The Martyrdom of Gilles de Rais

The Martyrdom of Gilles de Rais PDF Author: Margot K. Juby
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781729561355
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Gilles de Rais was executed on October 26th 1440 for a string of offences including heresy, black magic, sodomy and murder. He was revered as a saint for three hundred years after his death. Since the latter part of the nineteenth century, he has quite wrongly been regarded as the inspiration for Perrault's Bluebeard. What are we to make of such contradictions? Historians have long assumed that the life and death of Gilles de Rais had been thoroughly researched and held no secrets. The converse was the case. Properly examined, the dry court documents are full of contradiction and absurdity. Many supposed facts, on close scrutiny, turn out to be pure fiction. Unimportant characters sidle from the shadows, having turned out to be spies. Important ones may never even have existed. In 1992, there was an unofficial retrial, spearheaded by the novelist Gilbert Prouteau. Gilles was spectacularly acquitted, but there has been a great deal of controversy about what many see as a jape or a publicity stunt and his reputation remains in limbo. Was he a saint, or the Devil incarnate? History is undecided.The purpose of this book is to scrutinize the generally accepted account of Gilles' life, including the evidence given at his trial, to expose the commonly believed myths and to posit a more credible alternative narrative. There is a much stronger case for his innocence to be made than that put forward in 1992. However, this is not simply a rehash for English readers of the arguments put forward by various French writers. It is a work of original research. In addition, since existing biographies are inaccurate and patchy, it is an attempt at a truly encyclopaedic account of the life of Gilles de Rais. Everything you always wanted to know about Gilles de Rais (but were afraid to ask), if you like. All the facts are there, as well as all the lies and legends. This is not a conventional biography. But Gilles de Rais was no conventional man.

The Martyrdom of Gilles de Rais

The Martyrdom of Gilles de Rais PDF Author: Margot K. Juby
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781729561355
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book

Book Description
Gilles de Rais was executed on October 26th 1440 for a string of offences including heresy, black magic, sodomy and murder. He was revered as a saint for three hundred years after his death. Since the latter part of the nineteenth century, he has quite wrongly been regarded as the inspiration for Perrault's Bluebeard. What are we to make of such contradictions? Historians have long assumed that the life and death of Gilles de Rais had been thoroughly researched and held no secrets. The converse was the case. Properly examined, the dry court documents are full of contradiction and absurdity. Many supposed facts, on close scrutiny, turn out to be pure fiction. Unimportant characters sidle from the shadows, having turned out to be spies. Important ones may never even have existed. In 1992, there was an unofficial retrial, spearheaded by the novelist Gilbert Prouteau. Gilles was spectacularly acquitted, but there has been a great deal of controversy about what many see as a jape or a publicity stunt and his reputation remains in limbo. Was he a saint, or the Devil incarnate? History is undecided.The purpose of this book is to scrutinize the generally accepted account of Gilles' life, including the evidence given at his trial, to expose the commonly believed myths and to posit a more credible alternative narrative. There is a much stronger case for his innocence to be made than that put forward in 1992. However, this is not simply a rehash for English readers of the arguments put forward by various French writers. It is a work of original research. In addition, since existing biographies are inaccurate and patchy, it is an attempt at a truly encyclopaedic account of the life of Gilles de Rais. Everything you always wanted to know about Gilles de Rais (but were afraid to ask), if you like. All the facts are there, as well as all the lies and legends. This is not a conventional biography. But Gilles de Rais was no conventional man.

The Merlin of St. Gilles' Well

The Merlin of St. Gilles' Well PDF Author: Ann Chamberlin
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312875916
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
In the bestselling tradition of The Mists of Avalon, a powerful retelling of the legend of Joan of Arc! For close to six hundred years, the world has been fascinated by the true story of Joan of Arc. The saga of her rise from obscurity to lead the armies of France, followed by her tragic martyrdom, has inspired many books, plays, and films. Less well known is the fact that Joan's astounding destiny was predicted by ancient prophecies attributed to none other than Merlin himself. Or that Joan, later canonized by the Church as a saint, may have been a practioner of an even older religion: the ancient pagan ways that predated Christianity throughout Europe. The Merlin of St. Gilles' Well is a stunning historical fantasy, based on actual events, that casts Joan and her times in a revealing new light.

