The Inquiry’s Unseen Witnesses

The Last Duel

The case expands beyond the principals as servants, relatives, and officials are summoned, questioned, or placed under suspicion without resolving the evidence.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The First Inquiry The First Inquiry from "The Last Duel". The First Inquiry Questions at court Count Pierre questions Bernard de La Tour and Jean Crespin about the accusations.

The First Inquiry from "The Last Duel". The First Inquiry Questions at court Count Pierre questions Bernard de La Tour and Jean Crespin about the accusations.

The First Inquiry Questions at court Count Pierre questions Bernard de La Tour and Jean Crespin about the accusations. Their reports establish that Jean and Marguerite intend to seek justice. An absent couple Jean and Marguerite do not attend the local hearing. Their absence allows the count to dismiss the case without their direct presentation of evidence.

Louvel Summoned Louvel Summoned from "The Last Duel". Louvel Summoned A second accusation The Parlement summons Adam Louvel, identified by Jean as Le Gris’s alleged accomplice.

Louvel Summoned from "The Last Duel". Louvel Summoned A second accusation The Parlement summons Adam Louvel, identified by Jean as Le Gris’s alleged accomplice.

Louvel Summoned A second accusation The Parlement summons Adam Louvel, identified by Jean as Le Gris’s alleged accomplice. Marguerite’s cousin Thomin du Bois separately challenges him to combat. A wider case The dispute now threatens to involve multiple defendants and families. Louvel’s role complicates an already difficult effort to establish what occurred.

Witnesses Under Arrest Witnesses Under Arrest from "The Last Duel". Witnesses Under Arrest Expanding custody Louvel’s son and two other men are detained for questioning.

Witnesses Under Arrest from "The Last Duel". Witnesses Under Arrest Expanding custody Louvel’s son and two other men are detained for questioning.

Witnesses Under Arrest Expanding custody Louvel’s son and two other men are detained for questioning. The court’s attention moves beyond the principal combatants to people connected with the alleged event. A coercive process Louvel and a maidservant are reportedly examined under torture but confess to nothing. The method raises the cost of seeking information without producing clarity.

A Friend Accused A Friend Accused from "The Last Duel". A Friend Accused Beloteau’s arrest Jean Beloteau, a friend cited in Le Gris’s alibi, is arrested on suspicion of raptus.

A Friend Accused from "The Last Duel". A Friend Accused Beloteau’s arrest Jean Beloteau, a friend cited in Le Gris’s alibi, is arrested on suspicion of raptus.

A Friend Accused Beloteau’s arrest Jean Beloteau, a friend cited in Le Gris’s alibi, is arrested on suspicion of raptus. The charge creates an unsettling parallel with the accusation against Le Gris. Associations under scrutiny The record does not establish that Beloteau was guilty. His arrest nevertheless makes the squire’s social circle part of the case’s atmosphere of suspicion.

The Missing Letters The Missing Letters from "The Last Duel". The Missing Letters A secret report A courier brings sealed letters and unwritten oral information concerning Marguerite and Le Gris to the Parlement.

The Missing Letters from "The Last Duel". The Missing Letters A secret report A courier brings sealed letters and unwritten oral information concerning Marguerite and Le Gris to the Parlement.

The Missing Letters A secret report A courier brings sealed letters and unwritten oral information concerning Marguerite and Le Gris to the Parlement. The documents themselves do not survive. Evidence lost to history The episode hints at efforts to influence the case, but its contents remain unknown. The missing material sharpens the difference between a surviving record and a complete account.

Late January 1386

July 1386

August 1386

Summer 1386

Late July 1386