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Apr 3, 2024 · Gilles de Rais was a Breton baron, marshal of France, and man of wealth whose distinguished career ended in a celebrated trial for Satanism, abduction, and child murder. His name was later connected with the story of Bluebeard. At an early age Rais distinguished himself militarily, fighting first.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Gilles de Rais (c. 1405 – 26 October 1440), Baron de Rais, was a knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army during the Hundred Years' War, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc.
Today, though, those achievements can only be seen in the shadow of the secret life he led as the perpetrator of more than a hundred gruesome child murders, a rampage which made him arguably the first serial killer in recorded history. The early life of Gilles de Rais was marked by tragedy.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jan 9, 2024 · The trial, filled with lurid details and damning testimony, captivated the public imagination and cemented his legacy as history’s first documented serial killer. Despite his attempts to mount a defense, Gilles de Rais was ultimately convicted and met a grim fate at the hands of the executioner.
- Gilles de Rais Had A Troubling Childhood
- Becoming A Hero
- Gilles de Rais and His Crimes
- The Trial and Execution of Gilles de Rais
- Gilles de Rais’s Contested History
It’s logical to start our exploration of the life of Gilles de Rais with his childhood because he was introduced to death and tragedy very early on. At just ten years old, he witnessed his father die in a hunting accident where a wild boar gored him. Then, just a few months later, his mother died. Suddenly an orphan, that meant that left Gilles de ...
Gilles de Rais may have been a terrible father, but if there was one thing he was good at, it was fighting and killing. Before he withdrew to his country estate and began his murderous spree, Gilles de Rais was best known for his heroism during the Hundred Years’ War. Crucially, he was with Joan of Arc at the siege of Orleans, a turning point in th...
If there is a high water mark to Gilles de Rais’ career, it would be when he assisted Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years’ War. Conversely, her death marked the beginning of a downward descent that would end with his brutal killing spree and eventual hanging in 1440. According to court documents, Gilles de Rais carried out the systematic abduction...
It may seem strange that Gilles de Rais was originally charged with assaulting a priest rather than for the cruel murders that so many peasants attributed to him. But in the late medieval period, nobles enjoyed a level of privilege that largely protected them from the denunciations of peasants. If Gilles de Rais had never assaulted the noble priest...
From reading the trial transcripts on their own, it’s difficult to come away with any other conclusion than that Giles de Rais was a psychopathic serial killer. But some historians have questioned the validity of his trial. For one thing, the Duke of Brittany, who had overseen the secular phase of the trial, acquired the legal titles to Gilles de R...
Apr 6, 2024 · On October 26, 1440, Gilles de Rais faced the ultimate punishment – death by hanging and subsequent burning. The once celebrated war hero and companion of Joan of Arc met his end in a public execution that shocked the medieval world.
Jun 2, 2017 · Instead, Gilles de Rais ou la Gueule de Loup made the case that Rais was innocent—Prouteau also called for a retrial. A Court of Cassation, the highest court of appeals in France, was...
