Translator's Note:

     "Gilles de Rais," a radio-play based on the notorious child mollester/serial killer who rode at the side of Joan of Arc and was later mythologized into the bloodthirsty Blue-Beard, was first published in Films sans images by Editions Denoël in 1959. The translation that follows is the first-ever translation of the piece in the English language.

Characters
 
Gilles de Rais.
René de La Suze, his brother.
Gilles de Sillé, his cousin.
Jean de Craon, his guardian.
Guillemette, his nanny.
Catherine de Thouars, Gille's wife.
Joan of Arc.
Isabelle Romée, Joan's mother.
Pierre de Lys, Joan's oldest brother.
La Hire.
Dunois, Bastard of Orléans.
Charles VII.
A Soldier/Heretic.
An Archer.
Perrine Martin, a witch.
Eustache Blanchet.
Francesco Prelati.
Barron, a demon.
William Chapeillon, the Prosecutor.
Jean Bloin, the Inquisitor.
Jean de Malestroit, Bishop of Nantes.
The Prison Guard.
Captain Lassé.
 
 

Part 1
The Ecclesiastical Court of Nantes, 1440.
 
CHAPEILLON
In the name of Jean, Bishop of Nantes, through Divine Authority, and by the grace of the Holy Apostolic See, I, William Chapeillon, Prosecutor of this Tribunal, summon you, Baron Gilles de Rais of this diocese, to respond to forty-seven charges which are brought against you by Brother Jean Bloin, Vicar of the Holy Inquisition!
 
GILLES
(Snickering) You, a petty lawyer, summon me? I must have heard incorrectly... Do you know whom you are addressing? You summon me? The descendant of Brumor of Laval and Bertrand de Guesclin?... (Burst of laughter) By the good sword that came to me from my companion the King, it is I, the noble Lord de Rais, of La Motte Achard and numerous other places... it is I, Royal Knight and Marshal of France, Lieutenant-General of Brittany, who summon you, you measly pen-pusher, along with your simoniac Bishop, and your vulgar Inquisitor, to kneel and beat your breast for the trouble that you have caused me!
(Murmurs)
 
CHAPEILLON
(Unmoved) I therefore ask that the Vicar of the Holy Inquisition summarize the accusations brought against the Lord de Rais.
 
BLOIN
(In a nasally voice) Gilles de Rais, I accuse you, as well as your cousin and accomplice, Gilles de Sillé, and others, of having cruelly slit the throats, slaughtered, dismembered, and burned the bodies of numerous innocents, whom you sacrificed to the demon and burned, after having satisfied your monstrous desires and hideous lusts upon them. How do you respond to this?
 
GILLES
I respond rubbish, you son of a whore! I don't have to respond to simoniacs and vulgar fools. I would rather be hanged by the neck than accept your authority.
 
BLOIN
We beg you to reconsider, my Lord. Permit me to detail the main accusations, so that you cannot plead ignorance of them: For the last fourteen years, more or less, you, Baron Gilles de Rais, possessed by the Evil Spirit, and forgetful of your Salvation, have associated with conjurors and heretics, for the sole purpose of honoring Satan. Using the smoke of aloes and incense, you paid homage to Beelzebub, Belial and Oriens, in order to discover the Philosopher's Stone, and transmute metals. And usurping the role of Almighty God, you have refused to cease destroying young innocent souls, those angels of purity...
 
GILLES
(Shouting) Enough! Do not pronounce such words as "angels" and "purity" with your ugly old mouth! I disdain this pile of gossip, and I reject the justice of the Bishop of Nantes!
 
CHAPEILLON
Gilles, Lord Gilles, I implore you to come to your own defense! The flames lie in wait for you. It is known that you were close to repentance, that you promised to abstain, and that you would depart for the Holy Land, but then like a dog you returned to your own vomit. According to rumor and numerous witnesses, you continue to be a sorcerer, a pagan, a relapsed heretic...
 
GILLES
(Sarcastically) It seems to me I've heard these words before, somewhere else!
 
CHAPEILLON
...a sodomite, a summoner of Satan, a conjuror, a killer of innocent boys, and a worshipper of false idols. You have raised yourself up against his Divine Majesty and His representatives here on earth, the threat of excommunication hangs over you...

GILLES
I respond rubbish, you flunky! I am more familiar with the Catholic faith than my accusers are, and now it is my turn to solemnly address the President of the Court of Brittany, to express my astonishment that he permits priests to involve themselves in such causes as these, and to assume the right to...
 
BLOIN
(Interrupting him in an angry voice) He goes too far! In the name of the Reverend Father in God, Lord Jean de Malestroit, Bishop of Nantes, I, Vicar of the Very Holy Inquisition, ordain that the excommunication of Baron Gilles de Rais be proclaimed. In order to better reveal and discover the truth, both torture and the rack shall be applied in our presence, to Gilles de Rais, the accused, at dawn of the following day, in the castle dungeon of the La Tour Neuve!
 
GILLES
(With a big laugh) And I still respond rubbish, you cold fish! Your tortures only work for scaring little sissies! As for me, Baron Gilles de Rais, Marshal of France, remember this: I was at Orléans, I was at Jargeau, I was at Patay, I was at Reims, where I carried the blood of Christ in my hands, walking side by side with Joan of Arc, whom you also excommunicated and sentenced to death! Thus, I agree to meet you at La Tour Neuve, you lowly scoundrel, to prove to you that the my blood, unlike yours, isn't what spouts from the mouth of a gargoyle!...
(Long burst of laughter)
 
 
Part 2
The same evening, in the prison where Gilles is locked up. The heavy footsteps of archers in the corridor. On the outside, the threatening cries of the crowd.
 
VOICES
Death!... Death to the monster!... Chop him up and burn him!... Death to Lord de Rais!
 
GILLES
(Growling) Oil!... Boiling oil! Pour boiling oil on all those sissies!... Howl as much as you want, wretches! I, Baron Gilles de Rais, I, Gilles...
 
GUARD
(Entering) Come, come, my Lord, calm down. You're out of harm's way here, in this fine apartment...
 
GILLES
Boiling oil!... That's what they need, barrels and barrels of boiling oil on their filthy, starving heads!... Where's my spiced wine?
 
GUARD
Here, my Lord. (He places a jug on the table) Now get some rest! We're doing everything we can for you... as much spiced wine as you want, your beautiful white robe from the Carmelites, you can hear Mass being sung in the distance... But you're drinking too much, my Lord. You'll get drunk. These highly spiced wines have already gotten you into enough trouble...
(He laughs)
 
GILLES
Shut your mouth! I have no need for your advice.
 
