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December 1, 2017

From prestigious noble to child serial killer: Gilles de Rais

With so many serial killers sprouting during the twentieth century, the name Gilles de Rais may not ring a bell to many. Rais, however, is an interesting character, as his killings predate most known serial killers. While many serial killers from the twentieth century seem to share some similar backstories—one that involves having an abusive childhood or living with an antisocial behavior—Rais seems to be an exception. Bear in mind that we do not know everything about Rais’ childhood, since we can only find so many things about a man who lived in the early fifteenth century, but from what we do know, Rais was raised well and had a promising life. How does a man growing up having wealth, power, religious faith, nobility, and an honorable soldier status succumb to the vile temptations of sodomy and murder? The life of Gilles de Rais is as fascinating as it is horrific.

Gilles de Rais was born in 1404 and grew up in a wealthy family in northern France. At the age of eleven, he inherited an enormous amount of wealth, and his fortunes drastically increased when he married into another rich family. Given the title Baron and Lord, Rais was described as a handsome man, who was well-mannered and charismatic.1 Furthermore, he became a soldier around the age of sixteen and participated in the Hundred Years’ War as a leader in the French military.2 Later on, the king of France, King Charles VII, gave Rais the prestigious title of Marshal of France. During his time in the French military, he fought alongside the young Joan of Arc, and Rais became her chief lieutenant in the process. Being a devout Christian, Rais’ respect and admiration for Joan was immeasurable. He grew to love her, not romantically, but rather on a spiritual level.3 Having had such an unprecedented reputation up to this point, how does a nobleman like Gilles de Rais stoop to become a sadistic serial killer?

Gilles de Rais in military attire | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

This radical change in Rais started when his companion Joan of Arc was burned at the stake by her enemies in 1431. Upon hearing the news, Rais felt betrayed by both God and the Church for abandoning Joan. He truly believed his many years of worship and devotion to God had all amounted to absolutely nothing.4 Soon after Joan of Arc’s death, Rais retired from the military and returned to his castle, where he started to spend all of his wealth on extravaganzas ranging from plays, festivals, banquets and tournaments—all of which was open to the public all day long. Rais’ wealth supplied these events with a large variety of luxuries: choirs, comedians, jugglers, rich clothing for his guests and horses and even animals such as sheep and oxen that fed over 500 people on a daily basis.5 The party could only last for so long, however, as Rais’ wealth was rapidly diminishing.

Once his wealth was depleted, Rais turned to alchemy, which was the attempted practice of transmuting base metals into pure gold. Rais invested heavily into this, as he turned a good chunk of his castle into an enormous laboratory. In the process, he invited many alchemists and sorcerers around Europe to aid him. Despite their hard work, no one was successful in creating gold. One day, an Italian sorcerer by the name of Antonio Francisco Prelati approached Rais. He told Rais that he needed the help of Satan in order to succeed in making gold, which would require doing heinous acts in his name. Willing to do anything for wealth, Rais agreed. In his first act, Rais tricked a peasant boy into his castle and from there he murdered the boy and wrote down formulas and evocations using his blood. In the end, Rais was unable to summon Satan or create gold. It was in this attempted summoning that Rais developed a desire for killing. From here on out, Rais’ need to torture and kill children sadistically was far greater than his need for gold.6 This would be the start of Gilles de Rais’ killing spree—one that would take the lives of over a hundred children.

Gilles de Rais performing sorcery on his victims | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Over the course of eight years, from 1432 to 1440, Gilles de Rais—with the help of several loyal accomplices—would perform erotic torture on his victims, who were all underage children, mostly boys. The causes of death ranged from dismemberment and decapitation, to strangulation.7 One method of attracting children to Rais was to have parents hand their children over to him in exchange for money, clothing, and food. In return, the parents were led to believe that Rais would train their children to be knights or choirboys. Many of Rais’ targets were children beggars who would stop by Rais’ castle asking for food. Whenever the beggars came by, Rais would look out the window of his castle with his servants and point out the children that he wanted brought to him.8

By 1440, rumors had spread throughout the country about children going missing in the area, particularly near the castle of Champtocé: Gilles de Rais’ castle. Many people started to accuse Rais of kidnapping these children, and witnesses also came forward. These accusations became so wide-spread that the Church and authorities started to investigate. What led the Church to take action was the kidnapping of a cleric from the parochial church of Saint-Etienne-de-Mermorte. Rais had had him as a prisoner for several months, until the Church intervened. Rais and his accomplices were then arrested and put on trial.9 There had already been accusations long before Rais’ arrest, but the witnesses had been too intimidated to come forward, for fear that Rais’ men would harm them. After all, Rais was one of the most powerful men in France at the time.10 Many of the witnesses had suspected Rais to be the one responsible for the children disappearances, but had no idea as to what his motives were. One witness described one instance where Rais’ men were seen carrying away roughly forty skeletons from one of Rais’ towers.11 With so many children going missing, Rais was eventually bound to get caught.

