Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, Baron de Rais, Marshal of France, participant in the Hundred Years' War and associate of Joan of Arc was considered a real hero of his time. He had both power and wealth. But in a short period de Rais lost it. During his life, he made only two mistakes, which became fatal.
Perrault's tale
The famous French writer Charles Perrault and his son Pierre first published the story of the villainous Bluebeard in the collection "Tales of Mother Goose". This book appeared in 1697 and became instantly popular. Children from all over Europe read interesting works of the Frenchman. But one story was especially impressive - about the bloodthirsty villain Bluebeard.
It is generally accepted that Bluebeard did not appear from scratch. The prototype of the villain was one of the most prominent people in France, the hero of the Hundred Years War and an associate of the famous Joan of Arc. But overnight, from a positive character, he turned into a negative one. Just imagine, the Marshal of France was accused of forty-seven counts! And they took him to the fire as a heretic, a murderer of children and a sorcerer.
But before unraveling the tangle of de Rais's atrocities, a small digression. Most of the philologists who have studied European fairy tales believe that Bluebeard is a collective character. At least two people played a role in his appearance. And the baron only completed the formation of the image of a literary villain. More precisely, not even de Rais himself, but his trial and execution. As time passed, they overlapped with an older plot, which came either from French Brittany, or from the Celtic regions of Britain. Indeed, in those parts, a long time ago, there was a legend about the bloodthirsty Count Conomore. In the tale, he married Trephinia. Moreover, at first the girl's father did not want this marriage and refused “because of the extreme cruelty and barbarism with which he treated his other wives, whom, as soon as they became pregnant,ordered to kill in the most inhuman manner. This is how the Count's behavior was described in the Biography of the Saints of Brittany. But one way or another, Konomor managed to get his way. In the presence of the abbot, who became a witness, the count solemnly vowed that he would behave with dignity with his new wife. As it turned out, he was cheating. As soon as Trephinia announced her pregnancy to her husband, he instantly changed his attitude towards her. Legends circulated about Konomor that he worshiped some ancient pagan god who demanded exactly pregnant women as a sacrifice. Therefore, Trefinia could not avoid a sad fate: the count killed her too. But then something happened that he had never expected. The wife rose from the dead and punished Konomor for all the grave sins. And she herself became a saint.who became a witness, the count solemnly vowed that he would behave with dignity with his new wife. As it turned out, he was cheating. As soon as Trephinia announced her pregnancy to her husband, he instantly changed his attitude towards her. Legends circulated about Konomor that he worshiped some ancient pagan god who demanded exactly pregnant women as a sacrifice. Therefore, Trefinia could not avoid a sad fate: the count killed her too. But then something happened that he had never expected. The wife rose from the dead and punished Konomor for all the grave sins. And she herself became a saint.who became a witness, the count solemnly vowed that he would behave with dignity with his new wife. As it turned out, he was cheating. As soon as Trephinia announced her pregnancy to her husband, he instantly changed his attitude towards her. Legends circulated about Konomor that he worshiped some ancient pagan god who demanded exactly pregnant women as a sacrifice. Therefore, Trefinia could not avoid a sad fate: the count killed her too. But then something happened that he had never expected. The wife rose from the dead and punished Konomor for all the grave sins. And she herself became a saint.demanding the sacrifice of the pregnant women. Therefore, Trefinia could not avoid a sad fate: the count killed her too. But then something happened that he had never expected. The wife rose from the dead and punished Konomor for all the grave sins. And she herself became a saint.demanding the sacrifice of the pregnant women. Therefore, Trefinia could not avoid a sad fate: the count killed her too. But then something happened that he had never expected. The wife rose from the dead and punished Konomor for all the grave sins. And she herself became a saint.
This legend is very reminiscent of Perrault's tale of Bluebeard. And during the time when Baron de Rais lived, the story of Conomor was widespread. And later, the two plots merged into one. Therefore, at Perrault, the marshal of France killed exactly wives, not children. But it was in their death that the hero of the Hundred Years War was blamed.
