0:00

Welcome to Noble Blood, a production

0:02

of I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild

0:05

from Aaron Minky. Listener discretion

0:07

is advised. It

0:16

was six just a

0:18

few days after Christmas, and

0:20

the ground at the dueling field set

0:23

up behind the Abbey de Saumarine de Champ's,

0:25

was hard with frost. Thousands

0:28

of people had poured in from Paris

0:30

for the spectacle. They had been

0:32

there since dawn, rubbing their

0:34

hands together for warmth, watching

0:36

the rising sun, waiting for

0:39

the moment the event would begin.

0:42

Stands were erected on either side

0:45

of the field, massive constructions

0:47

with wooden rails and staircases.

0:50

One stand was for foreign nobles

0:52

visiting France. They were of

0:54

course seated according to rank.

0:57

A second stand was for members

0:59

of the French court. The third

1:02

set of stands, the most central,

1:04

was reserved for the King himself, the

1:07

young Charles the sixth, and his

1:09

highest ranking nobility. He

1:11

had insisted that the duel be

1:13

delayed until his return from Flanders

1:16

so he could witness it. Beneath

1:18

the stands for the nobility were benches

1:21

for merchants and commoners,

1:23

although most of them were forced to stand at

1:25

ground level, face to face

1:27

with the wooden wall that had been built

1:30

around the dueling arena. They

1:32

tried to find a spot where they could

1:34

see through the planks of wood. The

1:37

dueling grounds, in a suburb of Paris,

1:40

were originally designed for jousting.

1:43

They were specially converted for this singular,

1:46

rare event, a judicial

1:48

duel. Two men had gone

1:50

to court, and the court had been unable

1:53

to deliver a verdict, and so

1:55

the men were permitted to leave justice

1:58

in the hands of God. It

2:00

would be a fight to the death, and

2:03

God's favor towards the surviving

2:05

party would reveal who was innocent

2:07

and who was guilty. The

2:10

two men had originally been friends.

2:12

One had served as the godfather to

2:14

the other's first son, but

2:17

years of bitter jealousy had ruined

2:19

their friendship, and then the

2:21

accusation of a final, terrible

2:24

crime would lead them here. Dressed

2:27

in full armor, bearing lances,

2:30

axes, swords and daggers,

2:33

ready to kill and ready to

2:35

die, the men

2:38

took their oaths on chairs, facing

2:40

one another. The crowd

2:42

remained silent. Interruptions

2:44

to the duel of any kind, exclamations,

2:47

shouts, even involuntary gasps

2:50

or coughs were forbidden. On

2:52

pain of losing a hand. This

2:55

was a spectacle, yes, but it

2:57

was also a legal proceeding. It

2:59

was God's will speaking through

3:02

swords. The men agreed

3:04

to the terms and gave their final

3:06

silent prayers and mounted

3:08

their horses. A page

3:11

shouted for them to ride, and

3:13

the duel began. I'm

3:17

Danis Schwartz, and this is noble

3:19

blood. A

3:22

quick note before this podcast begins

3:24

in earnest. This story includes

3:27

references to alleged sexual assault.

3:30

Just heads up for any listeners who might

3:32

be particularly sensitive to that content.

3:39

The France of the hundreds wasn't

3:41

the same as the France we have today. It

3:44

was about a third of its modern size,

3:46

and less a united country

3:49

than a loosely connected group of

3:51

individual fiefdoms which were

3:53

ruled over by minor lords. The

3:55

minor lords were then in turn ruled

3:57

over by overlords. The

4:00

former were knights and squires.

4:04

Overlords with larger land holdings

4:07

would be counts or dukes,

4:09

often members of the royal family. One

4:12

of those duchies was Normandy, ruled

4:15

over by the Duke of Normandy.

