James Smythe Komvux Sundsvall

Book Review The life and death of lord Gilles De Rais 2012-03-30

The life and death of my lord Gilles De Rais

By Robert Nye

Introduction
The life and death of my lord Gilles De Rais is a book written by Robert Nye. Just as the name implies, this book is a fictional biography of one Gilles De Rais who was a Baron and also a captain in the army of King Charles VII of France. The main theme of the book is religion, spirituality and faith. An emphasis is laid on good and evil and the question why do opposites attract in this case that of good and evil. As you read on, you will get a clear picture of this emphasis.

Plot
The book itself is a recount of the life of Gilles the Rais. The story is told by a priest named Dom Eustache Blanchet. He is a priest who had lived with and served his master Gilles De Rais for many years. The story begins with him having a dream wherein he as a priest marries Joan of Arc whom he admired and saw as a saint to his master Gilles De Rais who was the exact opposite of Joan of Arc. To be precise, he called him the devil himself. As a religious man, Dom Eustache could not understand why GOD would send him such a dream of him marrying two people with such contrasting backgrounds. He thought he ought to do something as an atonement for having served under Gilles De Rais. So he sought to recount the experiences he had while living with Gilles De Rais and the little he knew and had heard about Joan the Arc whom he knew about but had never met. His recount was in the form of a confession. Gilles De Rais was according to Dom Eustache Blanchet one of the most evil men that had ever lived on this earth. He was a man who was deeply troubled all of the time he was with him. He dabbled deeply into the occult and was a sorcerer, an exorcist, a magician, an alchemist and he on many occasions summoned demons and on one of those occasions, tried to summon the devil himself but resulted in him going temporarily insane. He also perpetuated many distasteful and inhuman acts such as killing innocent children of both sexes for the delight of it. He would send out his loyal servants to lure unaccompanied children from the countryside into his castle and perform sexual acts on them and kill them. These occultist activities where like a religion to him. But he was also an ardent christian. He believed in both GOD and the devil as incarnate beings but could not decide which one to follow. His occultist religion demanded that he gave human sacrifices and he obliged, the church regarded murder as a mortal sin and he made atonement. When he removed bodies from his castle to be buried in forests, he swore his accomplices to secrecy by binding oaths of both religions. Dom Eustache would try to rationalize these conflicting personalities of his master through the connection with Joan of Arc. As you read on, you will get to see an earlier pleasant side of Gilles De Rais. When Joan of Arc comes into the narrative, she is cast as a saint sent from GOD. Dom Eustache never got to meet her because she was executed for witchcraft some twenty five years before he met Gilles De Rais. But according to numerous accounts he got from his master the lord Gilles and other reliable sources, he believed her to be the most holy person and wrongfully executed. At the age of thirteen, Joan of Arc started hearing voices which she believed where from GOD when she was in her fathers garden. This went on and before her twentieth birthday, she went before King Charles VII and

James Smythe Komvux Sundsvall

Book Review The life and death of lord Gilles De Rais 2012-03-30

proclaimed she had had vision from GOD and that she was to be the one to save France from the English. She demanded that she lead the army into war. The french army was so inspired by her that the King consented and she led the french into battle and they came out victorious. From then on she became an inspiration to every person who came in contact with her. She proclaimed herself a virgin preserved for GOD only and this proclamation was further affirmed by countless accounts of dukes, counts and soldiers who had met her and even camped on battlefields with her without even having one lustful urge towards her. It was during this time that she came into contact with Gilles De Rais. He had served as a captain in the army that rode with her and when she was asked to choose a personal bodyguard, he was an instant choice. She preferred men who where of the same faith and had the religious virtues to be around her. Surprisingly Gilles De Rais at that time was just such a man. He was very holy and lived a very virtues life. In fact it was this very steadfast faith and and extremely virtues lifestyle Gilles De Rais lived that led him to become the monster Dom Eustache came to know from the beginning of the book. According to Dom Eustache, after Joan of Arc was accused of witchcraft and later executed, Gilles De Rais lost sight of all that was good or evil. He became so rebellious and lost that he vowed to commit the highest form of blasphemy towards GOD. Hence his change into the monster we where introduced to in the beginning of the book. He too was later charged with witchcraft and was executed for his crimes. Dom Eustache found solace in his little effort to try and make amends and sense of the life of his master Gilles De Rais and the part he played through writing down what he knew.

Characters
Gilles De Rais The main character of the book is Gilles De Rais. He is a very handsome and attractive man. He is tall and lean and has pale skin. He is always dressed in black a habit he picked up after the death of Joan of Arc. He is cast as a very dark, mysterious and troubled person for the most part of the book. He is the hails from a wealthy family and and was married once but his wife died died a mysterious death after which he was nicknamed Blackbeard which is a name given to a man who marries women and the kills them. Joan of Arc She is the saint who is a major protagonist in the book but is also a background figure. She was very beautiful and was always dressed in white with a white horse. She bestowed awe everywhere she went and the book is kind of a tribute to her Dom Eustache He is the author that the author uses to write the book. The story is narrated through his eyes. He is a priest who was far from faith. He was a womanizer and drunkard who found faith through his narrative of the story.

Language and Composition

James Smythe Komvux Sundsvall

Book Review The life and death of lord Gilles De Rais 2012-03-30

The language is middle age English would seem kind of sophisticated to the normal present day reader. The author uses indirect speech as it is an account of someone else`s experiences. The book itself is a little bit hard to read or understand but with a little effort, you will get the story. The composition is so chronological. It is written in a very scattered manner which makes it more interesting and suspense filled. It begins with the results and ends with the cause.

Lesson and Conclusion.

There is no direct lessen to be learned from the book because it is a narrative about someone else life. But it holds many spiritual and philosophical passages and questions that every human being have pondered over once or twice in there lives. An example of one of these passages is as follows: And I quote; Gilles; So GOD causes evil? Dom Eustache; Not so. GOD permits evil that good may ensue. Gilles; But GOD causes sin! Dom Eustache; My lord, GOD is not the cause of sin. GOD permits sin that human free will may be safeguarded. It goes very deep into your conscience and keeps you interested. It was an interesting read for me because I am very interested in anything that has to do with spirituality and this book takes on a dual view perspective on that.