Natalie Zemon Davis was a history professor at Princeton University when two French screenwriters, Jean-Claude Carriere and Daniel Vigne, asked her to act as a consultant on a film version of the infamous 16th century case of Martin Guerre. This project served as the impetus for Davis to research and write this immensely readable account of the Guerre event, a case of impersonation that caused an uproar in parts of France for years to come. The film version Davis consulted on starred Gerard Depardieu as the fake Martin Guerre, and a later American version, entitled "Somersby," placed events during the American Civil War and starred Richard Gere and Jodie Foster.
Any way you look at the situation, the Martin Guerre case is just plain strange. Davis traces the case back to the year 1527, when the Daguerre family left their Basque homeland in France and moved to the village of Artigat in the Languedoc region. The Daguerre family changed their name to Guerre in an effort to fit into the local community. The Guerre's quickly rose in prominence, although son Martin tended to enjoy acrobatics and swordplay in lieu of hard work.
Martin soon married Bertrande de Rols, the daughter of a prominent local family. After some initial problems conceiving children, attributed to a dangerous curse by many in the community, Martin and Bertrande finally had a son. But things did not go well for Martin; his father accused Martin of stealing some grain, an accusation that, coupled with Martin's desire to avoid family squabbles over inheritance issues, resulted in Martin's sudden departure from his family and home. With Martin gone off to various adventures in Spain and parts unknown, Bertrande was in quite a spot. Hope was on the way, however, when a man shows up claiming to be the missing Martin. This man quickly ingratiated himself into the household, claiming Martin's son and wife as well as the inheritance of his deceased father. Eventually, problems emerged between this new Martin and his uncle Pierre Guerre. The result was two trials and the eventual exposure of the new Martin as a fraud.
Davis's historical treatment of this case is a prime example of "microhistory," or a branch of the larger movement in historical study known as the New History. Whereas the Old History focused on the deeds of high-class elites, the New History studied the lower classes, oftentimes employing analytical methods borrowed from sociology and psychology. Microhistory seeks to analyze a specific event or person in history to shed light on the larger aspects of their environment. In the case of Martin Guerre, Davis exposes the greater themes of peasant life in 16th century France, the French legal system, the struggle between Catholics and Protestants, and the role of women in that period.
Two men left written accounts of the Martin Guerre incident: one, Guillaume Le Sueur, is a little known figure and therefore does not receive much attention from Davis. Instead, the focus is on the other author, Jean de Coras, one of the trial judges in the Guerre case and a famous French legal scholar. Davis attempts to psychologically penetrate the mind of Coras, giving the reader copious background information on Coras and his accomplishments. What emerges is a portrait of a really remarkable and likeable fellow, a man who sympathized with the fake Martin Guerre because of the mental ability this "Martin" showed during his interrogations.
"The Return of Martin Guerre" often reads like an engaging story rather than a dry as dust history. You get to know these people, especially Jean de Coras, and you come to like them. Simultaneously, it is sometimes difficult to accept this book as solid history. While Davis scrutinized endless reams of archival records and other source materials, some of her conclusions and observations stray from the evidence, especially some of the psychological insights. But that is the value of this book: by reading it, a student of history begins to understand the larger conflicts between historical schools of methodology. For those who could care less about historical debate, the author's book is a cracking good yarn full of lies, dangerous liaisons, and courtroom antics.
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and that is nowhere more apparent than in the case of Martin Guerre. After reading this book, be sure to check out the film version starring Gerard Depardieu; it is a great version of the story, and Depardieu never looked so thin!
![Raised from Obscurity [of sorts]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q7Jpt4RRL._AA60_.jpg)