4:18

You might vaguely remember from a history

4:20

class at some point, but in ten

4:22

sixty six, Duke William of

4:24

Normandy crossed the English Channel

4:27

and defeated King Harold in the Battle

4:29

of Hastings. He's now more commonly

4:31

referred to as William the conqueror,

4:34

sometimes thought of as the first King of

4:36

England. But what people sometimes

4:39

overlook is the fact that William, now

4:41

a monarch rivaling the King of France,

4:44

still kept Normandy. For

4:46

a century and a half, Normandy

4:48

was in possession of the English crown.

4:51

France was eventually able to win it

4:54

back, but the land remained contentious,

4:56

and when England crossed the channel to reclaim

4:59

it again, some nobles Normandy

5:01

sided with the English. But

5:03

one incredibly old family that

5:06

was always loyal to the French crown

5:08

was the Carouge family, As

5:15

his father's oldest son, Jean

5:17

Carouge the fourth, was well placed

5:19

to live a respectable life among

5:22

the courts of France. His father,

5:24

Jean the third, was the French equivalent

5:26

of an English Shire reeve

5:29

or sheriff, and he was the captain

5:31

of the fort at Bilam. Their

5:33

family line was long, but it

5:35

also carried with it a romantic

5:38

and scandalous history. Rumor

5:40

had it that a distant ancestor, a

5:43

man named Count Ralph had

5:45

fallen in love with a sorceress, meeting

5:48

her in the middle of the night at a pool in

5:50

the woods. His indiscretion

5:53

was discovered by his wife, and

5:55

the next morning Ralph was found

5:57

dead with his throat cut. Somehow,

6:01

the scorned wife was never actually

6:03

accused of the murder, but the

6:06

very next day a mysterious

6:08

red mark appeared on her face.

6:11

A few months after that, she had

6:13

a baby. When that baby,

6:15

a son named Carl, turned seven,

6:18

the same red mark appeared on

6:20

his face. It was a mark that

6:22

would carry down in the family for seven

6:25

generations. That first

6:27

son was nicknamed Carl

6:30

Larouge, Carl the Rhett, Carl

6:32

Larouge, or Carouge, but

6:35

that story was more a myth than

6:37

anything. It didn't affect the family's

6:40

respectability, and certainly no

6:42

one considered it a portent of violence

6:45

to come. The Carouge family

6:47

had several fiefs that they controlled,

6:49

and in turn they answered to the local

6:51

Count of Perish. At the time

6:54

Jean Carrouge the fourth took his oath of

6:56

loyalty, the count was a man

6:58

named Robert. The young Jean

7:00

swore to be loyal to him and

7:03

as was traditional, he kissed

7:05

the nobleman on the lips. But

7:08

Count Robert died without any

7:10

heirs, and so in thirteen seventy

7:12

seven parish was inherited by

7:14

his older brother, Pierre de Lanson.

