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Pierre Guerre Summary

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In Natalie Zimmon Davis' reconstruction of the famous case of identity theft in sixteenth-century France, after Martin Guerre's eight-year absence, Arnaud du Tilh arrives in the small village of Artigat in Southern France to claim the life of Martin Guerre. For three years Arnaud, also known as Pansette, is accepted by his family and friends as the authentic Martin Guerre, that is, until his dispute with his uncle and father in law Pierre Guerre over the family inheritance, essentially questioning the practices of their homeland in the Basque country. Pierre Guerre accuses Pansette of being an imposter, an accusation which results in two trials, the first is in the regional city of Rieux, where Arnaud is ruled an impostor and condemned to death.

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