This is how Charles described the appearance of the villain: “Once upon a time there was a man who had beautiful houses both in the city and in the countryside, dishes, gold and silver, furniture all in embroidery and carriages, gilded from top to bottom. But, unfortunately, this man had a blue beard, and it made him so ugly and so terrible that there was not a single woman or girl who would not run away when she saw him. From the very beginning, it becomes clear that a beard is a sign that symbolizes evil. The real de Rais also wore a beard. So with a verbal portrait, Perrault hinted at a prototype.
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Another curious thing: at the time of the writer, almost all the destroyed castles near Nantes were considered the former possessions of de Rais. And the locals told him an interesting legend. Once, Count Odon de Tremeac and his bride Blanche de Lerminière drove past the baron's estate. De Rae invited them to visit. As soon as the couple was in the castle of the baron, Gilles ordered the count to be put in prison. And he offered Blanche his hand and heart. The frightened girl, of course, refused. But the baron was stubborn. He grabbed her and carried her to a nearby church, where he vowed that he would "forever give her body and soul" if she became his wife. Such an oath made a strong impression on Blanche, and she agreed. But at the same moment, de Lerminière turned into a devil, interestingly, blue. He laughed and said, "Now you are in my power." After that, the baron's beard turned blue. And the devil continued: “Now you will not be Gilles de Laval. Your name will be Bluebeard!"
This is how the hero of the war with the British became the main villain of all of France. And a blue beard is a seal of evil spirits.
So what did the baron do so terrible?
The path to glory
It is not known exactly when Gilles de Rais was born in the castle of Mashcoul on the border of Brittany and Anjou. It is generally accepted that the most likely date of his birth is 1405. De Rais belonged to an ancient and noble family, which gave France more than a dozen marshals and several constables.
How the Baron's childhood developed is unknown. No evidence of this has survived. For the first time he "emerges" at the age of eleven. Then his father Guy de Laval, Baron de Rais, died. How this happened, history is again silent. According to one version, de Laval laid down his head in some of the battles, according to the other, an old enemy dealt with him in a duel. Mother Gilles and his younger brother Rene lost even earlier. Grandfather Jean de Craon took custody of the children. According to the surviving information, we can conclude that de Craon spent a lot of effort, time and money to give his grandchildren a good education. Moreover, the main emphasis was placed not on military subjects, as was customary at that time, but on the humanities and exact sciences. Grandfather's investment paid off handsomely. When Gilles grew up, he spent huge sums of money to replenish his library and buy antiques. It didn't work out,of course, and without the obligatory noble attributes of that time: Gilles fenced well and loved to go hunting.
Another curious thing: it is known for sure that Baron de Rais was married only once. His chosen one was Catherine, the granddaughter of the Viscount de Toire. Thanks to this marriage, Gilles received several million livres as a dowry, as well as land in Poitou, along with the castle of Tiffauges. By the way, this fortress will later play a significant role in the life of the baron. In marriage, Gilles had only one child - the daughter of Marie de Laval.
And if the baron did not pay much attention to his wife because of constant important matters, then for his main love - money - he always found time. De Rais handled enormous financial opportunities deftly and skillfully. For example, he strongly supported the young heir to the throne, Prince Karl of Valois. And thanks to such patronage, he managed to get the coveted place in his retinue.
Interesting: the dauphin and the baron were almost the same age. But the prince was not distinguished by financial prudence. Youth and high status obliged him to live in grand style. He loved pretentious and pompous balls, as well as no less shocking hunting trips. Even the seemingly bottomless purse of the prince could not withstand such a load. Moreover, the prospect of the throne for Valois was dim. In those turbulent times, almost half of France was under the boots of the British and their faithful "dogs" - the Burgundians. The same part of the country that remained free was controlled by local feudal lords, who, of course, were not eager to share power with anyone. In general, the prince had an unenviable fate. He held only a few cities in the Loire Valley. At the same time, he was afraid to leave his residence - Shishon Castle. Karl saw traitors, spies and murderers everywhere who wanted him dead.
But the far-sighted Baron de Rais relied on Charles of Valois. He understood that the prince would become king with his help. It was only necessary to show wisdom, patience, and also provide him with financial leverage.