7:18

Pierre was himself his father's third

7:20

son, and traditionally that would

7:22

mean limited prospects, but

7:24

Pierre lucked out. His two

7:27

older brothers had become men of the cloth,

7:30

rising to the esteemed rank of archbishops,

7:33

which was lovely for them but meant

7:35

they couldn't inherit land or titles,

7:38

and then the death of Pierre's younger brother,

7:40

Robert meant that Pierre inherited

7:43

all of his lands as well. The

7:46

new count came down to Parchet and

7:48

established his court at Argenta,

7:51

where Jean Carrouge dutifully joined

7:53

him. Jean was given the

7:56

mostly symbolic position of court

7:58

chamberlain, a respect of role,

8:00

and he quickly made friends with another of

8:03

the new count's chamberlain's, a man

8:05

named Jacques Lagree. Lagree

8:08

was from a slightly less esteemed

8:10

family. His father was a minor

8:12

squire, but Lagree was well

8:14

educated, which was unusual and

8:17

which even led to him taking minor clerical

8:19

orders. He was considered

8:21

affable and usually noted as

8:23

being particularly strong

8:26

and tall. He was also rumored

8:28

to be a slight womanizer. Him

8:31

taking minor clerical orders didn't

8:33

forbid him from getting married and bearing

8:35

at least a few heirs. Jean

8:38

likes Lagree well enough that after he

8:40

got married and had a son, he named

8:43

Jacques Lagree the baby's godfather, a

8:45

majorly important role in the thirteen

8:48

hundreds. But Jean

8:50

gar Rouge wasn't the only one charmed by

8:52

Lagree. Count Pierre almost

8:55

immediately took a liking to him,

8:57

honoring him with court positions and gifts,

9:00

spending time with him. It was

9:02

obvious to everyone in court that

9:04

Lagree was the Count's favorite and

9:07

that he would quickly be advancing in the political

9:09

ranks beyond

9:12

his title of chamberlain. Lagree was

9:14

granted the position of captain at

9:17

the fourth of m and the Count

9:19

gave him an extravagant gift, an

9:22

estate, a very nice

9:24

estate called annual Fouqon friendships

9:29

sometimes fall apart. The

9:31

two men, Jean Carrouge and Jacques

9:33

Lagree, we're about the same age,

9:35

and they have been more or less social

9:38

equals until they weren't

9:40

they're slow drift away from one another became

9:43

even more pronounced. In thirteen eighty,

9:46

when Jean was dealing with personal tragedy.

9:49

Both his wife and his only

9:51

child, the son that Lagres had

9:53

once held as godfather, died.

9:57

Torn apart by grief and frustration

10:00

and at his middling position in Count Pierre's

10:02

court, Jean Carouge went off

10:04

on a military campaign to try

10:06

to bolster his reputation. Over

10:09

the five months that he was serving under the king's

10:11

command, John did manage to raise

10:14

his profile slightly, and he became

10:16

known as a respectable soldier. But

10:18

also in the time of way, Jehan

10:21

came to understand the painful truth

10:23

of the risk he was taking out on the battlefield.

10:27

He had no living heirs, and

10:29

if he died, the Carouge name would

10:31

die with him, all of the property,

10:34

the reputation that his family had built

10:36

up for generations. It would

10:38

disappear, inherited by someone

10:41

else, someone with a different

10:43

family name and a different family

10:45

line. So when Jean

10:47

Carouge returned home after half

10:50

a year away, it was with the determination

10:53

that he would find a bride as quickly

10:55

as possible, and he

10:57

did a young woman named Marguerite

10:59

de Thibe, likely still a teenager

11:02

at the time. Marguerite

11:04

was described by contemporary sources

11:06

as being wealthy and very

11:08

beautiful. The latter was

11:11

a perk. The former was essential

11:13

for Jean Carouge. Though he had a good

11:15

family name, he didn't quite

11:18

have the wealth to match Marguerite

11:20

in that regard was a perfect fit for

11:22

him. Her family was rich,

11:25

but their reputation was a little tarnished.

11:28

His father was a Norman who had sided

11:30

with the English in the fight against the

11:32

French king. A marriage with the

11:35

karuga Is, an old and loyal

11:37

family, would help bolster Marguerite's

11:40

family's reputation. Jacques

11:44

Lagree wasn't present at the wedding,

11:46

nor at any of the celebratory festivities

11:49

that followed, but

11:51

the relationship between Jean and Lagree

11:53

would soon become even more

11:56

strained. In

11:58

marrying Marguerite Thibeville, Jean

12:00

Carouge was especially hoping that her

12:02

dowry would include her father's

12:05

lovely estate at Anneure Faucon.

12:08

There was only one problem.

