Inigo Montoya

Inigo Montoya is a character in William Goldman's 1973 novel The Princess Bride. In Rob Reiner's 1987 film adaptation he was portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. In both the book and the movie, he resided in the fictional country of Florin but came from Spain. Note that while the common Spanish name is spelled "Íñigo", the name in the book is consistently spelled "Inigo".

Character background

In The Princess Bride, Inigo Montoya is portrayed as a Spanish fencer and assistant to the Sicilian criminal Vizzini. Inigo's father Domingo was a great swordmaker, but he remained obscure because he disliked dealing with the rich and privileged. When Count Rugen, a nobleman with a six-fingered right hand, asked him to forge a sword to accommodate his unusual grip, Domingo poured his heart and soul into the project. When Rugen returned, he reneged on his promised price. Thus, Domingo refused to sell him the sword, not as a matter of money, but because Count Rugen could not appreciate the great work of the sword. He proclaimed that the sword would now belong to Inigo. Angered, Rugen killed Domingo. Eleven-year-old Inigo witnessed the crime and challenged Rugen to a fight, wherein Rugen easily disarmed Inigo, spared his life and allowed him to keep the sword, but scarred his face as a deterrent to further displays of bravery.

Devastated by the loss of his father, Inigo devoted himself to becoming a great swordsman to be able to avenge his father. His training started the...
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