GUARD
You're thirty-six years old, a Baron, a Marshal, and everything... yet here you are, reduced to toasting alone in prison...
 
GILLES
Enough!... Gilles de Rais asks for nothing from nobody!
 
GUARD
Well, I'm only a poor prison guard, my Lord, but I'm still better off than you, because now you're not even part of the Christian faith anymore... (He laughs) You do know the difference, don't you?
 
GILLES
Will you shut up! (A short pause) Excommunicated?... It is I, Gilles de Rais, who excommunicates them!...
 
GUARD
Of course, of course. Drink up then, my Lord. I don't have any right to open my mouth, but I can't help but laugh... to see a lord so rich and powerful and courageous as yourself, caught like a wolf in a trap. They finally got you, my Lord!
 
GILLES
(Howling) No! They don't have me! I shall be saved! And I refuse to recognize their justice, they would never dare... The Court and the Bishop would never dare touch Gilles de Rais. Do you understand me, you damned beggar? I am above the law...
 
GUARD
Of course you are. But all your greatness and all your fine words won't prevent daybreak tomorrow...
 
GILLES
(Shouting) Get out! Get out, if you don't want to be knocked senseless!
GUARD
Peace, my Lord! I'm off!
(He leaves)
 
GILLES
They would never dare!... Not to me, Gilles de Rais, the wolfcub of the Sire de Craon... (A short pause) Here's to your health, Jean de Craon!... (He drinks) They would never dare, would they, dear old Jean de Craon? You, who were more than a father and mother to me... As far back as I can remember, you would always come to my rescue, whenever I called to you, Jean de Craon. You were as large as a mountain, with paternal white hair, and the laughter of an ogre... You taught me how to take, and to live, you handsome old man... Here's to your health, Jean de Craon, Jean de Craon, Jean de Craon...

 
Part 3
The year is 1415, at the castle of Jean de Craon, who comes into the room where Gilles is with Guillemette, his nanny. Musicians are playing.
 
CRAON
Enough, Guillemette, enough music for the child. Eleven years old is too old for bagpipes. Do you still breast-feed him?
 
GUILLEMETTE
Of course not, my Lord.
 
CRAON
That's a pity. Perhaps he would appreciate it more now! Come on, bring that little brat out from under your skirts. (To Gilles) Boy, we must have a talk. Sit yourself down like a grown man. Hmmm, you have a healthy look.
 
GUILLEMETTE
He's strong in the arms, he has strong muscular arms.
 
CRAON
That's what's needed. Look at me, Gilles. Here I am, almost your grandfather, and I'm ready to be your guardian. Give thanks for this! For through me, you receive part of Montmorency-Laval, Machecoul and Chabot, and from me, this beautiful dominion of Rais, whose name you bear, is yours. But you will have to deserve all this, sonny.
 
GUILLEMETTE
He deserves it, my Lord. He's a real little lamb, full of sweetness and kindness.
   
CRAON
That's rubbish, my girl. This wolfcub came into the world through the Black Tower of Chantocé, he has no need for caresses. His mother and father died, God rest their souls. But I will make a good strong wolf of him, all fangs on the outside...
 
GUILLEMETTE
But he's so sweet, my Lord...
 
CRAON
Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish! Life is a woman and she's big-titted like you, my Guillemette! You must grasp her firmly by the body, to make sure she obeys and gives in. Watch how, little wolfcub!
(He grabs the nanny)
 
GUILLEMETTE
(Shocked, but laughing) My Lord!... Really, my Lord!
 
CRAON
Keep your eyes open wide, wolfcub! And if she protests, so much the better, it's more of a romp... You must take all that you covet: the women, the riches, and the glory... everything you desire! Take, take, take! And hold on tight! The more you take the better it will be! There are no laws for wolves, remember this well...
 
GUILLEMETTE
(With a big laugh) Come, come my Lord! Let me be...
 
CRAON
Rubbish! And you, wolfcub, you are eleven years old, so it's time you got started. I will find a fiancée for you, one abundantly supplied with gold, and castles... (To Guillemette) Come on, you saucy wench, obey your master and let yourself be swived!
 
GUILLEMETTE
My Lord!... my Lord!...
(Laughter from them both)
   
 
Part 4
In the park, four years later. Gilles is practicing archery with his cousin Gilles de Sillé, who is also fifteen. Gilles de Rais' five-year-old brother René de La Suze is with them.
 
GILLES
...Four! (Short pause) And five!... (Short pause) Four out of five arrows: right in the bullseye.
 
SILLÉ
You win, cousin Rais. You always win!
 
RENÉ
Me! Me! I want to shoot...
 
GILLES
Little brother, don't touch those bows. You are only five, and that's old enough to get an arrow in the eye, but not old enough for your eye to see the target. So don't touch! Keep your hands off, little brother!
 
SILLÉ
Let me try again.
 
GILLES
It isn't worth the trouble, Sillé. You may be called Gilles like me, and you may be my cousin, but you will never aim as true as I. It was Jean de Craon who taught me how to shoot.
 
RENÉ
Grandfather taught me how to shoot too...
 
GILLES
You shut up, you little brat. Your wolf fangs have not yet grown. I am a wolfcub and I already know how to hunt my prey...
 
SILLÉ
Wolfcub, wolfcub... you talk like the Sire de Craon, you ape him, and you are becoming just as boastful. In the meantime, boastful or not, you are still unmarried...
 
GILLES
Rubbish, cousin! That's rubbish, I tell you!
 
SILLÉ
Two years ago when you were thirteen, he had you engaged to Joan de Peynel, the daughter of the Lord of Hambuie, and Briquebec...
 
GILLES
She was a stubby little runt who stank of her mother's milk. How was I supposed to have my way with that four-year-old stump of a woman?
 
SILLÉ
Her grazing lands slipped through your fingers. Then, just twelve months ago, there was the daughter of the Lord de Porhoët, Beatrice de Rohan. That one there was past suckling alright... she was very shapely with breasts this big, and a rump like this, and she was yours for the taking, as you and your grandfather put it.
 
GILLES
Let us handle things, cousin. I take what I want when I want. We broke off with her because we found better...
 
SILLÉ
What then?

GILLES
Keep it quiet. Jean de Craon and I have a plan, and there is more gold in it than you could even imagine... We have a plan, I tell you. Anyway that's enough talk about women...
 
RENÉ
Me too, I want to take, I want to take!
 
