This is the real truth behind the historical story of The Man in the Iron Mask. Really true history. The secret revealed

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By christopheranton

The King's Prisoner.
The King's Prisoner.
Louis XIV. The Sun King.
Louis XIV. The Sun King.
The King's Mistress.
The King's Mistress.
 The greatest secret of The Vatican.   Behind this door is something amazing.
The greatest secret of The Vatican. Behind this door is something amazing.

The Man in The Iron Mask was not who most people suspect he was.

Something that is not generally known about me is that I am President of the Ancient Society of Secret Historians.
This honourable organisation was set up in Bremen in Germany in the year 1672 by a group of academicians with the aim of compiling the true, but little known, stories behind famous historical episodes and people. Perusal of their records often show that there is a surprising divergence between what is generally regarded as history today and the actual true record of what happened. As a consequence the writings of the society members over the last three and a half centuries make diverting, and often enlightening reading. It was recently decided, after a meeting of the current generation of members, to authorise me to release for publication on the internet a selection of some of the more interesting narratives, in order to dispel some of the myths that have been propagated as historical fact for too many centuries now, and to set the record straight about the characters and personalities that are regarded by many today as either the heroes or the villains of history.
I am therefore publishing here for the first time the true story of The Man in the Iron Mask. This has not been copied from Wikipedia. In fact it contains original and, hitherto, unpublished facts that undoubtedly should be of interest to the contributors to that encylopedia when they make their future revisions.

The Man in the Iron Mask was Doctor Who.

One of the most enduring mysteries that has come down to us from the great days of the reign of Louis XIV of France is the story of the Man in the Iron Mask. Much ink has been used up in retelling that famous story and there have been innumerable theories put out as to the identity of the unfortunate prisoner who was housed in a selection of french prisons around the latter half of the seventeenth century. Some have speculated that he was the twin brother of the king. Others say that he was an italian diplomat. This was the theory of the nineteenth century novelist Alexandre Dumas, who wrote about it in the last of his novels about The Three Musketeers and D,Artagnan. There is a belief that he was a french nobleman of questionable morals who was caught doing some unspeakable acts in the grounds of one of the king's castles. I can tell you here now, for the first time, that none of the popularly supposed beliefs as to his identity are correct.

They were all concocted in order to cover up the fact that the king had been caught inflagrante with one of his mistresses by that intrepid time traveller Doctor Who. It was in order to buy back his soul, so to speak that the Sun King kept the Doctor a prisoner for almost thirty years.

What happened briefly was this. Louis XIV was a very virile man. As the absolute ruler of the french nation he had many opportunities to put it about, so to speak. As a result he had many mistresses. One of his first, and most beautiful was Louise De La Valliere. History records that the lovely Louise ended her days in a convent in order to expiate the sins of her youth. What it does not tell you is the circumstances that lead up to her deciding to take the veil in the first place. I can tell you that now, and explain what influence the great Time Lord had in her life changing decision.

The story began like this. One evening when she was entertaining her royal paromour in the bedroom of her apartment at the palace, and just as they were getting down to the really interesting bit, there echoed through the room that grating noise only too familiar to the fans of science fiction television. A nineteen fifties british police telephone box suddenly appeared in the corner of the room. Of course the king and the lady both jumped out of bed, hurriedly covering their modesty with the dishevelled bedclothes. As they stared in amazement at the strange object that had disturbed their coupling, a door opened in the box and a strangely dressed man emerged. This was Doctor Who in his David Tennant incarnation. (This episode has not been shown on television as Doctor Who is scheduled for too early in the evening and it is considered that the scenes depicted are not suitable for a youthful audience).
It is said of Louis XIV that he was of a most equable temperament, and he showed his feeling on only about three occasions in a reign of seventy two years. If that is true, this definitely was a fourth. His mouth was opened so much that his lower jaw could almost have covered his modesty equally as well as the hastily grabbed bedclothes. As for Louise she just fainted. The Doctor, being a clever sort of fellow, had realised immediately where he was and who the two people were who were in the room. He was in a mischievious mood, and he decided to have some fun. So, instead of saying that he was The Doctor he immediately announced that he was an emmissary from the devil come to claim the king's soul as a punishment for his debaucheries.

