Reconsidering Gilles de Rais: From Demonized Marshal to Tragic Knight of Joan of Arc

This paper seeks to reassess Gilles de Rais, traditionally demonized as the ”Blue- beard” figure of medieval France. First, it re-examines his military career as Mar- shal of France and his pivotal role as Joan of Arc’s staunchest supporter during the Hundred Years’ War. Second, it argues that Gilles’s post-1431 descent into alleged sorcery and heresy should not be reduced to sexual perversion, but rather understood as an expression of profound grief, guilt, and a desperate search for redemption through mystical and alchemical practices. Third, the trial records are critically re-evaluated, with attention to the political and economic motivations of the Church and secular authorities in confiscating his estates. By contrasting the mythical construction of Gilles as a sadistic murderer with the historical evidence of his role as a tragic figure bound to Joan of Arc’s memory, this paper situates Gilles de Rais not as a monstrous aberration, but as an emblematic case of how sanctity and damnation were constructed in late medieval Europe. Comparative discussion with Vlad T¸ epe¸s highlights how figures demonized in one tradition can be rehabilitated as national heroes in another.