GILLES
(Laughing) Listen to him, listen to how he talks! That's how I like them...
 
SILLÉ
(Half-serious, half-joking) How you like them? What do you mean by that, cousin?
 
GILLES
It's nothing that you're not aware of, cousin... how I like them. And you know as well as I, my handsome cousin. You and I, we both like little angels, remember?... We take women for what they bring us, but little angels are another thing, wouldn't you say, cousin?...
(He snickers)
 
RENÉ
Me, I want to take too...
 
 
Part 5
Night, at the Castle of Chantocé, a year later.
 
CRAON
There you are, at last! So?
 
GILLES
It's done, Guardian. It's been done, and done well.
 
CRAON
(Delighted) Wolfcub, my good little wolfcub, the wedding is in the bag! Ah, what a good boy you are! Did she cry out?
 
GILLES
Not too much. She claims she loves me.
(He snickers)
 
CRAON
What fine work! I couldn't have done better myself at sixteen. Just think, Catherine de Thouars, the richest heiress in Brittany! Now you're better than just well-supplied, wolfcub.
 
GILLES
Not so fast. The marriage hasn't been blessed yet.
 
CRAON
Tomorrow, before noon. And then we'll be protected by the mighty towers of Chantocé, in case somebody wants to take her back, even though she's damaged goods...
(He laughs)
 
GILLES
It's not likely. Her father is off fighting in Champagne. And her relations nearly died of fright when our men burst in with their swords drawn.
 
CRAON
You kidnapped your little wife splendidly. You are a true wolf, Gilles. We can't say you're much for the skirts though, can we?... (He snickers) ...but you held her tight in your arms. And your cousin Sillé did well too, for never having been with a woman before... except that is, for a man dressed up in skirts!...
(He bursts out laughing)
 
GILLES
Joke if you like, Guardian. But what about the Court of Rome?
 
CRAON
You'll be married tomorrow.
 
GILLES
It was pretty brutal. And we're cousins to the eighth degree, so our marriage is incestuous.
 
CRAON
So what? You already took her. We'll heap gold upon the Papal Legate, and if we have to, we'll knock him around a bit... But look, here comes your victim now.
(A pause. The soft footsteps of Catherine approach)
 
CATHERINE
Gilles, Gilles, I'm afraid... Why have you left me all alone? I'm afraid.
   
GILLES
Catherine, go back to bed.
 
CRAON
Oh no, let her stay. (A short pause) Your hand, my child. Let me kiss you. (He kisses her) Gilles cares for you... which is what you could say if the Pope tries to separate you.
 
CATHERINE
That's impossible! His Holiness would never want... Gilles, Gilles, Gilles, don't leave me.
 
CRAON
You see, wolfcub? (He laughs) Go, my child, don't be scared, the wedding is tomorrow morning.
 
GILLES
(Pleased) Take, take, take!... Jean de Craon, I love you.
 
CATHERINE
Come with me, Gilles. Don't leave me all alone, I'm afraid in that big bed...
 
CRAON
(With an enormous laugh) Go on, wolfcub, she wants it again!
   
 
Part 6
Five years later at the Castle of Machecoul. Gilles de Rais is twenty-one-years old. Musicians are playing and singing.
 
GILLES
I like this song, Catherine. I think I've heard it before...
 
CATHERINE
Remember Gilles, it's been five years... The night of Chantocé, that night you kidnapped me, like a ruffian. Your guardian made his musicians come... (A pause) I don't like your guardian, Gilles.
 
GILLES
Enough, Catherine! I don't want to hear you speak about him... It's because of him that I have you, and my happiness, and my vast fortune...
 
CATHERINE
I don't like his way of life. He's always scheming. He laughs gruffly. He respects neither God nor the Devil...
 
GILLES
Don't complain. We owe him everything, and if the Pope hadn't granted that pardon...
 
CATHERINE
We were forced to do penance, to redeem our holy union, so our children will be recognized by the Church... It's been so long, Gilles, separated from you, far away from you...
 
GILLES
But he got the pardon, didn't he? He's as hard-headed as a rock, he gets everything he wants...

CATHERINE
But through such awful ways!... Do you think I can forget that he had my own mother imprisoned, so she would renounce the Lord of Tiffauges?... And you yourself, always ready to lend him a hand! You attacked and beat the envoy of the King, and you refused to accept any blame... No! No! Could it be that you've placed yourself so high that no law can restrain you?
 
GILLES
A wolf among wolves, Catherine. One must take!
 
CATHERINE
(Softly) But, my sweet love... you love this song! And your books. And your beautiful clothes. And me, who isn't a she-wolf at all... but at the moment, Gilles, you envy the life of plunderers!
 
GILLES
He taught me everything.
 
CATHERINE
My wolfcub, my nice wolfcub! I love you because you were once a wolf, but now you're as sweet as a lamb...
 
GILLES
Don't speak like that, Catherine. You don't know what my childhood was like. It was dark, beautiful but dark... No, I don't want to think about it! Look at this manuscript, so marvelously illuminated. I acquired it with great difficulty... it took a mountain of gold!
 
CATHERINE
All that money for a book!... (Reading the title) "Suetonius... The Life of the Twelve Caesars"... What is it?
 
GILLES
A remarkable classic. Just imagine, the emperors of Rome... Tiberius, Caligula, those masters of the world who held all the power, and, at their very cores, a monstrous fever...
 
CATHERINE
A fever?... Why monstrous?... I don't understand.
 
GILLES
You could never imagine. They had to live their lives fully, because they were masters. (Growing excited) There is no law that can bind the sons of the gods! They dared to satisfy their most extreme desires. Just picture Nero lighting his own city on fire, so as to muse upon the men and women howling in the flames, perishing...
 
CATHERINE
Gilles, Gilles, sometimes you scare me! You excite yourself thinking of those terrifying things, you... (Sadly) You are always a wolf!... No, get away from me.
 
GILLES
But Catherine, it's only an illuminated manuscript! And Nero's been dead for a thousand years...
 
CATHERINE
You speak as if he were alive, and as if he was your blood-brother... Why do these thoughts always assail you? Why do you always dream about things that don't have to be? Why, Gilles?...
 
GILLES
(A pause, then slowly) It's stronger than me, Catherine. It's something growing inside me, like a fire invading the heart, squeezing my throat, burning my mind. A desire to go, to go, to go... I don't know where, but toward a semi-miraculous blaze of my entire self...

CATHERINE
Gilles! Gilles! Gilles!... No, don't touch me. You scare me.
 
