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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.
- 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?
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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 ...
Learn how Gilles de Rais, a 15th-century French nobleman and war hero, became a notorious serial killer who raped and murdered over 100 children in occult rituals. Discover his early life, his military career, his trial and execution, and his connection to the folktale of Bluebeard.
Learn about the life and crimes of Gilles de Rais, a Breton nobleman and a comrade of Joan of Arc who confessed to killing more than 100 children. Find out how he was tried, executed, and remembered in history.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Learn about the life and crimes of Gilles de Rais, a former companion of Joan of Arc who murdered over 100 children in the 15th century. Discover how his evil deeds inspired the fairytale Bluebeard and how he was executed in 1440.
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.
