Was Gilles de Rais really history’s first recorded serial killer?

In his youth, he embarked on a military career and was thrust into fighting the English in the Hundred Years’ War. Building a reputation for himself, he served side-by-side with none other than Joan of Arc, including at her famous lifting of the siege of Orleans in 1429.

Later that year, whilst still in his twenties, Rais was appointed Marshal of France by the newly crowned King Charles VII.

In the aftermath of Joan of Arc’s execution, Rais stepped away from the army and returned to his estate in Brittany. He reportedly spent huge sums of money on maintaining his household, and as a patron to musicians and writers. His family feared that he was emptying the coffers so much that they sought help from the king, who passed a decree preventing Rais from selling his lands.

What were Gilles de Rais’ crimes?

It was also around this time that he supposedly committed his horrific crimes. He became fascinated with the occult and befriended a cleric named Prelati, who helped in Rais’ attempts in alchemy and the summoning of demons.

More disturbingly, rumours began to swirl about missing children in his lands. Some had even been seen approaching the gates of his castle in order to beg for food or coins, never to be seen again.

Upon investigation, Rais was arrested in September 1440, accused of – among other crimes, such as heresy and sodomy – the abduction, torture and murder of dozens of children; at least 140, according to his trial.

He was brought before both an ecclesiastical and civil court, where he confessed and was sentenced to death, alongside two of his servants who assisted in his butchery. It was deemed that hanging would not be enough for the execution of someone so evil – as Rais swung from the gallows in Nantes, a fire was lit under his feet.

Rais has gone down in infamy. His name is synonymous with other heinous killers of history and his story possibly inspired the murderous villain of the French folk story, Bluebeard, who according to dark legend had a predilection for slaughtering his wives.

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Yet it is possible to see similarities between the case of Rais and the witch hunts of the early modern period, which saw hundreds of innocent people killed. There was no physical evidence of Rais’ crimes, and he made his confession only after being threatened with torture.

Was he the victim of a conspiracy by his enemies – including the Duke of Brittany, who was directly involved in the trial – so that they could seize his lands and riches? This theory has gained traction in the last few decades, leading to a mock retrial run by the writer Gilbert Prouteau in 1992, which found Rais not guilty. (It must be noted that no one participating in the trial thoroughly researched primary documents and the defense attorneys fabricated evidence for the event. Prouteau himself called the mock trial “an absolute joke.”)

However, there is still widespread belief among medievalists that – even if the numbers of his victims were grossly exaggerated – Rais was indeed guilty of the murder of children.

The sheer volume of testimonies presented against him was damning, and his reputation endures as history’s first recorded serial killer.