GILLES
But those are only words, Catherine!... Because I love you!
CATHERINE
You will never be anything but a wolf!... No, I don't want to see you anymore.
(She leaves, crying)
 
GILLES
Catherine!... Catherine!...
(A short pause. Then the footsteps of Jean de Craon, entering)
 
CRAON
So, wolfcub?... Squabbling are we?... Is the little wife whining again?
 
GILLES
(Roughly) Leave Catherine alone.
 
CRAON
Fine, my Lord. You must've gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Caring about silly little women...
 
GILLES
Jean de Craon, Jean de Craon...
 
CRAON
Let's get on with it wolfcub, sit down. We must have a talk. (A pause) You are twenty-one-years old and you are the most handsome lord of Brittany, one of the most powerful in the kingdom. I made our life a success... so don't sit back too much!
 
GILLES
I won't sit back, grandfather. When you needed me to battle the Penthièvres, I picked up my sword. You know my conduct.
 
CRAON
I know. And you are also the bravest. But there is a better plan, wolfcub. The dominions you hold through birth-right and marriage make you the vassal whom the Duke of Brittany fears, because you are too powerful. He must be thwarted, and in order to do this, we must aim higher. Listen to me: Duke Jean has just joined with the English who now control France. We need to take a position. (A pause) If you are in agreement with me, we will declare ourselves for Charles VII.
 
GILLES
The King of Bourges? That dumb little bastard the English are always defeating? Is this a joke, Jean de Craon?
 
CRAON
Let me explain. Defeated or not, he lays claim to the kingdom, though no one supports him. But in declaring ourselves for him, we'll queen ourselves for the Duke of Brittany, because then we become the arbitrators. Or else he breaks away from the English or loses his dominion... (Mysteriously) Listen closely: Charles VII just offered Richemont, the brother of our Duke, the Constable's sword. If Richemont accepts, we can walk hand in hand with France.
 
GILLES
The little King of Bourges...
 
CRAON
The little King doesn't matter. The point is to take, wolfcub, and to take more. The time has come to leave your books and music, as well as the bed of your beautiful wife... for soon the spoils will be thrown to the dogs. Don't leave it all to Brittany and Burgundy.
 
GILLES
No. (Firmly) I say no, no, no!
 
CRAON
(Stupified) What? Why?...
 
GILLES
My life is at the side of Catherine, among my manuscripts and music. I have taken enough, Jean de Craon.
 
CRAON
You, wolfcub?... (A big laugh) But what about the great roads, the roads and the hamlets where you burst in at dawn with your men? And the fire, the plunder, the fury?... And the women, since you do go for women, don't you?... And boys, when there are no women around... Right, wolfcub?... Wolfcub?...
   
 
Part 7
Again, in the prison where Gilles de Rais is being held, in 1440.
 
GILLES
(A bit drunk, and with a moan) Jean! Jean de Craon!... You always got what you wanted. You're the one who led me to Bourges. And so I call to you at this time, now that I need you...
 
GUARD
(Opening the door) My Lord, calm down, are you having nightmares?
 
GILLES
(Surprised) Nightmares? Which nightmares? What are you talking about, beggar?
 
GUARD
I bring you more spiced wine, my Lord. Apparently it's good for the excommunicated.
(He snickers)
 
GILLES
Get lost!... Stop mixing with my phantoms, wretch! (As if hallucinating) She, she, she!... In her sparkling armor, with that laughter as fresh as wild mint, and the dawn...
 
GUARD
Sure. There you go again. (A pause) Drink, my Lord, it's good for what ails you...
 
GILLES
(He drinks) The King!... The Constable!... and her, her!... The light upon us, all the birds were singing, and the bells... (Crying out) Joan!... Joan!... Help!...


Part 8
At Chinon in 1427, in the midst of the fires and the hubbub of the camp.
 
LA HIRE
Enough! Enough! Make those rabble-rousers shut up! In the holy name of the Devil, and the cursed name of God, everybody shut up!
 
DUNOIS
La Hire, you have it wrong.
 
LA HIRE
Ah, Royal Bastard, my tongue slipped. By the sacred name of God, and the cursed name of the Devil, we stand corrected, but make them shut up!... No uproar when I eat! When Étienne de Vignolles, alias La Hire, Commander of Drifters, Gatherer of Gangs, and Scourge of the Land, eats, this means he's just been in battle, and soon he'll be in battle again, and when I do battle, I must gorge myself. A lot. A thousand times a lot. Another leg of lamb!
(Thundering laughter)
 
DUNOIS
If you eat too much you'll explode.
 
LA HIRE
(Mouth full) So what! My armor will hold me together. Oh, excuses, excuses, Dunois, my brother... I know you're noble, and you eat like a little bird without drooling, whereas I... I... but I also know that in combat where the most blood is shed, we're never very far from each other, you, the King's bastard, and me--in the name of the Devil, my master! No, I mean God. My tongue slipped again... So, I gorge, Bastard of Orléans, and I drink to your health.
 
GILLES
And what about me, Captain?

LA HIRE
Well put, wolfcub. It's like your pirate of a grandfather once said: "You too are a captain." My little Lord de Rais, you pleased me today.
 
GILLES
(Delighted) Really, La Hire?
 
LA HIRE
And the Bastard of Orléans won't disagree. I've seen you behind the walls of St. Jean de Beuvron, at the side of the Constable. It was your baptism, and we were beaten, but you held to your mount. I've seen you at St. Jean de Mortier, shoulder to shoulder with Beaumanoir, and I've seen you at Lude, putting the spurs to Jean de Bueil. I've seen you in front of Le Mans, first to the top of the ramparts, killing that bloody Englishman Blackburn with your own bare hands... You please me Gilles de Rais, and if only you read a bit less and raped a bit more, then you'd be my kindred spirit. Okay, wolfcub, let's have a toast, in the sacred name of that virgin whore...
 
DUNOIS
(Roughly) La Hire, watch your mouth.
 
LA HIRE
A thousand apologies, but I didn't say which maid I was talking about. By the way, there's a new one coming to see the little King... as if he could please her... (He snickers) Should we draw straws for her, men?
 
GILLES
A maid? Which maid?
 
LA HIRE
She comes from Lorraine, eighteen years old with beautiful tits, an old nag, and the sacred voices of God who've been speaking to her...
 
DUNOIS
La Hire, La Hire, stop talking like that. I know what's eating you, and why you gorge yourself and swear. You're sick with that constant defeat which is our war, and the misery of the Kingdom of the Fleur de Lys...
 