12:10

Those lands had been purchased by Count

12:12

Pierre a few years prior for

12:15

eight thousand livres. Jean

12:17

tried to wrestle the lands back from Pierre,

12:20

even going so far as to take him

12:22

to court. The issue became

12:24

so heated that eventually Pierre

12:27

had to go to his cousin, the king, to

12:30

once and for all established the

12:32

formal written royal approval

12:35

for the purchase of the lands. And

12:38

here's the kicker. Perhaps you

12:40

remember, Count Pierre had

12:42

already given the land away as

12:45

a gift to his favorite chamberlain,

12:47

Jacques Lagree. So

12:52

the relationship between Jacques Lagree

12:55

and Jean Carorouge at this point was bitter,

12:58

and from this point on, the relationship

13:00

between Jean and Count Pierre would

13:03

be downright antagonistic. Over

13:06

the next three years, the two

13:08

men would be embroiled in legal battle

13:10

after legal battle. After

13:12

the death of his father, Jean would

13:15

sue the Count again because Jean

13:17

had been expecting to inherit his father's

13:19

position as captain of the castle at Bilm.

13:23

After the death of his father, Jean

13:25

sued the Count again because Jean

13:28

had been expecting to inherit his father's

13:30

position as captain of the Fort

13:32

of Biln. That was traditionally

13:35

how things went at the time, and

13:37

for what it was worth Lagree had already

13:39

been made captain of a fort, but

13:42

disliking Jean Carrouge, the

13:44

count passed him over, and the Count

13:46

would spite him yet again when he would

13:49

deny Jean permission to buy a few neighboring

13:51

fiefs to expand his holdings. All

13:54

the while Jens resentment and

13:57

jealousy towards Lagris simmered a

14:00

very slight that Count Pierre made toward

14:02

him, Jean imagined Lagres behind

14:04

it, whispering in the Count's ear, influencing

14:07

him against him. But even

14:10

pre enemies can sometimes find

14:12

ways to mend fences, and

14:14

in thirteen eighty three, Jean

14:16

Carouge and Jacques Lagree found

14:19

themselves at the same party thrown

14:21

by a squire named Jean Crispin. The

14:24

two men saw each other from across the

14:26

room. They were both wearing their family

14:28

colors, Causian red with

14:30

silver accents and Lagree

14:32

in silver with red. They

14:35

shook hands and Jean politely

14:37

introduced Lagree to his wife, Marguerite,

14:39

for the first time. Lagree

14:42

was charmed onlookers remarked

14:44

how taken he had seemed by Marguerite.

14:48

The next year, Carouge went on another

14:51

campaign to bolster his reputation.

14:54

Though that military expedition itself

14:56

was a failure, and Carouge lost five

14:59

of his nine men along with a good amount

15:01

of his money, he still came out

15:03

fairly well in terms of his reputation.

15:06

He was even awarded a knighthood on the

15:08

field of battle. Now Jean

15:10

was technically higher rank than Jacques

15:12

Lagree, who was still a squire, but

15:15

John was also close to bankrupt, and

15:17

by the time he returned to Parchet he was

15:20

exhausted and resentful, especially

15:23

once he became aware of how much higher

15:26

Laguis Starr had risen socially in

15:28

the time he was gone, and how

15:30

much money Lagree had been given by generous

15:33

noblemen. Jean

15:35

was barely home a fortnight before he had

15:37

to continue on to Paris in order

15:39

to collect his back wages. He

15:41

left his wife, Marguerite, staying with his own

15:43

mother, her mother in law, Nicole.

15:47

It was during this brief trip that

15:49

everything would change. Jacques

15:52

Lagree would allegedly commit the

15:54

crime that would send him and Jean

15:56

Carrouge on the unstoppable

15:58

path towards battle to the death.

