Gilles de Rais: Difference between revisions

Line 18:

In 1425, Rais was introduced to the court of Charles VII at Saumur and learned courtly manners by studying the [[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=37}}</ref> <br>At the battle for the Château of Lude, he took prisoner the English captain Blackburn.<ref>Jean de Bueil, ''Le Jouvencel'', Paris, Librairie Renouard, Part 1, 1887, [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k331566/f22.image.r pp.XV-XVII] ; Part 2 II, 1889, [https://archive.org/stream/lejouvencelparj00bueigoog#page/n285/mode/2up pp.273-275]</ref><ref>Matei Cazacu, ''Gilles de Rais'', Taillandier, 2005, pp.79</ref>

From 1427 to 1435, Rais served as a commander in the Royal Army, distinguishing himself by displaying reckless bravery on the battlefield during the renewal of the [[Hundred Years War]].<ref name="BenedettiPP63–64">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=63–64}}</ref> In 1429, he fought along with Joan of Arc in some of the campaigns waged against the English and their [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundian]] allies.<ref name="BenedettiP198" /> He was present with Joan when the [[Siege of Orléans]] ended.<ref name="BenedettiPP83–84">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=83–84}}</ref>

From 1427 to 1435, Rais served as a commander in the Royal Army, distinguishing himself by displaying reckless bravery on the battlefield during the renewal of the [[Hundred Years War]].<ref name="BenedettiPP63–64">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=63–64}}</ref> In 1429, he fought along with Joan of Arc in some of the campaigns waged against the English and their [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundian]] allies.<ref name="BenedettiP198" /> He was present with Joan when the Siege of Orléans ended.<ref name="BenedettiPP83–84">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=83–84}}</ref>

On Sunday 17 July 1429, Gilles was chosen as one of four lords for the honor of bringing the [[Holy Ampulla]] from the Abbey of Saint-Remy to Notre-Dame de Reims for the consecration of [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] as King of France.<ref name="BenedettiP93">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=93}}</ref> On the same day, he was officially created a [[Marshal of France]].<ref name="BenedettiP198">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=198}}</ref>

On Sunday 17 July 1429, Gilles was chosen as one of four lords for the honor of bringing the Holy Ampulla from the Abbey of Saint-Remy to Notre-Dame de Reims for the consecration of [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] as King of France.<ref name="BenedettiP93">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=93}}</ref> On the same day, he was officially created a Marshal of France.<ref name="BenedettiP198">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=198}}</ref>

Following the Siege of Orléans, Rais was granted the right to add a border of the royal arms, the [[fleur-de-lys]] on an azure ground, to his own. The letters patent authorizing the display cited Gilles’ "high and commendable services", the "great perils and dangers" he had confronted, and "many other brave feats".<ref name="BenedettiP101">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=101}}</ref>

Following the Siege of Orléans, Rais was granted the right to add a border of the royal arms, the fleur-de-lys on an azure ground, to his own. The letters patent authorizing the display cited Gilles’ "high and commendable services", the "great perils and dangers" he had confronted, and "many other brave feats".<ref name="BenedettiP101">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=101}}</ref>

In May 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake; Gilles was not present. His grandfather died 15 November 1432, and, in a public gesture to mark his displeasure with Gilles' reckless spending of a carefully amassed fortune, left his sword and his breastplate to Gilles' younger brother René de La Suze.<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=106,123}}</ref>

Line 29:

In 1434/5, Rais gradually withdrew from military and public life in order to pursue his own interests: the construction of a splendid Chapel of the Holy Innocents (where he officiated in robes of his own design),<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=123}}</ref> and the production of a theatrical spectacle called ''Le Mistère du Siège d'Orléans''. The play consisted of more than 20,000 lines of verse, requiring 140 speaking parts and 500 extras. Gilles was almost bankrupt at the time of the production and began selling property as early as 1432 to support his extravagant lifestyle. By March 1433, he had sold all his estates in Poitou (except those of his wife) and all his property in Maine. Only two castles in [[Anjou]], Champtocé-sur-Loire and Ingrandes, remained in his possession. Half of the total sales and mortgages were spent on the production of his play. The spectacle was first performed in Orléans on 8 May 1435. Six hundred costumes were constructed, worn once, discarded, and constructed afresh for subsequent performances. Unlimited supplies of food and drink were made available to spectators at Gilles' expense.<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=128–133}}</ref>

