Who was the Man in the Iron Mask?
A prisoner held for decades by the jailer Saint-Mars died masked in the Bastille in 1703, and his identity has been argued over ever since. Voltaire, Dumas and generations of historians have offered candidates ranging from a royal brother to an Italian diplomat to an obscure valet.
6 established, 3 disputed, 4 debunked, 1 unresolved. We do not pick an answer; the evidence places each claim. How we decide
40 citations from 8 independent sources - 32 echo the same voices and count once. Graded B1-C1.
Added 29 Sept 2026
What the four states mean
- Establishedsupported, uncontested
- Disputedcredible sources disagree
- Debunkedrefuted by the evidence
- Unresolvedno settled answer
Established 6supported, uncontested
On 18 September 1698 the Bastille's King's lieutenant, du Junca, recorded that the new governor Saint-Mars arrived bringing a prisoner he had formerly held at Pignerol, whom he kept always masked and whose name was not mentioned.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- "Thursday, September 18 (1698), at three o'clock in the afternoon, M. de Saint-Mars, governor of the château of the Bastille, made his first appearance, coming from his governorship of the Isles of Sainte-Marguerite-Honorat, bringing with him, in his conveyance, a prisoner he had formerly at Pignerol, whom he caused to be always masked, whose name is not mentioned;Etienne du Junca, Bastille registers, entries of 18 September 1698 and 19 November 1703, as translated in Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille primary
- Etienne du Junca, king's lieutenant at the Bastille, in a journal which he began to keep on October 2, 1690, when he entered upon his officeFrantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
- un ensien prisonnier quil avet a Pignerol le quel il fait tenir touiours masque dont le nom ne sedit pasEtienne du Junca, Bastille register entry of 18 September 1698, transcribed in Madry, Cahiers du dix-septieme XVII (2016) primary
Du Junca's register entry for 19 November 1703 records the death of the unknown prisoner, always masked with a mask of black velvet, whom Saint-Mars had brought from the Isles de Sainte-Marguerite.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- "On the same day, November 19, 1703, the unknown prisoner, always masked with a mask of black velvet, whom M. de Saint-Mars, the governor, brought with him on coming from the Isles de Sainte-Marguerite, whom he had kept for a long time, the which happening to be a little ill yesterday on coming from mass, he died to-day, about ten o'clock at night, without having had a serious illness;Etienne du Junca, Bastille registers, entries of 18 September 1698 and 19 November 1703, as translated in Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille primary
- On November 19, 1703, the Mask died suddenly (still in his velvet mask), and was buried on the 20th.Andrew Lang, The Valet's Tragedy, in The Valet's Tragedy and Other Studies (1903) analysis
The St. Paul parish burial register records the prisoner who died in the Bastille as Marchioly, aged about 45.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- "On the 19th, Marchioly, aged 45 years or thereabouts, died in the Bastille, whose body was buried in the churchyard of St. Paul, his parish, the 20th of the present month,Register of burials, parish of St. Paul, Paris, 20 November 1703, as translated in Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille primary
- The parish register of the church names him ‘Marchialy’ or ‘Marchioly,’ one may read it either way;Andrew Lang, The Valet's Tragedy, in The Valet's Tragedy and Other Studies (1903) analysis
In a 1669 letter, Louvois called the prisoner Eustache Dauger only a valet and ordered that he be threatened with death if he spoke of anything except his actual needs.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- YOU MUST THREATEN HIM WITH DEATH IF HE SPEAKS ONE WORD EXCEPT ABOUT HIS ACTUAL NEEDS. He is only a valet, and does not need much furniture.’Andrew Lang, The Valet's Tragedy, in The Valet's Tragedy and Other Studies (1903) analysis
- This article addresses one description of the mysterious prisoner called L’Homme au masque de fer written in a letter, dated 19 July 1669, by the government official who oversaw his transfer to prisonSarah Madry, The Valet: The Marquis de Louvois's Invited Guest in the Mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, Cahiers du dix-septieme XVII (2016) analysis
