ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel Biographics Gilles de Rais: Serial-Killing Nobleman, Or Witch Hunt Victim?
Gilles de Rais was a knight who became one of the wealthiest men in France. He gained fame by fighting alongside Joan of Arc, a national hero, and was adored by the French people. However, just a few years later, he was sentenced to death for allegedly summoning a demon and murdering over a hundred children. For centuries, he was considered one of history’s first serial killers. Yet, some modern historians argue that he was framed. Was Gilles truly a child murderer, or is he one of history’s most misunderstood figures?
Born in 1405 at the family castle, Gilles de Rais lost his parents early and was raised by his grandfather, Jean de Craon. He grew up during the Hundred Years’ War, a prolonged conflict between England and France that lasted from 1337 to 1453. In this era of constant warfare, noblemen like Gilles were trained in combat by age 16.
Gilles’s fortunes rose when he rescued the Duke of Brittany, earning him land and wealth. His grandfather arranged a marriage with Catherine de Thouars, Duchess of Brittany, making them one of France’s richest couples. As a nobleman, Gilles was expected to manage his wealth wisely, but his choices soon raised eyebrows.
Joan of Arc, a 17-year-old peasant girl, convinced King Charles VII to let her lead an army to liberate Orléans from the English. Gilles de Rais, then 25, became her right-hand man. Together, they achieved victory in just nine days, becoming national heroes. Joan’s eventual capture and execution for witchcraft at age 19 left a lasting impact on France, and she was later canonized as a saint.
After retiring from military life, Gilles indulged in extravagant spending. He produced lavish plays reenacting his battles, employing hundreds of actors and providing free food for audiences. While this entertained the masses, his family was horrified by his financial recklessness.
Gilles also built a personal chapel, the Chapel of the Holy Innocents, named after a biblical story of mass child murder. This raised suspicions, but some historians argue it was a political statement against war. His family sought to control his finances, and the Duke of Brittany eventually took over his estate, selling properties to cover debts.
Rumors spread that Gilles was dabbling in alchemy and the occult, possibly even making a pact with the devil. He partnered with François Prelati, an Italian rumored to be an alchemist, and allegedly attempted to summon a demon. According to tales, Gilles lured children to his castle, where they vanished, supposedly sacrificed in satanic rituals.
Despite denials from Gilles and his servants, they were tortured into confessing to these crimes. However, no physical evidence, such as bodies or remains, was ever found. In 1440, Gilles was convicted of witchcraft and murder and executed. The Duke of Brittany and the Catholic Church gained control of his wealth.
In 1992, interest in Gilles’s case resurfaced. Some historians argued that his trial was a sham, with confessions obtained under torture and no concrete evidence. Margot Cajubico, a researcher, translated trial documents and found discrepancies, suggesting Gilles’s innocence. She held a public retrial, demonstrating that today’s standards of evidence would not convict him.
While some believe Gilles de Rais was falsely accused, others remain convinced of his guilt. His story continues to captivate and divide historians, leaving us to ponder whether he was a victim of a witch hunt or a notorious criminal.
Engage in a classroom debate where you will be divided into two groups. One group will argue that Gilles de Rais was guilty of the crimes he was accused of, while the other group will argue that he was innocent and a victim of a witch hunt. Use evidence from historical documents and modern interpretations to support your arguments.
Conduct a research project on the Hundred Years’ War to understand the historical context of Gilles de Rais’s life. Focus on the key events, figures, and outcomes of the war. Present your findings in a multimedia presentation, highlighting how the war may have influenced Gilles’s actions and reputation.
Write a creative short story from the perspective of Gilles de Rais during a pivotal moment in his life, such as his time with Joan of Arc or during his trial. Use historical facts to ground your narrative, but feel free to explore his thoughts and emotions to bring the character to life.
Watch a documentary about Gilles de Rais and his trial. After viewing, write a critical analysis discussing the documentary’s perspective on his guilt or innocence. Consider how the documentary presents evidence and whether it aligns with or challenges your understanding of the case.