Gilles de Rais in trial | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The trial was led by the bishop of Nantes, the chancellor of Brittany, the vicar of the Inquisition, and the president of the provincial parliament.12 At the trial, most if not all of Rais’ atrocities became known to all. He willingly confessed to all of his crimes in horrific details. Rais’ servants, such as Etienne Corrillaut, testified to some of his evil deeds. A document written at the time of the trial says: “…[Corrillaut] testified and said that while he was present and listening, he heard Gilles boast that he took greater pleasure in killing and cutting the throats of these boys and girls, in having them killed and their throats slit, in seeing them languish and die and their heads and limbs cut off one after the other and in the sight of their blood than he did abusing them sexually.13 Furthermore, Corrillaut said that Rais would put the children’s heads and limbs up on display (some of them had already been dead for several days) and show them off to his accomplices. He would even go as far as to have a beauty contest by asking his accomplices which of the deceased children were the most handsome, as he kissed their severed heads and faces. Much of the children’s corpses were later buried or cremated.14

Aside from the murders, Rais confessed to have evoked evil spirits on multiple occasions, and made pacts with demons to obtain knowledge, wealth, and power. Interestingly, Rais would offer anything to these demons with the exception of his soul. In one of these offers, Rais would present the heart, eyes, hand, and blood of a child to a demon named Barron as a sign of tribute. Rais would also visit heretics, sorcerers, and conjurers to learn about the magical arts of geomancy and necromancy—which was forbidden and seen as heresy by the Inquisition.15 Brother Jean Blouyn, vicar of the Inquisitor—present at the trial—wrote: “…Gilles, the accused, has been, was and is a heretic, an apostate, a sorcerer, a sodomite, an evoker of evil spirits, a diviner, a murderer of innocent children, a criminal, a backslider and an idolater who has deviated from the faith and who is illy disposed of it…16

Gilles de Rais and his servants seizing a child | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In total, at least 140 children died at the hands of Gilles de Rais. Some reports even say that the death count reached as high as 800. 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. Their reduced sentences may have been the result of their cooperation in testifying against Rais during the trial.18

It is easy to assume that after getting involved in occult practices, Rais became a full-blown Satanist. However, there is some speculation as to what his exact beliefs were. Despite consulting demons and performing sodomy, two years prior to his trial, Rais showed regret for all of his crimes and swore, vowed, and made a promise to God that he would never commit any more heresy and that he would travel to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to repent. Not long after, Rais relapsed, as he continued to sodomize and murder.19 There is also the fact that he was unwilling to give up his soul to the devil. Rais may have believed that by confessing to all of his sins, he would have a greater chance at being forgiven by God.20 Near the end of the trial, Rais had gotten down to his knees and begged God for mercy. In a document written at the trial, Rais told people that “as a Christian, he was their brother, and urging them and those among them whose children he had killed, for the love of Our Lord’s suffering to be willing to pray to God for him and to forgive him freely…21 Was Rais truly repenting for all of his crimes, or was this an attempt to manipulate the Inquisition? This is one question that has been left unanswered for centuries.

What remains of Gilles de Rais’ castle: Champtocé | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

One might also wonder what exactly caused Rais to commit such blasphemy? One could say that he just didn’t care about God after he blamed Him for betraying Joan of Arc. According to Rais himself, he said that the evil inside of him came from how he was born under a certain constellation and that nobody could ever understand the evil that he did.22 Several people in recent studies have proposed several theories as to what Rais’ motivations were. These theories range from Rais having an identity crisis, which led him to commit violence to ‘affirm his being,’ to him suffering from schizophrenia.23 Just like his supposed redemption, the question of what exactly motivated Rais to commit these heinous crimes remains unsolved.

In a way, Gilles de Rais was a tragic hero: one who had been raised to be well-respected and to achieve high status among the people in France to ultimately become a sadistic killer—one who’s lust for children and gold consumed his mind. Although Rais has been largely forgotten, his actions have inspired the folktale legend of Bluebeard, and is believed to have been the inspiration of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel in 1897.24

  1. The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained, 2003, s.v. “The Rise of Satanism in the Middle Ages.”
  2. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2015, s.v. “Gilles de Rais,” by Charles Avinger.
  3. The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained, 2003, s.v. “The Rise of Satanism in the Middle Ages.”
  4. The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained, 2003, s.v. “The Rise of Satanism in the Middle Ages.”
  5. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2001, s.v. “Gilles de Rais (1404-1440).”
  6. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2001, s.v. “Gilles de Rais (1404-1440).”
  7. James Penney, The World of Perversion: Psychoanalysis and the Impossible Absolute of Desire (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006), 35, 36.
  8. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil: The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 16.
  9. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil: The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 61.
  10. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2001, s.v. “Gilles de Rais (1404-1440).”
  11. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil: The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 19, 20.
  12. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, 2001, s.v. “Gilles de Rais (1404-1440).”
  13. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil : The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 87.
  14. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil : The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 15, 94.
  15. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil: The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 56, 59, 60.
  16. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil: The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 62.
  17. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2015, s.v. “Gilles de Rais,” by Charles Avinger.
  18. The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained, 2003, s.v. “The Rise of Satanism in the Middle Ages.”
  19. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil: The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 60, 61.
  20. James Penney, The World of Perversion: Psychoanalysis and the Impossible Absolute of Desire (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006), 40.
  21. James Penney, The World of Perversion: Psychoanalysis and the Impossible Absolute of Desire (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006), 60, 61.
  22. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil: The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 96.
  23. Gilles de Rais, R. de Maulge-La-Clavière, Eugène Bossard, Laughter for the Devil: The Trials of Gilles De Rais, Companion-In-Arms of Joan of Arc (1440) (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Presses, 1984), 17.
  24. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2015, s.v. “Gilles de Rais,” by Charles Avinger.

