The Standard Of Evidence Applied Here

This account of Marguerite de la Rocque has tried to maintain a clear distinction between what is documented and what is speculative, between what multiple early sources agree on and what single sources claim uniquely, between what is established historical fact and what is the legitimate inference of historians working with incomplete evidence.

The core narrative — abandonment, survival, deaths of companions, rescue — is established by multiple early sources and is consistent enough to be treated as historical fact.

The queen of Navarre’s account in the Heptaméron, Thevet’s account in his cosmography, and Belleforest’s account in his Histoires tragiques all agree on these basic elements.