French Farmers - Martin Guerre, Fran OIS de Nicolay, Jean Chastel (Paperback)

Chapters: Martin Guerre, Fran ois de Nicolay, Jean Chastel. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 18. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Martin Guerre, a French peasant of the 16th century, was at the center of a famous case of imposture. Several years after he had left his family, a man claiming to be Guerre took his name and lived with Guerre's wife and son for three years. The false Martin Guerre was tried, discovered to be a man named Arnaud du Tilh and executed. The real Martin Guerre had appeared during the trial. The case continues to be studied and dramatized to this day. The information in this section is taken from (Davis 1983). 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 was born. Accused of stealing grain from his father, Martin abruptly disappeared in 1548. Roman Catholic Canon Law did not allow his abandoned wife to remarry (unlike that of the Calvinist Huguenots, who were slowly gaining ground; see French Wars of Religion). 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 ...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=27436