Martin Guerre

Martin Guerre, a French peasant of the 16th century, was at the center of a famous case of imposture. Several years after Martin Guerre had left his wife, child, and village, a man claiming to be him reappeared. He lived with Guerre's wife and son for three years.

The false Martin Guerre was eventually suspected of the impersonation. He was tried, discovered to be a man named Arnaud du Tilh, and executed. The real Martin Guerre had returned during the trial. The case continues to be studied and dramatized to this day.

Martin Daguerre was born around 1524 in the Basque town of Hendaye. In 1527, his family moved to the village of Artigat in the Pyrenees of southwestern France. They changed their name to Guerre. When he was about fourteen years old, Martin married Bertrande de Rols, the 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. (The Protestant Huguenots who were then winning converts in France would have allowed such a remarriage.)

In the summer of 1557, a man arrived in Artigat who claimed to be the long-gone Martin Guerre. By his similar looks and detailed knowledge of Guerre's life, he convinced most of the villagers. Martin Guerre's uncle and four sisters, as well as his wife Bertrande, believed the man was Guerre, as he claimed, although doubts remained.

The "new" Martin Guerre 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 died. He sued Guerre's paternal uncle Pierre Guerre for part of the inheritance.

Pierre Guerre, who had married Bertrande's widowed mother during Martin Guerre's long absence, became suspicious. He and his wife tried to convince Bertrande that the new Martin was an impostor. A soldier who passed through Artigat claimed the man was a fraud: he said the true Martin had lost a leg in the war. Pierre and his sons-in-law attacked the new Martin with a club, but Bertrande intervened.

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