In Davis’ telling, the protagonist is not so much Arnaud du Tilh, but is, in fact, Bertrande de Rols, the wife of Martin Guerre. Natalie Zemon Davis, in her book The Return of Martin Guerre, approaches the story from a fresh perspective, hoping to link the impostor’s ruse with the creation of personal identity, and in doing so, shorten the gap between sixteenth century French peasants and the upper class. As a result, a traditional version of the story quickly developed that focused on the cunning of the impostor, Arnaud du Tilh, and his “marvelous deception.” Only two contemporary sources exist that speak directly to the case, and from these sources all subsequent versions of the story derive. The events occurred over four hundred years ago in rural France, and few of the participants had the capacity to write. For the academic historian, the faithful retelling of the story of Martin Guerre is a treacherous exercise.
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