Gilles & Jeanne

Gilles & Jeanne PDF Author: Michel Tournier
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN:
Category : Christian women saints
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description


The Human Predator

The Human Predator PDF Author: Katherine Ramsland
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101619058
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
When we think of serial killing, we tend to think of it as a perversion of contemporary society. The Human Predator makes an eye-opening case for the existence of serial killers throughout time—the motives and methods, the societies that spawned them, and the historical periods in which they lived . . . and killed. From Ancient Rome and the Dark Ages to the open roads of America, from the exploits of French religious zealot Gilles de Rais to such high-profile monsters as Jeffrey Dahmer and Aileen Wuornos, Katherine Ramsland offers a complete chronological record of the serial-killer phenomenon—and the parallel development of psychology, forensic science, and FBI profiling in the serial killer’s evolving manifestation throughout human history. INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS

Castle Faggot

Castle Faggot PDF Author: Derek Mccormack
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 1635901375
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 105

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Book Description
A dark satire about an amusement park more deranged than anything Disney could imagine: a playland for gay men called Faggotland. Castle Faggot is Derek McCormack's darkest and most delicious book yet, a satire of sugary cereals and Saturday morning cartoons set in an amusement park more deranged than anything Disney dreamed up. At the heart of the park is Faggotland, a playland for gay men, and Castle Faggot, the darkest dark ride in the world. Home to a cartoon Dracula called Count Choc-o-log, the castle is decorated with the corpses of gays—some were killed, some killed themselves, all ended up as décor. The book includes a map of Faggotland, a photobook of the castle, the instructions for a castle-shaped dollhouse, and the novelization of a TV puppet show about Count Choc-o-log and his friends—reminiscent of the classic stop-motion special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but even gayer and more grotesque. As scatological as Sade but with a Hanna-Barbera vibe, Castle Faggot transmutes McCormack's love of the lurid and the childlike, of funhouses and sickhouses, into something furiously funny: as Edmund White says, “the mystery of objects, the lyricism of neglected lives, the menace and nostalgia of the past—these are all ingredients in this weird and beautiful parallel universe.”

Against Architecture

Against Architecture PDF Author: Denis Hollier
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262581134
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Over the past 30 years the writings of Georges Bataille have had a profound influence on French intellectual thought, informing the work of Foucault, Derrida, and Barthes, among others. Against Architecture offers the first serious interpretation of this challenging thinker, spelling out the profoundly original and radical nature of Bataille's work.

On Paedophilia

On Paedophilia PDF Author: Cosimo Schinaia
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429902786
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
This book deepens the communicative dynamics by which even through the mass media the paedophile has become the plague-spreader. It is an attempt to underline that only an integrative approach can give an appropriate answer to the clinical complexity characterising paedophilic pictures.

The Story of Joan of Arc

The Story of Joan of Arc PDF Author: Andrew Lang
Publisher: anboco
ISBN: 3736412886
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
Joan of Arc or "The Maid of Orléans", is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years' War, and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. Joan of Arc was born to Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée, a peasant family, at Domrémy in north-east France. Joan said she received visions of the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria instructing her to support Charles VII and recover France from English domination late in the Hundred Years' War. The uncrowned King Charles VII sent Joan to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted only nine days later. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VII's coronation at Reims. This long-awaited event boosted French morale and paved the way for the final French victory.

The Damned (là-Bas)

The Damned (là-Bas) PDF Author: Joris-Karl Huysmans
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN: 9781731122827
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 510

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Book Description
The Damned (Là-bas).Joris-Karl Huysmans.The Damned (Là-bas) By Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (February 5, 1848 - May 12, 1907) was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans; he is most famous for the novel À rebours. His style is remarkable for its idiosyncratic use of the French language, wide-ranging vocabulary, wealth of detailed and sensuous description, and biting, satirical wit. The novels are also noteworthy for their encyclopaedic documentation, ranging from the catalogue of decadent Latin authors in À rebours to the discussion of the symbology of Christian architecture in La Cathédrale. Huysmans' work expresses a disgust with modern life and a deep pessimism, which led the author first to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer then to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Ecce Monstrum

Ecce Monstrum PDF Author: Jeremy Biles
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823227782
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
In the 1930s, Georges Bataille proclaimed a ferociously religioussensibility characterized by simultaneous ecstasy and horror. Ecce Monstrum investigates this religious sensibility by examining Bataille's insistent linking of monstrosity and the sacred.Bataille enacts a monstrousmode of reading and writing in his approaches to other thinkers and artists-a mode at once agonistic and intimate. Ecce Monstrum examines this mode through investigations of Bataille's sacrificialinterpretations of Kojve's Hegel and Friedrich Nietzsche; his contentious relationship with Simone Weil and its implications for his mystical and writing practices; his fraught affiliation with surrealist Andr Breton and his attempt to displace surrealism with hyperchristianity; and his peculiar relations to artist Hans Bellmer, whose work evokes Bataille's religious sensibility