Bones found in Netherlands church may be those of Musketeer D’Artagnan: NPR

The remains of D’Artagnan, a dashing swordsman made famous by French writer Alexandre Dumas’s 19th-century novel the three MusketeersHe may have been found under the tiles of a church near the battlefield in the Netherlands where he died fighting more than 3 1/2 centuries ago.

The discovery was made earlier in March when the church’s floor tiles were removed for repairs because the ground beneath them had caved in.

A skeleton was found in an excavated pit open in the floor, inside the Peter and Paul Church in Maastricht. The skeleton may be that of Charles de Batz de Castelmore, better known as d’Artagnan, one of the famous French soldiers who inspired the novel. the three Musketeers. D’Artagnan, the famous musketeer of Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV, was assassinated during the siege of Maastricht in 1673. His final resting place has remained a mystery ever since.

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John Theiss/AFP via Getty Images

When published in 1844, Dumas’s novel, which chronicles the adventures of gunmen Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and d’Artagnan – yes, there were actually four gunmen – became an overnight sensation. The three gunmen captured imaginations and soon became myths.

Dozens of films in the 20th century chronicled his exploits, with each era presenting its hero as a noble, brave and loyal, pioneering gunslinger. actor and dancer gene kelly Starred in the 1948 Hollywood version Of the three Musketeers.

But d’Artagnan, whose real name was Charles de Batz de Castelmore, was a real person. he served As personal guard of the French kings and as spy and soldier of Louis XIV.

2020 French documentary about D’Artagnan on French-German TV channel ARTE Shows that despite being overly romanticized, the gun-toting guards were actually quite brutal, carrying out the King’s wishes during a violent time in the film. Nevertheless, only the best horsemen and swordsmen achieved success as musketeers, and d’Artagnan was a legend. Both in Dumas’s novel and in reality.

D’Artagnan was a favorite of Louis XIV and, in 1673, led the Sun King’s siege of the Dutch city of Maastricht during the Franco-Dutch War.

The walled city fell. But the same thing happened to D’Artagnan, when he was shot in the neck with a gun. According to the documentary, the emperor wrote to the queen that he had lost one of his “best” and “loyal” people.

Death of d’Artagnan during the siege of Maastricht, an engraving from the 19th century.

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Odile Bordaz is a French historian who has been trying to locate d’Artagnan’s remains for decades and also appears in a 2020 ARTE documentary.

She says, “We know that d’Artagnan’s body was brought back to his camp, and that Louis XIV celebrated a mass for him.” “But no one talks about what happened to his body after that. It’s a mystery.”

So far.

Bordaz has long theorized that the gunman’s body was probably buried near the French camp rather than taken back to France, so that King Louis XIV could personally attend his burial. Furthermore, while common soldiers were buried in mass graves, officers and nobles were usually buried in a church.

The documentary shows Bordas visiting the church six years earlier, where he meets Maastricht archaeologist Wim Dickman, who shows him that the altar is probably on the same spot where Louis XIV was a military camp during the siege of Maastricht. The attack was huge, involving approximately 50,000 infantry and cavalry as well as 58 cannons.

Nevertheless, Jos Valcke, a deacon at the Walder Church in Maastricht, described his shock at the discovery.

“Those tiles were lifted and that’s when we actually found the bones,” he said told Dutch television’s RTV Maastricht. “And it was time to bring in an archaeologist.”

Dijkman was brought in. He told RTV that he had actually been pleading with church officials for permission to excavate the property since meeting Bordaz several years ago.

Dickman says he is confident that the skeleton is that of D’Artagnan. Along with it, a coin was also found which belonged to the Bishop of Liège who used to organize mass there every day for the Sun King. But Dijkman says they need to be sure, so they’re analyzing DNA from descendants of D’Artagnan’s father.

“This has really become a top-level investigation,” he told RTV. “We want to be absolutely certain, or as certain as possible, whether this is the famous gunman who fell here near Maastricht or not.”

Back in Paris, Cécile Rebillard is following the news closely. The mother of three has brought her youngest child to Les Invalides, a 17th-century military hospital complex founded by Louis XIV and today a museum with a collection of musketeer swords and armour. She says this discovery is exciting.

“We all read Dumas,” she says. “It’s something that gets passed down from generation to generation. So it’s great to find the skeleton of d’Artagnan. It brings the imagination to life.”

Before walking away, Rebillard smiles and recites the Musketeer mantra known to every French schoolchild: “All for one and one for all.”