16:05

Marguerite recounted the story

16:07

later on January

16:11

eighty six, Jacques Lagree squire,

16:14

a man named Adam Lovell, knocked

16:16

on the door. Typically,

16:18

a servant would have answered the door, but Marguerite's

16:21

mother in law was attending to business in

16:23

the next town over, and she had taken

16:25

most of the servants with her, and

16:27

so Margaret opened the door herself

16:30

to find Lovell, who bowed deeply

16:32

and informed her that Jacques Lagree had

16:34

come to call on her. Jacques

16:37

knew that her husband was away, he

16:39

loved her, and he wanted to see her. Marguerite

16:42

told the squire that she had no interest

16:45

in seeing Lagree, but Lagree

16:47

came forward anyway and forced

16:49

himself through the door. He

16:52

offered Marguerite money in exchange for

16:54

sex, which she refused, and

16:56

then Jacques Lagree raped

16:59

Marguerite on her bed while his squire

17:01

helped hold her down. He told

17:03

her that he would kill her if she told anyone,

17:06

and then he left and closed the door

17:09

behind him. Marguerite

17:11

was silent, drowning in the shame

17:14

and terror, until her husband returned

17:16

a few days later. She barely

17:18

looked at him throughout dinner and couldn't

17:21

offer more than a word. The rest of the

17:23

evening while they prepared for bed. Only

17:26

after everyone in the house was asleep

17:28

that night did Marguerite fling herself

17:30

on to her knees at the side of her husband's

17:33

bed. Weeping, she

17:35

told him everything that had happened. Barely

17:38

able to contain his rage, John

17:41

summoned a group of his friends courtiers,

17:43

including his mother and Marguerite's

17:45

family. This was, after

17:47

all, her virtue and their honor

17:50

on the line. Marguerite repeated

17:52

her story exactly how it happened

17:55

to the assembled group. Should

17:57

you have told me a falsehood, Jan said to

18:00

his wife, nevermore shall you live with

18:02

me? Marguerite shook her head.

18:04

Everything she had said was true. Then

18:07

Jean said, stoically, the squire

18:10

shall die. The

18:13

brain trust of friends and family

18:15

that John had assembled filed formal

18:17

charges against Lagres at Count

18:19

Pierre's court, but neither Jean

18:22

nor Marguerite went to the count in person.

18:25

They were well aware that there was no chance

18:27

that Count Pierre would ever rule against

18:29

his favorite in favor of a man

18:31

he hated, and they were

18:34

right. Count Pierre dismissed

18:36

the charges almost immediately, and

18:38

so Jean Carrouge took his grievance

18:41

to the king. The

18:46

King of France at this time was a young Charles

18:49

the six a man we've talked about

18:51

in this podcast, particularly in the

18:53

context of the tragic Ball

18:55

of the Burning Men, a party

18:58

during which several of his courtiers would

19:00

burn to death when their wild

19:03

man costumes caught on fire.

19:06

But that tragedy would still be several

19:08

years in the future at this point, and

19:10

it would be several more years after that

19:13

before Charles the sixth madness

19:15

would emerge. At

19:17

this point, he was just a young king willing

19:20

to hear out the accusations from one night

19:22

against one squire. The

19:24

case met before Parliament on July

19:26

nine, eighty six. Jacques

19:29

Lagree, denying everything, outraged

19:32

at the very accusation, hired

19:34

a man widely considered to be the best

19:36

lawyer of the time, a man named Jean

19:39

the Cook. The Cook's notes

19:41

are one of historian's main sources

19:43

of details for the proceeding of the

19:45

trial. His notes also mentioned

19:48

for the record that even though he was

19:50

defending Lagree, he had

19:52

doubts as to whether Lagres was

19:54

actually as innocent as he claimed.

19:57

Lagreise family perhaps also

19:59

doubt being his innocence. Tried

20:01

to get him to insist on being tried

20:03

through the Church, which, because

20:05

he was a cleric in the Minor Orders, would

20:08

be his right. The Church

20:10

probably would be more sympathetic to him

20:13

and it would remove the option of

20:15

deadly trial by combat, But

20:18

Lagris refused. He was innocent,

20:20

he said, and he wanted to challenge

20:22

the accusations against him directly.

20:26

Before the men presented their cases,

20:28

Jean Carrouge threw a glove

20:31

to the floor, literally throwing

20:33

down a gauntlet, challenging

20:35

Lagree to a duel. Lagres

20:37

picked it up, symbolically accepting.

20:40

The king ruled that a trial by combat

20:43

would only be permitted if the court

20:45

could not come to a definitive verdict.