- Louvois characterized Dauger in that letter as “only a valet.”Sarah Madry, The Valet: The Marquis de Louvois's Invited Guest in the Mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, Cahiers du dix-septieme XVII (2016) analysis
Historians are largely in agreement that the prisoner's name was Eustache Dauger, the man arrested near Calais at the end of July 1669.▰▰▰▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- They are pretty much in agreement that his name was Eustache Dauger, that he only occasionally wore the mask, and that when he did wear a mask, it was velvet, not iron,Paul Sonnino, quoted in UCSB News, Mystery Unmasked (2016) analysis
- Data found in the twentieth century eliminated all possibilities except Eustache Dauger, arrested at the request of Louis XIV near Calais, France, at the end of July 1669Sarah Madry, The Valet: The Marquis de Louvois's Invited Guest in the Mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, Cahiers du dix-septieme XVII (2016) analysis
While he was held at Pignerol and Sainte-Marguerite, the prisoner was rumoured to be a Marshal of France, the Duc de Beaufort, or a son of Oliver Cromwell.▰▰▱▱▱ likely2 points
Supports- He was certainly, in 1669 and 1688, at Pignerol and at Sainte-Marguerite, the centre of the mystery about some great prisoner, a Marshal of France, the Duc de Beaufort, or a son of Oliver Cromwell.Andrew Lang, The Valet's Tragedy, in The Valet's Tragedy and Other Studies (1903) analysis
- People believe that Dauger is a Marshal of France, so strange and unusual are the precautions taken for his security.Andrew Lang, The Valet's Tragedy, in The Valet's Tragedy and Other Studies (1903) analysis
Disputed 3credible sources disagree
The masked prisoner was Count Mattioli, secretary of state to the Duke of Mantua.▰▰▰▱▱ roughly even chance2 against5 points
Supports- The Man in the Mask is, without possible dispute, the one or the other. We have explained above the reasons which lead us to discard Dauger. The mysterious prisoner, then, was Mattioli. The proof is mathematically exact.Frantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
- to identify the masked prisoner with Count Mattioli, secretary of state to the Duke of Mantua.Frantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
- Mattioli MAY have been the prisoner who died in the Bastille in November 1703,Andrew Lang, The Valet's Tragedy, in The Valet's Tragedy and Other Studies (1903) analysis
Against- But Matthioli’s candidature has been eliminated through archival research done after the French RevolutionSarah Madry, The Valet: The Marquis de Louvois's Invited Guest in the Mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, Cahiers du dix-septieme XVII (2016) analysis
- If Mattioli died in April 1694, he cannot be the Man in the Iron Mask.Andrew Lang, The Valet's Tragedy, in The Valet's Tragedy and Other Studies (1903) analysis
The prisoner was a valet.▰▰▰▱▱ roughly even chance1 against2 points
Supports- They are also quite sure that he was a valet.Paul Sonnino, quoted in UCSB News, Mystery Unmasked (2016) analysis
Against- This paper shows that, contrary to what has always been assumed, Louvois’s characterization of the prisoner as “un valet” does not describe the prisoner’s background or previous occupation, nor did Louvois intend it to.Sarah Madry, The Valet: The Marquis de Louvois's Invited Guest in the Mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, Cahiers du dix-septieme XVII (2016) analysis
Eustache Dauger was the valet of the treasurer of the late Cardinal Mazarin.▰▰▰▱▱ roughly even chance1 against2 points
Supports- According to Sonnino, Dauger was the valet of the treasurer of the late Cardinal Mazarin, who had been principal minister of France during Louis XIV’s childhood and youth,Paul Sonnino, quoted in UCSB News, Mystery Unmasked (2016) analysis
Against- When he started from England for Switzerland in February 1669, Marsilly left in London a valet, called by him ‘Martin,’ who had quitted his service and was living with his own family. This man is the ‘Eustache Dauger’ of our mystery.Andrew Lang, The Valet's Tragedy, in The Valet's Tragedy and Other Studies (1903) analysis
Debunked 4refuted by the evidence
As Alexandre Dumas told it, the queen was delivered of twins, and the masked prisoner was Philippe, a brother of Louis XIV buried beneath a mask of steel.Refuted by
Serious historians have long ago discounted the legend popularized by Voltaire and Dumas that he was the twin brother of Louis XIV.
