The Man in the Iron Mask
An unidentified prisoner of state whose true identity remains a mystery.
The Man in the Iron Mask (French: L'Homme au Masque de Fer; died 19 November 1703) was an unidentified prisoner of state during the reign of Louis XIV of France (1643–1715).
Quick Facts
- Game
- Planescape: Torment (1999)
- Developer
- Black Isle Studios
- Publisher
- Interplay Entertainment
- Role
- Static NPC; philosophical interlocutor
- Primary theme
- Identity
- the self
- and the relationship between form and essence
Lore & Background
The prisoner was arrested on 28 July 1669 near Calais under the name 'Eustache Dauger' and incarcerated on 24 August. He was held for 34 years in four successive French prisons, including the Bastille, under the custody of Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars. He died on 19 November 1703; his burial certificate bore the name 'Marchioly'. His true identity remains a mystery, with over 50 candidates proposed. The mask was originally of black velvet cloth, not iron, and was only worn when travelling between prisons after 1687 or when going to prayers within the Bastille in his final years.
Reader's Guide
The historical prisoner is not a character in Planescape: Torment.
Did You Know?
- The prisoner was labelled 'only a valet' in contemporaneous documents.
- Voltaire claimed the prisoner was an older, illegitimate brother of Louis XIV.
- The mask was misreported by Voltaire as an iron mask; it was actually black velvet cloth.
More in Characters & Factions
Elsewhere in Planescape Torment
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