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Trade Paperback
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9780767914178
Overview
Overview
The gripping, atmospheric true story of the "duel to end all duels" in medieval France: a trial by combat pitting a knight against a squire accused of violating the knight's beautiful young wife. When Jean de Carrouges, a Norman knight, returns from combat in Scotland to find his wife, Marguerite, accusing Jacques LeGris, her husband's old friend and fellow courtier, of brutally raping her, the knight takes his cause before the teenage King Charles VI. Amid LeGris's vociferous claims of innocence and doubts about the now pregnant Marguerite's charges (and about the paternity of her child), the deadlocked court decrees a "trial by combat" that leaves her fate, too, in the balance. For if her husband and champion loses the duel, she will be put to death as a false accuser. Carrouges and LeGris, in full armor, eventually meet on a walled field in Paris before a massive crowd that includes the king and many nobles of the realm. A fierce fight on horseback and then on foot ensues during which both combatants suffer wounds--but only one fatal. The violent and tragic episode was notorious in its own time because of the nature of the alleged crime, the legal impasse it provoked, and the resulting trial by combat, an ancient but increasingly suspect institution that was thereafter abolished. The dramatic true story of the knight, the squire, and the lady unfolds in 1386, during the devastating Hundred Years War between France and England, as enemy troops pillage the land, madness haunts the French court, the Great Schism splits the Church, Muslim armies threaten Christendom, and rebellion, treachery, and plague turn the lives of all into toys of Fortune. Based on extensive research in Normandy and Paris, The Last Duel brings to life a colorful, turbulent age and three unforgettable characters caught in a fatal triangle of crime, scandal, and revenge. It is at once a moving human drama, a captivating detective story, and an engrossing work of historical intrigue.
- Format: TradePaperback
- Author: Jager, Eric
- ISBN: 9780767914178
- Condition: Used
- Dimensions: 7.80 x 0.70
- Number Of Pages: 256
- Publication Year: 2005
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An awesome dive into medieval history!!!!!!
HPB S. - 6 years 5 months agoThis is a fascinating read about the last sanctioned duel in medieval France. If you ever watched Game of Thrones, this is essentially the story of "Trial by Combat" played out in real life when a Norman knight seeks to avenge his wife's honor after his wife accuses a fellow squire of raping her. The story is beautifully told with extensive research that paints a vivid picture into the whole affair. I especially liked the detail about the preparations for the duel: from the way the field was prepared to what weapons and armor the knights used and how they prepared their war horses. If you are into medieval history, add this book to your reading list and read it before the movie comes out! #SummerReading