Participate in a role-playing game where you will reenact the trial of Gilles de Rais. Take on roles such as Gilles, his accusers, defense attorneys, and judges. Use historical documents to guide your portrayal and explore the complexities of the trial process and the concept of justice in the 15th century.
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Gilles de Rais was a knight who became the richest man in all of France. He became famous after battling alongside Joan of Arc in the name of God and was well-loved by the French people. No one could have imagined that just a few years later he would be sentenced to death for summoning a demon and murdering over a hundred children. For hundreds of years, he was considered one of the first serial killers in recorded history. However, some modern-day historians believe that he was framed and are trying to exonerate him. So did he really kill innocent children as part of a satanic sacrifice, or is he one of the most misunderstood figures in history?
Gilles de Rais was born in his family castle, the Chamtosin, in 1405. When he was a child, his parents passed away, and he was raised by his grandfather, Jean de Craon. Gilles was born during the Hundred Years’ War, a conflict between the noble families of England and France that began in 1337 and ended in 1453, meaning that the war went on for 116 years. Multiple generations grew up in non-stop warfare; kidnapping, death, and torture became a part of normal life. Considering how dangerous it was at that time, it became mandatory for all men in noble families to be trained in combat and warfare by the age of 16.
Gilles de Rais rescued the Duke of Brittany, who had been kidnapped and taken prisoner. As a reward for saving the duke, the king awarded Gilles land grants that allowed him to acquire massive properties for free. Since he was 12 years old, Gilles’s grandfather, Jean, was already trying to arrange a marriage for him. After several attempts, Jean de Craon was able to broker an agreement with the noble families in Brittany. Since Gilles saved their duke’s life, he married Catherine de Thouars, Duchess of Brittany, who was the heiress to one of the biggest fortunes in all of France. Back then, women could not own or handle money, so estates were controlled by fathers and husbands. Marrying Catherine made them one of the richest couples in the entire country.
Nearly everyone has heard the story of Joan of Arc, but it’s important to remind you of her tale because her fate shows many parallels to Gilles de Rais. The French city of Orléans had been surrounded and captured by the English. Joan of Arc was just a 17-year-old peasant girl when she appeared before King Charles VII and requested to use his army to defeat the English and free Orléans. It’s hard to imagine how such a young woman without any noble status could have had an audience with the king, let alone get him to agree to hand over an army, but apparently, she was very convincing. Joan claimed that Michael the Archangel appeared to her in a vision and that God was on her side. She also claimed that she could miraculously heal her wounds, demonstrating before the court that even the deepest wounds would heal with the power of God.
Gilles de Rais was 25 years old at the time he became the marshal of the army and Joan of Arc’s right-hand man. In just nine days, the two of them led the army to victory for France and became national heroes and holy figures in society. The fact that they fought in the name of God and the Archangel Michael reinvigorated the Catholic faith among French citizens. It was humiliating for the English to know they were defeated by a teenage girl.
When she was just 19 years old, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundian party, a group of French noblemen spying for the English. She was taken to court in England and, in 1431, was burned at the stake for witchcraft. Her memory lived on in the hearts of the French people, and she was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. The Burgundian party managed to kill a peasant girl like Joan of Arc, but it was far more difficult to capture a well-protected noble person like Gilles de Rais. He became the marshal of France and was even richer and more powerful than before, receiving awards for winning the Siege of Orléans.
Gilles decided to retire from fighting at this point. He was still very young and had all the money in the world to do essentially whatever he wanted. Just like today, when people get a windfall of money at a very early age, they sometimes make foolish decisions on how to spend it. While sports cars and designer watches hadn’t been invented yet, he invested in several different estates. His family found these kinds of purchases acceptable, but it started to get a little crazy when Gilles began producing plays. He spent a small fortune on theatrical reenactments of his battles during the Hundred Years’ War.
