The Return of Martin Guerre

by Natalie Zemon Davis

The clever peasant Arnaud du Tilh had almost persuaded the learned judges at the Parlement of Toulouse when, on a summer’s day in 1560, a man swaggered into the court on a wooden leg, denounced Arnaud, and reestablished his claim to the identity, property, and wife of Martin Guerre. The astonishing case captured the imagination of the continent. Told and retold over the centuries, the story of Martin Guerre became a legend, still remembered in the Pyrenean village where the impostor was executed more than 400 years ago.

Now a noted historian, who served as consultant for a new French film on Martin Guerre, has searched archives and lawbooks to add new dimensions to a tale already abundant in mysteries: we are led to ponder how a common man could become an impostor in the sixteenth century, why Bertrande de Rols, an honorable peasant woman, would accept such a man as her husband, and why lawyers, poets, and men of letters like Montaigne became so fascinated with the episode.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, France, School, Historical, Microhistory, European History

162 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Natalie Zemon Davis was an American-Canadian historian of the early-modern period.

Reviews

[Jan-Maat]

In the autumn of 1560 Arnaud du Tilh was executed in front of the house, deep in southern France, where he had lived for the past three years. He had been found guilty of impersonating one Martin Guerre, a local man who had walked out of his marriage and life in the village over ten years previously, and had not been heard of since. Du Tilh had succeeded in convincing Guerre's uncle, sisters and wife that he was in fact the long lost Martin Guerre. His testimony in court was convincing, he had the scar on the forehead and the warts on his fingers that Martin Guerre was said to have had and when the real Martin Guerre turned up hobbling on a wooden leg true to his name, gained in war , the imitator was found to have a better memory of the intimate details of Martin's marriage prior to his disappearance than the real Guerre.

The case was so striking and extraordinary that Coras, the investigating judge, and La Sueur, a lawyer from the region both had books out in press about the case within a year. These were printed and reprinted in French and Latin in legitimate and bootlegged editions.

Working on the film Le Retour de Martin Guerre the author was troubled by its necessary departure and simplification of the historical background and that experience led her to write this book.

I'm not sure that it is a micro history in the style say of Montaillou, it is rather a reconstructed tapestry with missing sections filled out by "must have's" and "would have's" this region's court documents from this period are lost . The twist is that Coras' amazement was in part at how wrong his own judgement had been "here was a case where the "best" witnesses turned out to be mistaken, hearsay evidence turned out to be true, and the judges almost went astray (p106), and the same realisation of the uncertainity of judgement then applies to this book. All the careful and well reasoned inferences, the must haves, the would haves, the differences in attitudes between the Guerre family with their Basque background and their neighbours, and the influence of Protestantism are just that, insubstantial inferences. The only difference is that this time there is no real Martin Guerre who can turn up at the eleventh hour to stomp through them all on his wooden leg.

Michel de Montaigne turned to the case in his 1588 published essay On the Lame, the uncertainty of our ability to judge and the difficulty of knowing the truth about things were central to his outlook which gave him a starting point to criticise Coras for his original presumption that du Tilh was innocent. The case of the return of Martin Guerre is one of the odder examples of the provisional nature of knowledge, yet this emphasis on the point of view of the judging outsider overlooks something else that the author pays attention to: the role of Martin's wife Bertrande de Rols.

De Rols was herself at risk during the trial as a potential adulterer if she had been aware of the deception. The delicacy and precision of how she positioned herself as a deceived person and an innocent victim is carefully brought out. The same attention is brought to how refusal to seek an annulment of her marriage to Guerre during the long early years of their infertility, or possibly just his, impotency (she was to say that they were both bewitched), and her later acknowledgement of du Tihl as her husband were decisions that worked for her and made sense in her social context. She emerges as, if not a winner, than as one who came closest to making the most of the circumstances in which she found herself, which is no more maybe than we all try to do with varying degrees of success.

