What is Man in the iron mask?
{{Infobox person | name = Man in The Iron Mask | image = Man in the Iron Masque crop.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date ={{circa}} 1638 | birth_place = | death_date = 19 November {{death date and age|1703|1638}} | death_place = Bastille, France | nationality = | other_names = | occupation = | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }} [[File:Cellule du Masque de Fer.jpg|thumb|Prison cell of the man with the Iron mask on the island of Sainte Margerite]] [[File:Vaux le Vicomte Dummy Man in the Iron Mask.jpg|thumb|Dummy of the man who was imprisoned in the castle of [[Vaux le Vicomte]] for several years. ]] The '''Man in the iron mask''' was a [[prisoner]] of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] whose identity is not known. The man was imprisoned from 1669 until his death in 1703. The man was forced to wear a black cloth over his face most of the time; no one saw his face. The prisoner always had the same guardian. Most of the facts that are known are from [[wikt:correspondence|correspondence]], mostly of his guardian with his superiors. When he was first imprisoned, the identity of the man was given as ''Eustache Dauger''. He is buried in the graveyard of the [[church Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis]] in Paris. His [[tombstone]] says his name was ''Marchiali''. Other sources also give the names ''Marchioly'', or ''Marchialy.'' == History == The first time this man is mentioned is in a letter [[Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine]] wrote to [[Sophia of Hanover]] in 1711. She tells that he had to wear a mask, all the time, but knows nothing about his identity. In a letter of 1698, one of the guardians of the [[Bastille]] mentions that an elderly prisoner was being brought to the Bastille, and that this prisoner had to wear a mask. [[The Guardian|The guardian]] of the prisoner is [[Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars]]. This person had written many letters to [[François Michel Le Tellier de Louvois]], the minister of war at the time. There w