Infamous Characters Of The Medieval Period: Part Two: Gilles De Rais
by A short article about Gilles de Rais.
Great hero or infamous murderer.
France 1440
Gilles de Rais is known to history as a deranged French aristocrat, guilty of crimes so terrible they are difficult to contemplate. The great irony is that Rais was one of France’s greatest heroes before he became its most despicable villain. Raised to be a knight, he was a soldier in the closing phases of France’s Hundred Years’ War with England and a great favorite of Joan of Arc. He was Joan’s most trusted lieutenant and played a crucial part in her greatest victories. He was so appreciated by King Charles VII that, at the age of 25, he was named Marshall of France. In 1431, after Joan of Arc’s capture and execution, Rais left the battlefield and returned to his estates in Brittany.
Rais now revealed a dark side that led him and his servants to capture, sodomize, mutilate and decapitate hundreds of young children, mostly boys, living on his estates.
When low on funds, he was forced to sell off parts of his estate. It was when he arrogantly refused to turn over a castle to the new owner, but instead callously killed him, and that he came to the attention of the Bishop of Nantes. Rais was investigated under authority of the Duke of Brittany who had designs on acquiring the Rais lands.
The mutilated bodies of over 50 children were found in the tower of his castle and, under threat of torture and excommunication, Rais finally admitted to having killed 140 children, although 300 was a more likely number. On October 26, 1440, Rais was executed by being simultaneously hanged and burned. His accomplices were burned alive.
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Post Commentceegirl
On March 17, 2011 at 3:33 pm
great share
Sheila Barnhill
On March 17, 2011 at 7:03 pm
They should have tortured that putz first to show him how it felt.
N. Sun
On March 17, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Being burned while hanged was too good a death for this man. I don’t want to wish too creal a death on him, but I say that he should’ve been quartered instead.
Will Dee
On March 17, 2011 at 10:18 pm
Interesting yet shocking history I was unaware of this individual.
HatedNation
On March 18, 2011 at 2:18 am
Very cool read.
CHIPMUNK
On March 18, 2011 at 3:28 am
good one
Erin Miller
On March 18, 2011 at 4:04 am
And this guy was Joan of Arc’s most trusted Liutenant. It really makes you wonder…
DemonDogZack
On April 19, 2011 at 9:23 pm
This is what started catholic priests into molesting little boys. Michael Jackson should have been a priest. He might have lived longer.
kurt penberg
On May 24, 2011 at 3:22 am
it is very nice post…so very nice information to in this blog……
dissertations
On June 3, 2011 at 8:02 pm
Excellent post and a very good blog. Thanks for the informative article. Thanks, Steve
Dissertations | Essays
Ahmet
On August 11, 2011 at 10:28 am
Thank you for such a nice post.
NGOs working for women empowerment in Noida
On December 5, 2011 at 7:03 am
Nice post!!i like all the stuff that you provide…really thanks for sharing..
NGOs working for women empowerment in Noida
Margot K Juby
On April 12, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Don’t believe everything you read. There were no bodies found, and no evidence that children had gone missing. It was an Inquisition trial: all “evidence” was produced under torture or the threat of torture. The judges were pro-English, so political enemies of de Rais with an interest in smearing his name, and stood to gain from the confiscation of his estates. Eighteen months after his death, Charles VII of France said that he had been “unjustly condemned”.
In 1992 Gilles de Rais was re-tried by a Court of Cassation – and found not guilty.