Very short, very readable. Not an exploration of the spread of Protestantism in Southern France in the middle of the sixteenth century nor of the structure of the rural economy , but a singular, very human, story.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great introduction to microhistory for the casual non-fiction reader, as long as that reader knew what they were reading. Microhistorians examine one particular moment in time in great detail, trying to see how that moment can betray larger truths about society and culture at large. Usually these historians are looking for some rare window into the lives of ordinary people, and Davis has a great one here, with the records from a 16th Century trial of a peasant in southern France who was accused of stealing the identity of another peasant and living as 'Martin Guerre' for years. (Davis also consulted on the movie with Gerard Depardieu, which is also really good). She writes this in a narrative, almost novelish way, easy to follow, and this can really be enjoyed by just about anyone.
But it would be important for the casual reader to keep her intro in mind; she says that the book is "in part my invention, but held tightly in check by the voices of the past." Because this isn't a movie, but rather a book written by a historian, it could be very easy for a reader to forget about that sentence in the intro, and treat the book as if it was some sort of 'proven' truth. Davis has a great story here, and she has evidence to back a lot of it up, and her story makes logical sense - it definitely could have happened in this way. But nothing is certain. It is important for each reader to decide how much of this story to accept and how much to take with a grain of salt.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of what we know about sixteenth century France concerns the nobility since it is they who were literate enough to have left records in the forms of journals, letters, and diaries. Here Zemon Davis uncovers one of the few cases which gives us an insight into artisan life in a French village: the mysterious, beguiling case of Martin Guerre.

Drawing on both court records and contemporary written accounts, Zemon Davis traces her version of the story, all the while being aware that her reconstruction might still be full of possibilities rather than proofs. And it is this historical self-consciousness which raises this book beyond the romantic biases of ‘popular’ historians.

The case of Martin Guerre is still an amazing one: Guerre leaves behind his wife, family and inheritance and, eight years later, a man returns claiming to be the missing husband and is accepted back by wife and sisters... but is he really who he claims to be?

The story is unpacked expertly by Zemon Davis, taking in issues of religion, village relationships, the social role of women, love and identity amongst the non-elite. And even when we think we know what happened, there are still questions posed by this story which tantalise.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relatively novel approach to writing early modern history and an interesting story. The movie ain’t bad either.

[Nastya Podhorna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чудова книга! Надзвичайно цікаве мікроісторичне дослідження, що. на тлі життя невеликого французького села Артига та регіону з яким у місцевих жителів були тісні контакти показує наскільки сильно над середньовічною людиною тяжіло традиційне життя, а наскільки існувала свобода вибору життєвого шляху? Які могли бути життєві стратегії (усталені і девіантні)? Якою була роль жінки? (і її сприйняття чоловіками, які вважали Бертранду легковірною, слабкою, дурненькою жінкою, яку, через слабкості її статі, можна легко обдурити - хоча така позиція для неї все ж була позитивнішою) Наскільки людина була сама собою і як її можна було впізнати/невпізнати? Загалом, ця праця дає змогу зроуміти, так що ж таке "мікроісторія", бо є чудовим її прикладом. І ще варто додати про дуже гарний стиль викладу - легкий, захолюючий, схожий до художнього детективного жанру))

[Venus · Rating 2 out of 5]

si martin guerre supiese lo muchísimo que me suda su vida con perdón, so far lo más interesante su drama con la impotencia

[Nikola Jankovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mikro-istorija je istorijski žanr koji uz pomoć jedne male pričice, prepričane sa mnogo detalja, pokušava da rasvetli fenomene nekog istorijskog razdoblja.

