Gilles De Rais: The First Serial Killer In History?
The Breton nobleman Gilles de Rais (1404–40)'s distinguished career as a combatant in the Hundred Years' War and as Joan of Arc's partner in arms would have been enough to ensure his position in history even if he had done nothing else unusual. Today, however, those accomplishments are only viewed in the context of the secret life he led while committing more than a hundred horrifying child killings, a spree that may have made him the first serial murderer in history.
Tragic events shaped Gilles de Rais's early life. Both of his parents passed away around 1415, his mother Marie de Craon passed away of an undetermined cause, and his father Guy de Laval was slain in a grisly hunting accident that de Rais may have witnessed. Jean de Craon, his maternal grandfather, raised him.
De Rais appears to have been impulsive and hot-headed as a young man, traits that served him well on the battlefield where, by all accounts, he was a skillful and fearless fighter. He was given the task of keeping an eye on Joan of Arc in battle by the dauphin (later Charles VII) when she arrived on the scene in 1429. The siege of Orléans was one of the important engagements they fought in together throughout her brief career. He was given the greatest military honor bestowed upon France when he was named marshal of France in 1429.
With Joan of Arc's passing in 1431, his military career started to wind down, and he started spending more time at his opulent farm in western France. De Rais squandered his wealth carelessly, spending vast sums on decorations, servants, and a sizable military retinue in addition to commissioning music and literary works.
Especially Jean de Craon, who pointedly left his sword and armor to René, Gilles's younger brother, when he passed away in 1432, his sale of family lands to support his extravagant lifestyle sparked a bitter argument with other family members. In later years, de Rais seems to have grown more concerned with religion and his own salvation. He paid for the building of a chapel in 1433 that he named the Chapel of the Holy Innocents and which was staffed—horrifyingly, in light of de Rais's crimes—with a boys' choir chosen by de Rais himself.
He did this "for the happiness of his soul." He also looked into the occult in an effort to salvage his fast dwindling funds, hiring a slew of alchemists and sorcerers in the process. In the interim, rumors had started to spread. Many of the disappearances of children in the districts surrounding de Rais's castles appeared to be related to the actions of de Rais and his staff.
Some of his victims' parents would have been really uninformed of their children's circumstances, as it was usual for young boys to be permanently separated from their parents if they were taken on by aristocrats as servants or pages. While it was revealed during de Rais's trial that witnesses had seen his servants disposing of the bodies of numerous children at one of his castles in 1437, his murderous tendencies may have been somewhat known in other areas, but the families of the victims were prevented from taking legal action against him due to fear and low social standing.
After a dispute unrelated to the murders, in September 1440, De Rais abducted a priest and was subsequently apprehended. Following that, he was put on trial simultaneously in ecclesiastical and civil court for a number of crimes, including heresy, sodomy, and the murder of more than 100 children. De Rais confessed to the allegations under threat of torture and gave details of ritualistically abusing scores of youngsters over the course of nearly ten years who had been taken by his minions.
On October 26, 1440, the punishment—his death by simultaneous burning and hanging—was carried out in Nantes. De Rais had demonstrated humility and composure in the face of death. Strangely, this led to him receiving praise as a role model for Christian penitence after his death. Even after his passing, a three-day fast was kept. In one final sickening irony, it became customary for parents in Nantes to spank their kids on the anniversary of de Rais' execution, possibly to make them understand the seriousness of the sins for which he had atoned.
After his death, it is thought that this tradition persisted for more than a century. Revisionists today have questioned whether or not de Rais was actually responsible for the acts for which he was put to death, pointing out that his confession was forced under threat of torture. However, the majority of historians who have studied the testimony from de Rais's trial continue to think that he actually carried out the killings.