The Return of Martin Guerre

In this chapter, Davis describes the unhappy conditions in which Martin may have found himself before and during his marriage to Bertrande de Rols. She explains that Martin was unable to consummate his marriage to Bertrande, which “may not have been the first of Martin’s misfortunes” (19). Before his marriage at age fourteen, Martin lived in a household of mostly women, which might have made it difficult for him to relate to the boys his age in Artigat. As well, Martin may have encountered some more significant social problems. Martin’s early years took place in the Basque country, which means that the French language may have been a challenge for him, and he also had the problem of his name: Martin was an unusual name for this part of France, and one that the locals used to refer to animals.

Witchcraft, or “a sorceress jealous of the Guerres and their fine alliance with the Rols or the agent of a jealous man or woman” (21), was generally blamed for Martin’s problems in the marriage bed. Davis explains that the beliefs of the times would have assumed that “once a boy had his pubic hair, the pricks of the flesh were thought to start naturally” (20), so no one anticipated Martin’s troubles. After eight years and some advice from “an old woman ‘appeared suddenly as if from heaven’” (21), Martin and Bertrande consummated. A son was soon born, and they named him Sanxi after Martin’s father.

Even after his son’s birth, Martin continued to struggle. Davis explains: “His precarious sexuality after years of impotence, his household of sisters who would soon be marrying, his position as heir, now underscored by the arrival of his son Sanxi, he wanted none of it.” (21) But Martin had few options. Going back to the Basque country would offer him a life of “the sea and whaling ships” (22), and further afield in the Pyrenees, the only possibility was to work amongst the “shepherds with their flocks” (22). Neither option suited Martin nor his father, nor did the possibility of going to university, or to war. But, in 1548, when baby Sanxi was only a few months old and Martin was 24, he “‘stole’ a small quantity of grain from his father” (24) and because “theft was unpardonable by the Basque code, especially if done within the family” (24), Martin was now “in an impossible situation” (24). So, he left Artigat, deserting his family, and “he left his patrimony, his parents, his son, and his wife—and not one word was heard from him for many years” (24).

Davis states that Martin went to Burgos, Spain and worked for Francisco de Mendoza, a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He lived in Burgos “with a sword and in the livery of one of the greatest houses of Spain” (26) and eventually, he served Francisco’s brother, Pedro. Martin accompanied Pedro into the Spanish army and “became part of the force that Philip II would use against the French at Saint-Quentin” (26). On August 10, 1557, Martin was shot in the leg, which was later amputated and replaced with a wooden leg.