“I should have liked to be called Prince de Monbart”: On the Problem of Identifying the Reference

The article considers a series of possible allusions implied by the nameof “prince de Montbard” in Captain Lebyadkin’s monolog in The Devils. The articleanalyzes the traditional reference to the allegedly historical figure of the buccaneerMonbars (or Montbars) presumably featured in several adventure novels. We pointout that the buccaneer Montbars probably never existed; we consider the novel byJean-Baptiste Picquenard traditionally cited as a work about the historical Montbarsand several novels by Gustave Aimard (published in Russian translations by thetime Dostoevsky started working on The Devils). In all those novels, the hero calledMontbars is either unrelated to the alleged prototype or is given a fictional biography.The literary allusion to Montbars is important both as an assertion of Lebyadkin’sRomantic ambitions and as an indication of his social ambitions and his dissatisfactionwith his own personality that he would like to replace with another’s, for whichpurpose he aptly selects a provisionally real Montbars. The article also considers apossible historical allusion to André de Montbard, one of the founders of the Order ofthe Temple. This allusion is connected to the accusations against the Knights Templarwho had been charged with apostasy. The article also considers the meaning of thetitle “prince” and its political and religious connotations that go far beyond romanticadventure-seeking. The ultimate conclusion is that it is hardly possible and necessaryto determine some singular and unequivocal literary or historical reference. Therange of meanings implied by the name of “prince de Montbard” generally fits in theoverall concept of The Devils as a novel about metaphysical imposture that includesthe comical Captain Lebyadkin among potential impostors.