LA HIRE
Misery? Why misery? We go honestly about our own business with that ball-less king, who doesn't even know if he's the son of his father...
 
DUNOIS
La Hire!...
 
LA HIRE
We mind our own business of raping and pillaging, before fleeing as fast as we can, far away from the bloody English. When the feasts are flowing, they are victorious, but the rest of the time they're losers, and our kind King is always sounding the shameful retreat. Now our best men are besieged in Orléans, the fate of the Kingdom is in grave danger, and all that the sacred name of God can find to send us in Chinon is a maid from Lorraine with beautiful tits and an old nag. So men, I gorge myself, this is the best I can do. To your health, Bastard of Orléans, and to yours, wolfcub of Brittany!
 
GILLES
But this maid, how was she made, La Hire?... Does one truly exist?...
(Big burst of laughter)

 
Part 9
One evening in liberated Orléans. The bells are ringing everywhere, and the crowd is cheering.
 
JOAN OF ARC
Gilles, beautiful Gilles, I love you, kiss me! I love you for your successful march upon Blois, for replenishing us, and I love you ever more for being here in time to take part in the celebration!
 
GILLES
I couldn't miss it, Joan!
 
JOAN OF ARC
In God's name, I am completely happy, surrounded by my dear companions: you, Dunois, my kind bastard who never backs down... and you, La Hire, wicked La Hire, always at the heart of the fray... and you, beautiful Gilles, always arriving in the nick of time, with your youth, and your valor in full bloom, to capture the road and cut off the invaders, and helping in the capture of the Fortress of St. Loup...
 
GILLES
You didn't see me, Joan. I was also before the Bastion of the Augustins, and when you raised your flag, I immediately came running, and the massacre increased!
(He begins to laugh loudly)
 
JOAN OF ARC
The pitiful English!... If only they would return to their own country, then I'd love them. They should quit spilling the blood of France, which is so dear to me. I can't see this blood without crying... Dunois, Dunois, don't tell me that the combat's been too hard on us!
 
DUNOIS
Don't think about that, Maid. Rather, look at what lies before us: Orléans, liberated Orléans, the kingdom is secure, the English are fleeing.
 
JOAN OF ARC
But it's not yet finished, by God! I need the road through Loire, our Constable must get going, whether he wants to or not, I must take Jargeau, I must take Meung, I must take Beaugency, I must take all the places that the English have fortified, I must free the road ahead of us. Combat every day, victory every day. I must take Troyes, and after that...
 
DUNOIS
What then, Joan?
 
JOAN OF ARC
You will know in a month from now, no longer...
 
LA HIRE
(With a big laugh) Me though, I know, by the sacred name of...
 
JOAN OF ARC
(Roughly) La Hire!
 
LA HIRE
(Apologetic) Excuse me, Maid. I won't do that anymore. I'm bursting with all these repressed feelings, but I won't do that anymore. I promise you this. When I cannot truly do otherwise...
 
JOAN OF ARC
La Hire, La Hire, you will do otherwise! Believe in your maid, you will do otherwise, if not...
   
LA HIRE
So there! That's how it is. I, La Hire, whom no force in the world has ever held back... Hey, wolfcub, remember, two months ago at Chinon... You were asking me how a maid was made? Well, look at her, look at her: she's leading us by the ear, by the sacred name of...
 
JOAN OF ARC
La Hire!... (A short pause) Tonight, you will say three prayers and do one Hail Mary.
 
LA HIRE
(Apologetic) Very well, Maid. (A pause) When I think how she came with her nag and her tits...
 
DUNOIS
La Hire!
 
LA HIRE
I can speak about those, Dunois. They're like the clouds, or the blossoms of the appletree in spring. I appreciate them... Yes, there she is in her armor, and I see myself in her eyes: me, La Hire, and you, the Bastard, and you, wolfcub, and everyone, the whole lot of us, men of blood and violence. But now we're like lambs, drunk on the blue of the sky. She came to see the King, you remember... and the doctors who examined her, and the experts who interrogated her, and us, the army commanders who laughed at her and her visions, and the King, our King himself, who doubted, like always... it was enough for her to speak to him, and to look upon us... and here we are in Orléans, the bloody English are fleeing, and all the bells of the city are ringing everywhere!... And there you have it, wolfcub, this is how a made was maid!
 
JOAN OF ARC
(Slowly) I'm just a little peasant from Domrémy, in Lorraine, and I would have never left my fields. But the King of Heaven did it all, he said to me: "The Dauphin of France is in Bourges. Joan, Joan, secure the road for him, the great road..."
 
GILLES
Which road, Joan?
 
JOAN OF ARC
(Slowly) The road to Reims, my brother, the road to the Cathedral of the Coronation. The Dauphin must be made a king, the King of France... and we will make him King. Charles will go to Reims and we, my companions, shall be behind him. And you, Gilles, beautiful Gilles, my youngest commander, you will fetch the ampulla, the Holy Ampulla, from the Abbey of St. Rémy...


Part 10
The morning of the Coronation, at the Cathedral of Reims, at the end of the ceremony. The organs are playing.
     
CHARLES VII
Gilles, Baron of Rais, for the satisfaction which your services and valor have rendered us, on all occasions, today, after our Coronation in the Cathedral of Reims, having been anointed with the chrism of the Holy Ampulla, carried by yourself, I, Charles, King of France, will hereby declare you Marshal of France, and authorize you to decorate your own coat of arms with a border of the royal fleur de lys, and likewise, on this day, this privilege is also granted to our beloved companion Joan, known as the Maid...
(The pipe-organ music increases. Gilles de Rais stands at the side of Joan of Arc)
 
GILLES
(Joyously) Joan, Joan!... Marshal of France at the age of twenty-four, me, Gilles! Your friend...
 
JOAN OF ARC
I love it, beautiful Gilles!
 
GILLES
But listen: My wife asks that I return to Chantocé because she has just given birth. I am now the father of a little girl, to whom I will give the name of the Virgin.
 
JOAN OF ARC
In God's name, I love you, my kind friend.
 
GILLES
Joan! Joan! Everything is splendid, and nothing has ever been so beautiful. Thanks to you, Joan, it seems they've even cleared me of all blame...
     
JOAN OF ARC
I know Gilles, I know.
 
GILLES
(Startled) You know?... What do you know, Joan?
 
JOAN OF ARC
(After a pause) I know all about you, Gilles de Rais. I've seen it in your eyes: where you come from, where you've been... But now you are here, in the grace of God, pure again and as clear as springwater.
 