Ovu knjigu sam pročitao prema proporuci iz Bazduljevog Cijeli dan kiši u Zagrebu / Sarajevski grobovi, i... fino je osmišljena, ali ne toliko dobro napisana. Da, danas želimo da je istorija ne samo precizno napisana i istražena, već i da se lepo čita, ali u ovom slučaju ovo je bitno i zbog toga što Zejmon Dejvis u uvodu kaže da ovo nije samo istorija, već da je pokušala da popuni praznine, pa je tako neke stvari prepričavala kako joj se učinilo da bi trebalo da se dese. Jasno, kad pišeš o dešavanjima i osobama koje su živeli pre skoro 500 godina (u uvodu, Dejvis priča i o tome, načinu istraživanja lične istorije poput ove), a da se ne radi o ljudima koji su stvarali istoriju, da je teško, da nema pisanih izvora, da treba popunjavati i nagađati - ali gde je granica između istorije i fikcije?

Martin Ger je seljak iz francuskog sela Artiga, koji je sredinom 16. veka, nakon nekoliko godina braka i nakon što je dobio dete, otišao od kuće, i nije se javljao. Osam godina kasnije, u selu se pojavljuje čovek koji tvrdi da je Martin Ger, koga pozdravlja i prihvata njegova žena Bernand, kao i većina drugih stanovnika sela, uključujući i njegove sestre. Čovek zna mnogo detalja o Martinu i njegovom prethodnom životu - ali to nije on. Radi se o čoveku koji liči na Martina, barem pomalo, i koji uspeva da preuzme njegov identitet i njegov život. Ipak, raskrinkavaju ga i sude mu, a za vreme suđenja, pojavljuje se i pravi Martin Ger.

Ova kratka knjižica bavi se interesantnim temama. Identitet i čuvanje ličnih podataka na primer, koje pokazuju da to nisu problemi samo današnjeg doba. Kako je identitet funkcionisao bez ličnih dokumenata, otisaka prstiju, DNK, bez fotografija - u ovom slučaju i bez ličnih portreta? Ispostavlja se da je žena skoro sigurno znala da novi Martin nije njen Martin (pretpostavimo da joj se smučilo da živi sama pošto joj crkva nije dozvoljavala da se ponovo uda), ali ostali stanovnici posle tolikih godina jednostavno nisu mogli da se sete kako je izgledao pravi Martin. Interesantna je i opaska o tome da ljudi zapravo ni za sebe nisu znali kako izgledaju - nije bilo ogledala, odsjaj u vodi nije baš reprezentativan, tako da su ljudi shvatanja o svom izgledu dobijali na osnovu komentara i opisa drugih.

Interesantan je i opis sudskog procesa - neke procedure zapravo nisu toliko različite od današnjih sudova, ali neke su potpuno šokantne. Mene je začudila i kazna - smrtna presuda. Jednostavno zatvori nisuj postojali u obliku u kom postoje danas. Mogao si da sediš u pritvoru, ali zatvor kao kazna je bio nepoznat pojam. Sudski proces je verovatno najbolje istražen deo priče, temelji na pisanim dokumentima, i na knjizi koju je u to vreme objavio jedan od sudija koji je radio na slučaju.

[elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

gracias natalie zemon davis por curarme la depresión

honestamente me la he estado pasando terrible este mes y medio que llevo de clases en línea y este libro es el primero que he leído con fines académicos que de verdad me emocionaba leer todos los días. creo que la historia de la cultura se está volviendo mi rama de la historia favorita (perdón historia del arte!!!) y natalie zemon davis es una escritora muy buena; los varios subtemas de este libro son muy complejos y alguien con menor dominio de la lengua podría hacer parecer un libro como "el regreso de martin guerre" muy tedioso, sin importar cuán interesante sea la anécdota detrás.

[Wout · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interessante studie van 16e eeuw aan de hand van een een opmerkelijk verhaal. Een micro-storia aldus Marc :')
Maar slecht geschreven seg!