The Doctor becomes The Man in the Iron Mask.

This was a foolish thing to say. You should never threaten a King of France, even if you do think it is funny at the time. Quick as a flash His Majesty recalled who he was, and called out for his guards, who, as in all good stories, were conveniently within earshot. The space and time intruder was immediately arrested. THe king told him that he could be released when he promised to give back possession of his soul, and not one moment sooner. In order to spare his jailers from any contamination that might arise from gazing on the diabolic features he further decreed that his head was to be always covered by an iron mask, except for a hole over the mouth too allow the captive to eat, and some smaller holes over the nose for breathing. The Doctor was then carted off to prison to contemplate the consequences of his "Lese Majeste". The Tardis remained where it was, although it was covered up with drapes to deflect the interest of the curious.
As Time Lords can live for many hundreds of years the thirty years or so that Doctor Who was kept as a state prisoner seemed, to him, only a few. He whiled away the time inventing the idea of the internet.

The proof this is the truth about The Man in the Iron Mask.

But he did not communicate them to the seventeenth century. He saved them for a later era. Eventually he got bored however. He sent a message to the king that he was willing to return his soul to him. The king, being an honourable man, conveyed him to the palace, and he returned to his meanderings through the ages.
That is the truth behind the story of The Man in the Iron Mask. You may not believe it, but there is proof if you are allowed to get in to see it. In the Vatican in Rome there is a very secret room. Only the Pope has the key. Each Pope must keep this key in a very secret place. The key, and the exact location of the room are disclosed only to each Pontiff on his accession to the Papal Throne. In the room is an exact lifesize copy of what is believed to be the "Box" that the emissary of the devil travelled in. It is made in cedarwood and was created by the great italian sculptor Bernini, who worked for a period in France for Louis XIV. It looks exactly like a nineteen fifties british police telephone box. When Dan Brown wrote his fictions about the Catholic Church he missed out on the one only true secret that there was. How ironic that I should be giving it to you now. He made a fortune with lies, and I tell you the truth for nothing.
A final footnote to the story is that the real reason why Louise De La Valliere entered the convent is, because the fright she got when she believed that the devil was going to take her lover to Hell, decided her to devote the rest of her life to praying so that dreadful fate could be averted. Let us hope that she succeeded.

Some scenes from the life of Louis XIV. But no Doctor Who.

Comments

SiddSingh profile image

SiddSingh 2 years ago

Great! LOL, perhaps you could shed light on some other unsolved, secret 'historical' episodes as well!

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 2 years ago

Thanks I hope to do some more. The society is currently auditing its records.There have been some disputes with some people in high places who object to the truth of their ancestors activities being revealed, but that will never stop me.

SiddSingh profile image

SiddSingh 2 years ago

That's the way to go for a true blue historian - without fear or favor!

TruthAwake profile image

TruthAwake 2 years ago

You're hilarious, i must say.

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 2 years ago

Thank you for your comment TruthAwake, but I hope you are not suggesting that there is an element of base humour in the true narrative of history. The Society of Ancient Historians have been known to sue, in the past, those who cast doubt the accuracy of their accounts.

TruthAwake profile image

TruthAwake 2 years ago

Is that legal??? LOL.

AJHargrove profile image

AJHargrove 24 months ago

The Doctor is captured so many times, it just makes sense.

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 24 months ago

You can never tell where he will pop up next.

