Gilles de Rais (also spelled Retz) (September 10, 1404 РOctober 26, 1440) was a French noble, soldier, and one time brother-in-arms of Joan of Arc, but is perhaps best known as a prolific serial killer. Image File history File links Gilles_de_rais. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events June 14 - Owain Glyndwr of Wales allies with the French against the English and the Henry of Lancaster. ... Machecoul is a commune of the Loire-Atlantique d̩partement in France. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For alternative meanings, see number 1440. ... A serial killer is defined as a person who murders three or more people, in three or more separate events over a period of time. ... For other uses, see number 1435. ... For alternative meanings, see number 1440. ... is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For alternative meanings, see number 1440. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events June 14 - Owain Glyndwr of Wales allies with the French against the English and the Henry of Lancaster. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For alternative meanings, see number 1440. ... For other uses, see Joan of Arc (disambiguation). ... Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ...

He is distinguished also by his integration of his daily prayers with his nightly crimes, both of them being for him a path to ecstasy.^[1]His name Gilles has lineages of both French Scottish(http://search.swyrich.com/searchresults.asp?licensee=8507&Surname=gilles&searchType=both).

Early years

Gilles was born in Machecoul, near the border of Brittany. His father was Guy de Montmorency-Laval, who had inherited, via adoption, the fortunes of Jeanne de Rais and Marie de Craon. Gilles inherited the barony of Rais in the peerage-duchy of Rais (now spelled Retz). He was an intelligent child, learning fluent Latin. After the death of his parents circa 1415, he was put under the tutelage of his godfather, Jean de Craon. Machecoul is a commune of the Loire-Atlantique département in France. ... Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ... For other uses, see Adoption (disambiguation). ... Various rulers or governments of Europe, of Japan bestow or recognise the title of baron. ... For other uses, see Peerage (disambiguation). ... A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. ... For other uses, see Latins and Latin (disambiguation). ...

In 1420 he found himself at the court of the Dauphin, claimant to the crown of France. Jean de Craon sought to marry Gilles off to the heiress Jeanne de Paynol; but this was unsuccessful. Jean de Craon then attempted to join his young charge with Beatrice de Rohan, niece of the Duke of Brittany, again with no success. Eventually he was able to substantially increase Gilles' fortune by marrying him off to Catherine de Thouars of Brittany, heiress of La Vendée and Poitou, but only after first kidnapping her? Later stories connecting Gilles with the mythical wife-murderer Bluebeard may have stemmed from the fact that two of several previous marriage schemes were thwarted by the death of the intended bride. Coat of Arms of the Dauphins of France. ... See Rohan (disambiguation) for other uses of the word. ... Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ... Vendée is a département in west central France, on the Atlantics Bay of Biscay. ... Coat of arms of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, Plantagenet claimant to the county of Poitou, now favored as the coat of arms of Poitou by people in Poitou Poitou was a province of France whose capital city was Poitiers. ... For other uses, see Bluebeard (disambiguation). ...

Gilles de Rais took the side of the Montfort Dukes of Brittany against a rival house led by Olivier de Blois, Count of Penthievre, who took John VI, Duke of Brittany prisoner. He was able to secure the Duke's release, and was rewarded with generous land grants which the Breton parliament converted to monetary gifts. Coat of Arms of the Dukes of Brittany, and of the region Brittany John VI the Wise (in breton, Yann V ar Fur, in french this would be Jean VI but French accounting, influenced by the French view of the Breton War of Succession, makes him Jean V le Sage... The House of Representatives Chamber of the Parliament of Australia in Canberra. ...

Military career

The coat of arms of Gilles de Rais.

