A Knight in Bloody Armour: Gilles de Rais…(probably the world’s first serial killer)

Gilles de Rais(1404-1440): The world first serial killer?

Could Gilles de Rais an Breton nobleman, a soldier in the Hundred years’ war and a comrade in arms to the great Joan of Arc be the world’s first serial killer?

With the death of Joan of Arc in 1431, De Rais began to spend more time at his estate. His military career began to fade and his finances were a mess. He soon became concerned with religion and the “salvation of his soul”.

In 1433, he sponsored the construction of a chapel for the “bliss of his soul” and he named it the chapel of the Holy Innocents. De Rais’ finances began to dwindle and as a desperate measure, he began to employ the services of Sorcerers and Alchemists. He believed he could find some spiritual means to revive his dying finances. In the process, children notably began to go missing. Families were distraught and the people of the city were confused.

Gradually, most of these disappearances were traced back to De Rais but the poor people could not confront him because of his high social status. Finally, he ran out of luck after he kidnapped a priest in September 1440. Soon he was arrested and tried on charges of Sodomy, heresy and the murder of over 100 children.

The comrade in question (De Rais), was arrested for more than a hundred gruesome child murders which he confessed to be true.

He confessed to ritualistically torturing the children kidnapped by his servants.

Gilles de Rais was sentenced to death by simultaneous burning and hanging which was carried out on 26th October 1440.

In the face of execution, he appeared regretful and calm which brought him the posthumous title of a “model of Christian penitence” . In fact, for three whole days after his death, people were fasting.

For more than a century after his death, some parents around Nantes commemorated his death by whipping their children, probably to remind them about the horrific nature of the sins from which he had repented.

Today, some scholars argue that Gilles de Rais may have been completely innocent but actually confessed to the crimes due to the fact that he was severely tortured. Some others however, believe that he actually committed the murders.

I guess we may never find out the actual truth.