GILLES
(Timidly) No, Joan, no... you... You don't know, Joan. You don't know everything... My life is not what it appears to be, and at the core of myself...
 
JOAN OF ARC
Don't speak, Gilles. The light has entered into you. On this Coronation Day you too shall also become king, the king of your own destiny, and for your fulfillment... I bestow upon you the protection of the angels.
 
GILLES
(Troubled) The angels...
 
JOAN OF ARC
They have reached you, beautiful Gilles. And I pray that they will never abandon you. I cherish La Hire, but he is of the earth, and instinct. And I am fond of the Bastard, but he already carries the music of grace within. But you, I have always loved you the most, because you are the most in danger, you are the shrub without strong roots. I desire your salvation as well as the kingdom's. This is why, beautiful Gilles, I invoke the angels...
 
GILLES
(On his knees) I kneel before you, Joan. I offer my life to you, and I ask for your constant protection...
 
JOAN OF ARC
(Mournfully) We haven't yet finished, my brother. The road ahead is still very long. And Heaven is keeping an eye on us, you and me, for the trial awaits us. Remember what I said upon my arrival at Chinon: I will last one year, and not much longer...
 
 
Part 11
In the camp, night-time, a few months later.
 
DUNOIS
No, no, no!... Once and for all, La Hire, how do you explain this idleness, this procrastination?
 
LA HIRE
What do I know? I'm no expert, Dunois. Let me gorge myself... even though I hardly want to. Let me gorge... (Mouth full) If you want to philosophize, go ask someone higher up. The wolfcub will answer you. He's over there, buried in his books again...
 
DUNOIS
Poor kid... he no longer knows what saint to dedicate himself to, since Joan is no longer here... It's not the same anymore, no, it's not the same at all! Since our unsuccessful siege of Paris and the wounding of the Maid... we were beaten at La Charité and the King doesn't care. He's disbanding the army and waiting on the edge of the Loire...
 
LA HIRE
Ask the wolfcub, Bastard. He's made friends with the angels. Maybe soon he'll hear some voices of his own...
 
DUNOIS
And speaking of Joan... Why this uncertainty, these bugs flying off in all directions, and now her long trek, with hardly any soldiers, towards Compiègne? What does she want, what is she looking for? She knows that the Grand Duke of Ponant can't be trusted...
 
LA HIRE
I'm gorging, Dunois, I'm gorging. And I'm telling you what I think: That's how maids are, in the name of...
 
DUNOIS
La Hire!
 
LA HIRE
(After a short pause) You're right, Bastard. She's Joan, our Joan! And heaven will never abandon her, for she belongs to it. We'll follow her all the way to the end, to Compiègne, should she...
 
DUNOIS
Yes, La Hire. I hear you. We. But the wolfcub, he is used to a different life, he's still too young and weak...
 
 
Part 12
Gille's tent, evening. A bell tolls, far away.
 
GILLES
(To himself) Why do those bells have to ring like that all the time?...
(An archer enters, accompanied by a soldier held captive)
 
ARCHER
Here's the prisoner, my Lord.
 
GILLES
Good. Now leave us. I am going to interrogate him.
 
ARCHER
Is that wise, my Lord?... This man's a lunatic...
 
GILLES
I am old enough to defend myself. No mere heretic can scare me. Get out! (The archer leaves) Your name?
 
SOLDIER
Gobert Mathieu, my Lord.
 
GILLES
Gobert Mathieu. Good. You have been captured for the crime of heresy. You were caught carrying this sacrilegious magic book... You know this leads to excommunication de facto, and being burned alive... Alive, do you understand? You will be burned alive, young Gobert, burned alive.
 
SOLDIER
I had this book on me by accident. The truth is...
 
GILLES      
Shut up! (A short pause) Alchemy, invocation of the demons... (He whistles with admiration) You have confessed under torture and you have mentioned a goldsmith in Angers who can produce the Philosopher's Stone... (With disdain) Gold! Gold! What use is gold?... (A pause) Tell me, can you read signs in the sky and explain what we don't know?
 
SOLDIER
My Lord, the truth is...
 
GILLES
Look, here's a sack of money... You will go to hell with it. I'm not your enemy, Gobert Mathieu, you can answer me without being afraid... (In a low voice) Angels or demons, I don't care, you must question them for me... Tell me, will we be able to free the Maid?
 
SOLDIER
(Embarrassed) The Maid?... Uhh...
 
GILLES
You may speak freely. La Hire's surprise attack on Louviers failed. Dunois and I are keeping an army in Normandy in order to snatch her from the Judges of Rouen... Can you see this for us?
 
SOLDIER
My Lord, I wouldn't know...
 
GILLES
Since the Maid is a sorceress and a heretic like you, you can confide in me...
 
SOLDIER
I swear to you, my Lord, I'm no sorcerer...
 
GILLES
Do you want to go back to the rack? (A pause) Listen, Gobert Mathieu, if you are the man I think you are, you should have the power to address superior forces... The angels have abandoned us, Joan and me, and all of us, as many as we are... The sky has been turned upside-down. Either that, or the angels are demons, do you understand? Here, take your book. I don't understand one bit of it, you will explain it to me. You will read it with me and explain it to me. I promise you gold, since it's gold that you want, but you must invoke the angels, you must persuade them...


Part 13
Gilles, in prison again, 1440.
 
GILLES
(Crying out) Joan! Joan!... Why did they let you burn?... And you, Jean de Craon, my mentor, why are you dead?... Alone, alone, alone... you have left me alone!
 
GUARD
(Entering the cell) My Lord, you're exaggerating. You'll wake up everyone.
 
GILLES
(Impassioned) Alone! Alone! Alone! The angels have betrayed me! And the light, all that light... Heaven has spat upon me, it's messed everything up!
 
GUARD
It's the spiced wine, no doubt, filling your stomach.
 
GILLES
Who said spiced wine?... Bring some here, and spice it with mandrake, hemp, belladonna and henbane, like I once poured for noblemen, as well as commoners, in my Castle of Tiffauges!... Spiced wine, spiced wine for Gilles, Baron of Rais, who is alone, and nobody can save him!
 
GUARD
You were lucky to be excommunicated, my Lord, and that we have to give you everything you want...
 
GILLES
Hot spiced wine! Since there's no more purity! Since the angels lie! Since Joan is the whore of the army, the witch of Chinon, the relapsed pagan of Rouen!... (He laughs violently. Then, with a scream) Joan! Why have you abandoned me!?...


Part 14
A room in the Castle of Chantocé, sometime later.
 
