Man in the Iron Mask

The Man in the Iron Mask was a mysterious prisoner arrested as Eustache Dauger around 1669 or 1670 and held under strict custody for 34 years in various French prisons, including the Bastille and the Fortress of Pignerol. Always under the watch of the same jailer, Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars, the prisoner died in 1703 during the reign of Louis XIV, buried under the name "Marchioly." His identity has remained one of history's great mysteries, sparking countless books and theories, especially since his face was never seen, hidden throughout his imprisonment by a mask made of black velvet.

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