Editing Man in the Iron Mask (section)

===Contemporary rumours===
A week after Dauger's arrival at Pignerol, Saint-Mars wrote to Louvois (31 August 1669), reporting that the prisoner was rumoured to be a "[[Marshall of France#Louis XIV, 1643–1715|Marshall of France]] or President of ''[[The Fronde (Parlement)|Parlement]]''".{{sfn|Roux-Fazillac|2018|p=105}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=185}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=257}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|p=181}} Eight months later, Saint-Mars informed Louvois (12 April 1670) that he initiated some of these rumours himself, when asked about the prisoner: "I tell them tall tales to make fun of them."{{sfn|Roux-Fazillac|2018|p=105}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=186}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=153}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|p=182}}

A few months after Dauger was relocated to his new prison cell at the Île Sainte-Marguerite Fort in January 1687, Saint-Mars wrote to Louvois about the latest rumours (3 May 1687): "Everyone tries to guess who my prisoner might be."{{sfn|Roux-Fazillac|2018|p=116}}{{sfn|Laloy|2018|p=16}}{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|pp=117–118}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|p=66}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|p=265}} On 4 September 1687, the ''Nouvelles Écclésiastiques'' published a letter by Nicolas Fouquet's brother Louis, quoting a statement made by Saint-Mars: "All the people that one believes dead are not", a hint that the prisoner might be the [[François de Vendôme, duc de Beaufort|Duke of Beaufort]].{{sfn|Azéma|1963|p=150}}{{sfn|Brugnon|1989|p=4}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=264–266}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|pp=103–104}} Four months later, Saint-Mars reiterated this "rumour" in writing to Louvois (8 January 1688), adding: "(...) others say that he is a son of the late [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]]".{{sfn|Mongrédien|1961|p=120}}{{sfn|Noone|1988|pp=59–67, 125, 132, 147}}{{sfn|Petitfils|2004|pp=33, 191–192, 202, 215, 218, 220}}{{sfn|Fréron|1768|p=189}}