Today, producing multi-million dollar Broadway plays and movies is completely normal, but back then, it was unheard of. His play had over 150 speaking roles and more than 500 extras who acted as soldiers in the battle. Six hundred different costumes were commissioned for the performance, and tailors around Orléans worked around the clock to make them. He also provided his staff and the audience with an unlimited buffet of free food, ensuring that everyone in town would show up to the performance. In his own way, he was creating jobs and making people happy by entertaining and feeding the peasant class. However, from the perspective of his family, this was horrifying. His in-laws in Brittany had spent generations saving and investing to maintain their family legacy, and it was sickening to them that this young man was practically burning cash.
Gilles began paying for his own personal chapel on his estate. This might seem strange, but it wasn’t uncommon for members of the European nobility to have their own church. This way, he could attend mass from the comfort of his own home. It was called the Chapel of the Holy Innocents, named after a verse in the Book of Matthew, where King Herod orders a mass killing of all children under two years old to prevent a prophecy from coming true. From a modern perspective, it seems rather creepy that Gilles would want a church named after a story about the murder of thousands of children, but some historians argue that it was a political statement against the ongoing war.
The Duke of Brittany appeared before the Pope, claiming that Gilles had an addiction to spending money and requested that the Pope deny his application to have the Chapel of the Innocents accepted as an official part of the Catholic diocese. The duke hoped that a rejection would be enough to stop Gilles from completing the chapel, but he went ahead and built it anyway. Even though his church did not have a real Catholic priest to say mass, Gilles officiated mass himself, which was considered extremely blasphemous. He was making a public statement that he knew he had just as much power as the king and the Catholic Church.
His family met with the king, asking for a royal decree to stop anyone from entering into a contract with Gilles. They claimed they were afraid he would spend all of his money, leaving nothing for his estate. The king agreed to allow the Duke of Brittany to take control over Gilles’s estate. The duke began making financial decisions on his behalf and completely cut Gilles off from all of his money. After reviewing his financial records, the duke told Gilles that he had spent everything he owned and was now in debt, so he began selling his properties one by one.
Later, Gilles learned that one of his favorite castles, which the duke had sold, was actually being guarded by a Catholic clergyman named Jean le Ferron, and that no one was living there at all. He was incredibly angry about this and wasn’t going to stand for the duke trying to make him both penniless and homeless. He wanted to go back inside, so he beat and kidnapped Jean le Ferron to get the new keys to the castle. Kidnapping a clergyman was a very serious crime. He eventually let the man go, but in the eyes of the noble community, it was shocking that Gilles would do such a thing.
It became clear to both the king and the pope that Gilles was not going to go down without a fight. He was so powerful that he could get away with just about anything and stay out of jail. The French people loved him for being a hero and for his generosity to the peasant classes. If he wanted to, he even had the ability to raise his own army, which was a scary thing for the powers that be.
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Now, let’s talk about the darker part of the story. Gilles’s family began circulating rumors that he had gone mad and was experimenting with alchemy. Even if this was true, alchemy was very misunderstood at the time. It wasn’t a form of witchcraft; it was an early form of chemistry. Years later, other monarchs, like Queen Elizabeth I, would hire alchemists as well. According to the rumors, Gilles was taking alchemical practices too far, venturing into the occult, and allegedly sold his soul to the devil.
He partnered with an Italian man named François Prelati, who was rumored to also be an alchemist. Some even say that the two men were in a forbidden romantic relationship and that they attempted to summon a demon named Baron, who they believed could make gold appear out of thin air. After three failed attempts, François reportedly told Gilles that to make the spell work, there would need to be a human sacrifice.
As the story goes, Gilles lured children to his castle with the promise of making them his page or squire, and parents, honored to have their son work with one of the most famous knights in the country, wouldn’t think twice about letting their son leave with a stranger. However, the boys never returned. The court claimed that he would decapitate the children, collect their heads on stakes, and ask his guests which one they thought was the most beautiful. He eventually grew tired of collecting heads and began sacrificing these children on a satanic altar, allowing the bodies to pile up and sometimes burning the corpses in the fireplace.