[John David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie Zemon Davis, along with the likes of Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie and Carlo Ginzburg, both of whom she explicitly acknowledges in “The Return of Martin Guerre,” has carved out a relatively new niche in the academic history. Instead of writing about the movers and shakers, the kings or emperors, or large-scale religious change, she writes here specifically focused on a few families in mid-sixteenth century France. The reputations made by the people that exist within the covers were not the result of high birth or diplomatic achievement. The only reason the name “Martin Guerre” has any resonance to our ears is because his story is perhaps the most incredible since that of Odysseus. Except Guerre’s has the virtue of being historical fact. Without any of the historiographic jargon that we may have come cynically to expect, Davis has wonderfully harnessed most of the elements that allow the causal reader to fully appreciate the story of Martin Guerre.

Not long after moving from the Basque village of Hendaye to Artigat with his father Sanxi and his uncle Pierre, Martin Guerre, aged 13, marries a certain Bertrande de Rols. After a period of restlessness and sexual impotence, they conceive a child (also named Sanxi); soon afterwards, he gets into a dispute with his father and runs away, never to return. From this point on, there are intermittent lengthy discussions of property transfer in France at the time, specifically detailing how Basque tradition stipulates that the property moves from Bertrande to Pierre (since Sanxi the elder had already died).

In another world, Arnaud du Tilh (aka “Pansette,” or “The Belly,” for his well-defined paunch), eager to remove himself from the monotony of the seigniory of Sajas, joins Henri II’s army. In one of the weaker and more speculative parts of the book, Davis here guesses that Arnaud and Martin might have both met somewhere while in the service of Henri II (in whose service the real Martin might have lost a leg), traded intimate life stories and history to such an extent that Arnaud could then arrive in Artigat, proclaim himself the long-lost Martin Guerre, and insert himself into lives of Pierre Guerre and Bertrande, who quickly learns of du Tilh’s imposture, but outwardly fervently maintains that he is really Martin Guerre. Pierre, however, decides to form an inquest into Pansette’s identity, suspecting something is out of place.

The inquest turns into a trial where witnesses – Martin’s friends, family, doctors, neighbors – cannot agree on his identity. In fact, Pansette is such a good impersonator that about one-third of them say he is Martin, another third say he isn’t, and the remaining refuse to comment, being too baffled or fearing retribution from a member of the village. He is found guilty, but appeals to an illustrious court in Toulouse, where the author of one of the first accounts of the story, Jean de Coras, sits as a judge. After careful consideration, he overturns the ruling of the lower court, and announces Pansette innocent. At that moment, a man with a wooden leg enters the courtroom claiming to be Martin Guerre. One by one, everyone begins to recognize “the newcomer” (as Pansette calls him), and within a matter of hours Martin, who has been gone for a several years, regains his reputation, family, and friends inside the courtroom. Coras sees the error of his previous judgment and sentences Pansette to, first, an “amende honorable” (a traditional French assignation of culpability) and then death by hanging (a punishment deeply tied to avarice in the medieval imagination).

Davis ends again on a speculative note, suggesting that perhaps Coras found sympathy with Pansette because of their common sympathy for Reformation ideas (Coras was and remained fairly liberal for the time). Given the time period, there were countless accusations slung back and forth of faithlessness and apostasy. However, the book is much too short and this part in particular too underdeveloped to seriously support this idea.

Interesting, too, is what Davis never explicitly takes much time to discuss, but nevertheless lurks beneath the surface: ideas of identity, gender, property acquisition, incipient capitalism, and belonging in sixteenth-century France. So, while a causal reader can enjoy it for its unique historical cache, those whose interest is more academic have a lot to unpack, too. For those interested in enjoying the latter approach, I recommend a reading in tandem with Valentine Groebner’s “Who Are You?: Identification, Deception, and Surveillance in Early Modern Europe,” which takes the time to fill out some of the undercurrents in Davis’ thought which she only alluded to.

[Thijs Costers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interessant? Ja
Historiografisch relevant? Hmmm.....

[Luis Fernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leí este libro en Semana Santa. Es una historia increíble que ya llamó mucho la atención de los coetaneos. Como historiador, he valorado mucho la capacidad de la autora de lanzar hipótesis valientes.

