Who Was the Man In The Iron Mask?

Summary

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After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

"Who Was the Man In The Iron Mask?"

Hosts: Anthony Delaney and Matty Pelling
Date: February 23, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Anthony and Matty dig into one of Europe's most persistent historical mysteries: the identity and story of the "Man in the Iron Mask," an anonymous prisoner confined in France under the reign of Louis XIV. Blending historical evidence, myth, and cultural afterlives, the hosts unpick what is known, what has been imagined, and why this enigmatic figure continues to fascinate, centuries after his death.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Stage: The Legend of the Masked Prisoner

• Dramatic Introduction: Matty opens with a vivid retelling of the prisoner's first night at Exil Fortress in 1687, emphasizing secrecy, silence, and the aura of fear that signaled this was no ordinary inmate.

  • “From this moment on, his life will be measured in silence. No visitors, no explanation, no mercy. Even his jailer is warned: this prisoner is unlike any other." (01:21, Matty)

• Historical Timeline:

  • Arrested in 1669, held for 34 years across various French fortresses (notably the Bastille), and died in 1703.
  • Key detail: His true name and the crime that led to his imprisonment are still uncertain, further fueling the mystery.
  • The earliest documented name: "Eustache Dauger" (with many French pronunciation apologies from Matty).

The Mask: Iron or Velvet?

• Contemporary Evidence:

  • Contrary to popular myth, the mask was likely not iron.
  • The only contemporary account describes a mask of black velvet, which Matty characterizes as “so much chic and a little bit sexy and more dramatic than an iron mask.” (10:51, Matty)

• Myth Formation:

  • The association with an iron mask is traced to the philosopher Voltaire in the mid-18th century, who embellished the tale in his writings, influencing generations to come.

Louis XIV and the World of Absolutism

• Exploration of King Louis XIV’s environment and autocratic rule:
  • Known as the “Sun King,” Louis embodied absolute monarchy, with power to jail anyone at a whim—no trial required.
  • His famous motto: “L'État, c’est moi” (“I am the state”), described as “rather more camp if you do a direct translation, because it goes ‘the state, it’s me,’ which is ... so much camper." (15:08, Anthony)
  • Tony and Matty agree: Life at the glittering Versailles court came with constant peril—anyone (no matter how close to the King) could be subjected to the darkness of royal paranoia.

The French Prison System and Political Imprisonment

• Prison System as a Tool of Power:

  • French prisons were less about justice, more about control. Political prisoners, especially those perceived as threats or involved in state secrets, were often jailed indefinitely in fortified castles.
  • The process could be entirely arbitrary: “He just writes a royal order and is like ‘Anthony Delaney is going straight to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect £200. Off you trot.’” (19:09, Matty)

• Oddity of the Man in the Iron Mask:

  • While being disappeared by the state wasn’t uncommon, the length and total secrecy around this case was unprecedented.
  • The hosts stress: In most cases, execution would have sufficed, so why keep this prisoner alive and invisible?

The Jailer: Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars

• Insight into Saint-Mars’ Relationship with the Prisoner:

  • Saint-Mars, the governor, was constantly transferred between prisons—and the masked man always came with him.

  • Their bond, sometimes joked about as a "love story" for its intimacy and secrecy (“Has anyone questioned whether Saint-Mars and the man in the iron mask are lovers? … Fifty shades of Saint-Mars.” 25:11, Anthony & Matty)

  • Saint-Mars’ correspondence forms the main source of historical data, emphasizing the strict isolation imposed:

    • "He is always alone and I have instructions that no one may speak to him, nor he to anyone." (26:01, Saint-Mars, cited by Matty)

  • On the move, the prisoner would wear a black velvet mask, and had a guard with orders to kill him if he removed it. (28:31, Matty referencing Saint-Mars’ instructions)

Theories and Contenders: Who Was He?

• Bachelors for the Mask: The Theories

  • Louis XIV's Twin Brother ("giving soap opera"):

    • Popularized by Voltaire and Dumas, and the basis for the famous DiCaprio film.
    • Hosts debunk: No evidence of a twin in official royal records; royal births were meticulously witnessed.
    • "Poor royal women who had to give birth, you know, with their feet in the air, and 20 courtiers looking up the fannies. That's a thing." (32:16, Matty)

  • Louis de Bourbon, the Comte de Vermandois:

    • Alleged illegitimate royal punished for striking the Dauphin.
    • Historical records show he died of illness in 1683, not in prison.
    • Visual propaganda from the era frames the masked man as an elite but comfortable prisoner—perhaps to criticize monarchy during the Revolution.

  • Disgraced Political Elites:

    • Theories include a disgraced marshal, a wronged noble, failed financiers.
    • Saint-Mars possibly promoted these rumors to boost his own notoriety.
    • Matty: “He is stepping into the limelight and trying to, you know, keep… engagement with this mystery, to keep people guessing.” (37:35)

  • Link to the Affair of the Poisons (1670s Paris scandal involving poisoners and fortune-tellers):

    • Hosts consider and largely dismiss this for chronology reasons.

The Power and Appeal of the Story

• The story persists largely because so little is definitively known, allowing each generation to project its own anxieties and fantasies.

  • “Because we can fill in the blanks ourselves.” (43:12, Anthony)
  • Voltaire and especially Alexandre Dumas (Three Musketeers) are responsible for turning the story into a swashbuckling cultural legend.

• The lack of material evidence:

  • “We don’t have access to a concrete record that’s going to give us the answers, I’m afraid. But that is, of course, why the mystery still appeals to people. It is endlessly fascinating.” (48:08, Matty)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Louis XIV and absolute monarchy:
  “There is no idea of absolutism … [without] Louis XIV. The state: it’s me.” (15:08, Anthony)

• Carnival of Tangents:
  Continued amusing references to "too much soup," lunch slumps, and deliveries, contributing warmth and personal chemistry throughout the episode.