From 1427 to 1435, Rais served as a commander in the Royal Army, and in 1429 fought along with Joan of Arc in some of the campaigns waged against the English and their Burgundian allies. Although a few authors have tended to exaggerate the position he held during the latter campaigns, surviving bursary records show that he only commanded a personal contingent of some 25 men-at-arms and 11 archers, and was one of many dozens of such commanders.^[2] Nor did he serve as Joan of Arc's bodyguard, a position actually held by Jean d'Aulon. Rais' greatest honor during these campaigns came when he joined three other commanders in holding the quasi-ceremonial title of Maréchal, a subordinate position under the Royal Connétable. This honor was granted him at the coronation of Charles VII on July 17, 1429. Image File history File links Blason-gilles-de-rais. ... Image File history File links Blason-gilles-de-rais. ... For other uses, see Joan of Arc (disambiguation). ... Burgundian is either of the following; An extinct language of the Germanic language group spoken by the Burgundians. ... He served as Joan of Arcs bodyguard, a position which is often given to Giles De Rais. ... The Constable of France (French connétable de France, from Latin comes stabulari for count of the stables), as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor) and Commander in Chief of... Charles VII the Victorious, a. ... is the 198th day of the year (199th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 10 - Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, founds the European Order of the Golden Fleece February 12 - Battle of Rouvray (or of the Herrings). English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army of William de la Pole, 4th Earl of Suffolk at...

In 1435 Gilles retired from military service to his estates, promoting theatrical performances and exhausting the large fortune he had inherited. It was during this period that, according to trial testimony given by Rais and his accomplices, he began to experiment with the occult under the direction of a man named Francesco Prelati, who promised Rais that he could help him regain his squandered fortune by sacrificing children to a demon called "Barron;" however, this story may have been encouraged at his trial as a contemporary attempt to find a rational explanation for the crimes he committed. For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ... Human sacrifice is the act of killing a human being for the purposes of making an offering to a deity or other, normally supernatural, power. ... “Fiend” redirects here. ...

Investigation and execution

On May 15, 1440, Gilles kidnapped a clergyman named Jean le Ferron during a dispute at the Church of Saint-Étienne-de-Mer-Morte. This prompted an investigation by the Bishop of Nantes, during which the investigators uncovered evidence of Gilles' crimes. On July 29, the Bishop released his findings, and subsequently obtained the prosecutorial cooperation of Rais' former protector, the Duke of Brittany. On August 24, Jean le Ferron was freed by Royal troops led by Arthur de Richemont. Rais and his accomplices were arrested on September 15, following a secular investigation which paralleled the findings of the Bishop of Nantes' earlier investigation. Rais' prosecution would likewise be conducted by both secular and ecclesiastical courts, on charges which included murder, sodomy, and heresy. is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For alternative meanings, see number 1440. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... The French Catholic diocese of Nantes consists of the department of Loire-Atlantique. ... Arthur III (August 24, 1393 – December 26, 1458), known as the Justicier and as Arthur de Richemont, was Lord of Parthenay and titular Count (Earl) of Richmond in England and, for eleven months at the very end of his life, Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort after inheriting those... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... An ecclesiastical court (also called Court Christian) is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. ... François Elluin, Sodomites provoking the wrath of God, from Le pot pourri de Loth (1781). ... For other uses, see Heresy (disambiguation). ...

The extensive witness testimony convinced the judges that there were adequate grounds for establishing the guilt of the accused. After Rais admitted to the charges on October 21, the court canceled a plan to torture him into confessing. The transcript, which included testimony from the parents of many of the missing children as well as graphic descriptions of the murders provided by Rais' accomplices, was said to be so lurid that the judges ordered the worst portions to be stricken from the record. In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ...

The precise number of Gilles' victims is not known, as most of the bodies were burned or buried. The number of murders is generally placed between 80 and 200; a few have conjectured numbers upwards of 600. The victims ranged in age from six to eighteen and included both sexes.

On October 23, the secular court condemned Rais' accomplices, Henriet and Poitou. On October 25, the ecclesiastical court handed down a sentence of excommunication against him, followed on the same day by the secular court's own condemnation of the accused. After tearfully expressing remorse for his crimes, Rais obtained rescindment of the Church's punishment and was allowed confession, but the secular penalty remained in place. Gilles de Rais, Henriet, and Poitou were hanged at Nantes on October 26, 1440. Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. ... People feel remorse when reflecting on their actions that they believe are wrong. ... As a Christian ecclesiastical term, Catholic—from the Greek adjective , meaning general or universal[1]—is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as follows: ~Church, (originally) whole body of Christians; ~, belonging to or in accord with (a) this, (b) the church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or... This article is about death by hanging. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For alternative meanings, see number 1440. ...