In June 1435, family members gathered to put a curb on Gilles. They appealed to Pope Eugene IV to disavow the Chapel of the Holy Innocents (which he refused to do) and carried their concerns to the king. On 2 July 1435, a royal edict was proclaimed in Orléans, Tours, Angers, Pouzauges, and Champtocé-sur-Loire denouncing Gilles as a spendthrift and forbidding him from selling any further property. No subject of Charles VII was allowed to enter into any contract with him, and those in command of his castles were forbidden to dispose of them. Gilles' credit fell immediately and his creditors pressed upon him. He borrowed heavily, using his ''objets d'art'', manuscripts, books and clothing as security. When he left Orléans in late August or early September 1435, the town was littered with precious objects he was forced to leave behind. The edict did not apply to Brittany, and the family was unable to persuade the ~~[[Duchy of Brittany|~~Duke of Brittany]] to enforce it.<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=135}}</ref>

In June 1435, family members gathered to put a curb on Gilles. They appealed to Pope Eugene IV to disavow the Chapel of the Holy Innocents (which he refused to do) and carried their concerns to the king. On 2 July 1435, a royal edict was proclaimed in Orléans, Tours, Angers, Pouzauges, and Champtocé-sur-Loire denouncing Gilles as a spendthrift and forbidding him from selling any further property. No subject of Charles VII was allowed to enter into any contract with him, and those in command of his castles were forbidden to dispose of them. Gilles' credit fell immediately and his creditors pressed upon him. He borrowed heavily, using his ''objets d'art'', manuscripts, books and clothing as security. When he left Orléans in late August or early September 1435, the town was littered with precious objects he was forced to leave behind. The edict did not apply to Brittany, and the family was unable to persuade the Duke of Brittany to enforce it.<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=135}}</ref>

==Occult involvement==

Line 40:

In his confession, Gilles maintained the first assaults on children occurred between spring 1432 and spring 1433.<ref name="BenedettiP109">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=109}}</ref> The first murders occurred at Champtocé-sur-Loire; however, no account of these murders survived.<ref name="BenedettiP112">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=112}}</ref> Shortly after, Gilles moved to Machecoul where, as the record of his confession states, he killed, or ordered to be killed, a great but uncertain number of children after he [[sodomy|sodomized]] them.<ref name="BenedettiP112" /> Forty naked bodies of children were discovered in Machecoul in 1437.<ref name="BenedettiP112" />

The first documented case of child-snatching and murder concerns a boy of twelve called Jeudon (first name unknown), an apprentice to the [[furrier]] Guillaume Hilairet.<ref name="BenedettiP113">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=113}}</ref> Gilles de Rais' cousins, [[Gilles de Sillé]] and Roger de Briqueville, asked the furrier to lend them the boy to take a message to Machecoul, and, when Jeudon did not return, the two noblemen told the inquiring furrier that they were ignorant of the boy's whereabouts and suggested he had been carried off by thieves at [[Tiffauges]] to be made into a [[Page (occupation)|page]].<ref name="BenedettiP113" /> In Gilles de Rais' trial, the events were testified to by Hillairet and his wife, the boy's father Jean Jeudon, and five others from Machecoul.

The first documented case of child-snatching and murder concerns a boy of twelve called Jeudon (first name unknown), an apprentice to the [[furrier]] Guillaume Hilairet.<ref name="BenedettiP113">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=113}}</ref> Gilles de Rais' cousins, Gilles de Sillé and Roger de Briqueville, asked the furrier to lend them the boy to take a message to Machecoul, and, when Jeudon did not return, the two noblemen told the inquiring furrier that they were ignorant of the boy's whereabouts and suggested he had been carried off by thieves at [[Tiffauges]] to be made into a [[Page (occupation)|page]].<ref name="BenedettiP113" /> In Gilles de Rais' trial, the events were testified to by Hillairet and his wife, the boy's father Jean Jeudon, and five others from Machecoul.

In his 1971 biography of Gilles de Rais, Jean Benedetti tells how the children who fell into Rais's hands were put to death:

Line 51:

==Trial and execution==

On 15 May 1440, Rais kidnapped a [[cleric]] during a dispute at the Church of Saint-Étienne-de-Mer-Morte.<ref name="BenedettiP168">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=168}}</ref><ref name="WolfP173“">{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=173}}</ref> The act prompted an investigation by the Bishop of Nantes, during which evidence of Gilles' crimes was uncovered.<ref name="BenedettiP168" /> On 29 July, the Bishop released his findings,<ref name="BenedettiP169">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=169}}</ref> and subsequently obtained the prosecutorial cooperation of Rais's former protector, [[John VI, Duke of Brittany]]. Rais and his bodyservants Poitou and Henriet were arrested on 15 September 1440,<ref name="BenedettiP176–177">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=176–177}}</ref><ref name="WolfP178">{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=178}}</ref> following a [[secular]] investigation which paralleled the findings of the investigation from the Bishop of [[Nantes]]. Rais's prosecution would likewise be conducted by both secular and ecclesiastical courts, on charges which included [[murder]], [[sodomy]], and [[heresy]].<ref name="BenedettiPP177,179">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=177, 179}}</ref>

