histories mysteries

[Alphazero]

The Lusitania

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: joe678
man in the iron mask? what mystery is that?

In 1698 a mysterious man was imprisoned in the Bastille. Almost no one seemed to know who he was, although residents of the French prison were usually important people who had fallen out of favor with King Louis XIV. This man had been a captive of the government since at least 1687, and for all that time his face had been hidden by a mask.

The masked man died in 1703, but rumors about his strange existence continued to circulate. In 1711 the king's sister-in-law, the Princess Palatine, mentioned the story in a letter to her aunt. The prisoner was treated very well, she said, but two musketeers stood by him at all times, ready to kill him if he removed his mask. He ate in the mask, slept in the mask, and eventually died in the mask. Even at the royal court his identity remained a mystery.

We know little about the Man in the Iron Mask, but it seems unlikely that he was, as legend suggests, the identical twin of Louis XIV. The king was quite short (although his platform shoes and high wigs gave him the illusion of height); the Man in the Iron Mask was tall. The masked prisoner's death certificate stated that he was around 45; the king was then 66.

Of course, the Man in the Iron Mask could have been a non-identical brother of the king. Still, the arguments in favor of his royal heritage tend to be rather silly. Voltaire's publisher became convinced that the Iron Mask was the son of the queen after reading that both were fond of wearing fine linen!

Many, many solutions have been proposed to the mystery of the Man in the Iron Mask. It has been suggested that he was masked to hide the fact that he was black -- or that he was actually the Woman in the Iron Mask! Most experts believe that the Iron Mask was a nobleman, or the male servant of a nobleman.

The legend of the Man in the Iron Mask continues to intrigue people to this day. His identity will probably always remain one of history's great mysteries.

 

[ElFenix]

bah, the history channel is awful! from an academic standpoint at least.

 

[MaxDepth]

Originally posted by: gopunk
easter island

Christmas Island
Fantasy Island
1000 Island

 

[Linflas]

The Lusitania

Sunk by a German submarine.

Who shot J.R?

Kristen Shepard.

How Bush got elected........

Electoral vote.

 

[LanEvoVI]

Stonehenge

 

[SuperTool]

Osama's wherebouts.