• Debunking the Myths:
  “There's no record of Louis having a twin. No, it's extremely unlikely. But this, again, is something that Voltaire popularized in the 18th century. Voltaire has a lot to answer for.” (32:19, Matty)

• The Mask's Evolution:
  "The only contemporary account describes him as wearing a black velvet mask, which I think is so much chic and a little bit sexy and more dramatic than an iron mask." (10:51, Matty)

• Summing up the Appeal:
  “It’s, you know, kind of steeped in this environment of the prison itself, in this idea of him being transferred at night, all this secrecy. You can hear the chains clinking. … But it’s all cinematic, it’s all mythological. … That is, of course, why the mystery still appeals to people. It is endlessly fascinating.” (48:08, Matty)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:21 — Atmospheric reading of the prisoner’s arrival and the seeds of legend.
• 10:51 — The reality of the mask: black velvet, not iron.
• 14:46–17:36 — Introduction to Louis XIV: absolutism, propaganda, danger at court.
• 19:09 — The arbitrary power of the king over life, liberty, and imprisonment.
• 26:01 — The jailer’s letter: strict secrecy, solitary confinement.
• 28:31 — Details of prisoner transfers and mask protocol.
• 31:03–32:50 — Debunking the “twin brother” theory: royal birth records, propaganda role.
• 35:25–37:34 — Revolutionary propaganda and the symbolism of the masked man.
• 43:12 — The myth’s allure: why mystery keeps the story alive.
• 48:08 — Reflection on why the lack of evidence only enhances the appeal.

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Final Thoughts & Closing

• The man in the iron mask remains an enigma precisely because of the paucity of facts and the abundance of myth.
• The key facts: Arrested 1669, died 1703, spent decades in isolated, strictly monitored imprisonment, probably under the name “Eustache Dauger.” Only known through jailer Saint-Mars’ letters—mask likely velvet, not iron.
• As Matty notes: “I’m holding out for someone one day finding something in an archive that blows this wide open.” (48:08)

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For further listener suggestions or questions:
Contact the show at [e-mail]

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Transcript

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[Anthony]

If a Daily Mail article that says woke historian insist the man in the Iron mask was gay doesn't happen, I'll be disappointed.

[Matty]

September 1687. Night falls over the remote stone walls of Exil Fortress, high in the alpine borderlands. A carriage grinds to a halt. Torches flicker. Orders are whispered. A man is led inside, masked, unnamed, and watched. The door closes behind him with a final echoing thud. From this moment on, his life will be measured in silence. No visitors, no explanation, no mercy. Even his jailer is warned. This prisoner is unlike any other. Outside. France is being ruled by splendour and absolute power. Inside this cell, secrecy reigns and questions begin to be asked. Who exactly has just been locked away and and why? Must the truth never be spoken? His face hidden, his name erased, his very existence a threat for decades, a single prisoner was moved in silence through France's dark fortresses, guarded at all times and forbidden to speak. A man history would only remember who as the man in the Iron Mask join us as we plunge into one of Europe's most tantalizing mysteries. We'll hear the chilling first hand testimony of his jailer, trace the suffocating paranoia of life under the absolute rule of Louis xiv, and unravel the rumors that refused to die from a French prison cell. This is after D.

[Anthony]

Well, hello there. My name is Anthony.

[Matty]

And I'm Matty.

[Anthony]

And today on After Dark, we're talking about a mystery that has endured for centuries, not least because of a slightly dodgy 90s Leonardo DiCaprio film. But the central question of who was the man in the iron mask? It's still actually genuinely intriguing. So let's head back to the glitz and glamour of 17th century France. Not to Versailles, but to the dark and murky world of its prisons. And to try and unmask this man now in the presence of radical honesty. I just want to let everybody know. I know that. I just wanna let everybody know I've entered the post lunch slump. I've just had a nice lunch and sandwich, a nice soup and sandwich. And actually, despite that lovely introduction, I'm like, Maddie, you're gonna have to pull me out of the depths of this here. So, like, just help me with this.

[Matty]

Unfortunately, I've also had soup for lunch and far too much bread to go with it. What kind of soup did you have?

[Anthony]

It was kind of like a pancetta tomatoey thing.

[Matty]

Oh, she's fancy, she's fancy.

[Anthony]

It was kind of nice. Shane makes a very good open sandwich as well. And that's what I had. So I'm kind of full now and I'm just a little bit like, I just want to scroll on my phone. Dog videos. I just want to see dog videos.

[Matty]

Yeah, that's what I want to see. I have honestly spent the last hour before we filmed looking at the script, of course, in preparation as a professional, but also just staring out of the window at the sky and sort of ready for a nap. So we'll see how this.

[Anthony]

My sky is quite miserable. And I suppose. Here's the thing, Maddie has entered her lying in period, by the way. So we are. We're getting close to.

[Matty]

Oh, my God. Right? My husband's grandpa, who is such a lovely old man, every time I see him, he says, good luck with your confinement.

[Anthony]

Oh, my go. That's iconic. I love that.

[Matty]

So cute.

[Anthony]

Well, you are now you have entered your confinement.

[Matty]

I mean, we're recording this remotely, so

[Anthony]

we're recording it remotely. That's. That's. Sorry. Yes, that was the point I was making. Yes. And so it just. I think when we're in studio, we're like, we are working. We are on. We are. Let's go. But then when you're at home, you're like, why are you taking me away from my dog videos?

[Matty]

What's the thing? At this point of pregnancy, I am like genuinely outraged anyone's asking me to work. Like, I am just shocked and angered that you all need to turn up. I'm not. My God. Just a soup. Just too much soup.

[Anthony]

Just a curgent. Anyway, look, 1998. Leonardo DiCaprio film aside, 1998, great year, by the way. What was going on? 1998, very Spice Girls, I think Stop. Came out in 1998. Oh, I saw the Spice Girls live for the first time.

[Matty]

There's a bit of history in 1998. Oh, my God. What's your fave song from the Spice Girls ever?

[Anthony]

Oh, oh, oh. That could change daily. But today I'm going to say I really like spice up your life because, you know. Iconic.

[Matty]

I knew you were gonna say that. Spice up your life.

[Anthony]

But I also really, like, holler. And that's the. That's the one people may not expect.

[Matty]

Yeah, okay. You're real. You're a real fan. Like, you've gone into the. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Anthony]

But go on. Apart from the Spice Girls. Oh, my God. We should do a history of the Spice Girls. Nobody wants that, but it's fine.

[Matty]

No, we should do it. I think the people would want that, Anthony.