[Susanna]

„Olukorra määrab mehe testament. Parimal juhul võimaldatakse naisel kasutada kogu mehe vara seni, kui ta elab „lesepõlves“ (vahel on testamentides lisatud „ja vooruses“). Kui mees ikka tõesti usaldab oma naist ja soovib tema „meelepäraste teenete“ eest tasuda, täpsustab ta, et naine võib tema vara nautida „ilma kohustusteta sellest kellelegi siinilmas aru anda“. Juhul, kui naine mehe teiste pärijatega halvasti läbi saab, reserveerib mees talle oma testamendis täpse jao: seitse kvartetit vilja ja vaadi head veini aastas, lisaks üks kleit, paar kingi ja sukki iga kahe aasta tagant, küttepuid jms. Kui naine uuesti abiellub, saab ta oma kaasavara või kaasavaralt teenitud tuluga võrdse summa.“ (lk 41)

[Stacia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at a little slice of life, crime, & the courts in France in the mid-1500s. I think the author did good research based on what was written about the case at the time (including an account written by the trial judge of the case), as well as the small amount of general info that was available about the life of an average peasant during that period & in that location. From those info sources, she then tries to draw some lines & infer motivations & further details of the events. So, it's a bit of a mix in that the bulk of it is factual history, but some parts are filled in with the author's guesses as to what happened & why; I think that's important to keep in mind if you're reading this for historical value. I think it's fairly accessible even to non-historians, but it is semi-dry & textbook-y in the style of quite a few history narrations (i.e., it's not high literature). Recommended, especially if you like history &/or true crime.

(Note: Historian Robert Finlay criticized Zemon Davis' conclusions in her version of the Martin Guerre events & she wrote a rebuttal to his criticisms.)

[Carolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this quite readable and well-structured, and became genuinely invested in the event and people involved. It felt almost like fiction at points which I don't necessarily think is a bad thing (and definitely made it more a more accessible read) but sometimes made it a bit ambiguous as to where the sources were from/the reliability.

[Jacob Stelling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for a university module. The book aims to recount the famous story of Martin Guerre, the peasant who disappeared and was replaced by an imposter for years. Davis does offer an insight into the case, but much seems to have been assumed on the part of the motivations/inner thoughts of the key 'characters'.

[Hidde Heijnis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The return of Martin Guerre is een narratief gedreven micro geschiedenis over een man die op succesvolle en intrigerende wijze het leven van een ander overneemt. In grote rechtszaken weet hij velen te overtuigen van zijn bedrog maar wordt uiteindelijk op miraculeuze wijze ontmaskerd door de terugkomst van de ware Martin Guerre. Aldus Davis komen we dichter bij het boerenleven uit de tijd door dit soort verhalen te bestuderen maar in dit boek lijkt de focus voornamelijk gericht op het prachtige verhaal zelf en de loop die dit verhaal later genomen heeft. Het werk komt meer overeen met ‘histoire’ of ‘history’ in hun oude betekenis en daar is niet mis mee. Het legt vast, doet nadenken en bevredigt de nieuwsgierige geest van de historicus.

[Sean Chick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Proof that even an intriguing madcap tale can be rendered dull by colorless and aimless prose. This story deserves a better written account.

[Pulatula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Me cago en Martin guerra, en bertranda y en todos

[C. B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m attempting to read more classics of social and cultural history. I found this uplifting. The depth of Davis’s research is staggering. She conjures up a living, breathing sixteenth-century France, and leads us towards some of the biggest questions about what our lives mean. What more could you ask of a work of history?

[Lily Zitko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book mainly because the author took real-life people and created a narrative of a rather odd situation solely from primary research. A very quick read that makes you think of life in 16th century France. The book focuses on topics such as identity, peasant life, and the rights of women. Beautifully written and well researched.

