French critic Georges Bataille called Gilles de Rais "a Shakespearean hero." The life of the baron was theatrically oversaturated with vivid exploits and inhuman crimes going beyond the bounds of reason.
Book lover hero
Baron Gilles de Rais is considered the prototype of the protagonist of Charles Pierrot's scary tale "Bluebeard". The image of Bluebeard, of course, is more profitable than the historical image of the baron. Until now, during excursions around the count's castle, the guides show the rooms in which Gilles allegedly killed the children, lead them along the alley of trees that the baron planted after the murder of each of his wives.
People are intrigued by such "chernukha". No one is embarrassed that Gilles de Rais was married only once, and direct evidence of his terrible crimes has never been found. He was born in 1404 into an aristocratic family. Parents raised in the boy a desire for knowledge, Gilles read a lot from childhood, mastered Latin and other languages. Subsequently, the baron became one of the main collectors of expensive books, paintings and weapons, Gilles de Rais never skimp on his hobbies.
At the age of 11, Gilles became an orphan. From that time on, he was raised by his grandfather. Thanks to his upbringing, the child mastered the art of war, in the first battle he was already fourteen years old, and as an adult he became one of the most experienced and fearless warriors in Europe. As we have already said, Gilles de Rais married only once, at the age of 16, to his cousin Catherine de Toire. At that time, family marriages were strictly prohibited by the Catholic Church, so Gilles simply kidnapped Catherine while walking. Later, he received a pardon from the Pope himself, but this act itself speaks of Gilles' craving for theatricality. Later it will reach truly hyperbolic proportions.
Cult of Jeanne
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A pathologically passionate nature, Gilles de Rais was associated with Jeanne d'Arc in a relationship about the nature of which historians still argue. Gilles de Rais was Jeanne's personal bodyguard, her knight. However, their relationship was also a relationship of not quite healthy competition. Gilles de Rais was nicknamed the "hangman" for his cruelty, and the Holy Virgin did not restrain herself in means.
During the coronation of Charles VII, they stood at the right and left hand of the Dauphin. They were united by boundless fanaticism, reckless courage and fatalism. It was the death of Jeanne that caused Marshal de Rais to eventually leave military service. He spent a fabulous sum on The Orleans Mystery. More than 500 actors took part in the production. For 10 years, the play was staged annually in theaters, all expenses were borne by de Rais. However, the same Bataille believes that for Gilles de Rais the glorification of Jeanne d'Arc was nothing more than a PR and quenching of his boundless exhibitionist passion.
Marshal of the Spender
After his retirement, Gilles de Rais's life was devoted to things less heroic than the struggle for the interests of France. He indulged in extravagance, spending huge sums on feasts, theatrical performances and entertainment. Of course, there was no more money from this way of life. The well-being of the former marshal and his passion for alchemy undermined. Significant funds were spent on various experiments on the extraction of gold from base metals, the elixir of youth and immortality. Gilles de Rais lived like a king, he had 200 knights of guards, a personal church, 20 priests. All these expenses led to the fact that de Rais had to mortgage his lands, and his fabulous riches were melting before our eyes, and with them his influence also melted.
Warlock
The desire of Gilles de Rais to surround himself with extraordinary people led to the fact that among alchemists, astrologers and simply charlatans-flatterers there was a famous necromancer, a minorite monk Francesco Prelati. Georges Bataille believed that the patron and his court warlock were connected by a relationship not only of an intellectual, but also of an intimate nature.
Prelati earned de Rais a special favor by promising his benefactor to summon the devil himself, with whose assistance immeasurable wealth could be achieved. It was with the assistance of Prelati, according to the court testimony, that the first sacrifice of the baby took place in the Château de Rais. During the announcement of the verdict, Dil de Rey turned to Prelati and said: “Farewell, Francesco, my friend! We will never see you again in this world. I pray to the Almighty that He will give you patience and intelligence, and hope in God, Whom we will see in the heavenly places: pray to God for me, and I will pray for you!"
Amazingly, Prelati managed to escape punishment for his atrocities, while de Rais responded in full. He was excommunicated, accused of killing 150 children, warlock, sodomy, and alchemy. Gilles de Rae admitted only his passion for alchemy, but in history he remained precisely in the form of a cruel killer.