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| Released to public domain by Rafabuto |
Gilles de
Laval, baron de Rais and his decadent crimes are the inspiration for my
fin-de-siècle murderer in Floats the Dark Shadow. Gilles de Rais is
Western civilization’s most evil and prolific serial, but few people have heard
of him—among mystery buffs, at least. Some devotees of horror are more
sanguine, though his name is often missing from the “worst serial killers”
lists, despite his having one of the most flamboyant profiles of any of these
infamous murderers. Jack the Ripper remains the most vivid in our
collective consciousness, but that is because he was never caught. Red
Jack remains a nightmare. But Gilles de Rais is buried under the
ever-growing pile cases that often demonstrate the banality of evil, such as
the Honeymoon Killers. He is a forgotten superstar of depravity, with a
body count at minimum in the dozens and perhaps in the hundreds. His
victims were pretty young peasant boys (sometimes girls in a pinch).
Their names were seldom recorded, peasants being considered little better than
cattle at the time, and their children even less worthy of note. We know
a number of doleful tales from their parents, who often thought they were
sending their children into service at court, a life brushed by
magnificence. Because Gilles was so far above his chosen victims, he was
almost untouchable. His servants and accomplices carried out his orders,
bringing him victims, joining him in their rape and torture, then disposing of
the mutilated corpses, usually in a huge furnace. Gilles’ murders were
only the icing on the cake when he was finally arrested—for heresy. In
matters of Faith, the Church had more power than the aristocracy. No
doubt it helped that Gilles had plummeted from the richest man in France into
bankruptcy.
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| Joan of Arc (Medieval Depiction) |
According to
the contemporary accounts of the 15th century, Gilles de Rais was a
handsome, dashing, and courageous warrior whose bravery (and contributions to
the king’s coffers) earned him the title of Marshal of France. Early on,
Gilles had an arranged marriage and his wife bore him a daughter, but he lived
separately from them. For a time he wielded power at the Court of the Dauphin.
The most astonishing thing about Gilles de Rais was that he served as
lieutenant to Joan of Arc. As his exact body count is unknown, so is the
date when he began his pedophiliac crimes. He may, like many serial
killers, have begun early. Yet the hideous drama is enhanced if he began
his killing spree after Joan’s death, in a crisis of faith, his soul
incinerated on Joan’s pyre. By Gilles own confession, he did not begin
murdering children until after her death.
He also
experimented with alchemy and devil-worship. Perhaps feeling that God had
abandoned him, Gilles summoned one fake alchemist after another to bring him
face to face with the Devil. What fortune he didn’t fritter away on this
always abortive blind date was spent in staging gigantic extravaganzas (he
wrote a play commemorating Joan’s capture of Orleans), in decorating his
castles and their chapels, enhancing his stables, bejeweling his huge library
of books, and dressing the least of his performers in cloth of gold. His
pretty choir boys were particularly indulged.
Gilles' power
and wealth waned after Joan’s death. At some point his psyche shattered
and he devolved, taking more and more foolish risks both with his murders and
his attempts to bolster his crumbling fortune. When arrested, he went
overnight from scornful arrogance to piteous repentance. At one point in
his interrogation, Gilles suggested that his overly spiced diet might have
unbalanced his mind—the earliest version of the Twinkie defense. But he
took credit for his crimes, vast shame alternating with pride in his own
uniqueness. Guilt (combined with fear of torture) led him to prostrate
himself and beg the Church and the families of the children he slaughtered for
forgiveness. Stunned by his theatrical humility, forgiveness was
granted, at least formally. One suspects there were some parents who
mumbled a bit.
The baron
asked to be killed before his accomplices. He wanted to set a good
example. Gilles de Rais was hanged and his body burned on October 26,
1440. For some reason, the stone erected by his daughter at the site of
his execution became a place of pilgrimage for pregnant women who wanted to increase
the flow of their breast milk. The holy site was destroyed during the
French Revolution.
Life is
strange.
Author Bio:
Yves Fey’s debut mystery, Floats the
Dark Shadow, is set in the decadent world of Belle Époque Paris and mingles
classic detection with occult revelation.
Yves Fey
Paris is a
mystery…
Website http://yvesfey.com/
12 comments:
I found this really fascinating.
Teresa R.
That is one of THE weirdest tales I've heard. That's terrible what he did to those children and to think that they were considered no better than cattle! Thank you for the history lesson.
Patti
Wow...That is interesting and weird. I remember in 5th grade having to read a book on Joan of Arc and do a book report on her, but I don't remember anything about this man.
Thanks for sharing. It's intriguing what is sometimes hidden or downplayed in history. I love finding out new things like this.
Taryn
I love to read and write about lesser know and obscure things in history. This was so very interesting as well as sad that children were raped and tortured.
Good luck with your book.
Debbie
Yves, you're right I never heard of him and I've been researching serial killers for my third book. It's sad the predators pick on children and women. Good luck with your book.
I had never heard this sad tale, and to have a connection to Joan of Arc - I can't wait to read this!
KL Mullens
I remember how stunned I was the first time I read about Gilles de Rais and his bizarre connection with Joan of Arc. When I first started researching the book, there was very little on the net about him. Since then he's made his appearance on some serial killer blogs, and also gained fame inspiring some death metal rock musicians.
You're right, it IS strange. Especially this tale. This post made me wonder if there's any connection between Red Jack and The Mentalist's Red John. I didn't know that nickname. Thanks for a most interesting post!
I think The Mentalist must have been playing off Red Jack, even though Red John is more eclectic in his victims than the Ripper.
It is amazing what you can find when you research crimes of the past. It is sad that Baron blame his actions on the lost of his faith. I guess you could say for him 'the devil made me do it'. Thanks for sharing this.
Wow, very interesting. Sounds like a fantastic read! Thanks for sharing.
This was a great post! I love obscure history because it makes me wonder why such an important piece of history was hidden or not popularized like other parts. Therein lies the truth.
Your book sounds very interesting.
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