On this day in 1698, the prisoner known as the Iron Mask was placed in the Bastille

Most likely, the so-called "Iron Mask" would be remembered only by historians if it weren't for Dumas père, who was always looking for new stories. And before him, Voltaire. It was Voltaire who suggested that the prisoner wore an iron mask, although in fact, according to the few testimonies, it was made of black velvet. (Considering that the prisoner couldn't remove this mask—or had it removed—under penalty of death, imagine spending 24 hours a day wearing an iron mask.)

Theories about who this prisoner was can be divided into two groups. The first is that it was a politician or military leader who betrayed King Louis XIV or knew some of his secrets. However, in this case, it's unclear why he wasn't simply killed, leaving the circumstances of his death a mystery.

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The second, more interesting theory calls the prisoner the closest relative of the "Sun King." This at least explains why the "Iron Mask" survived. However, even here, everything is so shaky that different historians name the prisoner as either Louis XIV's father or his brother.

The father theory makes sense, as, according to many sources, Louis XIII was unable to sire children, so Anne of Austria found a partner elsewhere (also of royal blood) to conceive an heir. If there had been no heir, Louis XIII's brother would have inherited the throne, something neither he nor his inner circle wanted. Naturally, if the secret were revealed, it would have been revealed that Louis XIV had no right to the throne.

The brother theory asserts that Anne of Austria actually gave birth to twins, but while the first son was born surrounded by the royal court, the second was born when only the queen's midwife remained with her. Ultimately, the second son became the "Iron Mask" to eliminate any disputes over the throne—try proving which brother was born first.

What makes this hypothesis most interesting is the suggestion that the "Iron Mask" was identical in appearance to his "twin brother," Louis XIV, allowing interested parties to twist the plot as they pleased.

This version was also the most cinematic. Thus, older Ukrainian viewers could see the 1962 French film "The Iron Mask" in theaters, with Jean Marais playing d'Artagnan and Jean-François Poron playing Louis XIV and his secret brother. Among relatively modern films, we note "The Man in the Iron Mask" from 1998, in which the king and his brother are played by Leonardo DiCaprio. It features a superstar cast, including Gabriel Byrne, John Malkovich, Gérard Depardieu, Jeremy Irons, Anne Parillaud, Peter Sarsgaard, and Hugh Laurie.

Photo: Wikipedia