Thomas Wilson

“ This man had committed the most fearful, inhuman, and base crimes,—crimes against the innocent and defenceless,—and yet, when brought to the bar of trial, he insisted he was a true Christian, and whatever else he might do or have done, he stood firm in his resolve not to take a false oath. He could commit murder times without number, and he seemed to consider the punishment for this relating only to the body. A false oath taken before God seemed to him to carry its punishment into the next world and to imperil his soul through eternity. ”

“ He was delivered to the prison at the Bouffay on the same evening, and the next morning was brought before the civil court with Pierre de l’Hospital as supreme judge. All hope of escape was lost to Gilles, and, like his accomplices, he seemed to be more interested for the salvation of his soul than care for his body. He made no defence,—indeed defence was useless, for the trial was only a formality. Being charged with the crime of murder and interrogated as to the facts, he repeated his confession of guilt. ”

“ The profession of war seems to have been the highest recommendation, and the shortest, as well as the easiest and most agreeable, road to preferment. There is much to be said on the score of patriotism and the needs of the country, for, as will be seen farther on, it was an era of war, and Brittany was in the midst of it. The education in arms was almost inevitable; it had greater attraction for Gilles than books, arts, or sciences; and it appears that his grandfather allowed him to pursue his own wishes and desires without even an attempt at control. ”

“ The Château Tiffauges was a favourite residence of Gilles de Retz; it was a stronghold, in which, if need be, he could have great security and, in case of war or attack, could make a good defence. It was large and commodious. Here it was that Gilles de Retz and François Prelati, the Italian, had their laboratory in which they endeavoured, first by alchemy, then by magic, and lastly by murder, to discover the Elixir of Eternal Youth and the transmutation of metals into gold. ”

“ The interrogators seemed more interested in the invocation of demons than in the abduction and murder of the infants. Gilles and François were brought together before the judges and the Bishop, and upon the conclusion of the séance they were sent back to their respective prisons. On parting, Gilles turned towards François, and sobbing, embraced him with sorrow, and addressed to him his last words: “Adieu, François, my friend. Never again will we see each other in this world. I pray that you may have good patience and hope in God, and that we will see each other in the great joy of Paradise. ”

“ The session of the court was held in public; the bench appears to have been filled with ecclesiastical dignitaries, many of them bishops from the neighbouring dioceses, with judges and lawyers; while below, an immense pressing, pushing, exasperated crowd of bereaved parents and friends, filled with emotion, added much to the excitement by their declarations of the losses they had sustained by the abduction of their dear children, and who filled the room with their cries against the perpetrator of the crimes by which they had been robbed of their loved ones. ”

“ His ecclesiastical paraphernalia was at the command of the theatre.
The follies and ambition of Gilles not only required his theatrical costumes and property to be of the richest and most expensive stuffs, but in his maladministration they were bought at highest prices, payment frequently made with promises greatly increasing their cost. With all this, his pride was such that he never permitted the same dress to be worn twice; everything was required to be made anew for each representation, or for each series of representations. ”

“ He offered his oath to support each and every one of the articles he had presented. Turning to Gilles, he demanded that he make the same oath, and in the same manner, that is, between the hands of the Bishop and the Vice-Inquisitor (“entre les mains de l’évêque et du Vice-inquisiteur”) . This was demanded of him four different times—he was begged, pleaded with, implored, threatened, menaced with excommunication, but he remained strong in his refusal. What a strange thing is human nature! ”

“ William Merici, of the order of Friars Preachers, professor of Sacred Theology, by the apostolic authority Grand Inquisitor of Heresy in the Kingdom of France, to our well-beloved brother in Jesus Christ, Jean Blouyn of the convent of our order in the city of Nantes, salvation by the author of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ:
“Heresy, says the Apostle, is an evil that, if not cut up by the roots by the iron of the Inquisition, will propagate itself as a cancer in secret, and in darkness bring death to the most simple soul. ”

“ As he sat down amidst the silence of that162 awful hour, a visible shudder ran over the audience; judges and priests, accustomed, one to condemn, the other to console, both hearing these terrible confessions of evil deeds, were visibly affected. Before any word or business could be spoken, Gilles arose again to say another word:
“Whatever may be the perils of my soul, I am still not drowned or lost—I am redeemable, and I believe that the clemencies of God and the suffrages of the holy Church, in which I have always put my hope and my heart, have succoured me with such mercy. ”

“ Beginning in the year 1432, a district comprising a large portion of western France, including the southern part of the Province of Brittany, the western part of the Province of Maine, and the northern part of the Province of Poitou, became excited by an undefined fear which, increased by its uncertainty and vagueness, produced in the people a feeling akin to terror. It was not the fear of war, for the people had had an intimate acquaintance with war for many years ”

“ Gilles remained obstinate and refused to plead, and demanded an appeal to the higher court. His conduct during the reading was such as to destroy any sympathy the judges may have had. Bishops and judges are but men, and it was too much to expect that the human side of the court would hear, unmoved, this abuse and contumely heaped upon it.
Gilles’s continued refusal to plead gave the prosecutor and court an opportunity to exercise their legal power, and the prosecutor demanded a decree of excommunication against Gilles for his contempt in this behalf committed. ”

“ The criminal proceedings in France, while different from those under the common law, yet still have some analogy therewith. There is no grand jury, but in its stead is an officer now called juge d’instruction. In this court no such special officer seems to have existed, but the duty of examining the witnesses, as done by the grand jury in the United States, was performed by the court itself, aided by the prosecutor. Instead of an indictment charging the crime as under the common law, an information is filed. ”

“ Thou, Gilles de Retz, hast shamefully committed crimes with infants of one or the other sex; thou hast committed sacrilege; hast violated the immunities of the Church; by these crimes, thou hast incurred the sentence of excommunication and all other punishments fixed by law ”