CATHERINE
I know that you don't love me, Sillé, even though you're my cousin by marriage...
 
SILLÉ
(Sarcastically) How could you say that, madame?
 
CATHERINE
Allow me to tell you. You're the kind of person who thinks women are despicable... No, don't argue with me, I know it. Despite this though, I need your assistance, and I am asking you to give it to me.
 
SILLÉ
In what way could I possibly...
 
CATHERINE
You are Gille's friend, his only friend, at the moment... (A short pause) What does he have against me?
 
SILLÉ
Nothing that I know of, madame.
 
CATHERINE
Ever since he returned from war, in this time of peace and calm, he hasn't been the same. He's shut himself in, always in another castle than the one where I am, and he never wants to see me. Or even our little Marie. She's so young, and she suffers...

SILLÉ
She's an angel!

CATHERINE
You say that in a tone... (A pause) like his. It's as if he's horrified of her and me. All I ever get from Gilles are insults. He pretends that I can't understand him anymore, he covets some sort of slightly damned, solitary glory, and he's even gone so far as to confide in me that he was born beneath a certain constellation such that nobody could ever do, or has ever done, what he himself has done...
 
SILLÉ
Gilles gets carried away. But, all this is for the glory of heaven...
 
CATHERINE
Are you serious?... What more does he need? He is the richest lord in Brittany, and even in the Kingdom, and by unanimous consent, the bravest of his knights. When Rais-the-Herald announces him as a king, and when he appears on his steed, Nutcracker, followed by his escort and musicians, there's no drawbridge that doesn't lower before him...
 
SILLÉ
(Softly) And there's no lord, no matter how high, who does not die furiously!
 
CATHERINE
What are you trying to say?
 
SILLÉ
It's a personal observation... (He laughs) Come on, madame, stop your worrying. There's nothing in the conduct of Gilles which couldn't lead to the triumph of Heaven and the angels... What concerns him is the enterprise he has built, which can only make him greater in everyone's opinion.
   
CATHERINE
I don't understand what you're saying, cousin.
 
SILLÉ
It's still a secret, but I can tell you a little bit about it. Gilles has decided to generously give in to the beauty and the pity, by establishing a collegiate chapel dedicated to the Holy Innocents, the young victims of Herod, their bodies stained by blood.
 
CATHERINE
A collegiate chapel?
 
SILLÉ
There will be a dean, some cantors, archdeacons, a vicar, a school teacher, a treasurer, priests, a chaplain, a coadjutor and clerics. No less than twenty-four people, the clergy of a cathedral. There's nothing but piety in all this... He wants his priests to wear the Cappa magna and the miter, and he'll get them from the Pope. He has enough money to get them...
 
CATHERINE
Cousin, there's a tone in your voice that scares me. Gille's intentions are beautiful, but there's something odd about them...
 
SILLÉ
Come, madame! There's no better Catholic than Gilles. You know how he applauded the burning of the heretic...
 
CATHERINE
Joan the Maid! He only swore by her... But since then there's been less combat, more solitude in his castles, and an idleness gnawing at us all...
 
SILLÉ
He's resting. He's done his duty, and heaven has rewarded him. Now he's cultivating the garden of his thoughts. As far as his troops go, he's entrusted them to Joan des Armoises... One maid is as good as another, isn't that so, madame?
 
CATHERINE
Sillé, Sillé, you're scaring me more and more!
 
SILLÉ
But why, Madame? I assure you that Gilles only cares about the glory of God. God and the angels, madame.
(He snickers)
   
 
Part 15
The Bishopry of Nantes, at night. The Inquisitor Jean Bloin is receiving René de La Suze, the brother of Gilles de Rais.
 
RENÉ
Well, no... the Maid des Armoises was no better than the other, Mr. Inquisitor! My brother became fed up with her and took back the command of his men... Mostly, he misses the first maid, the witch of Rouen.
 
BLOIN
(With a bit of irony) Count, have you come here to denounce your brother to the Inquisition?
 
RENÉ
God forbid! I'll recount it to you quickly, Mr. Bloin. Besides, Gilles is pious, and only has eyes for his chapel. He's squandering his fortune on it...
 
BLOIN
Well he can! All the lords are jealous of him.
 
RENÉ
They are jealous of him and are helping him to ruin himself. So much and so well that I've claimed my part of the inheritance, just in case, which he has scrupulously given to me. He might be rich, but all things must come to an end... His choir, for instance...
 
BLOIN
(Sarcastically) His little angels!

RENÉ
Could anyone love music so much!? I'm glad if he shines, and if the Duke of Brittany himself, while crossing his domains, begs Gilles to lend his chapel and musicians to him. And I'm glad if the voices of those children show Gilles the way to heaven, but to spend thousands on books, and swiping all those little peasant boys and making them travel in such an entourage, as if they were of nobility!... And that overcrowded choir school, the hurdy-gurdies, the harps, the lutes, trumpets, flutes, recorders, and especially his organs, which he takes everywhere, as if he couldn't live without them...
 
BLOIN
(As if speaking to himself) A bodyguard of more than two hundred horsemen, half a dozen mercenaries carrying pipe organs on their shoulders, leaving from the Castle of Machecoul in the midst of nearly five hundred halberds... It's too much, it's truly too much for a simple baron! (A pause. Then, roughly) Fortunately though, there are the angels!...
 
RENÉ
Angels? What are you trying to say, Mr. Inquisitor?
 
BLOIN
Nothing, Count. Nothing yet, at least right now...


Part 16
1435, a house in Orléans, day-time, during the feasts in honor of Joan of Arc.
 
PIERRE DE LYS
Never have we seen such sumptuous feasts in Orléans, mother... This lord truly loved Joan with his entire soul. Maybe she sees him, from the heights of heaven, and is rejoicing.
 
ISABELLE ROMÉE
I love the singing. Tell me again, son... Is he that rich?
 
PIERRE DE LYS
Even more. Extravagantly. And he wishes to give a great gift to us...
 
ISABELLE ROMÉE
It's only fair, since my little Joan adored him so... The city of Orléans keeps us going, even though we don't have a fortune.
 
PIERRE DE LYS
Perhaps Lord de Rais will provide this... He is young, mother, thirty-one-years old, a handsome lad with a black mustache and just a small growth of beard that is also black, but with a blue tinge... which is why they call him Blue-Beard.
 
ISABELLE ROMÉE
Blue-Beard?
 