Nellieanna profile image

Nellieanna Level 8 Commenter 20 months ago

Hahhahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 19 months ago

It,s nice that you are getting a good laugh Nellieanna.

attemptedhumour profile image

attemptedhumour Level 5 Commenter 19 months ago

Well mate being a lover of historical events i was swept along with the true, 'Man in the iron mask' eagerly awaiting this stunning revelation, until of course Dr Who came along. I felt cheated at first, but after considering the facts i decided the Doctor would bound to have a more intriguing tale and so it was, stuff that masked man. I didn't care about him when i got up this morning and i'll care less about him when i go to bed, but will i forgive you, that's the real mystery you have to unravel?

farid sami 19 months ago

i love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuU

faridsami 19 months ago

what is the name of the man in iron mask

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 19 months ago

Hi faridsami. The name of the mysterious man is Doctor Who. If you are unaquainted with the BBC television series, check this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who

I hope that helps you. Thanks for reading.

Questioner 13 months ago

It seems coincidental that you have yet another story which relates to a fictional based production (in which im referring to the Area 51 article) that you portray to be the "truth". If you are telling the truth what happened to the original 1950's telephone box that "Doctor who" arrived in? Your claims seem hard to believe.

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 13 months ago

Hi Questioner.

When Doctor Who left Versailles, he left in his Tardis.

The copy was made by Bernini, while the time traveller was in prison.

JamaGenee profile image

JamaGenee Level 8 Commenter 9 months ago

christopher, unlike attemptedhumour, I did not feel cheated when Doctor Who appeared, but marveled at how deftly you had roped me in. What a great story, and really, who's around now to say it isn't true? ;D

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 9 months ago

JamaGenee. Thanks for reading.

This was the first story that I wrote for HubPages. It still gets plenty of traffic, and people like it. I wish I could figure out what I did right with it.

JamaGenee profile image

JamaGenee Level 8 Commenter 9 months ago

Well, of course you don't. It has much to do with the Irish and Brits growing up on super-dry, too-subtle-for-Americans humor. Of being able to encase a "gotcha" in an enchanting tale so that an untrained ear won't realize until it's too late that they've been had (or insulted). Which I know now was/is a form of communication developed over several centuries by the lower classes and household staff to speak to (or about) their masters without seeming impertinent or risking dismissal.

I never knew my English great-grandparents, and their son, my grandfather, was quite elderly by the time I was born. But I must've inherited what I call their rapier wit genes, because as a child and young adult I'd tell stories to my American-born peers that I thought were knee-slapping funny, only to be met with blank stares.

This hub is a knee slapper, whether you understand why or not. ;D

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 9 months ago

Thanks JamaGenee for those encouraging words. It makes me feel that some more historical revelations need to be made soon.

JamaGenee profile image

JamaGenee Level 8 Commenter 9 months ago

Looking forward to them! :D

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 9 months ago

I shall open the archives over the weekend then.

anonymous 5 months ago

It's so far from the 'story' we've always heard - usually there are at lease SOME similarities...... that I find it very difficult to belive any of what you said. Sorry.

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 5 months ago

Hi anonymous.

You dont need to say Sorry. You are entitled to your opinion,even if you are wrong.

There are loads of similarities.

The incident happened during the reign of Louis XIV.

There was a prisoner with an iron mask.

Louise De La Valliere was involved,(at least in the Alexandre Dumas Version).

The dates are the same.

Has it never occurred to you that the various other versions might be wrong. The only thing conventional historians usually agree on is that they can not be sure who The Man in The Iron Mask was. I declared the truth. The proof is in The Vatican. You just need to get in to see it.

matt 3 months ago

With all do respect I think that this is a lot of b.s. It is hard to believe that a time traveler from the 1950s england could end up in the 17th century france. I really don't think that doctor who in the true man in the iron mask. Time travel is not possible.

christopheranton profile image

christopheranton Hub Author 3 months ago

Oddly enough, time travel is possible. Otherwise how could I have been born in 1734 and be typing this now in 2012? Of course Matt, you will answer that I must be 268 years old. But you really know that is impossible. The only thing that makes sense is that I am a time-traveler.

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