[Abigail Waldrop]

when in doubt blame witches

[Raisu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Identity theft, 16th century style: Martin Guerre, an affluent farmer, steals something from his father. Disgraced, he runs away, abandoning his wife and children, and isn't heard from again fo nearly a decade. Sometime during those years, a petty criminal Armand du Tihl runs into two men who mistake him for Marin Guerre. This gives Armand an idea: he'll impersonate Martin and steal his life. Which he does. For three years, Armand lives as Martin, and even has a child with Martin's wife, Bertrande de Rolls. But then the first Martin's uncle grows suspicious of the new one, and eventually takes him to court. First he's declared guilty and sentenced to death. He appeals. The appeal goes well and the court is just about ready to announce him innocent when a one-legged man makes an appearence, going "it is I, Martin Guerre!" Responds Armand: "Nu-uh, I am Martin Guerre." But the court no longer believes him and he hangs. The real Martin Guerre and Bertrande resume their marriage and even have a few more children.

Weird, right? The contemporaries thought so too. Two books were written about the case shortly after it ended, one by the main judge. And it has been repeated many a time over the centuries in various collections of odd happenings. (Don't think that the craving for curious true stories is a 21st century/reality tv thing.) Zemon Davis reads the two original books, and draws conclusions from them. Were that material falls short, she speculates, but the speculations are never plucked out of thin air: they're based on what historians know about the era.

As a book The Return of Martin Guerre is close to pefection. It's well and succintly written, and of course the events themselves provide lots of excellent drama: we have legal drama, family drama and romantic/sex drama. What more could you ask?

[Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

(In the voice of Darth Vader)

"I find your lack of citations disturbing."

But seriously: Why doesn't Davis explain herself better? Why doesn't she transparently reveal to the reader the methodology and reasoning behind her analysis and conclusions? This work is full of unsubstantiated, speculative opinions, of lengthy passages ripe with interesting, debatable claims--passages which, to my great disappointment, more often than not lacked citations or explanatory notes. Perhaps her analysis is sound; perhaps Davis has indeed uncovered the true Martin Guerre, and the book I read is a condensed, heavily-edited version of a much more thorough study never published. Davis can certainly write fine prose and craft an intriguing narrative, and were this historical fiction, I would rate it much more positively. But given how Davis casts herself as a serious microhistorian in the tradition of Carlo Ginzburg (the brilliant author of The Cheese and the Worms), yet vacillates within her text between serious, empirical analysis of the historical record and blatant, fictive speculation, I was not particularly impressed.

[Ubiquitousbastard · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, this was rather interesting in its utter bizarre source material. The events sound like something out of Chaucer or something, but there is documented evidence of it actually happening, so its pretty irrefutable. I also liked how the author took the time to examine multiple points of view, show evidence and then speculate on the motives of each person. Secondly, I like that this wasn't written in overly academic language and was instead very approachable. The length was something else I was glad for, since I was starting to get bored right about where it ended. The reason I was really getting bored was that the subject matter was basically dealt with and she randomly decided to follow a minor player in the aftermath of everything. Yeah, did not care about that, really.

Overall, it was pretty informative about French peasant culture and law in the sixteenth century. The fact that it was written directly and clearly helped to convey the author's intent without me feeling like I'd wasted time.

[Genichka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was deeply impressed when I read this book. I read it like a fiction not like a historian book. (according to the linguistic turn this method of reasoning seems to be a tragedy)I was interested in tasks that Devis set before herself. She tried to understand the motivations of her heroes. but not only those who were described in the source but also the motivations of the recorders, what were the feelings of the witnesses of that events. and why they had exactly that feelings. It's the kind of close-up history that impounds with the details the canvas of "general history". I would not reduce it only to the problem of the identity in the early modern history. Of course it is one of the most important streams but not the single. We could find there the problem of traditional culture and different world-view issues. I recommend this book as the wonderful example of the microhistory and just for enjoying also.

