The case for the defence

Born 1404
Executed 1440
Exonerated 1992

It is now widely accepted that the trial of Gilles de Rais was a miscarriage of justice. He was a great war hero on the French side; his judges were pro-English and had an interest in blackening his name and, possibly, by association, that of Jehanne d'Arc. His confession was obtained under threat of torture and also excommunication, which he dreaded. A close examination of the testimony of his associates, in particular that of Poitou and Henriet, reveals that they are almost identical and were clearly extracted by means of torture. Even the statements of outsiders, alleging the disappearance of children, mostly boil down to hearsay; the very few cases where named children have vanished can be traced back to the testimony of just eight witnesses. There was no physical evidence to back up this testimony, not a body or even a fragment of bone. His judges also stood to gain from his death: in fact, Jean V Duke of Brittany, who enabled his prosecution, disposed of his share of the loot before de Rais was even arrested.

In France, the subject of his probable innocence is far more freely discussed than it is in the English-speaking world. In 1992 a Vendéen author named Gilbert Prouteau was hired by the Breton tourist board to write a new biography. Prouteau was not quite the tame biographer that was wanted and his book, Gilles de Rais ou la gueule du loup, argued that Gilles de Rais was not guilty. Moreover, he summoned a special court to re-try the case, which sensationally resulted in an acquittal. As of 1992, Gilles de Rais is an innocent man.

In the mid-1920s he was even put forward for beatification, by persons unknown. He was certainly not the basis for Bluebeard, this is a very old story which appears all over the world in different forms.

Le 3 janvier 1443... le roi de France dénonçait le verdict du tribunal piloté par l'Inquisition.
Charles VII adressait au duc de Bretagne les lettres patentes dénonçant la machination du procès du maréchal: "Indûment condamné", tranche le souverain. Cette démarche a été finalement étouffée par l'Inquisition et les intrigues des grands féodaux. (Gilbert Prouteau)

Two years after the execution the King granted letters of rehabilitation for that 'the said Gilles, unduly and without cause, was condemned and put to death'. (Margaret Murray)



Thursday 12 August 2021

The Martyr


Links to the film are now dead because the Rhode Island International Film Festival, which was showing it, is over. This blog post will be updated with new links when the film is shown elsewhere. 


Nearly a year ago I mentioned the short film I had been making with director Edmund Stenson and his crew - details and pictures here. It finally airs on Friday 13th August and will be available to watch for a week at this site. It lasts 15 minutes and is free to view. 

"A quirky, docu-fairytale brought to life through hand-illustrated animation, The Martyr paints a sinister-yet compassionate-portrait of two outcasts, and the obsession that binds them."



To my great astonishment, animator Robbie Ward introduced an image of me into the action (albeit with tidier hair): here I am witnessing the execution of Gilles de Rais. This gave me an eerie frisson, as it echoes a dream I had twenty-odd years ago. Nobody in the film crew knew about this, least of all Robbie Ward, who I never met. 

Once again, the link to the film, which is free to watch and will take up just fifteen minutes of your time. Click here


Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)