Controversy

This section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (September 2007)

Some believe that Gilles de Rais was framed for murder and heresy by elements within the Church as part of an ecclesiastic plot to expropriate his lands.Ή This theory is considered highly doubtful by most historians, since the Church itself stood little chance of acquiring the properties. Title to the lands was ultimately transferred to the Duke of Brittany, who in turn divided them among nobles including Arthur de Richemont. Moreover, the guilty verdict was based on the detailed eyewitness accounts of his confederates and the testimony of his victims' parents, which amounted to substantial proof of the final verdict.^[3] Any plot to dispossess Rais of his lands would have had to involve a number of his confederates, and the unlikely complicity of many secular and Church officials. In fact, the Duke of Brittany, who had the most to gain from such a plot, was for a long time Rais's protector and counselor; only after the results of two damning investigations did he consent to participate in Rais’ prosecution. Coat of arms of the Dukes of Brittany from 1312; described by one of the few known one-word blazons in existence, simply Ermine. ... Coat of Arms of the Dukes of Brittany, and of the region Brittany Arthur III (in breton Arzhur III) (August 24, 1393 – December 26, 1458), known as the Justicier and as Arthur de Richemont, was Lord of Parthenay and titular Count (Earl) of Richmond in England and, for eleven months...

Anthropologist Margaret Murray and occultist Aleister Crowley are among those who have questioned the account of the ecclesiastic and secular authorities involved in the case. Murray, in her book The Witch-Cult of Western Europe (pp. 173-74), speculated that Rais was a witch and adherent of a fertility cult centered on the pagan goddess Diana. According to Murray, "Gilles de Rais was tried and executed as a witch and, in the same way, much that is mysterious in this trial can also be explained by the Dianic Cult." ^[4] This article is about the social science. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ... Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley, (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947, pronounced ) was a British occultist, writer, mountaineer, philosopher, poet, and yogi. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Witchcraft. ... Fertility rites are religious rituals that reenact, either actually or symbolically, sexual acts and/or reproductive processes. ... A head of Minerva found in the ruins of the Roman baths in Bath Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... The Diana of Versailles In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt, in literature the equivalent of the Greek goddess Artemis, though in cult she was Italic in origin. ...

Mainstream historians reject Murray's theory; as Hugh Trevor-Roper put it ^[5] "The fancies of the late Margaret Murray need not detain us. They were justly, if irritably, dismissed by a real scholar as ‘vapid balderdash’ (C.L. Ewen, Some Witchcraft Criticisms, (1938)." Other historians who have taken issue with Murray's claims include Jeffrey Russell (who said her theories were "riddled with fallacies" ^[6]), Jacqueline Simpson ^[7], Ronald Hutton, ^[8], G. L. Kitteredge, ^[9] Norman Cohn, ^[10] Keith Thomas ^[11] and Georges Bataille (e.g., The Trial of Gilles de Rais). They argue that her theory does not agree with what is known of Rais's crimes and trial. Professional historians generally do not regard either Rais or Joan of Arc as martyrs to an antiquated religion; recent scholars tend to view Joan as a devout Catholic convicted on political grounds by a pro-English court, and Rais as a pious Catholic^[12] who descended into crime and depravity.^[13] Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (January 15, 1914 – January 26, 2003) was a notable historian of Early Modern Britain and Nazi Germany. ... For other uses, see Martyr (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Most prolific murderers by number of victims

This is a list of the most prolific recorded murderers by confirmed number of victims. ...

