Editing Man in the Iron Mask (section)

===Arrest and imprisonment===
[[File:Citadelle de Pignerol.jpg|thumb|left|Etching of the citadel and dungeon of Pignerol, in Piedmont, Italy ({{circa}} 1650)]]
The earliest surviving records of the masked prisoner are from 19 July 1669,{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=181}} when [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]]'s minister, the [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Marquis de Louvois]], sent a letter to [[Bénigne Dauvergne de Saint-Mars]], governor of the prison of [[Pignerol]] (which at the time was part of France). In his letter, Louvois informed Saint-Mars that a prisoner named "Eustache Dauger" was due to arrive in the next month or so.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=181}}

He instructed Saint-Mars to prepare a cell with multiple doors, one closing upon the other, which were to prevent anyone from the outside listening in.{{efn|name=nomask}} Saint-Mars was to see Dauger only once a day to provide food and whatever else he needed. Dauger was to be told that if he ever spoke of anything other than his immediate needs he would be killed, but, according to Louvois, the prisoner should not require much since he was "only a valet".{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=181–182}} Historians have noted that the name "Eustache Dauger" was written in a handwriting different from that used in the rest of the letter's text, suggesting that a clerk wrote the letter under Louvois' dictation, while someone else, very likely Louvois, added the name afterward.{{sfn|Lincoln ''Timewatch'', 1988}}

Dauger was arrested by Captain Alexandre de Vauroy, garrison commander of [[Dunkirk|Dunkerque]], on 28 July{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=184}} and taken to Pignerol, where he arrived on 24 August.{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=185}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=152}} Evidence has been produced to suggest that the arrest was actually made in [[Calais]] and that not even the local governor was informed of the event—Vauroy's absence being explained away by his hunting for Spanish soldiers who had strayed into France via the [[Spanish Netherlands]].{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=151}} The first rumours of the prisoner's identity (specifically as a [[Marshal of France]]) began to circulate at this point.