20:48

In the meantime, they heard the evidence.

20:50

Adam Lovell and all of Lagree's servants

20:53

testified, all defending their master

20:55

against the accusations against him.

20:58

When Jacques Lagree testified himsel elf, he

21:00

talked about how Jean had always been jealous

21:03

of him and how he was famous for having

21:05

a temper. He said that he believed

21:07

Jehan had made up this entire story,

21:10

and threatened to beat his wife if she didn't

21:12

go along with it. Plus, it would

21:14

have been impossible for him to ride that far

21:17

fifty miles round trip in one

21:19

evening in the snow, and besides,

21:21

he had an alibi. I'm

21:24

cross examination those last

21:26

points hit a bit of a snag. Lagres

21:29

admitted that a man of his resources

21:32

and riding ability would

21:34

in fact have been able to ride fifty miles

21:36

round trip, even in the snow.

21:39

And slightly more damning,

21:42

one of the men who was supposed to corroborate

21:44

his alibi couldn't make it to court

21:47

because he himself had been arrested

21:49

in Paris during the trial, arrested

21:53

for rape. But

21:55

the most important testimony of all came

21:57

from Marguerite herself. Mar

22:00

Great was visibly pregnant when she took

22:02

the stand, although because medical science

22:04

at the time believed that a woman couldn't

22:06

conceive from rape, that wasn't

22:09

considered a relevant piece of evidence.

22:11

But the very fact that Marguerite was telling

22:14

the world what had happened to her at all was

22:17

considered powerful evidence. It

22:19

would be scandalous and shameful

22:21

to her family. Why would a woman

22:24

ever go through all of this if it wasn't

22:26

true? The

22:28

court deliberated, and they came to

22:30

their decision, or rather their

22:33

nondecision, the case

22:35

would be left in the hands of God. Jean

22:38

Carrouge and Jacques Lagree would

22:40

have a trial by combat, and

22:43

it wasn't just the men's lives at stake.

22:46

If Lagree was victorious, Marguerite

22:49

would burn at the stake for perjury.

22:56

The duel was originally scheduled for

22:59

November of that year, but King

23:01

Charles demanded that it be pushed back

23:03

until December twenty nine,

23:05

when he would be back from a campaign in

23:07

Flanders. He didn't want to

23:09

miss what was quickly becoming the

23:12

most exciting event of the year. Between

23:16

the time that the trial happened and

23:18

the duel would take place, both Marguerite

23:20

and King Charles his wife, the

23:23

young Queen Isabeau, gave birth

23:25

to sons. Marguerite's son

23:27

was healthy, but the young Prince was

23:29

ill, and he died just a day

23:31

before the duel was scheduled to take place.

23:35

Rather than shroud the palace in mourning,

23:38

King Charles the six, perhaps

23:40

already showing an early stage of madness,

23:43

became frenzied. He demanded

23:45

an endless dream of parties

23:47

and festivities that would culminate

23:50

in the massive event of the judicial

23:52

duel. The stands

23:54

were teeming with people, noblemen,

23:57

both French and from around Europe. Separate

24:00

stands were built for women with specially

24:03

made aisles to make it easier

24:05

for ladies overcome from the blood

24:07

or violence to excuse themselves.

24:10

On the ground, peasants and merchants

24:13

elbowed each other to try to get better views.

24:17

Marguerite wore black and she sat in

24:19

the carriage overlooking the field where

24:21

the duel would be taking place. Her

24:23

husband approached her moments before

24:25

he went to the field. Lady,

24:28

from your accusation and in your quarrel,

24:30

I am thus adventuring my life to

24:32

combat Jacques Lagree. He said, you

24:35

know whether my cause be loyal and true.

24:38

Marguerite, knowing full well with this battle

24:41

risked for both of them, replied,

24:44

my lord, it is so, and you may

24:46

fight securely for your cause is good.