Cultural Influence

Film

The film Dracula II: Ascension, a sequel to Dracula 2000, (where it is revealed that Dracula is in fact Judas Iscariot) depicts a Dracula who has survived for centuries by adopting the identities of many famous (or legendary) historical personages. Dracula mentions to Elizabeth Blaine [Diane Neal] (who stole his body along with her co-worker Luke [Jason London], from the New Orleans city morgue in an attempt to revive him) that Gilles de Rais was one of his identities. Dracula 2000 (also known as Dracula 2001 in some countries) is a horror movie which attempts to transfer the story of Dracula into the setting of a modern teen horror film. ...

Famed Spanish horror film screenwriter/star Paul Naschy made a film loosely based on Gille de Rais' life in 1975, entitled "EL MARISCAL DEL INFIERNO", and claims his fictional horror character Alaric de Marnac was somewhat based on the infamous historical figure as well. (See Wikipedia entry on "Paul Naschy")

Music

The Cradle of Filth song Lord Abortion that appears on the album titled Midian contains his name: "My ambition is to slay anon, A sinner in the hands of a dirty God Who lets Me prey, a Gilles De Rais Of light where faith leads truth astray" Cradle of Filth are a heavy metal band formed in Suffolk, England in 1991. ... In the Bible, Midian (Hebrew: מִדְיָן, Standard Midyan Tiberian ; Arabic مدين; Strife; judgment) is a son of Abraham and his concubine Keturah (who according to midrash is Hagar). ...

The song "Into Crypts of Rays" by Celtic Frost from the album Morbid Tales is a song about the crimes,atrocities committed by Gilles de Rais that lead to his eventual death.

Video Games

Gilles de Rais is portrayed in the video game Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War, in which his character wields dual swords, and is seen as the protector of Joan de Arc.

Gilles de Rais is portrayed in the video game Jeanne D'Arc, in which he wields a lance, and is seen as a comrade of Jeanne D'Arc. Jeanne dArc is an upcoming Strategy RPG by Level 5 for the PlayStation Portable. ...

Gilles de Rais also appeared in Castlevania 64 and Legacy of darkness in 1999 in wich he was portrayed as the lord of the castle before it's taken over by Dracula, Gilles is then turned into a vampire and swear allegiance to his new master.

References

• Bataille, Georges. The Trial of Gilles de Rais Amok Books. ISBN 978-1-878923-02-8
• Benedetti, Jean. Gilles de Rais. Stein and Day. ISBN 978-0-8128-1450-7
• Bordonove, Georges. Gilles de Rais. Pygmalion. ISBN 978-2-85704-694-3
• Cebrián, Juan Antonio. El Mariscal de las Tinieblas. La Verdadera Historia de Barba Azul. Temas de Hoy. ISBN 978-84-8460-497-6 (Spanish)
• Genet, Jean. The Thief's Journal, p.45. Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3014-3
• Huysmans, Joris K. La Bas (Down There). Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-22837-2
• Hyatte, Reginald. Laughter for the Devil: The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440). Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. ISBN 978-0-8386-3190-4
• Morgan, Val. The Legend of Gilles De Rais (1404-1440) in the Writings of Huysmans, Bataille, Plancon and Tournier (Studies in French Civilization, 29) Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 978-0-7734-6619-7
• Nye, Robert. The Life and Death of My Lord, Gilles de Rais. Time Warner Books. ISBN 978-0-349-10250-4
• Wolf, Leonard. Bluebeard: The Life and Times of Gilles De Rais. Potter. ISBN 978-0-517-54061-9
• Hubert Lampo, De duivel en de maagd, 207 p., Amsterdam, Meulenhoff, 1988 (11e druk), ISBN 9029004452 (1e druk: ’s-Gravenhage, Stols, 1955).
• Hubert Lampo, Le Diable et la Pucelle, 163 p., Presses universitaires du Septentrion, 2002, ISBN 2-85939-765-5 (traduction française de De duivel en de maagd).

Notes

External links

• Gilles de Rais
• De Rais at the Crime Library
• French Web Site: Musée du Pays de Retz (This site includes the story of de Rais's life as well as photos of his castles, seal and trial documents)
• The Book of Were-wolves (Chapters XI to XIII contain an abridged, yet somewhat detailed version of de Rais's trial.)