On 15 May 1440, Rais kidnapped a [[cleric]] during a dispute at the Church of Saint-Étienne-de-Mer-Morte.<ref name="BenedettiP168">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=168}}</ref><ref name="WolfP173“">{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=173}}</ref> The act prompted an investigation by the Bishop of Nantes, during which evidence of Gilles' crimes was uncovered.<ref name="BenedettiP168" /> On 29 July, the Bishop released his findings,<ref name="BenedettiP169">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=169}}</ref> and subsequently obtained the prosecutorial cooperation of Rais's former protector, John VI, Duke of Brittany. Rais and his bodyservants Poitou and Henriet were arrested on 15 September 1440,<ref name="BenedettiP176–177">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=176–177}}</ref><ref name="WolfP178">{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=178}}</ref> following a [[secular]] investigation which paralleled the findings of the investigation from the Bishop of [[Nantes]]. Rais's prosecution would likewise be conducted by both secular and ecclesiastical courts, on charges which included [[murder]], [[sodomy]], and [[heresy]].<ref name="BenedettiPP177,179">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=177, 179}}</ref>

The extensive witness testimony convinced the judges that there were adequate grounds for establishing the guilt of the accused. After Rais admitted to the charges on 21 October,<ref name="BenedettiPP182–183">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=182–183}}</ref> the court canceled a plan to torture him into confessing.<ref name="BenedettiP184">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=184}}</ref> Peasants of the neighboring villages had earlier begun to make accusations that their children had entered Gilles' castle begging for food and had never been seen again. The transcript, which included testimony from the parents of many of these missing children as well as graphic descriptions of the murders provided by Gilles' accomplices, was said to be so lurid that the judges ordered the worst portions to be stricken from the record.

