The noble knight, an associate of Joan of Arc, was brutally tortured to make him confess what he did not commit.
More than three centuries ago, the storyteller Charles Perrault wrote a thriller about, as they would say now, the serial maniac Bluebeard, who mercilessly killed his wives. His prototype is considered to be Baron Gilles de Rais (Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, Baron de Rais, Comte de Brienne, Senor d'Ingran and de Chantoux) - a knight without fear and reproach, companion and bodyguard of Jeanne d'Arc, Marshal of France, who was executed either on a rack, or killed with a garotta (noose) in 1440.
A man from a noble family was accused of monstrous crimes: the murder of more than a hundred children, forbidden alchemical experiments and devil worship. In the memory of the majority, he remains a serial killer, and few people know that at the end of the 20th century, the baron was posthumously rehabilitated for lack of corpus delicti.
So who, and why, branded the perfect innocent man with an indelible stain of shame?
By faith and truth, by sword and money
Before "turning" into the most disgusting criminal, Gilles became famous for his military exploits. The boy was related to the famous military leader Bertrand Dugesclein. His father, Guy II de Laval, died either in the war or in a duel. Mother, Marie de Craon, got married and gave Gilles, along with his brother Rene, to the care of his grandfather, Jean de Craon. It is known that the future soldier fenced well, was fond of falconry, knew several languages, and already at a young age collected a decent library.
Gilles de Rais, engraving from an old book.
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At the age of 16, his grandfather found him a bride - cousin Catherine de Toire. At the time, marriage between cousins was discouraged. Zhil had to first steal the bride, secretly marry her, and then beg permission for an official marriage from the church.
They had a daughter, Maria, but the father and husband did not devote much time to the family - the Hundred Years War was going on. The young baron sided with the Dauphin Charles, the future King Charles VII, to whom Gilles constantly lent money. And then the Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc, burst into his life.
Already an experienced commander stood under her banners: he guarded Saint Joan, helped her during hostilities, paid for her army and was with her almost to the very end. After her death, when France left the liberator in enemy captivity, he refused to serve the king, who had betrayed his heroine, and settled in the castle of Tiffauge.
He is innocent
In his domain, he lived on a grand scale: he had 200 guards-knights, about 50 courtiers (musicians, pages, cooks), 20 prelates and a personal church. Gilles de Rais spent fabulous money on luxurious feasts, theatrical performances and other entertainment. Everyone who wanted to snatch their fat piece flocked to his castle like flies on honey. Money flowed through his fingers, and the lord began to sell his other possessions.
Tiffauges Castle today.
But then his brother Rene, who did not want to lose the inheritance, opposed it, and Charles VII imposed a ban on the sale. Then Gilles de Rais begins to study alchemy in order to mine gold. He attracts professionals to magical experiments, who cannot help him in any way, and then Francesco Prelati appears as a devil from a snuffbox (a magician interacting with the world of the dead - ed.).
Allegedly, he urged Gilles de Rais, enchanted by him, to summon the devil himself in order to speed up the process of obtaining gold. And he handed it over to the Inquisition, which forbade the conduct of alchemical experiments and the practice of the warlock. But the baron was accused not only of this.
Among the nearly 50 items was one that said: Gilles de Rais experimented on poor children, torturing, raping and killing mostly young boys. He sacrificed their bodies to the devil. All these abominations were described in detail and thoroughly in the materials of the investigation. The peasants testified that their children, going to the castle for alms, disappeared without a trace. At the beginning it was said that the baron was not tortured and that he himself confessed everything.
Later, information appeared that he was stretched on the so-called "ladder", breaking bones. And under monstrous torture, the baron agreed with everything that was imputed to him. However, no evidence was found that he tortured and killed children.
However, he was executed anyway. Charles VII forgot all the merits of his former friend also for the reason that he did not want to give him a big debt. And Francesco Prelati managed to escape punishment. In 1992, French scientists raised all the documents on the Bluebeard case and, after carefully examining all the interrogations and testimonies, posthumously acquitted Gilles de Rais.
Applicants for the role
So why did the innocent baron become the prototype for Bluebeard? Researchers of fairy tales and historians have come to the conclusion that the plot with the execution of Gilles de Rais superimposed on the already existing literary plots. For example, there was a story about Count Conomore the Damned, who killed pregnant wives during devilish rituals. One was resurrected and the killer was punished.
Illustration from the old book "Gilles de Rais, the vampire of Brittany".
It can be assumed that, in an inexplicable way, tortured wives intertwined with children allegedly killed by the lord de Montmorency-Laval. We could remember Gilles de Rais and several brides who, for some reason, died before they were married to him.
So the terrible legend of Bluebeard was born. Charles Perrault rethought and wrote a terrible tale in his own way. And why exactly about blue, explains another Breton legend, which already tells about Baron Gilles de Rais, who stole someone else's wife. He swore his love to her, promising to give his soul and body. As soon as she agreed, she immediately turned into a blue devil. Satan laughed and dyed the baron's beard blue, thus giving him a "seal of evil spirits."
Engraving by Gustave Dore for Charles Perrault's fairy tale "Bluebeard" (1862).
In addition to Gilles de Rais, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, King of England - Henry VIII, who got rid of six wives, claims the role of Bluebeard. The Roman aristocrat Francesco Cenci, who corrupted his daughter Beatrice, arranged orgies with her and her stepmother. As a result, he was killed by his daughter. Even our Ivan the Terrible is a contender, who changed his mistresses and took turns in one way or another to exhaust each of the eight wives.
MASHA SENINA