THE RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE

Film and book The Return of Martin Guerre

Film and book The Return of Martin Guerre

Life before leaving his wife

He was born as Martin Daguerre around 1524 in the Basque town of Hendaye. In 1527, his family moved to the Pyrenean village Artigat in southwestern France, where they changed their name to Guerre. When he was about fourteen years old, Martin was married to Bertrande de Rols, daughter of a well-off family. The marriage was childless for eight years until a son, Sanxi, was born. Being accused of having stolen grain from his father, Martin abruptly disappeared in 1548. Catholic law governing France did not allow his abandoned wife to remarry (unlike that of the Protestants, who were slowly gaining ground; see French Wars of Religion).

"New Martin" appears

In the summer of 1556, a man appeared in Artigat, claiming to be Martin Guerre. By his similar looks and detailed knowledge of Martin Guerre's life, he convinced most of the villagers. Martin Guerre's uncle and four sisters as well as Bertrande believed that he was indeed Martin Guerre, although doubts remained. The “new” Martin lived for three years with Bertrande and her son; they had two children together, with one daughter surviving. “Martin” claimed the inheritance of Guerre's father, who had since died, and even sued Guerre's uncle, Pierre Guerre, for part of the inheritance. Pierre Guerre, who had earlier married Bertrande's widowed mother during Martin Guerre's absence, then became suspicious again. He and his wife tried to convince Bertrande that the new Martin was an impostor. A soldier who passed through Artigat claimed that the new Martin Guerre was a fraud: the real one had lost a leg in the war. Pierre and his sons-in-law beat the new Martin with a club, but Bertrande intervened. In 1559, the new Martin was accused of arson and also of impersonating Martin Guerre; Bertrande remained on his side, and he was acquitted in 1560.

Trial in Rieux

In the meantime, Pierre Guerre had asked around and believed to have found the true identity of the impostor: Arnaud du Tilh, nicknamed "Pansette", a man with a poor reputation from the nearby village Sajas. Pierre then initiated a new case against the man by falsely claiming to act in Bertrande's name. He and his wife, Bertrande's mother, pressured Bertrande to support the charge, and eventually she obliged. In 1560, the case was tried in Rieux.

Bertrande testified that at first she had honestly believed the man to be her husband, but that she had since realized that he was a fraud. Both Bertrande and the accused independently related an identical story about their intimate life from before 1548. The new Martin then challenged her: if she would swear that he was not her husband, he would gladly agree to be executed - Bertrande remained silent. After hearing more than 150 witnesses, with many recognizing Martin Guerre (including his four sisters), many recognizing Arnaud du Tilh and many refusing to take a side, the accused impostor was ...