The Man in the Iron Mask (French: ; 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 the same jailer, , in four successive French prisons, including the Bastille. When he died there on 19 November 1703, his inhumation certificate bore the pseudonym of "Marchioly".

The true identity of this prisoner remains a mystery, even though it has been extensively debated by historians, and various theories have been expounded in numerous books and articles over the last three centuries. The ordeal of this prisoner has also been the subject of fictional works such as novels, poems, plays and films. In the third edition (2004) of his book on the subject, French historian Jean-Christian Petitfils collated a list of 52 candidates whose names had been either mentioned as rumours in contemporaneous documents or proposed in printed works between 1669 and 1992.

Selected list of historical candidates The following is an incomplete list of individuals identified by historians and other authors as possible candidates for the Man in the Iron Mask. To be included in this list, the candidate must have been proposed or discussed in a published work.

The list is initially organized in chronological order of publication date, with sortable columns, as follows:

Year – the publication year of the work proposing the candidate (sortable column) Candidate – the person proposed as a candidate (sortable column) Vital dates – the candidate's dates of birth and death, "Unknown", or blank for imaginary candidates (sortable column) Notes – supplementary details about the candidate (sortable column) Author(s) – the name(s) of the author(s) who proposed, or published documents on, the candidate (sortable column) Ref. – one or more references to works where the candidate was proposed or discussed (this column is not sortable).