After being accused of worshiping Satan and killing children, Gilles and all his servants denied the claims. His friends also came forward to testify on his behalf, saying that this was all a lie and that they never saw anything like that in his castle. However, their testimonies were left out of the trial. After enduring physical torture, they finally signed confessions to a story that had been written about their crimes. Beyond these signed confessions, there was never any physical proof that any of this ever happened.
In 1440, Gilles de Rais was convicted of witchcraft and murder. He was executed on October 16 of that year. The Duke of Brittany gained control over all of his money and land, dividing it among his family. The king even gave him permission to take possession of any former land that had been sold to pay for Gilles’s debts. The Catholic Church also received a significant amount of money from this.
Some say that Gilles’s body was burned after hanging, which was the procedure for anyone accused of witchcraft. However, the Gutenberg Project, which studies various witchcraft cases throughout history, found evidence that he was actually given a Christian burial. This was kept a secret because it would prove that the clergy completely fabricated the accusations of witchcraft and devil worship.
This story was shocking and sensational among the French people. It was hard to believe that anyone could make up such a story about someone. To them, it felt like they were duped into trusting a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The story was told repeatedly and became a part of French folklore, sending the message that with enough money and power, the aristocracy can get away with anything, and that the common people must seek justice for inequality. Gilles de Rais became a symbol of victory for the peasant classes, and many people still believe to this day that the story they’ve been told is the truth.
While it’s true that Gilles confessed to the murders, it was only after being tortured and threatened with excommunication from France. They never discovered any bodies of children on his property; even if they were burned, there would still be bone fragments somewhere. All of the evidence was circumstantial and would never hold up in a court of law today.
In 1992, The New York Times reported on the possibility of reopening the case of Gilles de Rais. Many French historians became defensive about the case, insisting that he was truly an awful serial killer and that it was not possible for anyone to be falsely accused of something so horrific. For years, a woman named Margot Cajubico collected nearly every book published about Gilles de Rais. She went as far as to translate the original trial documents from Latin and read all of the biographies in both French and English. She even discovered that the transcripts were altered after the trial, changing Gilles’s testimony to sound more over-the-top and adding gruesome details to his supposed confession about slaughtering children.
Cajubico wrote her own biography on Gilles de Rais and held a public retrial on his behalf. She proved that if the same trial happened today, there would never be enough evidence to convict him of murder. For some, this was enough to officially exonerate him; for others, they will never be able to let go of the idea that Gilles de Rais was one of the worst serial killers who ever lived.
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Gilles – A reference to Gilles de Rais, a historical figure known for his association with Joan of Arc and later infamy as a convicted murderer and alleged practitioner of alchemy. – Gilles de Rais was a nobleman who fought alongside Joan of Arc but later became infamous for his gruesome crimes and trial.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – Understanding history is crucial for analyzing the social and political dynamics that shape our world today.
Witch – A person, especially a woman, who is believed to possess magical powers, often associated with historical witch trials. – The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts.
Murder – The unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. – The murder of Julius Caesar marked a pivotal moment in Roman history, leading to the rise of the Roman Empire.
Trial – A formal examination of evidence in a court, typically with a judge and jury, to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings. – The trial of Socrates is one of the most famous in history, highlighting issues of justice and democracy in ancient Athens.
Alchemy – A medieval forerunner of chemistry, concerned with the transmutation of matter, particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or find a universal elixir. – Alchemy played a significant role in the development of early modern science, despite its mystical and secretive practices.
France – A country in Western Europe with a rich history, including periods of monarchy, revolution, and republic. – The French Revolution was a period of radical social and political change in France that had a lasting impact on the country’s history.
Joan – A reference to Joan of Arc, a French heroine and saint who led the French army to victory during the Hundred Years’ War. – Joan of Arc remains a symbol of courage and faith, celebrated for her role in lifting the siege of Orléans.
Nobility – A social class normally ranked immediately below royalty, often possessing hereditary titles and privileges. – During the Middle Ages, the nobility held significant power and influence over the political and economic structures of society.
Controversy – A prolonged public dispute or debate, often concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. – The controversy surrounding the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 highlighted the tensions between the monarchy and the nobility.