Hero of France
Gilles de Rais was a descendant of the famous military leader Bertrand Dugesclein, who died in 1380. During his lifetime, Dugesclein was called the storm of the British, and de Rais dreamed of the glory of his heroic ancestor.
Therefore, Gilles did not spare money for the armed forces. Together with them, from 1422 to 1429, he made successful sorties behind enemy lines. In addition to rich booty, de Rais also managed to capture several castles. But his finest hour came during the battles of Orleans and Jargeau. Here the Baron fought hand in hand with Joan of Arc. The military successes of the twenty-five-year-old de Rais could not go unnoticed. And he became the youngest marshal in French history. Of course, he also had enough envious people. They argued that Karl Valois made him a marshal in gratitude for the colossal financial support. But no one openly dared to question the military successes of Gilles: more dear to himself.
In May 1429, after the victory at Orleans, the war with the British began to change in favor of the French and Charles. And already in July, the prince went to Reims for the coronation. I must say that Reims is a sacred place for all French monarchs. After all, it was here that they received the crown since 498.
And then Baron de Rais made the first strategic mistake in his life: he believed in victory ahead of schedule. After all, he had no doubts that the power would not go anywhere from Karl. So, it was time for the newly-made monarch to remind him of the numerous debts. But Karl reacted aggressively to his friend's words. The crown completely erased the history of friendship with the baron from the young monarch's head. Karl firmly believed that he was able to gain power without anyone's help. And if so, then he is able to keep it alone. Therefore, the marshal immediately fell into disgrace and was expelled from the royal court.
From hero to sorcerer
Charles dismissed de Rais in 1433. The incident hit the baron hard. He locked himself in the castle of Tiffauge and was carried away by books on alchemy. In this mysterious and mysterious science, Gilles saw the only way to escape from the inexorably approaching bankruptcy. Indeed, after the betrayal of the king, his financial well-being was in question. And he could not change the situation at the expense of the debt paid.
Apparently, being in a completely hopeless position, de Rais made a decision, which subsequently destroyed him. In 1436, Gilles opened the doors of his castle for Louis, the new heir to the throne. Moreover, he met him overly cordially, as a future king and an old friend. Baron de Rais did not even suspect then that Louis had already begun to weave a network of intrigues against his father. And his visit to Tiffauge was caused only by a desire to hide for a while from an angry royal relative. Gilles did not know about their enmity, therefore, did not understand in time that the Dauphin's reception would hammer the last nail into the lid of his coffin … After all, that "test" with which Louis supposedly arrived was just a cunning trick. Thus, the prince killed two birds with one stone: he hid from his father and exposed his possible ally under attack. After all, as you know,to achieve the cherished goal, you need to hedge on all fronts.
When Karl learned that his former comrade-in-arms was hiding the disgraced Dauphin, he began to act swiftly. He believed that Gilles had betrayed him and decided to take revenge by a palace coup, betting on the young prince. The nuts were tightened as tightly as possible. To survive, the baron had to start mortgaging his property … And suddenly the king ordered to impose restrictions on de Rais' commercial operations. Simply put, the baron could no longer sell his castles. This was the beginning of the end.
In a panic, Gilles tried to find a way out. But in his mind he was only one: to achieve results in the study of alchemy. Only by converting lead into gold was it possible to escape from imminent bankruptcy. The personal alchemist of Baron de Sille was ordered to deal only with this science and not waste time on other "projects". The entire first floor of the Tiffauges castle was completely rebuilt for laboratories for experiments. The last money the baron with fanatical stubbornness spent on his alchemist and the purchase of "witchcraft" ingredients. For example, arsenic, shark teeth, mercury …
But as time went on, the money ran out, but there was still no result. In a fit of madness, de Re drove his alchemist out of the castle and called a new one - Francesco Prelati. Unlike de Sillet, who honestly tried to find a recipe for obtaining gold and was loyal to his master, the Italian was a professional charlatan. Taking advantage of the depressed and broken state of de Rais, he managed to convince the former Marshal of France of his uniqueness. And he "finished off" him with confessions of witchcraft and the fact that he is holding a tame demon named Barron. And thanks to the hellish beast, he has access to the world of the dead, who share wisdom with him and serve in every way.
