Martin Guerre — Alexandre Dumas

Martin Guerre

By Alexandre Dumas

'A timeless classic....'

Martin Guerre, a French peasant of the 16th century, was at the center of a famous case of imposture. Several years after he had left his wife, child, and village, a man claiming to be Guerre reappeared. He lived with Guerre's wife and son for three years. The false Martin Guerre was eventually suspected of the impersonation. He was tried, discovered to be a man named Arnaud du Tilh, and executed. The real Martin Guerre had returned during the trial. The case continues to be studied and dramatized to this day.

Martin Daguerre was born around 1524 in the Basque town of Hendaye. In 1527, his family moved to the village of Artigat in the Pyrenees of southwestern France. They changed their name to Guerre. When he was about fourteen years old, Martin married Bertrande de Rols, the daughter of a well-off family. The marriage was childless for eight years until a son was born.

Accused of stealing grain from his father, Martin abruptly disappeared in 1548. Roman Catholic Canon Law did not allow his abandoned wife to remarry. (The Protestant Huguenots who were then winning converts in France would have allowed such a remarriage.)