[Tom Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you successfully write a book about a historical incident about which you have very limited information? History professor Natalie Zemon Davis shows exactly how! In the first place, you keep the story short because of the paucity of specific information. And secondly, you teach your readers all about life in the time and place where the events of the story took place. Davis does this masterfully and leaves the reader wanting more. In this regard, this book reminded me of Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery, which so magnificently taught the reader about life in Victorian London. I found myself quite surprised (although, upon reflection, I don’t think I should have been) by the degree of legal organization in 16th century Languedoc and thoroughly enjoyed reading about the social, legal and (to an extent) religious structures of that era. I haven’t watched the 1982 French movie yet (Davis was one of three screenwriters), but I certainly recommend the book!

[Eilidh Fyfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

micro history time ❤️
it was an easy read so all fine
was very French though
will see if rating changes after tutorial tomorrow

[Steven Hoogwout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prachtig! Weet in een korte samenvatting van het proces van de boer Martin Guerre een rijke wereld van bonte karakters, van verlangens en angsten bloot te leggen.

[Breanna Willson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Return of Martin Guerre was written by Natalie Zemon Davis. The Return of Martin Guerre was published in 1983 by the Harvard University Press in Cambridge Massachusetts London, England. Davis wrote the book because she was part of the production of the movie based on Martin Guerre’s life and she felt the movie diverted from the actual historical content of what happened during the trials of Martin Guerre. This book allows the reader to understand the culture and lifestyles of people in the 15th century which is a major strength of the book because this lacks within the movie, but the book makes assumptions of what may have happened which becomes a weakness because the identity of individuals can be perceived differently.
The Return of Martin Guerre is about a peasant man living in the 15th century named Martin Guerre. He gets married to a woman named Bertrande, but their marriage is based more so on connecting their family and land than their actual love for one another. Martin decides to abandon his family for many years and in this time a peasant named Arnaud du Tilh comes to Martin’s village and claims to be Martin Guerre. After three years of pretending to be Martin Guerre, Pierre Guerre (Martins uncle) charges Arnaud with taking Martin’s identity. Trials take place to find Arnaud guilty or innocent of the crime and during the trial the real Martin shows up.
The Return of Martin Guerre allows the reader to understand the culture and lifestyles of the peasants in the 15th century. Most peasants in the 15th century could not read or write so there is little to no documentation about the peasant life during this time. Through this book though the reader can read about the trials of Martin Guerre and his life leading up to the trials as well as the lives of his family. Reading these trials allows a better understanding of the peasant life. The book allows the reader to see what was valuable to the people living in this culture, as well as seeing what peasants lacked such as the ability to read, write, and have self-portraits of themselves. These were all things that could not be used in the trials because they were lacking in the average peasant life.
The Return of Martin Guerre makes many assumptions throughout the book. These assumptions include knowing the exact route that the Guerre family took when they moved, why the Guerre family moved in the first place, if Martin and Arnaud knew one another, why Martin left, if Bertrande really knew that Arnaud wasn’t Martin, and so on. These assumptions are based or historical reasoning but they are assumptions. These assumptions appear because of the lack of documentation done by peasants at this time. These assumptions form a weakness within the book because they may or may not be fact and within being fact or not can change the real meaning of the trials. For example, understanding if Bertrande really had knowledge that Arnaud was not Martin gives a completely different historical identity to Bertrande during the trials.
The Return of Martin Guerre allows the reader to have a better understanding of the culture and the life style of peasants during the 15th century, yet the assumptions within the book make it so that some of the perspectives and identities of the individuals change. I think that The Return of Martin Guerre is an extraordinary book because it allows the reader to not only see an unusual event take place but to see that event through a peasant culture of the 15th century. Through the documentation of what individuals said and reacted to things you can also see the gender roles of peasants during this time. Overall, I think this book is extraordinary and useful to gain understanding of the peasant life in the 15th century.