At that time, the baron was already poorly aware and hardly understood that Prelati's patronage was a terrible crime. Since we were already talking about matters that were under the control of the Inquisition. And the inquisitors did not care who was convicted of heresy: a beggar peasant or a comrade-in-arms of the Maid of Orleans.
Soon Prelati and de Rey switched places. Now the sorcerer was in charge of the baron. What exactly the charlatan was doing on the first floor of the castle is not known for certain. However, all the surrounding area was soon swarmed with a wide variety of rumors. And some speculations were worse than others. The Duke of Breton soon learned about the horrors taking place in Tiffuge, because de Rais was his vassal. Gathering a detachment of several hundred soldiers, he headed to the castle to find out what was so illegal about Gilles.
The main villain of France
At the end of August 1440, Bishop Jean de Malestrouet of Nantes preached a sermon at the cathedral. In his speech, he told the parishioners about the horrors that he and the Duke of Breton had seen in the baron's castle. The bishop said that the nobleman committed crimes "against young children and adolescents of both sexes." He also demanded not to be silent if someone knows something about the activities of the baron. Jean de Malestruet spoke so sincerely that none of the parishioners even thought that he could deceive. The fact is that no serious and solid evidence against de Rais was found during a search of his castle. And with the disappearance of the children, not everything was so smooth. Only one disappearance of a child, which occurred a month before these events, could be associated with the possession of the marshal. Since there was no direct evidence,most likely, de Rais's enemies took advantage of the opportunity to deal with him once and for all.
Without postponing the matter to a distant box, Jean de Malestruet told Father Jean Bluen, head of the Inquisition Tribunal in Brittany, about everything. That, in turn, also worked quickly. And just a few days later, an indictment was drawn up against de Rais, which included as many as forty-seven points. The baron was accused of human sacrifice to the fiend of hell, witchcraft "with the use of special technical means", murder of young children, committed with sophisticated cruelty, as well as sexual perversion. Bluenet sent this act to the Chief Inquisitor of France, Guillaume Merici and the Duke of Breton. And in September, Gilles de Rais was summoned to the Episcopal Court to testify. The baron was dumbfounded by such a list of accusations, but could not avoid meeting with the Inquisition. Although he understood that nothing good awaits him there. And if the accusation of missing children was not supported by any weighty evidence, then the whole district knew about his witchcraft. Dealers in rarities, of course, confirmed that the baron was buying "witchcraft" for big money. Such a church did not forgive anyone. And de Rae could not hope for her favor because of the long-standing feats of arms.
He had no escape options. It was possible, of course, to secretly appear in Paris and pray to King Charles VII for help, remembering his stories of friendship and betrayal. But de Rais did not do this. Apparently, he understood that the king would rather come up with new charges than help.
And the baron agreed to appear at the meeting at the appointed hour. And if he still retained at least the semblance of calmness, then his entourage did not differ in composure. Marshal's friend Roger de Briqueville, along with the former chief alchemist de Sillet, suddenly disappeared. Rumors immediately spread that they had gone on the run to avoid punishment for their atrocities. Brittany prosecutor Guillaume Chapeillon ordered to put the fugitives on the wanted list.
The disappearance of two close associates of the Baron allowed Chapeillon to legally visit the Château de Rais. The visit was more than successful for the prosecutor. The alchemist Prelati (who for some reason did not dare to escape, although he was threatened with the fire of the Inquisition) and both of the baron's bodyguards, Griar and Coriyo, could not withstand the pressure. Their arrest was paramount, as they were de Rais' closest people. So, they could tell a lot of interesting and important details.
Neither the charlatan nor the bodyguards began to shield the owner. At the trial, which took place at the Nantes Town Hall, they gave an exhaustive testimony. It is curious that everyone was admitted to the meeting, and the confessions of the baron's associates were announced in all cities of Brittany.
