Gilles de Rais

About Gilles de Rais

Who is it?: Serial Killer of Children
Birth Year: 1405
Birth Place: Champtocé-sur-Loire, Anjou, French
Died On: 26 October 1440(1440-10-26) (aged 35)\nNantes, Brittany
Birth Sign: Libra
Birth name: Gilles de Montmorency-Laval
Buried: church of the monastery of Notre-Dame des Carmes in Nantes
Allegiance: Kingdom of France Duchy of Brittany
Years of service: 1420–1435
Rank: Marshal of France
Battles/wars: Hundred Years War siege of Orléans Battle of Jargeau battle of Patay
Cause of death: Execution by hanging
Criminal penalty: Death
Spouse(s): Catherine de Thouars of Brittany (1420–1440) (his death)
Children: Marie (1429–1457) (left no children)
Parent(s): Guy II de Montmorency-Laval Marie de Craon
Victims: 140 ?
Span of killings: 1431–1440
Date apprehended: 15 September 1440

Gilles de Rais Net Worth

Gilles de Rais was born on 1405 in Champtocé-sur-Loire, Anjou, French, is Serial Killer of Children. Gilles de Retz or Gilles de Rais, a member of the ‘House of Montmorency-Laval’, was a lord and knight of Anjou, Poitou and Brittany who later became infamous as a serial killer of children. He was a commander in the Royal Army and fought wars of Brittany and Anjou thereafter becoming a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He fought many battles as Marshal of France along with her during the ‘Hundred Years’ War’ including that in Orleans. He was present with her in Reims during consecration of Charles VII and remained her special guard till the time Paris was attacked and she was captured. Thereafter, he retired to Brittany. He led an extravagant life with a lavish court encompassing a chain of priests, heralds and servants with the fortune he received from his father and maternal grandfather. His wealth increased extensively following his marriage with Catherine de Thouars, a rich heiress. His lavish lifestyle that included staging his self-composed theatrical soon depleted his wealth, forcing his family to secure a decree from the King to restrain Gilles de Retz from further selling and mortgaging his properties. He resorted to alchemy and Satanism in the hope of increasing wealth. Later he was accused of murdering hundreds of children which led to an ecclesiastical investigation. The parents of missing children testified against him in the trial following which he was given a death sentence and was hanged at Nantes.
Gilles de Rais is a member of Serial Killers

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Some Gilles de Rais images

Famous Quotes:

[The boy] was pampered and dressed in better clothes than he had ever known. The evening began with a large meal and heavy drinking, particularly hippocras, which acted as a stimulant. The boy was then taken to an upper room to which only Gilles and his immediate circle were admitted. There he was confronted with the true nature of his situation. The shock thus produced on the boy was an initial source of pleasure for Gilles.

Biography/Timeline

1697

Gilles de Rais is believed to be the inspiration for the 1697 fairy tale "Bluebeard" ("Barbe bleue") by Charles Perrault.

1971

In his 1971 biography of Gilles de Rais, Jean Benedetti tells how the children who fell into Rais's hands were put to death:

1992

Gilles was retried during a media event in his home country of France, without any official involvement of the public authorities and the judicial body. In 1992, Freemason Jean-Yves Goëau-Brissonnière, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of France, organized a self-proclaimed "court" consisting of former French ministers, parliament members and UNESCO experts to re-examine the source material and evidence available at the medieval trial. A team of lawyers, Writers and politicians led by Gilbert Prouteau and presided over by Judge Henri Juramy found him not guilty, although none of the initiators was a medieval Historian by profession. In addition, none of them sought professional advice from certified medievalists.

2018

Execution by hanging and burning was set for Wednesday 26 October. At nine o‘clock, Gilles and his two accomplices made their way in procession to the place of execution on the Ile de Biesse. Gilles is said to have addressed the crowd with contrite piety and exhorted Henriet and Poitou to die bravely and think only of salvation. Gilles' request to be the first to die had been granted the day before. At eleven o'clock, the brush at the platform was set afire and Rais was hanged. His body was cut down before being consumed by the flames and claimed by "four ladies of high rank" for burial. Henriet and Poitou were executed in similar fashion but their bodies were reduced to ashes in the flames and then scattered.

2019

Following the Siege of Orléans, Rais was granted the right to add a border of the royal arms, the fleur-de-lys on an azure ground, to his own. The letters patent authorizing the display cited Gilles’ "high and commendable services", the "great perils and dangers" he had confronted, and "many other brave feats".