Bloodlust had been the core of
savage slayings in the book of history. The legendary Vlad Tepes ‘aka’ Dracula had
acquired that sort of reputation. But there’s a name in history that was
unknown to many that matches the notoriety he had gained and somehow more
horrific and disturbing.
Born in 1404, Guilles de Rais, one
of the richest and bravest noblemen of France, owned a vast of five
estates, a private chapel that required the attendance of thirty canons, was so
revered in the eyes of the court that he was chosen to the position of Marshal
so he could personally crown King Charles VII.
The victory of France was his
highest claim to infamy. Possessed with a powerfully built bearing, he was an
exceptional warrior, served as a commander in the Royal Army and rode along
with Joan of Arc while being followed by a personal entourage of 200 knights.
In 1435, Rais decided to retire
from military service to his estates and began to live flamboyantly. He
indulged himself with theatrical performances that he exhausted the great
fortune he had inherited. The troubled Rais had begun to delve into the world
of the occult. A man named Francesco Peralti assured him that he could regain
his squandered fortune by sacrificing children to a demon called “Barron”. It
was then that he began to uphold a sick and savage secret. A secret that even
the cruelest being would never even dared to imagine. He was a sadist, a
torturer, obsessed with the squirting of blood, he would instruct his servants
to stab his young victims in their jugular veins so that their blood would
spurt over him. He was even alleged to have sat on one dying boy while drinking
his blood.
Suspicions begun to arise among
the peasants of the neighboring villages forwarding accusations that since their
children had entered Rais' castle begging for food they had never been seen
again. A record was made concerning the parents’ testimonies of many of these
missing children as well as explicit depictions of the murders provided by
Rais' accomplices. It was said to be so lurid that the judges ordered the worst
section to be cleared up from the record. Judges had found sufficient grounds
for corroborating the offense of Rais. He was accused as a heretic, sorcerer,
invocator of evil spirits, diviner, killer of innocents and apostate of faith.
De Rais servants were tortured when he was declared guilty by his
ecclesiastical accusers and released an order for his lands to be seized by the
Church.
Rais had then finally decided to
confess for his crimes. He tearfully utter repentance and begged forgiveness
from the parents of the children he admitted slaughtering. But the secular
punishment remained in place. He was condemned to death by fire. But as an act
of mercy for not renouncing his confession, he was first hanged to death before
being thrown on the flames on October 26, 1440.
Until now, nobody had known the
precise numbers of his victims, as most of the bodies were burned or buried.
The victims ranged in age from six to eighteen including both sexes. An estimation
number of murders are generally placed between 100 and 200 but many have
assumed that around 800 children were tortured and murdered.
The monstrous crime of de Rais was
said to have been fabricated during his trial for some believed that the murder
and accusations made by the church was an entrapment as part of an ecclesiastic
plot to expropriate his lands. But historians are doubtful about this theory, for
the Church itself had refused acquiring his properties. Title to the lands was
transferred to the Duke of Brittany, who then generously divided them among
nobles including Arthur de Richemont. Furthermore, the guilty verdict was established
on the detailed eyewitness accounts of his associates and the victims' parents statements,
which amounted to substantial proof of the final verdict.
