Inigo Montoya
| Inigo Montoya | |
|---|---|
| The Princess Bride character | |
| Created by | William Goldman |
| Portrayed by | Mandy Patinkin |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Fencer, pirate, "the revenge business" |
| Nationality | Spanish |
Inigo Montoya is a fictional character in William Goldman's 1973 novel The Princess Bride. In Rob Reiner's 1987 film adaptation, he was portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. In both the book and the movie, he was originally from Spain and resided in the fictional country of Florin.
In The Princess Bride, Inigo Montoya is portrayed as a Spanish fencer and henchman to the Sicilian criminal Vizzini. Inigo's father Domingo was a great swordcrafter, but he remained obscure because he disliked dealing with the stupid rich and privileged. When Count Rugen, a nobleman with a six-fingered right hand, asked him to forge a sword to accommodate his unusual grip, Domingo labored over the sword for a year. When Rugen returned, he reneged on his promised price. Thus, Domingo refused to sell him the sword, not as a matter of money, but because Count Rugen could not appreciate the great work of the sword. He proclaimed that the sword would now belong to Inigo. Rugen then promptly killed Domingo. Ten-year-old Inigo witnessed the crime and challenged Rugen to a fight, wherein Rugen disarmed Inigo within about fifteen seconds; recognizing Inigo's talent, Rugen spared his life and allowed him to keep the sword, but gave him two scars, one on each cheek.
Inigo then went to live with his father's friend and fellow swordmaker Yeste for two years; devastated by the loss, he devoted himself to becoming a great swordsman to be able to avenge his father. His training included tutelage under the most skilled fencing masters of his time. In the 30th anniversary version of "The Princess Bride", it is revealed that, while training for his revenge against Count Rugen, Inigo falls in love with a servant girl, Giulietta. He woos her, and she reveals that she is a Countess and is in love with him as well. The two dance, and it is implied that Inigo leaves the next day. After ten years of training, Inigo becomes the greatest swordsman of his generation and the only living man to hold the rank of "wizard" (a fictional fencing rank above "master").
Unable to find his father's killer and fearing that he would never fulfill his quest, Inigo sinks into depression and alcoholism before the criminal Vizzini finds him. Vizzini, Inigo, and a Turk named Fezzik are hired by an unknown man to kidnap and kill the "princess bride", Buttercup. Subsequent events lead to Inigo's duel with the "Man in Black" (Westley), an extended sequence in both the book and the movie, in which both contestants begin fencing left-handed and eventually convert to their dominant right hands as the contest intensifies.
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