Strangest Mysteries of the World and Beyond !

The Man in the Iron Mask

The Man in the Iron Mask

The mystery of the Man in The Iron Mask has been a focal point for both doe eyed romantics and serious historians since the 17th century, generating countless theories about the identity of the masked prisoner. The interest continues even to this day, as evidenced by Di Caprio’s movie. But the world is still no closer to discovering who this tragic figure was, and as the years pass, the chances of discovering of his (or her) true identity continues to fade.

Little is known about the prisoner.

What little that exists in French official documents paints a deliberately sketchy picture: he was arrested in 1669, and was imprisoned first in Pignerol, a fortress high in the French Alps. He was transferred in 1681 to Exiles, which lay close to Pignerol, and in 1687 he was moved yet again to the southern French coastal island of Saint Marguerite. His stay on the island lasted eleven years until he was sent to the Bastille in Paris. Finally, the prisoner died in 1703, an undoubtedly welcome release.

Throughout his entire imprisonment, there were reportedly only two instances of witnesses outside of prison officials actually seeing the prisoner. During his move from Exiles to Saint Marguerite, the prisoner was seen wearing a steel mask. With the move to the Bastille, this cumbersome disguise was replaced with a more humane mask of black velvet. It has also been discovered through official correspondence between a government minister and Saint Mars, the prisoner’s jailer, that the prisoner was not to communicate with anyone, be it by writing or speaking. If he did, he was to be executed on the spot.

What terrible secret could this man have possessed that demanded such secrecy?

Historians have wondered why he was even kept alive: if the knowledge he held was of such danger to the King and government, wouldn’t it have been politically safer simply to kill him? And why such a concern over people seeing his face? 

Did he resemble someone well known to the French populace, which would have to make him famous indeed, considering the primitive state of print media during the 17th century?  Once again, simply killing him — an option not in disuse in the French court of the time — would have made more sense.

THE STRANGE PART

Saint Mars, the man appointed to jail the mysterious prisoner, held that position from the first day of his incarceration until the prisoner breathed his last in 1703. Given the usual turnstile approach to political appointments, this constancy is intriguing.

LEGENDS

**The mask was made of iron. Voltaire, writing in 1751, said it was riveted on, and described in detail a "movable, hinged lower jaw held in place by springs that made it possible to eat wearing it." The only reliable contemporary reference we have to the mask clearly calls it black velvet, not iron, but the "iron mask" caught the public's imagination.

**That there were two soldiers always at his side ready to shoot him if he ever unmasked.

**That he was treated with extreme courtesy by his jailors. The governor of the prison personally took care of his linens and meals. The governor and jailors removed their hats in his presence, remained standing until he invited them to sit, served his meals on silver plate, and so forth--in short, etiquette accorded royalty. This legend was widespread, and makes a great story, but prison records show exactly what supplies were furnished--and they were pretty humble.

Rooms in the Bastille before 1745 were unfurnished, as the majority of political prisoners preferred to provide their own furnishings. Du Junca's notebooks record that the masked prisoner had no furniture of his own, instead using the standard furniture provided by the governor. This implies that the Man in the Mask was not wealthy, and certainly wasn't treated "like royalty."