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84 comments

  • Pamela Callahan

    This was such a twisted story. It is hard to believe that anyone would even be capable of committing such horrible crimes. It makes me sad that these kinds of things actually happen in our world. Children are so innocent and their parents only wanted to help them, by sending them to Rais’ castle. Little did they know that they would never see them again. I wish that things like this would never happen in our world.

  • Madison Downing

    I know a lot about the stories from long ago and I never even heard of Rais! What a sad tale of a beautiful growing man who lost faith because Joan of Arc (who was almost seen as an angel) was killed in the name of God for doing the work of God. It was probably such an confusing time for Rais but I can’t even believe to understand why he would have to go that far. I just don’t know if a sickness can explain his actions and personally, I believe that it was the dark magic of evil that tormented him in the end.

  • Emily Jensen

    Greed is a powerful feeling, it can drive the best of men to the ground. The author was correct in assuming that I hadn’t heard of Rais, and he did a fantastic job at explaining the history of his life. Reading that his kill count could be anywhere in the 800s makes me sick to my stomach. It is hard to imagine that this man is the same one who fought alongside Joan of Ark. What an interesting person, to say the least.

  • Luis Magana

    Whenever I read of something like this it gives me the shivers especially after finding out that children were involved. The things that go through these peoples heads when doing such a thing how could they live with themselves. Gilles harmed over 140 children, what he did is horrifying. It is said that people who do such things must have a mental illness cause no person in the right mind could commit such a thing. I loved the chronological order of the article.

  • Engelbert Madrid

    Gilles de Rais was a respected French soldier at the time he fought with Joan of Arc. However, his perspective on God changed when he felt that God took the life of Joan of Arc during one of his battles. It is interesting to know that a French Christian soldier would blasphemy God’s name, because that is the sin that cannot be forgiven by God. Therefore, that might explain why he was trapped in his tormenting thoughts of killing innocent children and his impact with Satin.

  • Michael Othon

    To think that Gilles serial killings started from wanting money and ended up being a amusement shows how fast someones motive can switch. It’s sad to know that parents would sell their kids for money. He was a broken man after losing Joan. Sadly after losing touch with his faith he desired killing.

  • Megan Copeland

    It is crazy that Gilles went from so much wealth and such a high class status to a serial killer. He had everything you could have wanted back then, which leads me to believe he had a mental disorder. Crimes like these are always horrible, but the fact that he was doing them to kids makes it so much worse. This was a really cool article to read because it kind of showed us what life was like back then. The pictures the author used were good in that it showed us how they saw each other.

  • Robert Freise

    It is hard to believe that someone who became so noble and prestigious would want to act in such a horrid way towards children. Crimes that are against children are the crimes that are the definition of hell on earth. It is disgusting that Gilles harmed hundreds of children and the fact that he continued to do it like it was a disturbing and extremely unethical addiction. The article really informed the reader on Gilles life and how greed can instill wicked things in individuals minds.

  • Daniela Martinez

    I had never heard of Gilles de Rais, however, this article was highly informative. While the article mentions that not much is known about his childhood, it left me wondering if he had any experienced any traumatic events that would later trigger his behavior, not just killing, but the gender and age range of his victims. What makes this story interesting is that Gilles De Rais grew up in a wealthy environment in which he had access to virtually anything, but as addiction and darkness seeped into his life, he became a monster. It’s crazy to think that someone who was looked up to and given many prestigious titles would turn out to be someone dangerous to society.

  • Christopher Vasquez

    It’s hard to imagine that Gilles De Rais went from a noble, virtuous man to a sadistic killer. He seemed to have a dark side to him that was invoked after his intense desire for gold lead him to his first victim; after his first killing, he went on a spree to kill as many children as possible. What is more disturbing is how he viewed the dead children, often playing games by asking who he thought was the most handsome or beautiful. It is also sad to see that he felt betrayed by both God and the Church when Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Gilles De Rais was a man who needed help; his mental faculties were impaired — I would even argue that he was insane. Thinking that murdering a child to write a pact with a demon is something that is written about in books; it’s scary to think that this actually occurred in real life.

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