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 In 1425, Rais was introduced to the court of Charles VII at Saumur and learned courtly manners by studying the [[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=37}}</ref> <br>At the battle for the Château of Lude, he took prisoner the English captain Blackburn.<ref>Jean de Bueil, ''Le Jouvencel'', Paris, Librairie Renouard, Part 1, 1887, [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k331566/f22.image.r pp.XV-XVII] ; Part 2 II, 1889, [https://archive.org/stream/lejouvencelparj00bueigoog#page/n285/mode/2up pp.273-275]</ref><ref>Matei Cazacu, ''Gilles de Rais'', Taillandier, 2005, pp.79</ref>
-From 1427 to 1435, Rais served as a commander in the Royal Army, distinguishing himself by displaying reckless bravery on the battlefield during the renewal of the [[Hundred Years War]].<ref name="BenedettiPP63–64">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=63–64}}</ref> In 1429, he fought along with Joan of Arc in some of the campaigns waged against the English and their [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundian]] allies.<ref name="BenedettiP198" /> He was present with Joan when the [[Siege of Orléans]] ended.<ref name="BenedettiPP83–84">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=83–84}}</ref>
+From 1427 to 1435, Rais served as a commander in the Royal Army, distinguishing himself by displaying reckless bravery on the battlefield during the renewal of the [[Hundred Years War]].<ref name="BenedettiPP63–64">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=63–64}}</ref> In 1429, he fought along with Joan of Arc in some of the campaigns waged against the English and their [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundian]] allies.<ref name="BenedettiP198" /> He was present with Joan when the Siege of Orléans ended.<ref name="BenedettiPP83–84">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=83–84}}</ref>
-On Sunday 17 July 1429, Gilles was chosen as one of four lords for the honor of bringing the [[Holy Ampulla]] from the Abbey of Saint-Remy to Notre-Dame de Reims for the consecration of [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] as King of France.<ref name="BenedettiP93">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=93}}</ref> On the same day, he was officially created a [[Marshal of France]].<ref name="BenedettiP198">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=198}}</ref>
+On Sunday 17 July 1429, Gilles was chosen as one of four lords for the honor of bringing the Holy Ampulla from the Abbey of Saint-Remy to Notre-Dame de Reims for the consecration of [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] as King of France.<ref name="BenedettiP93">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=93}}</ref> On the same day, he was officially created a Marshal of France.<ref name="BenedettiP198">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=198}}</ref>
-Following the Siege of Orléans, Rais was granted the right to add a border of the royal arms, the [[fleur-de-lys]] on an azure ground, to his own. The letters patent authorizing the display cited Gilles’ "high and commendable services", the "great perils and dangers" he had confronted, and "many other brave feats".<ref name="BenedettiP101">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=101}}</ref>
+Following the Siege of Orléans, Rais was granted the right to add a border of the royal arms, the fleur-de-lys on an azure ground, to his own. The letters patent authorizing the display cited Gilles’ "high and commendable services", the "great perils and dangers" he had confronted, and "many other brave feats".<ref name="BenedettiP101">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=101}}</ref>
 In May 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake; Gilles was not present. His grandfather died 15&nbsp;November 1432, and, in a public gesture to mark his displeasure with Gilles' reckless spending of a carefully amassed fortune, left his sword and his breastplate to Gilles' younger brother René de La Suze.<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=106,123}}</ref>
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 In 1434/5, Rais gradually withdrew from military and public life in order to pursue his own interests: the construction of a splendid Chapel of the Holy Innocents (where he officiated in robes of his own design),<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=123}}</ref> and the production of a theatrical spectacle called ''Le Mistère du Siège d'Orléans''. The play consisted of more than 20,000 lines of verse, requiring 140 speaking parts and 500 extras. Gilles was almost bankrupt at the time of the production and began selling property as early as 1432 to support his extravagant lifestyle. By March 1433, he had sold all his estates in Poitou (except those of his wife) and all his property in Maine. Only two castles in [[Anjou]], Champtocé-sur-Loire and Ingrandes, remained in his possession. Half of the total sales and mortgages were spent on the production of his play. The spectacle was first performed in Orléans on 8&nbsp;May 1435. Six hundred costumes were constructed, worn once, discarded, and constructed afresh for subsequent performances. Unlimited supplies of food and drink were made available to spectators at Gilles' expense.<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=128–133}}</ref>
-In June 1435, family members gathered to put a curb on Gilles. They appealed to Pope Eugene IV to disavow the Chapel of the Holy Innocents (which he refused to do) and carried their concerns to the king. On 2&nbsp;July 1435, a royal edict was proclaimed in Orléans, Tours, Angers, Pouzauges, and Champtocé-sur-Loire denouncing Gilles as a spendthrift and forbidding him from selling any further property. No subject of Charles VII was allowed to enter into any contract with him, and those in command of his castles were forbidden to dispose of them. Gilles' credit fell immediately and his creditors pressed upon him. He borrowed heavily, using his ''objets d'art'', manuscripts, books and clothing as security. When he left Orléans in late August or early September 1435, the town was littered with precious objects he was forced to leave behind. The edict did not apply to Brittany, and the family was unable to persuade the  [[Duchy of Brittany|Duke of Brittany]] to enforce it.<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=135}}</ref>