[Anthony]

The people. See, you see what I mean? This is. We are so distracted. Right, go. Tell me about this bloody prisoner, whatever his name is. We probably don't know.

[Matty]

Right. The man in the Iron Mask. I've never seen the DiCaprio film.

[Anthony]

Neither have I.

[Matty]

No, no, I don't think it's particularly well reviewed. But write in and tell us if it's your favourite film of all time and if we should be watching it. Okay, so let's set the scene. Let's give a little bit of background info on this mystery. Okay, so this is the legend, the real history, the gaps in between, of an unidentified French prisoner under the reign of Louis xiv. Very excited to talk about Louis xiv, by the way. Little bit obsessed.

[Anthony]

Are you, though? Are you saying that because we have to say it?

[Matty]

No, genuinely.

[Anthony]

Okay, go on.

[Matty]

Loved the BBC drama. Was it called Versailles? Was it called something else?

[Anthony]

No, it's called Versailles. Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah. Love Versailles. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Matty]

Great theme music. Very well acted.

[Anthony]

Great theme music. Yeah, yeah. Love it. Love the costumes, love the wigs.

[Matty]

Yep. Love everyone in the cast. Gorgeous. Yeah.

[Anthony]

A bit of gay shit in there, too.

[Matty]

Yeah, a bit of gay shit. We love a bit of gay shit. There was plenty of that. It was gorgeous. So if you're not familiar with Louis xiv, I would suggest.

[Anthony]

Oh, see, now I'm a little bit interested. Well done. That's good. You've turned me into. Okay, good.

[Matty]

Yeah, I'm counteracting the soup. Right. This prisoner here is the bare bones of what we know and they really are bare bones. We know that there is someone arrested in 1669 and that they are held for 34 years in different fortresses around France, including, famously, the Bastille. And that this person dies in 1703. That is kind of it.

[Anthony]

What?

[Matty]

Yeah.

[Anthony]

How are we going to get an episode out of this then?

[Matty]

Okay, so there is one name that is associated with this prisoner. This is someone who, when they were arrested, they were warranted under the name of Eustace Dojere. And you're going to really enjoy my French pronunciation throughout this episode. It's going to be amazing. I will win awards. The French will not write in and threaten.

[Anthony]

I don't think there are any awards for French pronunciation. But if there were, you would win them, put it that way.

[Matty]

I mean, I'd win, like, the entry level toddler award for being able to do this. So apologies in advance. Okay, so this is. This is a name that we have associated in the beginning. Oh, is that.

[Anthony]

Yeah, sorry, I didn't know if you could hear. I'm getting a delivery. This is very exciting. I'm just gonna narrate this. So there's a van outside. I've been waiting for new glasses. I got a pair of slutty little glasses.

[Matty]

I was about to say, are these just slutty little glasses? Because last time we were in the studio, you.

[Anthony]

It's taking so long.

[Matty]

Yeah.

[Anthony]

Now Shane is receiving the delivery right now. I actually hope they don't cut this.

[Matty]

Podcast gold.

[Anthony]

This is podcast gold. And the dogs are losing their absolute shit.

[Matty]

Oh, my God. The door is opened. The dogs are on the delivery guy. They're ripping him apart. Anthony, stop them quick.

[Anthony]

Oh, he's a very cute old man. That was delivering. I don't mean I don't fancy him. I just mean, ah, he's cute. He looks like Belle's dad from Beauty and the Beast.

[Matty]

Oh, my God.

[Anthony]

A couple of days ago, I said to Maddy, maddie, we need to be less chaotic in these episodes. And now, hold on, I'm just gonna call Shame to see if they're my glasses.

[Matty]

What happened was Anthony sent me a voice note saying, we, as in, you need to stop being so chaotic in episodes. Me?

[Anthony]

I did not say that to you. I said it to me. I said that to me.

[Matty]

I think the note was very much for both of us.

[Anthony]

Shane, can you hear me? Were they my glasses that just arrived? Yes, they're my glasses. Okay, you're live on the podcast. Okay, I'm going, I'm going. Okay, now that's something to. Okay, now I'm so in this. Okay, talk to you in a minute. Bye. Thanks.

[Matty]

Bye. Bye, bye.

[Anthony]

Right, my glasses have arrived. No, I did not say you need to calm down. I said I need. I will play those voice notes. Do not try to get me cancelled up in court.

[Matty]

Oh, my God. Right, no, stop.

[Anthony]

Okay, go.

[Matty]

Yeah, we have a lot of different theories about who the man in the mask was, why he was imprisoned. And, you know, it's something that we're all still. I say we all. Anthony. Apparently not because he's had too much soup, but we're all still obsessed with this today. The one thing I will say from the outset is that the mask is not necessarily iron. Yeah, I know. So everything you know about this is kind of up in the air. So we have one reference that is contemporary to the imprisonment that describes him as wearing a black velvet mask, which I think is so much chic and a little bit sexy and more dramatic than an iron mask.

[Anthony]

Oh, I'm here for that.

[Matty]

Yeah.

[Anthony]

So that makes far more sense. But where did the iron mask come from then?

[Matty]

I'm so glad you asked, Anthony. So we get the idea of the iron mask can probably see in your notes from the mid-1700s onwards, so the middle of the 18th century, when Voltaire, responsible for a lot of things, decides that it's iron. And that's how he reports this story when he's writing about it. So we kind of have these conflicting accounts. There's lots of layers of myth, there's lots of layers of just downright lies. But there is some real history here, and I really want to get to the bottom of it. So the questions we're asking, you know, is who was this man? Why was he imprisoned? Why was he imprisoned for so long? This is a really unusual thing to happen in France at this time. If you are an enemy of the state, you can just be killed. Like, there's no need to keep this person alive for this long. And why was he shielded from view? Why was it so important that people couldn't see his face?

[Anthony]

Okay, talk to me then. A little bit about. We talked about the Bastille, and of course, that's a famous. And later in French history, it becomes iconic. But talk to me about the French prison system. We've spoken about the English system before, so we know what that kind of looks like. But what does the French prison system entail?

