In other areas, though, de Rais’s murderous predilections may have become something of an open secret-it came out during his trial, for instance, that witnesses had seen his servants disposing of the bodies of dozens of children at one of his castles in 1437-but the families of the victims were restrained by fear and low social status from taking action against him. De Rais wasn’t arrested until September 1440, when he kidnapped a priest after a dispute that was unrelated to the murders. Because it was common for young boys to be permanently separated from their parents if they were taken on by nobles as servants or pages, some of his victims’ parents would have been truly unaware of their children’s fates. Children had gone missing in the areas around de Rais’s castles, and many of the disappearances seemed to be connected to the activities of de Rais and his servants. Meanwhile, rumors had begun to circulate. In 1433 he financed the construction of a chapel “for the bliss of his soul,” which he called the Chapel of the Holy Innocents and which was staffed-horrifyingly, in light of de Rais’s crimes-with a boys’ choir selected by de Rais himself. He also investigated the occult as a means to save his rapidly collapsing finances, employing a succession of alchemists and sorcerers. In later years de Rais seems to have been increasingly concerned with religion and his own salvation. His sale of family lands to finance his extravagant lifestyle sparked a bitter fight with other members of his family, especially Jean de Craon, who pointedly left his sword and armor to Gilles’s younger brother René when he died in 1432. De Rais spent his fortune recklessly, paying enormous sums for decorations, servants, and a large military retinue and commissioning music and works of literature. His military career began to wind down with the death of Joan of Arc in 1431, and he spent more time at his estate, which was among the richest in western France. In 1429 he was appointed to the position of marshal of France-France’s highest military distinction. The two fought together in some of the major battles of her short career, including the lifting of the Siege of Orléans. When Joan of Arc appeared on the scene in 1429, he was assigned by the dauphin (later Charles VII) to watch over her in battle. As a young man, de Rais seems to have been impetuous and hot-headed, characteristics that translated well to the battlefield, where he was by all accounts a skilled and fearless fighter. He was raised by his maternal grandfather, Jean de Craon. Both his parents died about 1415: his father, Guy de Laval, was killed in a gruesome hunting accident that de Rais may have witnessed, and his mother, Marie de Craon, died of an unknown cause. The early life of Gilles de Rais was marked by tragedy. Today, though, those achievements can only be seen in the shadow of the secret life he led as the perpetrator of more than a hundred gruesome child murders, a rampage which made him arguably the first serial killer in recorded history. Le Procès Inquisitorial de Gilles de Rais, Maréchal de France, Paris, 1921Įven if there had been nothing else unusual about the Breton nobleman Gilles de Rais (1404–40), his outstanding career as a soldier in the Hundred Years’ War and as a comrade in arms of Joan of Arc would have been enough to guarantee his place in history. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.
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