Description
Gilles de Rais (c. 1405 – 26 October 1440), Baron de Rais, was a knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known for his reputation and later conviction as a confessed serial killer of children.
A member of the House of Montmorency-Laval, Gilles de Rais was raised by his maternal grandfather. He earned the favour of the Duke of Brittany and was admitted to the French court. From 1427 to 1435, Rais served as a commander in the French army, and fought in the Hundred Years' War, for which he was appointed Marshal of France.
Rais is sometimes believed to be an inspiration for Charles Perrault's "Bluebeard" ("Barbe bleue") literary fairy tale (1697), but this assumption is controversial. Whatever the case, a popular confusion between the historical character and the mythical wife-murderer has been documented since the early 19th century.
*[c.]: circa
