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Death by hanging. 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. He is best known for his reputation and later conviction as a confessed serial killer of children.
Apr 3, 2024 · Gilles de Rais (born September/October 1404, Champtocé, France—died October 26, 1440, Nantes) 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.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The Early Life of Gilles de Rais
- From War Hero to Demonic Murderer
- The Trial and Execution of Gilles de Rais
- Was Gilles de Rais A Serial Killer?
Gilles de Rais was born Gilles de Montmorency-Laval in 1404 in Champtocé-sur-Loire, France. The son of nobles, he was raised in the area of Rais, in the western French region of Brittany. He was a bright child who wrote illuminated manuscripts, learned military tactics, and spoke fluent Latin. Tragedy struck when de Rais was 10 years old and his fa...
Historical accounts described Gilles de Rais as a fearless and capable fighter. He solidified his status in 1429 when the dauphin, who would later become King Charles VII of France, ordered him to watch over Joan of Arc on the field. As her official protector, de Rais had significant responsibility and rose to the occasion. The two fought bravely i...
When secular lawmen interviewed Gilles de Rais’ servants, they admitted to abducting children for him and that he would masturbate on and molest the boys before cutting off their heads. Two French clerics testified de Rais engaged in alchemy and was obsessed with the dark arts — and that he used the limbs of victims for his rituals. Several servant...
While his guilt had been universally accepted for centuries — and Gilles de Rais even inspired the 1697 “Bluebeard” fairytale — some experts have come to question his guilt. Historian Margot K. Juby, the author of The Martyrdom of Gilles de Rais, believes the threat of torture was so daunting that de Rais confessed regardless of guilt, or possibly ...
Le Procès Inquisitorial de Gilles de Rais, Maréchal de France, Paris, 1921. Even if there had been nothing else unusual about the Breton nobleman Gilles de Rais (1404–40), his outstanding career as a soldier in the Hundred Years’ War and as a comrade in arms of Joan of Arc would have been enough to guarantee his place in history.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Gilles de Rais was a French nobleman who murdered over 100 children before being imprisoned and executed on October 26, 1440. His evil deeds made him the inspiration for the dark French fairytale Bluebeard, a story about a nobleman who uses his power and privilege to seduce and kill a series of wives. In the fairytale, the villain’s seventh ...
In the end, Rais was sentenced to death by hanging, followed by burning, on October 26, 1440. 17 And so came to an end the life of Gilles de Rais, who was executed at the age of 35. Surprisingly, Antonio Francisco Prelati, the sorcerer who evoked demons for Rais, and several others only served a few months in prison.
Gilles de Rais and his coconspirators went to the gallows on October 26, 1440. Prior to his execution, Gilles gave a lengthy sermon to the large crowd gathered for the event on the evils of uncontrolled youth. He admitted his sins to the crowd, exhorted them to raise their children in a strict manner and be faithful to the Church.