[Matty]

French prison system is slightly hard to say in this moment. At the end of the 17th century, going into the 18th century, it's really a system that's led by politics, not by justice. Okay, so there's a sense or a focus, I suppose, on control. We are under the reign of Louis XIV at the end of the 17th century and the king and the people around him can just send you to prison. Okay? Like they can literally be like, you're a pain, you have embarrassed us in some way, you've threatened us in some way, you are perceived as an enemy. Off you go to jail for however long we decide. There's no trial necessary for imprisonment in this moment. And this is certainly how the man in the Iron Mask is held. He does not go to trial. We don't know anything about what his crimes were that he was accused of. Prisons themselves range hugely in this moment. So there's, you know, there are prisons that are sort of local little prisons. There are workhouses. There are also these big fortresses and fortresses are usually reserved for political prisoners, people who maybe have had access to state secrets, who have sold state secrets, who have threatened the state in some way. So the fact that the man in the Iron Mask ends up in fortresses around France and he's moved regularly and we're going to talk about this in a little while, but the fact that he's being held in these kinds of institutions without a trial and indefinitely, and he is held, as I say, for 34 years, this is all pointing to someone who is a political prisoner. It is.

[Anthony]

And yet there is this looming question which you've already posed and it's really intriguing to me, which is, well, why isn't he bloody just dead then if they want to get him out of the way? Because it's not like they weren't doing that too. And it brings this person of Louis XIV into focus because he's so intriguing in many ways. Obviously we concentrate on Louis XVI often because it's leading towards the revolution and then it is the revolution and then the beheading and all the rest. But Louis XIV is so fascinating because without Louis XIV there is no Louis xvi. There is no idea of absolutism. Well, yes, numerically and genes wise, there is no, but it is. This idea of absolutism really reaches a pinnacle during Louis XIV's idea. He becomes the Sun King. And I saw, well, I didn't see this the whole thing years ago. 20 odd years ago, I saw an ad for this film called Leroy Dance which is basically on Louis xiv. And I have been struggling to find that movie for the last 20 years. So if anyone knows where I Can watch it, let me know. But give me a little bit of the context of Louis world, who he is, how he is controlling this state.

[Matty]

Okay, well, if anyone has watched the BBC Versailles, first thing you know is he has great hair and is extremely hot. Great hair. Fantastic. Like, gorgeous hair. Gorgeous, gorgeous hair. Presumably a wig in that show, but.

[Anthony]

Oh, yeah.

[Matty]

Stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. Louis XIV is born in 1638, and let's just say from the off, he is a little bit full of himself. His motto is Le tat, c' est moi, which means I am the state. Okay, so.

[Anthony]

Except it's rather more camp if you do a direct translation, because it goes the state, it's me, which is, I think, just so much camper. Yeah, the state. It's me. Yeah.

[Matty]

Love, love, love. He becomes King of France in 1643. So he's. He's pretty young when that happens. And he continues to be the king until his death.

[Anthony]

And by pretty young, you mean five.

[Matty]

Could not do the maths fast enough. Well done. And he continues until his death in 1715. So he's on the throne for 72 years. He is the longest reigning monarch in history.

[Anthony]

Is he of everyone? Right, okay.

[Matty]

Wow. Of everyone.

[Anthony]

That's crazy.

[Matty]

According to the notes that are in front of me. Yeah. His style of monarchy is absolutist. So he is. I mean, he literally describes himself as a Sun King. We'll talk about that imagery in a minute. But he, you know, he sees himself as the center of the universe. Everything that he says goes. He controls political life, court life, and, as is fitting for the context of this episode, justice being meted out to people. He is, I think it's fair to say, a little bit of a control freak. And as I say, he comes up with this image of being the Sun King. He just seems like he adopts the sun as his personal emblem. This appears on everything from his palace to his stationery to his clothing, whatever. He's always appearing at, like, parties dressed as the Sun King with amazing kind of golden rays coming out of his hair and that kind of thing. And the idea here is that he is otherworldly or sort of extraterrestrial. He is, you know, a divine power. He's literally a celestial body. But also that he is the thing around which everyone gravitates at court, in France, in the world. He is the centre of all things. And I suppose, without trying to be too sort of poetical about it, that, you know, all of this light, this blinding extravagance of the Sun King has to inevitably come with some darkness as well. It casts shadows. And that's what life in the Versailles court is like for a lot of people there. You know, under any absolute monarchy, but certainly with Louis xiv, there's a sense of, or an understanding that you're constantly in danger. You must not go against him, you must not threaten his reign in any way that he perceives as being a threat. Whether you do that or not, in reality, if you are perceived to be a problem, you could end up being taken away, being imprisoned. It's a world full of secret networks and spies. There's censorship. This is very much a dangerous place at the court of Versailles, and one that, you know, everyone's playing a dangerous game.

[Anthony]

It's so interesting you say that, because I am living this to a certain extent at the moment, because at the center of book two, for me is the idea of absolute monarchy and how that manifests itself as God's representative on earth, and how in order for that to be accepted by the subjects, there has to be a kind of an unwritten agreement between those who rule and the ruled. And you find that one of the ways in which that happens is through cultures of fear, like you're mentioning there, Matti, but also the ways in which the monarch and those around him or her, in certain instances, craft the image and it becomes this propaganda machine, I suppose, in some ways. And one of the reasons I'm so interested in that at the moment is that although we would not term some of the things we're seeing geopolitically at the moment in terms of absolute monarchy, there is still this idea of the strongman politic that is coming back on arise, I think, where this creation of mythology around certain individuals is starting to become questioned again in the same way that it eventually is 100 years after this, or around this time in Britain, for instance. But what we do know is that these types of people, and we're seeing it in our own time, when they come up against opposition because they are the rule of law themselves, there are really no checks and balances. In theory, in an absolute monarchy, there can be no checks and balances on a king or on that leader. Then what they are able to do is suppress any factions or sedition that comes up. So how does Louis XIV go about this in this particular time? And how is he managing things like opposition to his rule, which, of course there always would be.

