man was who he claimed to be. Others, however, disagreed. They claimed he was actually Arnaud du Tilh, a known deviant from a nearby village. Eventually, he was found guilty and sentenced to death for the crime of ‘stealing a heritage’. When it looked like he might be saved after winning the right to a retrial in the nearby city of Toulouse, the real Martin suddenly returned, complete with a wooden leg. It emerged that he and Arnaud du Tilh had served in the same regiment in the wars in Spain. Obviously, Arnaud du Tilh had learned of the wife, child and happy life his comrade and left behind and wanted it for himself.
Four days after the real Martin reappeared, the imposter was hanged from a tree outside the Guerre family home. Since then, the story has inspired numerous plays, books and even musicals, with a number of theories put forward over the years. Some claim that, far from being duped, Martin’s wife knew the man who came to her in the summer of 1548 was not the man she married, but she needed a husband and, moreover, he treated her far better than Martin ever did.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“False Dmitry: Russian Pretenders.” Encyclopedia Britannica.
“The curious story of ‘Princess Caraboo,’ who came to Bristol in 1817 saying she was royalty from an island in the Indian Ocean.” Stefan Andrews, The Vintage News, December 2017.
“The strange case of Mary Baynton.” Mary Tudor: Renaissance Queen, February 2010.
“The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice.” Jeff Maysh, Smithsonian Magazine, March 2016.
“Frederick Emerson Peters: Former Ten Most Wanted Fugitive #22.” FBI.
“Queen Margaret, Maid of Norway.” Undiscovered Scotland.
“Anastasia: The mystery resolved.” The Washington Post, October 1994.