+In June 1435, family members gathered to put a curb on Gilles. They appealed to Pope Eugene IV to disavow the Chapel of the Holy Innocents (which he refused to do) and carried their concerns to the king. On 2&nbsp;July 1435, a royal edict was proclaimed in Orléans, Tours, Angers, Pouzauges, and Champtocé-sur-Loire denouncing Gilles as a spendthrift and forbidding him from selling any further property. No subject of Charles VII was allowed to enter into any contract with him, and those in command of his castles were forbidden to dispose of them. Gilles' credit fell immediately and his creditors pressed upon him. He borrowed heavily, using his ''objets d'art'', manuscripts, books and clothing as security. When he left Orléans in late August or early September 1435, the town was littered with precious objects he was forced to leave behind. The edict did not apply to Brittany, and the family was unable to persuade the  Duke of Brittany to enforce it.<ref>{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=135}}</ref>
 ==Occult involvement==
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 In his confession, Gilles maintained the first assaults on children occurred between spring 1432 and spring 1433.<ref name="BenedettiP109">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=109}}</ref> The first murders occurred at Champtocé-sur-Loire; however, no account of these murders survived.<ref name="BenedettiP112">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=112}}</ref> Shortly after, Gilles moved to Machecoul where, as the record of his confession states, he killed, or ordered to be killed, a great but uncertain number of children after he [[sodomy|sodomized]] them.<ref name="BenedettiP112" /> Forty naked bodies of children were discovered in Machecoul in 1437.<ref name="BenedettiP112" />
-The first documented case of child-snatching and murder concerns a boy of twelve called Jeudon (first name unknown), an apprentice to the [[furrier]] Guillaume Hilairet.<ref name="BenedettiP113">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=113}}</ref> Gilles de Rais' cousins, [[Gilles de Sillé]] and Roger de Briqueville, asked the furrier to lend them the boy to take a message to Machecoul, and, when Jeudon did not return, the two noblemen told the inquiring furrier that they were ignorant of the boy's whereabouts and suggested he had been carried off by thieves at [[Tiffauges]] to be made into a [[Page (occupation)|page]].<ref name="BenedettiP113" /> In Gilles de Rais' trial, the events were testified to by Hillairet and his wife, the boy's father Jean Jeudon, and five others from Machecoul.
+The first documented case of child-snatching and murder concerns a boy of twelve called Jeudon (first name unknown), an apprentice to the [[furrier]] Guillaume Hilairet.<ref name="BenedettiP113">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=113}}</ref> Gilles de Rais' cousins, Gilles de Sillé and Roger de Briqueville, asked the furrier to lend them the boy to take a message to Machecoul, and, when Jeudon did not return, the two noblemen told the inquiring furrier that they were ignorant of the boy's whereabouts and suggested he had been carried off by thieves at [[Tiffauges]] to be made into a [[Page (occupation)|page]].<ref name="BenedettiP113" /> In Gilles de Rais' trial, the events were testified to by Hillairet and his wife, the boy's father Jean Jeudon, and five others from Machecoul.
 In his 1971 biography of Gilles de Rais, Jean Benedetti tells how the children who fell into Rais's hands were put to death:
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 ==Trial and execution==
-On 15 May 1440, Rais kidnapped a [[cleric]] during a dispute at the Church of Saint-Étienne-de-Mer-Morte.<ref name="BenedettiP168">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=168}}</ref><ref name="WolfP173“">{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=173}}</ref> The act prompted an investigation by the Bishop of Nantes, during which evidence of Gilles' crimes was uncovered.<ref name="BenedettiP168" /> On 29 July, the Bishop released his findings,<ref name="BenedettiP169">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=169}}</ref> and subsequently obtained the prosecutorial cooperation of Rais's former protector, [[John VI, Duke of Brittany]]. Rais and his bodyservants Poitou and Henriet were arrested on 15 September 1440,<ref name="BenedettiP176–177">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=176–177}}</ref><ref name="WolfP178">{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=178}}</ref> following a [[secular]] investigation which paralleled the findings of the investigation from the Bishop of [[Nantes]]. Rais's prosecution would likewise be conducted by both secular and ecclesiastical courts, on charges which included [[murder]], [[sodomy]], and [[heresy]].<ref name="BenedettiPP177,179">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=177, 179}}</ref>
+On 15 May 1440, Rais kidnapped a [[cleric]] during a dispute at the Church of Saint-Étienne-de-Mer-Morte.<ref name="BenedettiP168">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=168}}</ref><ref name="WolfP173“">{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=173}}</ref> The act prompted an investigation by the Bishop of Nantes, during which evidence of Gilles' crimes was uncovered.<ref name="BenedettiP168" /> On 29 July, the Bishop released his findings,<ref name="BenedettiP169">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=169}}</ref> and subsequently obtained the prosecutorial cooperation of Rais's former protector, John VI, Duke of Brittany. Rais and his bodyservants Poitou and Henriet were arrested on 15 September 1440,<ref name="BenedettiP176–177">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=176–177}}</ref><ref name="WolfP178">{{Harvnb|Wolf|1980|p=178}}</ref> following a [[secular]] investigation which paralleled the findings of the investigation from the Bishop of [[Nantes]]. Rais's prosecution would likewise be conducted by both secular and ecclesiastical courts, on charges which included [[murder]], [[sodomy]], and [[heresy]].<ref name="BenedettiPP177,179">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=177, 179}}</ref>
 The extensive witness testimony convinced the judges that there were adequate grounds for establishing the guilt of the accused. After Rais admitted to the charges on 21 October,<ref name="BenedettiPP182–183">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|pp=182–183}}</ref> the court canceled a plan to torture him into confessing.<ref name="BenedettiP184">{{Harvnb|Benedetti|1971|p=184}}</ref> Peasants of the neighboring villages had earlier begun to make accusations that their children had entered Gilles' castle begging for food and had never been seen again. The transcript, which included testimony from the parents of many of these missing children as well as graphic descriptions of the murders provided by Gilles' accomplices, was said to be so lurid that the judges ordered the worst portions to be stricken from the record.