refuted1 against4 pointsThe claim rested on- The queen, you must know, instead of being delivered of a son, was delivered of twins.Alexandre Dumas, The Man in the Iron Mask (final part of The Vicomte of Bragelonne) primary
- You are the son of King Louis XIII., brother of Louis XIV., natural and legitimate heir to the throne of France.Alexandre Dumas, The Man in the Iron Mask (final part of The Vicomte of Bragelonne) primary
- Philippe, buried forever beneath a mask of steel, exiled to a country where the men seemed little more than slaves of the elements;Alexandre Dumas, The Man in the Iron Mask (final part of The Vicomte of Bragelonne) primary
Refuted by- Serious historians have long ago discounted the legend popularized by Voltaire and Dumas that he was the twin brother of Louis XIV.Paul Sonnino, quoted in UCSB News, Mystery Unmasked (2016) analysis
A 1745 romance, Notes towards the History of Persia, identified the mysterious prisoner with the Comte de Vermandois, son of Louise de la Valliere.Refuted by
But the conjecture is disproved in a single line: "The Comte de Vermandois died at Courtrai, on November 18, 1683."
refuted1 against4 pointsThe claim rested on- In 1745 there had just appeared a sort of romance entitled _Notes towards the History of Persia_, which was attributed, not without some reason, to Madame de Vieux-Maisons.Frantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
- The book contained a story within a story, in which the mysterious prisoner, who was beginning to be talked about everywhere, was identified with the Duke de Vermandois, and to this fact was due the sensation which the book caused.Frantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
- The hypothesis which, after that of a brother of Louis XIV., has most powerfully excited public opinion, is that which made the mysterious unknown Louis, Comte de Vermandois, admiral of France, and son of the charming Louise de la Vallière.Frantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
Refuted by- But the conjecture is disproved in a single line: "The Comte de Vermandois died at Courtrai, on November 18, 1683."Frantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
Voltaire's account has the prisoner wearing a mask whose chin-piece had steel springs, which let him eat with the mask on his face.Refuted by
Witnesses who actually saw the masked prisoner do not mention a metal mask, but say that he certainly always wore a cloth mask when out of his prison cell.
refuted2 against3 pointsThe claim rested on- Ce prisonnier, dans la route, portait un masque dont la mentonnière avait des ressorts d’acier, qui lui laissaient la liberté de manger avec le masque sur son visage.Voltaire, Le Siecle de Louis XIV, chapitre 25 (edition Garnier) primary
Refuted by- Witnesses who actually saw the masked prisoner do not mention a metal mask, but say that he certainly always wore a cloth mask when out of his prison cell.Sarah Madry, The Valet: The Marquis de Louvois's Invited Guest in the Mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, Cahiers du dix-septieme XVII (2016) analysis
- The extract from the second register shows that the mysterious prisoner wore, not a mask of iron, but one of black velvet.Frantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
In the second edition of Questions on the Encyclopaedia, Voltaire stated that the man in the mask was a uterine brother of Louis XIV, a son of Mazarin and Anne of Austria, older than the king.Refuted by
We shall not stay to refute the hypothesis which makes the Iron Mask a brother of Louis XIV. Marius Topin has already done so in the clearest possible manner. The notion, moreover, has long been abandoned.
refuted2 against3 pointsThe claim rested on- At last, in the second edition of _Questions on the Encyclopædia_, Voltaire intrepidly added that the man in the mask was a uterine brother of Louis XIV., a son of Mazarin and Anne of Austria, and older than the king.Frantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
Refuted by- We shall not stay to refute the hypothesis which makes the Iron Mask a brother of Louis XIV. Marius Topin has already done so in the clearest possible manner. The notion, moreover, has long been abandoned.Frantz Funck-Brentano, Legends of the Bastille, ch. IV, The Man in the Iron Mask (trans. George Maidment) analysis
- Serious historians have long ago discounted the legend popularized by Voltaire and Dumas that he was the twin brother of Louis XIV.Paul Sonnino, quoted in UCSB News, Mystery Unmasked (2016) analysis
Unresolved 1no settled answer
Whose valet the prisoner was, and why he was held under tight security for over 30 years, has not been established.▰▰▰▱▱ likely3 points
Supports- What they have not been able to figure out is whose valet he was, and for what possible reason he was held under tight security for over 30 years.Paul Sonnino, quoted in UCSB News, Mystery Unmasked (2016) analysis
- was a man imprisoned by Louis XIV in July 1669 for an unknown reasonSarah Madry, The Valet: The Marquis de Louvois's Invited Guest in the Mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask, Cahiers du dix-septieme XVII (2016) analysis
- The central problem remains unsolved,Andrew Lang, The Valet's Tragedy, in The Valet's Tragedy and Other Studies (1903) analysis
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