page_title: Jacques Le Gris
section_title: A judicial duel
hierarchical_section_title: Jacques Le Gris / A judicial duel
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Die ehemalige Abteikirche St. Martin des Champs, heute Musée des Arts et Métiers, in Paris. Français&#160;: L'ancienne église abbatiale Saint-Martin-des-Champs, aujourd'hui Musée des arts et métiers, à Paris.
context_page_description: Sir Jacques Le Gris was a French squire and knight who gained fame and infamy when he engaged in the last judicial duel permitted by the Parlement of Paris after he was accused of rape by the wife of his neighbour and rival Sir Jean de Carrouges. Carrouges brought legal proceedings against Le Gris before King Charles VI who after hearing the evidence, authorised a trial by combat to determine the question. The duel attracted thousands of spectators and has been discussed by many notable French writers, from the contemporary Jean Froissart to Voltaire.
  Described as a large and physically imposing character with a reputation for womanising, Le Gris was a liege man of Count Pierre d'Alençon and a favourite at his court, governing a large swathe of his liege lord's territory in addition to his own ancestral holdings. Le Gris' insistence on defending his case by chivalric trial by combat rather than opting for the safer church trial attracted widespread support for his cause amongst the French nobility, and controversy continues to this day as to where the real guilt lies in the case.
context_section_description: Faced with such conflicting accounts and unable to reach a conclusion, the Parlement announced on 15 September that the two men would fight to the death on 27 November 1386 to decide guilt in the case. If Carrouges lost, then Marguerite would be burnt at the stake for perjury. In fact, the duel was delayed a month as the King and his court, which contained most of the country's senior dukes and generals, was held up on campaign in Flanders and could not return in time. Eager to see what was rapidly becoming the event of the season, the King ordered the duel postponed until 29 December so that he would be present for its culmination.
  On the day decreed, Le Gris and Carrouges travelled through Paris to the Abbey of Saint-Martin-des-Champs in the city's northern suburbs. The abbey's field had been converted from a jousting ground to a wooden arena especially for the combat, surrounded by banks for the spectators and a royal box. Attending the duel was not only the King and his uncles John, Duke of Berry, Philip the Bold and Louis II, Duke of Bourbon and his brother the Duke of Orléans, but thousands of ordinary Parisians, Normans and visiting French. Thousands of people had flooded into the city in the days before the combat to see the spectacle, but all had been warned not to physically aid the combatants on pain of death nor call out during the fight on pain of losing a hand.
  Although legal accounts do not describe the course of the combat, contemporary chroniclers have left several records of the day's battle. According to the chronicles, the claimants entered the field last and before all present repeated their accusations against the other and swore oaths guaranteeing their honesty before the King, Parlement and God. Before they remounted, the marshal of the duel performed a brief ceremony in which he knighted Jacques Le Gris. This ceremony was traditional before battle, but also performed a part in maintaining the social structure of medieval France. With both men on the same social footing, there would be no defeat of a senior rank by a lesser one. Having been raised to the status of a knight, Sir Jacques regained his horse and the arena was cleared. Both knights were heavily armed and armoured, protected by a hide and wood shield bearing their coat of arms and thick plate armour, riding a heavy warhorse and wielding a lance, longsword, heavy battle axe and long dagger known as a misericordia.
  At the marshal's signal, silence descended over the field and both knights spurred their horses and charged, their lances each striking the other's shield but not causing significant damage. Wheeling, both again struck, but failed to penetrate, scoring glancing blows on their helmets but remaining horsed. For a third time, they turned and charged and again they both struck. This time however the lances shattered, sending slivers of wood cartwheeling across the arena and nearly unseating both men. Regaining their balance, the knights closed on one another with battle axes drawn, trading furious two-handed blows. As the engagement progressed, Le Gris' superior strength began to tell and Carrouges was driven back until with a mighty swing, Le Gris' axe severed the spine of Carrouges' horse. The dying beast tumbled to the ground, Carrouges leaping clear and meeting Le Gris' charge with a side-step, allowing him to thrust his own axe's pike deep into the stomach of Le Gris' steed.
  As his horse faltered and collapsed, Le Gris was thrown off and lost his axe. Undaunted, he rose and drew his longsword, turning to meet Carrouges who was already advancing on him, sword also drawn. Again the combatants traded blows, their weapons the only sounds heard in the silent battleground. Again, Le Gris' superior strength gave him an advantage, pushing Carrouges back before thrusting his blade through his opponent's thigh. As the crowd murmured, Le Gris made a fatal mistake; withdrawing his weapon, he stepped back to watch his wounded enemy and was thus off balance when the desperate Carrouges threw himself forwards, wrestling Le Gris to the ground
caption: Saint-Martin-des-Champs
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