Eric Jager

Oh my, is this really non-fiction? What a page-turner :)

This is a story of a trial by combat, a duel between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris. The year is 1386. If the prologue doesn’t hook you, I don’t know what will.

We begin with the historical background – king this and duke that, this conquest, that war, intrigues, betrayals, marriage alliances. In unskilful hands, this sort of thing is usually text book boring, but Eric Jager writes so well that it feels like an adventure.

The show more everyday lives, the descriptions of castles, homes, clothes, weapons, feasts, legal processes are very vivid. It transports you back in time.

The rape of Marguerite, lady Carrouges, is very tough to read about. I could feel her terror and her helplessness. There was also rage. Telling the world (which meant being interrogated many times) and seeking justice took a lot of courage, too.

“Only a few medieval women had the means to raise their voices in protest against the idea that women even enjoyed being taken by force.”

“The prosecution and punishment of rape often depended on the victim’s social class and political clout.”

And it wasn’t really a question of sexual violence as a crime – it was “a property crime against her male guardian.”

Trial by combat is not the best way to obtain justice, but Marguerite and Jean had probably decided that they didn’t have a choice. I did wonder how you go about making such a decision, knowing that if your husband lost, you would die too, as someone accused of bearing false witness…

There are so many fascinating details in The Last Duel:

- Jacques de Gris’ lawyer, Jean Le Coq, kept a professional diary, and it’s one of the oldest surviving casebooks.

“Le Coq, clearly a close observer of people, also notes in his journal that the squire once asked him ‘whether I had doubts concerning him, because he saw me thinking.’ “

- Among other things not allowed during the duel were “any arms that have been forged with spells, charms, enchantments, or any other evil acts”.

And then...

“The two warriors sped toward each other, the sharp steel points of their lances flying through the air before them like deadly missiles. The combined weight of horse, man, armor, and lance put nearly a ton of galloping momentum behind each tip.”

From a contemporary chronicle:
“A feeling of great fear seized all those witnessing the battle. All mouths were stopped; people hardly breathed.”

No, I couldn’t breathe either. show less

In the 1660s, a scroll was discovered at an old chateau in the French Pyrenees. It was the original report documenting the investigation of an assassination 250 years earlier. In November 1407, Louis of Orleans was attacked in the streets of Paris and hacked to death by a band of masked assailants. Not only did the crime shock the country but it caused wide spread panic. Louis was the brother of King Charles VI who suffered recurring and often long-lasting bouts of madness and, during these show more periods, Louis took his brother’s place in the running of the country. Thus, it was important to quickly discover who was responsible. Guillaume de Tignonville, the city’s Provost was charged with the investigation. As author Eric Jager points out, Guillaume was not only “Knight, diplomat, man of letters, and man of law, he was also very likely one of history’s first detectives”. Despite the acceptance of torture as an acceptable tool to get convictions, Guillaume seems to have eschewed its use and, instead, used what seem like more modern techniques including witness depositions and retracing the steps of the assassins.

Jager deals not only with the investigation but the far-reaching implications of the assassination. Not only did Louis’ death lead to Civil War within France but it prolonged The One Hundred Years War between France and England. This is a tale full of familial hatred, insanity, betrayal, and murder. That it is a true tale makes it that much more compelling.

Jager draws a fascinating portrait of France in the 15th c. Not only do we get to see the Aristocracy but many of the regular citizenry who took part in the investigation, giving us a small but rare glimpse at a part of history often hidden from us. Unlike modern true crime books, not all questions are or could be answered since much has been lost to time. Jager is an historian and professor and, as such, he is less concerned with the sensationalism of the crime (although he certainly describes it in great detail) than with its aftermath and its repercussions which would be felt for decades and would have a profound effect on France as a whole. Some may find this of less interest than the crime. However, for anyone with an interest in history, especially in the small events which cause huge quakes, Blood Royal makes for a compelling read. Best of all, Jager has the ability to turn what could so easily have become a dry dissertation of facts into a tale as interesting as any modern true crime or fiction tale. show less

Blood Royal is that most rare thing, a medieval history full of personality and color. It's not often we get to hear the quoted words of a medieval peasant from the early 1400s, or minute by minute action scenes playing out in detail. Unlike Name of the Rose the author didn't make it up, the events were written down by a criminal investigator at the time, and recreated in this wonderful book. And unlike Martin Guerre about 150 years later, this crime had much larger importance and helps to show more put the complex Hundred Years' War in a little more context. Not just politically, but the mood of the age, how people acted and reacted. Hope to read this again sometime as it makes for a great portal to the late Middle Ages. show less

This book manages to be both accessible to all readers and to explore an incredibly turbulent period of history through a compelling narrative. Eric Jagger explores the murder of Louis of Orleans and its repercussions on fifteenth-century France. Louis was the younger brother of King Charles VI of France, and due to the king's unstable sanity, Louis often ruled France in his brother's place. His power and his own personal actions earned Louis a substantial number of enemies, but his brutal show more murder on the streets of Paris nevertheless shocked the populace. Jagger details the witness depositions, revealing countless details of ordinary medieval life alongside the surprisingly modern detective methods. Yet, the revelation of the mastermind behind the murder and the ensuing repercussions reveal much about very fifteenth century notions of nobility, warfare, and justice. show less