Bénigne d'Auvergne de Saint-Mars was a French
prison governor
The warden ( US, Canada) or governor ( UK, Australia), also known as a superintendent (US, South Asia) or director (UK, New Zealand), is the official who is in charge of a prison.
Name
In the United States and Canada, warden is the most commo ...
in the late 17th and early 18th century. He is best known as the apparent keeper of the
Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask (French ; died 19 November 1703) was an unidentified prisoner of state during the reign of King Louis XIV of France (1643–1715). Warranted for arrest on 28 July 1669 under the pseudonym of "Eustache Dauger", he wa ...
. According to letters written by Saint-Mars to various officials and ministers of France, he had in his custody a prisoner of State, whom he carried with him from
Pinerolo
Pinerolo (; pms, Pinareul ; french: Pignerol; oc, Pineròl) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary be ...
to the
Lérins Islands
The Lérins Islands (in french: les Îles de Lérins, ) are a group of four Mediterranean islands off the French Riviera, in Cannes. The two largest islands in this group are the Île Sainte-Marguerite and the Île Saint-Honorat. The smaller ...
, and later to the
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...
.
From 1665 to the spring of 1681, Saint-Mars was the Officer-in-Charge of the ''
donjon
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
'' (the main tower) of the fortress Pinerolo (in French
Pignerol
Pinerolo (; pms, Pinareul ; french: Pignerol; oc, Pineròl) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary ...
, 40 kilometers WSW of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, Italy), which then belonged to France. Saint-Mars acted as governor of the nearby fortified castle of
Exilles Exilles (Occitan: ''Eissilhas''; nonstandard Occitan: ''Isiya''; Piedmontese: ''Isiles''; Latin: ''Excingomagus'' or ''Scingomagus''; Italianization under Italian Fascism: ''Esille'') is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Itali ...
from 1681.
In 1687, Saint-Mars became the governor of two islands,
Île Sainte-Marguerite
The Île Sainte-Marguerite () is the largest of the Lérins Islands, about half a mile off shore from the French Riviera town of Cannes. The island is approximately in length (east to west) and across.
The island is most famous for its fortr ...
and
Île Saint-Honorat
The Île Saint-Honorat is the second largest of the Lérins Islands, about off shore from the French Riviera town of Cannes. The island is approximately in length (East to West) and wide.
Since the fifth century, the island has been home to ...
, in the
gulf
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
of
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
(these islands are now called the Lérins Islands) until 1698. At that time he became governor of the
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...
in Paris, a post he held until his death on 18 September 1708.
References
1626 births
1708 deaths
French prison administrators
Man in the Iron Mask
Commanders of the Bastille
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