[Matty]

Yeah, absolutely. So you're completely right. He essentially can disappear people. He can send people to prison, as I say, without trial. This can happen very rapidly. He just writes a royal order and is like Anthony Delaney is going straight to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect £200. Off you trot. The thing that's unusual about the man in the Iron Mask is not so much that someone is anonymized and put into prison without a clear explanation of why, but simply the amount of time that he is kept there for and the fact that it's impossible to know who he is even in his own time. We all prefer things a certain way, like groceries. If you want groceries just how you

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[Matty]

We interrupt this program to bring you an important Wayfair message. Wayfair's got style tips for every welcome back home. This is Styles MacKenzie, helping you make those rooms sing. Today's style tip when it comes to making a statement, treat bold patterns like neutrals. Go wild like an untamed animal. Print area rug under a rustic farmhouse table. From wayfair.com fierce this has been your Wayfair style tip to keep those interiors superior. Wayfair Every style, Every home. After Civil war, regicide and Cromwell's Republic, the monarchy returned, but Britain would never be the same. I'm Professor Susanna Lipscomb, and this month on Not Just the Tudors. We're transported back to the age of Restoration royalty from Charles II to Queen Anne and the birth of the Empire. Join me on Not Just the Tudors from History Hit wherever you get your podcasts.

[Anthony]

Of course, what we know about these people, these strong men, leaders be they absolute monarchs or not, is that once opposition comes, they can subdue that very easily because they are the jury and executioner in Many ways. And I'm just wondering, does this feed into this specific case in any way? You've mentioned before that, you know, this guy is kept for an awful long time. Why is he kept? Is this some kind of personal vendetta on behalf of Louis xiv? What's happening in this case specifically?

[Matty]

So we know certainly the king would have enacted this arrest. Obviously, he wouldn't have arrested this prisoner himself, but he would have been behind this. He would have said yes to this. He would have potentially been the person to point the finger, whoever the man in the Iron Mask was, and to say he needs to go to prison. Beyond that, you know, we don't have enough information. But certainly this character, this anonymous, mysterious character, is absolutely at the heart of this, as you've described, kind of environment of fear, of oppression, of the absolute monarchy ruling over everything. And whoever he is, he's obviously taken a massive misstep and has made a mistake in this dangerous game, whether he is part of the court or the political sphere, whatever it is. And he's found himself in prison. So the absolute concrete evidence that we have for him comes mostly from his jailer, who's a man called Samar. And he becomes the governor of one of the. The first prison that this prisoner arrives in in 1669. So we know this prisoner arrives at the same time as a prisoner called Eustace Dojere. We don't necessarily know that they are the same person. Now, I will say that Eustace is. Is imprisoned at the same moment and dies at the same moment as the man in the Eye mask. So, you know, the timeline.

[Anthony]

Isn't that really weird? I've never heard of Eustace de Jour. I've never studied this particular moment in history.

[Matty]

Why is his name not more famous? It's really interesting, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. What we get over the 34 years that this prisoner is in prison is a strange relationship between Samar and the prisoner himself. The man in the Iron Mask in that Samark is moved around from fortress to fortress as the governor of various prisons. So in 1681, we know, for example, he moves to the exile fortress, which is in what is nowadays modern Italy, in the Alps, which is incredibly sort of cinematic setting. In 1687, he becomes the governor of St. Marguerite island, and in 1698, he becomes the governor of the Bastille in Paris. Every single time he moves, the man in the Iron Mask moves with him. So he is in charge of this man.

[Anthony]

Has anyone questioned whether Sammar and the man in the iron mask are lovers, and this is all just a ruse to spend their lives together, Depending on where they're going. This is a love story.

[Matty]

It's great. And he just was forced to wear an eye mask because we don't know.

[Anthony]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he kept him locked up. Why? I don't know. There might be holes in my theory. I'm just saying.

[Matty]

Fifty shades of Samar. I'm convinced. The end of the episode, like, we've got there, We've figured it all out. So we know about the existence of this prisoner and his movements because Samar has his correspondence. Survives. Right. So we have a letter from 1669, which is when the prisoner first arrives at Pinerol, which is the first prison. And he says, I have at Pinrol a prisoner of great importance whom I am ordered to keep in the strictest secrecy. He is always alone.

[Anthony]

Sounds gay to me.

[Matty]

He is always alone, and I have instructions that no one may speak to him, nor he to anyone. So this person, whoever they are, is being kept in isolation in solitary and is not allowed to speak to anyone. Nobody's speaking to him. I mean, this. And he's got this mask on his face. Well, we. We don't know that at this point from this letter. But that's, you know, the myth that that builds up around it. Who is he? A prisoner of great importance. Samar says that's all we have to go on. But we have more of his letters. There are letters written by Samar to the king, to state secretaries. There's a lot of correspondence that references this particular prisoner, this man specifically. My question is straight away, Did Saint Marr know who the prisoner was? Because if you're the governor of the prison, Are you going to be made aware of who this is, Other than being told this is someone of great importance. Had he ever seen him without the mask on?

[Anthony]

Yeah, he has. Because when you're kissing people, you have to take their masks off. So he's definitely.

[Matty]

Unless he had, like, a matching mask.

[Anthony]

Yeah. Or maybe they just kissed with masks on. He will have known. I mean, come on. Natural human curiosity. Especially if it's not an iron mask that's locked with a key that is just a black velvet mask. You're gonna be like, here, put his hands behind his back there. And I'm just gonna peep underneath that. Oh, it's Tom Holland as spider man, Whoever it is. But it's like, you know you're gonna do that, Right? Curiosity will get the better of you.

[Matty]

Surely, surely. But one thing Is he protects the identity of the prisoner from being discovered by anyone else. So we have a lesson.

[Anthony]

Just like a lover would. God, I need to stop. Okay, sorry.

[Matty]

You're making this history very gay. Stop making history gay, Anthony. There was no gay history. Be quiet.

[Anthony]

There's going to be. If a Daily Mail article that says woke historian insists the man in the iron mask was gay, doesn't happen, I'll be disappointed. Anyway, go on.

[Matty]

Yeah. If you know anyone writing for the Mail, please don't get in touch. Definitely not. Okay, so there is one letter written in September 1687 by Samar that talks about the prisoner's transfer to San Margarita island. And he describes how he's going to move the prisoner. Basically, he is explaining what his process will be. The sort of safeguarding features are in place. And he says, I shall take him in a small litter. That's the kind of carriage enclosed in such a way that he will not be seen by anyone. He will wear a mask of black velvet and I shall place a man at his side with orders to kill him if he removes it.

[Anthony]

Bit much.

[Matty]

Bit much. So the one thing that we know about France at this time, political prisoners, is that other prisoners were transferred, often with masks on.