YearCandidateVital datesNotesAuthor(s)1669A Marshall of France or President of ParlementSaint-Mars reporting to Louvois on rumours about the prisoner.Saint-Mars (letter to Louvois on 31 August)1670"I tell them tall tales to make fun of them."Evidence of Saint-Mars himself initiating rumours when asked about the prisoner.Saint-Mars (letter to Louvois on 12 April)1687"Everyone tries to guess who my prisoner might be."Saint-Mars reporting rumours to Louvois.Saint-Mars (letter to Louvois on 3 May)1687"... all the people that one believes dead are not." 16 January 161625 June 1669Saint-Mars hinting at François, Duke of Beaufort, quoted in a letter attributed to Louis Fouquet. Beaufort died at the Siege of Candia.Louis Fouquet (letter in Nouvelles Écclésiastiques on 4 September)1688François, Duke of Beaufort 16 January 161625 June 1669Saint-Mars reporting rumours to Louvois. Beaufort died at the Siege of Candia.Saint-Mars (letter to Louvois on 8 January); François Joseph de La Grange-Chancel1688Richard Cromwell 4 October 162612 July 1712Saint-Mars reporting rumours to Louvois. Richard Cromwell died in Cheshunt.Saint-Mars (letter to Louvois on 8 January)1688Henry Cromwell 20 January 162823 March 1674Saint-Mars reporting rumours to Louvois. Henry Cromwell died in Wicken.Saint-Mars (letter to Louvois on 8 January)1711An English milordMentioned in a letter from Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine, to her aunt, Sophia of Hanover.Eduard Bodemann1719"A man jailed as a schoolboy aged 12-13 for writing verses against the Jesuits."Answer given in to Renneville by Bastille turnkey Antoine Rû and surgeon Abraham Reilhe, who had both attended to the prisoner.Constantin de Renneville 1745Louis, Count of Vermandois Died at the Siege of Kortrijk.(Anonymous); Henri Griffet1768James, Duke of Monmouth 9 April 164915 July 1685Beheaded on Tower Hill, London.Germain-François Poullain de Saint-Foix1770Ercole Antonio Mattioli 1 December 1640April 1694Died soon after his transfer from Pignerol to the island of Sainte-Marguerite. Mattioli was the prime candidate for several 19th-century historians. Joseph-Louis, Baron de Heiss; Pierre Roux-Fazillac; Louis Dutens; Joseph Delort; George Agar-Ellis; Théodore Iung; Marius Topin; Frantz Funck-Brentano 1771A brother of Louis XIVAn elder, illegitimate brother by an unknown father.Voltaire; Jean-Louis Carra; Quintin Craufurd1783Yevtokiatsi Avedick 165721 July 1711Died in Paris and buried at the Saint-Sulpice cemetery.Pierre, Chevalier de Taulès1789Nicolas Fouquet 27 January 161523 March 1680Died in Pignerol. Remains initially stored at the convent of Église Sainte-Claire in Nice and reburied in the family crypt at the Église Sainte-Marie-des-Anges in Paris, on 28 March 1681.(Anonymous); Paul Lacroix; Pierre-Jacques Arrèse1789A brother of Louis XIVA twin brother.Michel de Cubières; Jean-Louis Soulavie; Alexandre Dumas; Marcel Pagnol1790A brother of Louis XIVAn elder, illegitimate brother fathered by George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham; supposedly born in 1626.Pierre-Hubert Charpentier & Louis-Pierre Manuel 1791A brother of Louis XIVA younger brother, fathered by Mazarin.Jean Baptiste De Saint-Mihiel; Charles-Henri, baron de Gleichen1867A spy named Guibert, brought to Pignerol by Nicolas CatinatThis was Catinat himself, disguised as a new prisoner, sent by Louvois on a secret mission to capture Casale.Jules Loiseleur1869Louis de Rohan-Guéméné Chevalier de Rohan 163527 November 1674Leader of a conspiracy to overthrow Louis XIV. Beheaded at the Bastille.(Anonymous, in Journal de Mâcon)1872Louis OldendorfUnknownLeader of a conspiracy against Louis XIV. Had several aliases but real identity unknown. Arrested in 1673 and sent to the Bastille, then released without trial.Théodore Iung1879Sébastien de Penancoët de Kéroualze 164615 March 1671Died on board his ship Monarque.François Ravaisson1883Molière 15 January 162217 February 1673Died soon after performing on stage.Anatole Loquin1890A valet, anonymised as "Eustache Dauger" Unknown19 November 1703Confirmed as the 'man in the mask' by Mongrédien in 1952. Many theories have been proposed for his real identity, including that of Eustache Dauger de Cavoye, which was disproved by Mongrédien in 1953.Jules Lair; Aymard Le Pippre; Andrew Lang; Emile Laloy; Alberto Pittavino; Georges Mongrédien; Marcel Pagnol; Jean-Christian Petitfils; Paul Sonnino; Josephine Wilkinson1893General Vivien Labbé de Bulonde 1709Imprisoned at the Citadel of Pignerol on 10 July 1691 and released by order of the king on 11 December 1691.Étienne Bazeries & Émile Burgaud1893A Dominican friar, anonymised as "Lapierre" after 16001694Died in Pignerol.Domenico Carutti di Cantógno1893A son from a prominent familyAssumed to have committed a hideous crime.Fernand Bournon1899A son of Louis XIV and Henrietta of EnglandA rumour circulating during the 18th century.Maurice Boutry1899A son of Henrietta of England and the Count of Guiche A rumour circulating during the 18th century.Maurice Boutry1899A son of Henrietta of England and her pageA rumour circulating during the 18th century.Maurice Boutry1899A son of Christina of Sweden and MonaldeschiA rumour circulating during the 18th century.Maurice Boutry1903Martin, a French valet of Paul Roux de MarcillyUnknownMartin's extradition from England to France was cancelled by Foreign Minister Hugues de Lionne on 13 July 1669.Andrew Lang; Aimé-Daniel Rabinel; Marcel Pagnol; Peter Curran1904James de la Cloche7 September 1669Giacoppo Stuardo died in Naples.Edith Carey; Marcel Pagnol1908Dom Giuseppe Prignani after 1600end of 1678Died in Rome.Arthur Barnes1914Jacques Bretel de Grémonville 1 March 162529 November 1686Died at Lyre Abbey.Franz Scheichl1931Eustache Daugé UnknownSon of Daugers (Louis XIV's butler), and nephew of Canon Daugé, chaplain to the Archbishop of Sens.Emile Laloy1932Eustache Dauger de Cavoye, as himself 30 August 1637Late 1680sSon of François d'Oger de Cavoye and Marie de Sérignan. Died at the Prison Saint-Lazare in Paris.Maurice Duvivier1934Marc de Jarrige de la Morelhie 162614 December 1680Son-in-law of Pardoux Gondinet, physician of Anne of Austria. Morelhie died in Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche.Pierre Vernadeau1954Eustache Dauger de Cavoye, as half-brother of Louis XIV 30 August 1637Late 1680sImaginary son of Louis XIII and Marie de Sérignan. Died at the Prison Saint-Lazare in Paris.Rupert Furneaux1955Louis XIV's illegitimate fatherAn imaginary, illegitimate grandson of Henry IV, coupled with Anne of Austria.Hugh Ross Williamson, supporting a theory by Lord Quickswood1974Eustache Dauger de Cavoye, as half-brother of Louis XIV 30 August 1637Late 1680sImaginary son of Anne of Austria and François d'Oger de Cavoye. Died at the Prison Saint-Lazare in Paris.Marie-Madeleine Mast, Harry Thompson1978Henri II, Duke of Guise 4 April 16142 June 1664Died in Paris.Camille Bartoli1978Queen Maria Theresa's dwarf black page, NaboUnknownAlleged father of Louise Marie-Thérèse.Pierre-Marie Dijol2005Charles de Batz d'Artagnan 25 June 1673Died at the Siege of Maastricht.Roger MacDonald2024A brother of Philippe d'OrléansImaginary son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria.Sarah B. Madry

References

Citations

Sources Books

Conference proceedings

Newspapers