24:50

Both men that came onto the dueling ground

24:52

from opposite sides, wearing full

24:55

metal armor, each was armed

24:57

with a lance, a long sword

24:59

and at and a dagger. They

25:01

each also carried with them a jug of wine,

25:04

some bread coins to pay for

25:06

the use of the field. And a fodder

25:08

for their horse on the off chance

25:10

at the battle would require them to stop

25:13

for the night and then start again

25:15

the next morning. Sitting

25:17

on throne like chairs on raised

25:19

platforms, both men swore

25:22

an oath in front of the silent crowd.

25:25

This was a legal proceeding. Anyone

25:27

who disturbed the duel by entering the

25:29

field of battle would be put to death.

25:32

Anyone who disturbed the proceeding by shouting

25:35

or crying out would risk losing

25:37

a hand. So though

25:39

the field was teeming with spectators,

25:42

it was an eerie and silent place.

25:45

Soon it would only be filled with

25:47

the sound of horses, hoofs and clashing

25:50

metal. Both

25:52

men prepared, adjusting their lances,

25:55

mounting their horses, and

25:57

then a herald cried out, do

26:00

your duty, and the duel began.

26:06

They charged at each other, both with

26:08

their lances drawn, and both broke

26:11

their lances on the other's shield. They

26:13

continued to loop around on their horses,

26:16

this time swinging their battle axes

26:18

at one another. Lagree,

26:20

the stronger man was able to get

26:22

a killing blow with his axe to the neck

26:25

of Caruge's horse, but Cauge,

26:27

leaping safely from his dying mount, was

26:30

able to kill Agrees horse from the ground.

26:33

Now the men were facing off on foot

26:36

with their long swords. Carug

26:38

slipped and fell to the ground, and Lagree

26:40

approached and managed to stab him in

26:42

the thigh. But even bleeding

26:45

and writhing in pain, John was

26:47

determined. Still on the ground,

26:49

his thigh in open wound, he

26:52

grabbed Lagree by his armor and

26:54

pulled him off balance. Lagree

26:57

fell onto his back, his armor

26:59

two v to allow him to rise again.

27:02

Now Jean Carrouge had the upper hand.

27:05

He tried to stab Lagree through his

27:07

metal armor, but the plating was

27:09

too thick, and so Jean

27:11

straddled his enemy and used

27:14

the handle of his small dagger to

27:16

break the face plate on the front

27:18

of Lagrez's helmet. With

27:20

his sharp dagger inches from Lagree's

27:22

eye, Jean Carorouge asked Lagree

27:25

to confess what he did in

27:28

the name of God, and on the peril and

27:30

damnation of my soul, I am

27:32

innocent, Jacques Lagree responded.

27:35

Jean Carrouge didn't need to hear anything

27:37

else. He stabbed Lagree

27:39

in the neck and killed him.

27:43

Stumbling, he rose to his feet. Have

27:46

I done my duty? He asked? The

27:48

court. Still shaking,

27:51

he pulled off his helmet and knelt before

27:53

the king. For his victory, King

27:55

Charles gifted him a thousand livres and

27:57

an annual income of two dred livres

28:00

a year. Still weary, woozy,

28:02

and exhausted, caruge was cleaned

28:05

up and he went to greet his wife. Together,

28:08

they rode in the carriage to Notre Dame in

28:10

Paris, where they knelt in prayer

28:12

side by side to thank God

28:15

for their victory.

28:20

Winning the judicial duel would

28:22

make Jean Carouge something of a national celebrity.

28:26

He would receive another six thousand livres

28:28

in gold, and the king would give him

28:30

a prestigious position in the royal household

28:33

as a chevalier donner or a

28:35

bodyguard for the king. It

28:37

was a raise both in income and

28:39

in social standing. If you happen

28:41

to recall from the episode on Charles

28:44

the sixth and his madness, later

28:46

in Charless life, he would have an episode

28:48

of madness in the woods, lashing

28:51

out at those around him. John

28:53

would actually be one of those men who

28:55

at the time managed to subdue him.