[Anthony]

Right.

[Matty]

To hide their identities. So is it just a case that he's being transferred in the mask? Is he having to live in the mask always?

[Anthony]

Oh, we don't even know that.

[Matty]

I don't think it's particularly clear, certainly, as I say with the later accounts that come in, written by Voltaire in the middle of the 18th century, it's an iron mask. It's disfiguring his face. It's never taken off, you know, blah, blah. But is this actually someone who is just being moved with a velvet mask over their face to cover their identity, and then once he's installed in his new prison, he's put in solitary and he can just live his life, take the mask off and it's fine. We don't know.

[Anthony]

More interesting maybe then, is this idea that he's being moved constantly, that there is some reason why he can't stay in places too long, because, like we said, curiosity will get the better of people. And they might be fine for a couple of months going, I don't actually care who the man in the velvet mask is, but actually, if there was a velvet mask at all. But eventually they'll be like, here, who's your man? But now, is that the case or. This doesn't in many ways make sense. I don't know how we don't know who this is. People will have known. And that kind of shit tends to get out.

[Matty]

What I think is really interesting is that Samar is, you know, he's a career governor of prisons. He's moving around. He is presumably looking after other prisoners, building his own profile as a governor, and yet he always moves with the man in the Iron Mask. And I just think it's fascinating their two lives are so intertwined that he is essentially responsible for this person above all others. And, you know, you mentioned this, the thing around the prisoner being moved such a lot. Why is that? Is it because people would get curious? Is it as well that he's so high profile and so valuable in some way to maybe the enemies of the state, the enemies of the. The king, that there is risk that he would be rescued? Yeah, that's why he's been king. Yeah.

[Anthony]

But like. Okay, so we can theorize on all this. We'll obviously never get an answer. But what I want you to do now is tell me who we think this person might be. And by we, I don't just mean you and I, but I mean, like, who. Who have people speculated that this man is? And then I'll tell you whether I think they're right or wrong based on absolutely no facts.

[Matty]

Amazing. Okay, well, time to meet bachelor number one.

[Anthony]

Oh, yay.

[Matty]

Oh.

[Anthony]

Every episode I'm on episode, let's be honest.

[Matty]

That's true. And it's all the richer for it. The main theory, and this is the theory that's taken up by the classic 1990s movie, is that the man in the Iron mask is in fact. Drumroll. I want sounds of shock and horror when you hear this. Louis XIV's twin brother. It's giving soap opera not happening.

[Anthony]

Yeah, go on. Why do we. Why is there any basis for that? Like, that would be really recorded if the queen had given birth to two children, and it's still very clear who the heir is. The heir would just. Just be the first one, the first of the two twins. So there'd be no. There'd be no discrepancy there.

[Matty]

Go on.

[Anthony]

All right, go on.

[Matty]

So, okay, so the theory is that Louis has a secret twin brother and that the brother is born slightly before him and is therefore the natural heir to the throne. And that Louis is born second as the pair of twins. And, you know, therefore this prisoner might be a rallying point for resistance against the Sun King. Obviously, we know throughout history, royal births were closely monitored. They were witnessed by multiple people. I mean, poor royal Women who had to give birth, you know, with their feet in the air, and 20 courtiers looking up the fannies. That's a thing. I just.

[Anthony]

I'm so glad I wasn't the person to say that.

[Matty]

Oh, God, let's keep that in. There's no record of Louis having a twin. No, it's extremely unlikely. But this, again, is something that Voltaire popularized in the 18th century. Voltaire has a lot to answer for.

[Anthony]

She needs to calm down. I understand. She's not a she.

[Matty]

Don't write in and tell us it's what. But I suppose the thing that this theory gives us is the idea that the king is so involved in this. Right. That this is why he's so keen to keep this prisoner for so long. And also why he doesn't kill him.

[Anthony]

Yeah, I mean, royal members of the family kill each other. It happens. This is way more unusual than just killing him. You know what I mean? Like, it would make more sense that he would kill him. But. So, okay, we've solved that. It's not him. So who else do people think it is?

[Matty]

Well, I will also say just on terms of that theory as well, like thinking about the face being covered, that, you know, everyone would reach in their pocket and pull out a coin with Louis face on it. So everyone would know what his twin brother would look like. So you can kind of imagine why the face would need to be covered in that respect as well. But it's very, very, very unlikely. Impossible. Slash a lodon. Nonsense. So, yes, bachelor number two is. Here we go. Gearing up for the French pronunciation. Oh, okay. This is a gentleman called Louis de Bourbon, the Comte de Vermedois. Now, there is a suggestion that Louis XIV and his mistress have a child, one of his many mistresses. And there are some accounts that are later popularized to in fiction and, you know, various kind of propaganda that this child is kept for a little while. But he has an altercation with the dauphin, Louis legitimate heir, of course, and he strikes him. He hits the dauphin, the future king of France. And so Louis is, like, banished, not like that's naughty child behavior. Come here, darling. We don't hit. Instead, he's, like, banished to prison with you immediately. Child. We know. However, the reality of Louis de Bourbon's existence is not that he becomes the man in the Iron Mask, but actually that he's sent to fight in Flanders when He is just 16 years old, where he sadly contracts an illness at the siege of Courtrai and He dies in 1683. So he's gone. He cannot be the man in the iron mask. But this particular theory does have a long afterlife and it continues well into the 18th century. And what we have here, Anthony, is an image that I'm going to make you describe from 1789 into 1790, around that time. What's happening in France in 1789, my friend?

[Anthony]

UNE petite revolution.

[Matty]

Just a. Just a small little one. So it's kind of interesting that they're looking back at the history of, you know, the. The Sun King. Absolute monarchy is a bad thing. And they're like, look at this man in the eye mask, this guy who's imprisoned and, you know, completely oppressed for 34 years. Isn't the monarchy a bad thing? Lets guillotine the lot of them. So you can see how this becomes like propaganda, even though it's from, you know, the previous century. And it really perpetuates this myth that Louis de Bourbon is potentially the person who is this prisoner. Describe, please.

