The Serial Killer Who was Friends with Joan of Arc?
Gilles de Rais ma
Joan of Arc is one of the great heroes of French history. She helped turn the tide of the Hundred Years War and allowed Charles VII to regain his claim to the French throne. With her devotion and singlemindedness, she attracted many leading figures in the French court to her side. However, one of her closest friends hid a dark secret, or did he?
Gilles de Rais was a French noble who was born around 1405. He was the baron of de Rais and held land in Anjou, Brittany, and Poitou. From 1427–1435 Gilles served as commander of the French army was a companion-at-arms with Joan of Arc in her campaign to liberate France from English rule.
Several years before, the Henry V of England had made a truce with Charles VI, which included that Henry would marry Charles’s daughter, and their child would inherit the crowns of England and France. However, Henry V died of dysentery while on campaign in France, leaving his infant son Henry VI as king. The French took advantage of this state of affairs to reinstall Charles VII.
According to the historical record, when Joan was executed by the English and their Burgundian allies in 1431, de Rais we devastated. He dedicated his vast fortune to religion and preserving the memory of his dear friend. He built the Cathedral of the Holy Innocents, which burned through much of his wealth.
Gilles de Rais was instrumental in the French victory and retired from military life in 1435. However, he quickly squandered his fortunes by staging a play on the life of Joan of Arc, which was ill-received.
In previous years he had sold off many of his lands and possessions to support his interests, much to the displeasure of his family. By late 1435 his family appealed to the king to forbid him from selling off any more property and forbid anyone from entering any contracts with him. As a result, Gilles fled his home in Orleans to escape creditors and moved to Brittany.
Around this time, de Rais took up an interest in the occult. According to court testimony, in 1438, he sent out a priest named Eustance Blanchet to contact Francois Prelati in Florence and convinced him to take up service with de Rais. Prelati was a priest and alchemist who had books about magic and the summoning of demons. With Prelati, de Rias conducted experiments to try and summon demons to increase his wealth and power.
In 1440, the true depravity of de Rais’s crimes came to light. Following the kidnapping of a priest over a minor dispute, he was arrested. During an investigation by Bishop Nantes, it was discovered that Gilles de Rias had kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered hundreds of women and children over several years. These acts were conducted as part of occult rituals according to the confessions of de Rais and his accomplice. The details of these acts are too disturbing to repeat here. Beginning in 1432, estimates range from 150 to 600 victims. Gilles de Rias was found guilty of heresy, alchemy, sodomy, sorcery, and the murder of countless women and children. In October 1440, de Rais and his accomplices were executed by hanging and burning.
Gilles de Rais has gained the moniker as the world’s first serial killer. He was the inspiration for the folktale of Bluebeard, a wealthy man who killed his wives. However, there are those that question his actual guilt.
As early as 1443, some questioned the validity of the accusations against Gilles de Rais. First, there was the timing of his trial and investigation. Allegations of his crimes were not brought up until after de Rais kidnapped a priest, and within a few months, witnesses came forward, which would be odd if he had been committing these crimes for almost a decade. There is also the fact that his family possibly wanted him out of the way to secure the vast fortune that he was squandering. Also, his confession and that of his accomplices were made under torture.
Centuries later, the Court of Cassation heard an appeal over de Rais’s conviction. In 1992 he was acquitted of his crimes. Interestingly, while the French has accepted that de Rais was innocent of his crimes, English-speaking historians still cling to his guilt. Though we may never know the whole truth, Gilles de Rais may not deserve the reputation of a historical monster.