During the hearing, which was attended by the baron himself, the audience defiantly tried to break through the ranks of the guards in order to spit at de Rais or throw a stone at him. The Baron behaved with dignity, listening to the confessions of the alchemist and his bodyguards.
Under oath, Prelati said that his master signed a contract with the demon Barron in blood, according to which he pledged to bring human sacrifices to the fiend of hell. In return, Barron promised to give the marshal three gifts: power, wealth and omniscience. Prelati also admitted that de Rais first tried to buy off the demon with birds and animals, but he demanded the blood of young children.
By the way, the captured alchemist de Sillet was also brought to the trial. He said that his former owner in every possible way mocked the children, adored devilish experiments and was a real heretic.
Then it was the turn of the witnesses to speak. The inconsolable parents, choking on tears, vied with each other about their children, who disappeared as soon as they were in the possession of the villain. To the question: "Why were they sent there?", The answer was one: "Ask for alms."
Then they listened to the bodyguards. They admitted that de Rais was collecting a collection of children's skulls. It was kept in a special room, where the baron forbade anyone to enter. When the Inquisition became interested in him, the bodyguards, on the orders of de Rais, destroyed these heads with their own hands in order to cover their tracks. Therefore, they were not found during the searches.
But the baron did not give up. He continued to speak about his innocence and demanded a lawyer. By the way, he was constantly denied a defense lawyer, citing the gravity of the crimes. In the end, de Rais announced that he would voluntarily go to the gallows, since they specifically wanted to accuse him of heresy, without providing strong evidence. And the testimony of the witnesses is a lie, beaten out of people by the torture of the inquisitors. The baron's behavior angered the Bishop of Nantes. And he excommunicated de Rais from the church and ordered him to be tortured in order to "induce an end to this vile denial."
Gilles de Rais was tied to a wooden lattice and began to stretch, as if on a rack. Nobody could stand such bullying. The baron also surrendered. He confessed everything and repented. After torture, the barely living Marshal of France knelt before the bishop and asked to return him before his death to the bosom of the church. Then he publicly spoke about conspiracy with the devil and the murder of children. He even named the number of victims - more than eight hundred. But the Inquisition considered that so many corpses were useless. The Baron was allowed to confess to the murder of one hundred and fifty children …
At the end of October 1440, the baron was once again excommunicated for "such grievous sins against the dogmas of faith and human laws that it is impossible for a person to even imagine them." Then the alchemist de Sille and the bodyguards went to the fire. And since de Rais repented and was reconciled with the church, they decided to strangle him before the burning. Still, sending a living Marshal of France and a colleague of Joan of Arc to the stake was too much even for the Inquisition.
The execution took place on October 26, 1440 in the square near the Nantes Cathedral. The executioner strangled the baron, and then set fire to the brush under the body. But literally a few seconds later, the lifeless de Rais was handed over to his relatives. I must say that his relatives, intimidated by the Inquisition, did not bury him in the family crypt. Gilles de Rais was "hidden" under an unnamed slab in a Carmelite monastery on the outskirts of Nantes.
The fact that the baron was slandered and framed is confirmed by the "dampness" of the case. Numerous inconsistencies in the charges, testimony of witnesses obtained during torture, the ban on a lawyer - all this suggests that someone from the powerful of this world purposefully tried to get rid of de Rais. Whether it is Karl or Louis - it will no longer be possible to find out. Both had reasons. The first did not want to repay the huge debt. And the second was afraid of his intercession in a possible palace coup.
By the way, the Italian alchemist is the only one who managed to get away with what is called a slight fright. For some reason he was sentenced not to death, but to imprisonment. From where he soon escaped and safely disappeared into the vastness of Europe. It looks very, very suspicious.
***
In 1992, French scholars were able to secure a new trial against Baron Gilles de Rais. The "posthumous trial" was held in the Senate of the French Republic. After examining all the surviving documents that were found in the archives of the Inquisition, the tribunal decided: to fully acquit de Rae. And that court was declared illegal and falsified. Justice has triumphed 552 years later. But in the fairy tale and popular memory, Gilles de Rais will probably forever remain a terrible villain named Bluebeard.
Author: Pavel Zhukov