[Anthony]

It's really interesting. It's a really interesting image. We have at the centre a man who is seated. He is dressed in finery. He is shackled to himself and his hands and feet are shackled, but he is definitely wearing an iron mask. It looks, for all intents and purposes like an iron man mask, actually. Or like a motorbike helmet or something like that.

[Matty]

It does a bit, doesn't it?

[Anthony]

Yeah, it's very robotic looking. He is in a cell of some sort. It is relatively basic. He's got a bed that has a pillow, he's got some, you know, tankards for drinking from, and there's an urn and stuff. But the walls are bare. But there is to kind of indicate his. His elite status. There is a kind of a swag of expensive green material over the bed just to be like, listen, guys, he's used to comfort and we're giving him a little bit of that. Then coming in the door is, I suppose, a version of Mar the guy, the prison keeper. He's coming in with a candle in a torch thing and he's coming in with some food for him. It's all very polite in many ways. It doesn't look that rough, although it's supposed to probably look dark and dingy and all the rest of it. But certainly there's this thing of secrecy of look what they do. Basically. This is the kind of bullshit that we're having to put up with as long as we have a monarchy. It's this kind of ridiculous statecraft and stagecraft at the same time, Interestingly, as well Then there's a lot of shadow and light going on here. So there's shadows being cast on doors across people, there's light across people's faces. There is.

[Matty]

There's very. It's like a theater scene. It's like it's happening at stage right. Which is very kind of typical of. Of prints in this moment, certainly in France, I would say, this kind of idea of, you know, political theatre. A moment when everything's kicking off. What I think is interesting about this print is the fact that the man in the Eye Mask is depicted as an elite gentleman of some kind. Right. He's in beautiful silk clothes, like you say. There's the kind of bougie bedding going on and he's being brought things, food and drink by the prison guards. Like, this is not someone who's being necessarily mistreated, even though obviously the subtext here is the monarchy has mistreated political prisoners in the past.

[Anthony]

Yes.

[Matty]

This. He is depicted as someone who is. You know, he's not living out his days in. In rags. And this is another one of the theories that actually he might have been some kind of elite person. Maybe a disgraced general, a nobleman, a minister of some kind. There are theories that he was a disgraced marshal of France, that he was the disgraced president of. Of the Parliament. There's a theory that he was the Duke of Beaufort, a man called William Russell. And he gets confused later with another William Russell who's executed for political crimes. Don't get them confused. Also. Yeah, please don't. It's embarrassing. Also, potentially, the former Superintendent of Finance in France is suggested, although in his case, he dies while the man in the Eye mask is still in prison. So it's very unlikely to be him. What's so interesting is that Samar himself, the governor of the. A prison, who has, you know, moved around all the time with the man in the unmask. He admits to starting a lot of these rumours himself. So he's trying to control the narrative and keep people guessing. And I think partly that is maybe, you know, to try and brush people off the scent of finding out who this person really is. But also, Samm Ma is loving his celebrity status as the keeper of the man in the Iron Mask. Like he is stepping into the limelight and trying to, you know, keep. Over those 34 years, to keep engagement with this mystery, to keep people guessing. So I think he's a fascinating figure in and of his own. Right. Other theories include. Well, I suppose the sort of. The broadest theory is that he is some kind of political prisoner. And I think that's fair, given the fact that he's kept in fortresses, the fact that his face is hidden there is obviously, he's. Obviously, it represents a threat in some way.

[Anthony]

And there is this link as well. So we're talking about something that's concealed. We're talking about conspiracy theories in many ways, because it's all of these guesses of who it is and why they might be there. But there is another event in French history that this is linked to sometimes, too, around the Affair of the Poisons.

[Matty]

Yeah. So the Affair of the Poisons is a scandal in the 1670s that basically uncovers a underground Parisian network stretching from the city out to the court of Versailles itself. That includes poisoners, obviously, assassins, abortionists, fortune tellers. Have we covered this on the podcast before? I feel like we need to do the Affair of the.

[Anthony]

I don't think we have.

[Matty]

Okay, we really need to, because it's absolutely fascinating. And it basically. It basically unmasks. See what I did there. A whole industry, a subculture of sedition, of subversion, of people trying to survive this oppressive court life. And also just the absolute squalor and scandal in which people lived. You know, they're trying to poison enemies, lovers. It's just a complete nightmare. And there are some people who maybe tie the prisoner under Samar with the Affair of the Poisons. Maybe he's something to do with that. But don't forget, I mean, that's a scandal that happens in the 1670s, and the prisoner first enters the prison in 1669. So is that a little bit too early? Is he one of the first people to be caught out in this scandal? I don't know. I don't buy that. Personally, I think. I think he's too early in terms of the arrest.

[Radhi Devlukia]

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[Anthony]

land a Viking longship on island shores, scramble over the dunes of ancient Egypt and avoid the poisonous cup in Renaissance Florence. Each week on Echoes of History, we uncover the epic stories that inspire Assassin's Creed. We're stepping into feudal Japan in our special series, Chasing Shadows, where samurai warlords and shinobi spies teach us the tactics and skills needed not only to survive, but to conquer. Whether you're preparing for Assassin's Creed Shadows or fascinated by history and great stories, listen to Echoes of History, a Ubisoft podcast brought to you by historyhit. There are new episodes every week. I mean, it's almost too obvious for me to ask this question, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Maddie, do you think that the legacy of this story, despite very few facts to hang our hats on, is it because of that very thing? Because we can fill in the blanks ourselves? Like, when does that start happening? When does this kind of storified version start emerging? If we're Talking about the 1660s to 1690s of the actuality of it.