28:58

Jehan would continue to try to get the

29:00

estate a new le foucant again and again

29:03

the estate that he had so desperately

29:05

wanted for so long. But Count

29:07

Pierre would never yield, and

29:10

he would never forgive Jean Carrouge

29:12

for killing his friend Jacques Lagree.

29:16

As for Jacques, after he died on

29:18

the battlefield, his corpse was

29:20

dragged to the gallows. He

29:23

already dead, was hanged. Hanging

29:26

after all was the sentence for rape,

29:28

and by virtue of losing the duel, Jacques

29:31

Lagree had been found guilty.

29:40

That's the story of the bloody trial by combat

29:43

between Jean Carrouge and Jacques Lagree.

29:45

But keep listening after a brief sponsor

29:47

break to hear a little bit more about

29:49

how the story has been told throughout

29:51

history. And on a quick personal

29:54

note, I just want to thank everyone who's

29:56

supported the show and listened to it. I've

29:58

had a wonderful year getting to

30:00

create these stories and write them and read

30:02

them, and I'm looking forward to being able

30:05

to continue doing it in two. If

30:07

you want to support the show, we have a Patreon,

30:09

Patreon dot com slash Noble Blood Tales

30:12

where I publish episode scripts

30:14

for the episodes and also do mini

30:16

series. I'm going over episode by

30:18

episode with my friends of the Showtime show

30:21

The Tutors and the c W show

30:23

Rain. Also, if you want to support

30:25

me, I have a book available for preorder.

30:28

It's a young adult novel called Anatomy, a

30:30

love story about the dawn of surgery

30:32

in nineteen century Edinburgh. And if

30:34

you're interested sort of in the bloody

30:37

history of this podcast, I really think it will

30:39

interest you. Also, I think

30:41

there are a few spots left

30:43

on the common grounds Pilgrimage that I'm leading

30:46

this spring to London and Sussex

30:48

discussing Mary Shelley and Frankenstein.

30:51

I am so excited. It's an amazing company

30:53

that I'm doing it with. It's a few days of

30:55

just reading and walking and talking and writing.

30:58

There's a link to sign up in the episode

31:00

bio. The

31:07

duel between Jean Carrouge and Jacques

31:10

Lagris was infamous. In the

31:12

generations to come, there would be countless

31:14

accounts of what had taken place, in addition

31:16

to countless scholars and legal

31:19

minds who attempted to figure out whether

31:21

Jacques Lagar was actually guilty or

31:23

whether he was falsely accused. Two

31:26

religious chronicles recount a story about

31:29

Marguerite on her deathbed confessing

31:31

that the rape had actually been at the hands

31:33

of another man. But those

31:36

stories are just hearsay and conjecture,

31:39

and there's no real evidence of that. Even

31:42

still, up until the nineteen seventies,

31:44

the Encyclopedia Britannica published

31:47

those claims in their account of the trial,

31:49

which was described in their entry for

31:52

the word duel. Even

31:55

now, certain aspects of the story as it's

31:57

retold aren't exactly true.

32:00

Take the title of the brand new Ridley

32:02

Scott film about this event and the book

32:04

it was based on, the Last Duel.

32:07

Though this was one of the last

32:09

major trials by combat, the

32:11

actual last duel in France would

32:13

be two hundred years later in fifte

32:25

Noble Blood is a production of I Heart Radio

32:28

and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minky. The

32:30

show was written and hosted by Dana Schwartz.

32:33

Executive producers include Aaron Mankey,

32:35

Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick.

32:38

The show is produced by rema Ill Kali

32:41

and Trevor Young. Noble Blood

32:43

is on social media at Noble Blood Tales,

32:46

and you can learn more about the show over at Noble

32:48

Blood Tales dot com. For more podcasts

32:50

from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart

32:52

Radio app, Apple podcasts, or

32:54

wherever you listen to your favorite shows.