“ To all who hear me, clerks and priests of the Church, I would say: love always our holy Mother Church, revere her, give to her always the greatest respect. If I had not had this reverence and respect for her in my heart and in my affliction, I never would have been able to escape the hands of the demon. ”

“ Jehan Roucin, of Machecoul, says that about nine years ago his son, a child then about nine years of age, was in the field guarding the cattle; at night he did not return, and has never returned, nor have they ever had any news of him. They were told by a neighbour, since dead, that she had seen Gilles de Sillé with a tabart and an estamine (a sort of cloak and veil) going to and speaking with the child, whom he conducted to the postern-gate of the château; that the complaints of their neighbours, especially Jeudon, of the loss of their infants, are notorious. ”

“ Over this the prosecutor also became eloquent. His accusation was of an infraction of ecclesiastical law, and he dealt largely with the law of the Church; his charges abounded in quotations from the Bible (Fourth and Thirty-ninth Psalms) , adjurations from holy men, and was filled with many brave and eloquent words in description and denunciation of the abominable crime of black magic, conjuration, and sorcery. He takes up the Italian priests from their respective places in their native country, and brings them along until they are joined to Gilles in Brittany. ”

“ This memoir ended with the prayer that the King should pass a decree against Gilles, interdicting him from making sale, transfer, or alienation, or mortgaging or pledging any of his property. This process is not unknown to French law. Without having the law of primogeniture as in England, the heirs yet had certain rights which, consequent upon the death of Gilles, would accrue to them under the law of France, and thus it was that the King was prayed to take the necessary steps for the protection of the rights of the heirs. ”

“ We have fullest confidence in the Lord that you are endowed with a capacity, jurisdiction, and good will to exercise this high charge. For this reason, by the counsel of several of our brothers of which the wisdom is recognised by all, we have made, established, and created to-day, and by these presents we do make, establish, and create you in all forms and with all the conditions required by the law and the best authority which are in our hands, as our vicar in the city and diocese of Nantes. ”

“ The situation must have been irritating to Gilles, and doubtless proved his incentive to magic, by which he hoped to discover the Philosopher’s Stone, and, thereby, the means of converting the baser metals into gold. Whatever he may have done, or thought, in this direction prior to the passing of the decree, it seems that later he entered into closer relation with the alchemist and magician, and sought to study and practise the “black art” to a greater degree than he ever had done before. ”

“ INTRODUCTION The story of Bluebeard has become a classic in infantile mythical (folk-lore) literature wherever the English and French languages are spoken. Rev. Dr. Shahan suggests its possible existence in earlier languages and more distant countries (see p. xiv.) . The story is more or less mythical. While it does not follow history with any pretence of fidelity, it has come to be recognised by the historians and literati of France as representing the life of Gilles de Retz (or Rais) , a soldier of Brittany in the first half of the fifteenth century. ”

“ The Duke of Bedford, son-in-law of the Duke of Burgundy, was the English general commanding in France. The Count of Richemont, the second son of the Duke of Brittany,14 was also the son-in-law of the Duke of Burgundy. Thus these strong nobles, princes, and kings were allied against France. In the dukedom of Brittany the contending houses of Blois and Montfort had been aided, respectively, by the King of France and the King of England, and had accepted and supported an English army on Breton soil. We all know of the condition of the dukedom of Normandy ”

“ They felt themselves incapable and incompetent to war against this mysterious, devastating, supernatural force; hence they resigned themselves to the affliction, considering it to have been sent upon them by Almighty God as a punishment for their sins. They did not know what sins they had committed, but felt sure that nothing they had done would justify even Almighty God in the abduction of the little ones who had not been at fault, and the torture of the parents incident thereto; so they rebelled against their fate. ”

“ In the condition of his country at that time, it was but natural that this handsome, impetuous, rich, and powerful baron should take up arms as his profession. France and England were in the midst of the Hundred Years’ War. Brittany, Gilles’s own duchy, had been since the death of John IV. engaged in a civil war over the succession. The family of Montforts (son of a younger son) had gained the victory over the Penthièvres and Blois (daughter of an elder son) . Gilles’s father and his family had fought on the side of Blois, but on his defeat they had made their peace with the victorious Duke. ”

“ Human nature can become accustomed to anything. Their fate seemed better, not because it was better, but because, not getting worse, they got used to it and were able to stand it better. The first theory upon which the people settled was that the disappearance of their children was due to fairies, to evil genii, to a supernatural and mysterious enemy—that this mysterious enemy was supernatural, they did not doubt. ”

“ The noble and puissant lord, Monsieur Gilles, Seignior of Retz, Count of Brienne, Lord of Champtocé and Pouzauges, Marshal of France, has lately, for the good of his soul, and looking to our Lord Jesus Christ, on behalf of himself, his late father, mother, relatives and friends, all sinners, made a foundation in memory of the Holy Innocents, at Machecoul in Rais, Duchy of Brittany. ”

“ No apparent distinction of sex was made, but the subjects of attack were always young, say from six to sixteen years; old enough to go about the farm or from one farm to another, possibly from one village to another, when, without warning, apparently without cause, without the slightest evidence as to the means used, and without leaving the slightest trace of the tragedy, suddenly a child was gone. ”

“ Michelet passes the highest encomiums upon this little87 band, whose intrepidity and courage he lauds as though it was leading a forlorn hope, for its devotion to duty in entering upon so dangerous a procedure as this arrest. There does not seem, however, to have been any reasonable apprehension of danger. If Gilles resisted arrest, he would simply remain within his castle, refuse to open his gate, and bid defiance to the officers. They would then return to Nantes and report their failure, and what would be done further was a matter for their superiors, the authorities of the kingdom. ”