[Matty]

So, I mean, as I've mentioned, we have Voltaire in the 1750s. In 1751, he publishes the Age of Louis XIV, which kind of brings this story into the public imagination in a sort of rather reminds people of it. You know, obviously people were aware of it when it was happening at the end of the 17th century, but this is where the iron mask kind of mythology comes from. This is, as I say, an idea of a man who is always anonymized, always wearing the mask, this mask that if he takes it off, he will be killed. It is disfiguring his face. Face. You know, it's sitting on his skin, on his face. Over 34 years, he's not allowed to take it off, to eat or drink or anything like that. You know, it's really restrictive. It's horrific. So there's that version. And then really we have Dumas, the novelist in the 19th century, Thomas Andre Dumas to thank for what comes next. So obviously, you know, very famous for writing the Three Musketeers. And in the final part of the Three Musketeers, we find the man in the iron mask. He enters the story and he really becomes. Becomes a character within this sort of swashbuckling world of, you know, action packed drama, sword fighting, mysteries, political intrigue, all of this. And in the Musketeers story, we go with the twin brother theory. So this is, you know, something that's then continued by Hollywood later on. And it's what we find in the 1998 version. So it kind of romanticizes the story. It makes the man in the Eye mask into. Yeah. Sort of romantic figure. Because he's anonymous, obviously we can kind of put anything, any version of the story on him that we want, want. And he becomes so tantalizing. I think what is so fascinating about this history is, of course, the fact that we can't really uncover it. And there are people out there who do man in the Iron Mask studies. And I think there was maybe in the early 2000s, some more documentation that was found about him that had been previously unknown. So there may be more stuff out there to find in an archive somewhere. A dusty archive in France where nobody's digitized it yet. It's just sat in a box that nobody's got round to cataloguing.

[Anthony]

That'd be amazing.

[Matty]

Yeah, it really would.

[Anthony]

But in the meantime, one of the places that I would encourage readers to find out more about his links to the musketeers in real life is the Muskehounds. I don't know if you remember that cartoon when I was younger, certainly it was one for Orlando. For one, muskehounds are always ready. And rather than Dark Tanion, it was Dogtannion. And let me tell you this. I'm sure I was of secondary school age before I realized his name wasn't actually Doug Tanyon. Oh. Because he is a dog in the. They're all dogs in the. In the cartoon. And it is. I used to. I was obsessed with it. It's.

[Matty]

So there you go. That's the historical source. You should go straight to.

[Anthony]

But actually, maybe that's a good note to end on. Maddie, forget about the dogs. What? Give me the. As a way of rounding this up. What do we actually know about this man? The cold, hard facts as opposed to all the theories we've covered there. What do we know?

[Matty]

A really small amount. We know that he dies on 19th November, 1703. And his death is simply recorded as being caused by a maladie ordinaire. So an ordinary illness. That's the only information we get. So you know something run of the mill in prison. We have the letters of Samar, who, you know, do acknowledge a prisoner in his care for 34 years who at some point wore a least. Least we know a velvet mask when transferred, possibly a mask during imprisonment, whether it was ever metal. I'm not sure that he ever says that. So, you know, there is a gap there initially, I think as well, we need to circle back to this idea of Eustace Dojere, the guy whose name is attached to the warrant, the arrest of this man. If it is him, why is he arrested and why is he not killed? Why is this man kept alive for so long? Why is he that important and that delicate a prisoner that he can't be put to death?

[Anthony]

I think you're right, but it just doesn't seem to add up. And it then starts to become this thing of, well, what are we missing? But actually, probably getting more to the core of the point. It's, what have we been misled on in the 18th century?

[Matty]

Right, exactly.

[Anthony]

What layers have they put on this?

[Matty]

It's so hard to cycle back through it. And, you know, in terms of material evidence, a lot of these fortresses don't survive anymore, or certainly the prison environments themselves don't survive. We also don't have a mask surviving. You know, I mean, I was thinking recently about the VA's Marie Antoinette exhibition, in which they had one of the three blades used as a guillotine blade in the revolution and the terror that followed. And, you know, potentially was one of three that would have cut Marie Antoinette's head off and Louis XVI's head. And that kind of material tangibility really brings history to life, and it really kind of connects you to that moment and makes it seem so visceral. And we don't have any of this for the man in the Iron Mask, even though it is a very visceral history, it's, you know, kind of steeped in this sort of environment, of the prison itself, in this idea of him being transferred at night, all this secrecy. You can hear the chains clinking. You can kind of hear the grind of the mask as he maybe moves, you know, but it's all cinematic, it's all mythological. Like, we. We don't have access to a concrete record that's going to give us the answers, I'm afraid. But that is, of course, why the mystery still appeals to people. It is endlessly fascinating. And, you know, I'm holding out for someone one day finding something in an archive that blows this wide open.

[Anthony]

Well, until then, thank you for listening to After Dark. We hope you've enjoyed this episode. This has been interesting because it's one of those histories that is so hard to get at and yet continues to fascinate for all those reasons that you've said. One thing that we want to say is that this. Over the last six to 12 months, we have had a huge influx of new followers, and we're so glad that you're here for this year, for 2026. We have lots of new and exciting plans ahead. So I Hope you've enjoyed what you've heard so far and it's great to have you with us and we're so excited that this show is continuing to grow and it's reaching its audiences. So please keep spreading the word. Leave us a five star review wherever you get your podcasts. And of course you can get in touch with any episode ideas that you might have for us. It's after Dark History. Hit dot com. That's after darkistoryhit.com and until next time, happy listening.

[Matty]

Okay, so this is a name that we have associated in the beginning. Oh, is that.

[Anthony]

Yeah, sorry, I didn't know if you could hear. I'm getting a delivery. This is very exciting. I'm just gonna narrate this so there's a van outside. I've been waiting for new glasses. I got a pair of slutty little glasses.

[Matty]

I was about to say, are these your slutty little glasses? Because last time we were in the studio, you.

[Anthony]

It's taking so long.

[Matty]

Yeah.

[Anthony]

Now Shane is receiving the delivery right now. I. I actually hope they don't cut this.

[Matty]

Podcast gold.

[Anthony]

This is podcast gold and the dogs are losing their absolute shit.

[Matty]

Oh my God. The door is opened. The dogs are on the delivery guy. They're ripping him apart. Anthony, stop them quick.

[Anthony]

Oh, he's a very cute old man. That was delivering that. I don't mean I don't fancy him. I just mean, ah, he's cute. He looks like Belle's dad from Beauty and the Beast.

[Matty]

Oh, my God. A KFC tale in the pursuit of flavor. The colonel made his $10 Tuesday bucket so full with eight pieces of juicy crispy chicken. Or taste that it might just last you till Wednesday. If you've got that kind of self control. I mean, some people want leftovers, others are more into right nowers. The Colonel lived so we could chicken. 10 bucks, 8 pieces. One big deal with KFC$10 Tuesdays.

[Anthony]

Prices and participation may vary. Taxes, tips and fees, extra.