PIERRE DE LYS
It's a joke. Lord de Rais is over there with his whole court at the Cross of Gold Inn, which is just for him. His brother the Count of La Suze gets the Little Salmon Inn. And the staff of his chapel is at the Shield of Saint George and the Sign of the Sword. The rest are at nine other hostels, including the Moor's Head, the God of Love, and the White Horse. It's as if Orléans is occupied by an entire army. They're going to have games, music, actors and farces, with catwalks on the stages, comedians, jugglers, troubadours and fiddlers. The "Siege of Orléans" will be beautiful...
 
ISABELLE ROMÉE
Will they show our Joan?
 
PIERRE DE LYS
And he himself will be at her side, like at the Bastion of the Augustins. Twenty-five hundred verses and a multitude of actors... More than five hundred extras, who will change their costumes at each performance... They say that this will cost him more than eighty thousand in gold!
 
ISABELLE ROMÉE
Jesus and Mary!... this lord is truly magnificent... Son, do you think that I might visit him and bless him?
 
PIERRE DE LYS
That would help us, mother. He loved your daughter with his entire soul...
 
ISABELLE ROMÉE
What a pity Joan is dead!... Oh, what a pity!
(From faraway, the voice of Gilles rehearsing verse from the "The Siege of Orléans")
 
GILLES
Me too, my lady, do not worry
Wish whatever you please.
My allies and my deputies
Know everything will come, lady.
And we will make your wish come true
All in all, as you please
And when you want, we will leave...
(Great burst of laughter)


Part 17
At the Bishopry of Nantes.
 
BLOIN
The feasts of Orléans have almost ruined the Lord de Rais, Your Eminence... these feasts in honor of a so-called maid, brought to trial on a regular basis... (The Bishop coughs) I am aware however, Your Eminence, that rehabilitation proceedings are in progress, but for time being, we must hold to the official judgement.
 
MALESTROIT
At least the Lord de Rais is half-ruined.
 
BLOIN
The situation has worsened over the past two years, Your Eminence. Seeing the number of Jews, Lombards, and pawnbrokers who are in constant contact with him, and judging by the easiness with which he sells at a very low price what he bought the day before at a very high price, you would think he would've made a big dent in the other half. Just think how he borrowed gold again, from a certain Jacques Boucher, already his creditor in money and provisions. And do you know what he's pulled for collateral? His own steed, Nutcracker, and in addition to this...
 
MALESTROIT
I know. The Duke has spoken to me about these excesses...
 
BLOIN
(Sarcastically) The Duke is an obliging feudal lord, who loves to lend a helping hand. He has just appointed the Lord de Rais Lieutenant-General of the duchy, no doubt, to throw away a bit more of what remains...
 
MALESTROIT
(Firmly) The Duke of Brittany is my friend and he knows what he is doing, my respected Mr. Bloin. (A pause) It has been said that the Lord de Rais is in revolt against his own republic, as well as the entire universe... He has sold all, or nearly all, of his dominions. I am even informed that his wife, whom he has forsaken...
 
BLOIN
And with good reason.
 
MALESTROIT
What are you saying?... (A short pause) I've been told she's in the company of the King, in order to forbid the Baron de Rais to squander anymore of the fortune which their daughter Marie will inherit...
 
BLOIN
So she was able to leave the Castle of Pouzauges, where the Baron banished her?
 
MALESTROIT
Yes. But I still don't see why we should intervene. The Lord de Rais still possesses the great stronghold of Chantocé, and his troops... He is the master over the lands he has retained.
 
BLOIN
(Softly) There's worse, Your Eminence... there's the angels.
 
MALESTROIT
Eh?...


BLOIN
Rumors, Your Eminence. His choir school. His numerous pages and little troubadours... They speak of events as sumptuous as they are repugnant. His cupbearers come to the lordly table naked, or dressed in see-through robes, and...
 
MALESTROIT
Brother Jean Bloin! (A pause) This gossip has made it's way to me. Rome has been informed. But there is no evidence... No evidence, Brother Jean Bloin!
 
BLOIN
No evidence yet, Your Eminence. (In a low voice) I might learn more though. A priest, Eustache Blanchet of the St. Lô Diocese, has just been called to the Castle of Tiffauges...
 
MALESTROIT
And so, Inquisitor?...
 
BLOIN
(Small laugh) Your Eminence doesn't know Eustache Blanchet... He is a very unusual priest...
(He laughs for a long time)
 
 
Part 18
A room in the Castle of Chantocé. Perrine Martin is receiving the priest Blanchet.
 
PERRINE
Eustache Blanchet, Eustache Blanchet, I know you...
 
EUSTACHE
(Smooth-talking) My good lady, I cannot see...
 
PERRINE
Hold on. I'm taking the black veil off my face...
 
EUSTACHE
La Meffraye, the Terrible!... Perrine Martin!... In nomine Patris, Filii...
 
PERRINE
Come on, don't bother crossing yourself. It's just us... Yes, it's me, La Meffraye, and I advise you not to take it so seriously... I'm working for Lord de Rais.
 
EUSTACHE
(Coughing) I'm calm and collected. You may explain what your lord wants of me...
 
PERRINE
What he wants from you? Come on, don't be a nincompoop. Lord de Rais knows that you also know about spellbooks and black magic...
 
EUSTACHE
Me? How dare you speak of such things to a poor but honorable priest...

PERRINE
You? Come on, Eustache. That's enough talk. There's gold to be earned here. I know you for your drunkenness and debauchery, and for acting against all natural laws when you're drunk and debauched...
 
EUSTACHE
The flesh is weak, but...
 
PERRINE
And that's not all, you rogue. On the Sabbath you were my client, even if you are a priest. And when I wander the countryside, I hear about you...
(She snickers)
 
EUSTACHE
Your men hide in the brush, I've heard all about it. You attract children by telling stories, and then your henchmen seize them and throw them in sacks...
 
PERRINE
Do you deny you've profited from this?
 
EUSTACHE
(With a burst of energy) That doesn't matter. I don't want anything to do with your evil ways...
 
PERRINE
You, you're always ready to sell the holy wine and the host!
 
EUSTACHE
I don't sell anything at all!
 
PERRINE
Listen, my little Eustache! I could give you a beating, but you'd probably like that and you'd end up asking for more... Or I could show you some beautiful merchandise, some sweet little boys with bound hands and blindfolded eyes... Choose, which do you prefer? In any case, baldy, we need your ministry...
 
EUSTACHE
(After a pause) No, La Meffraye, I cannot do anything for your lord. But I can get him the man he needs... But only if My Lord de Rais offers to send me on a trip, a very long trip.
 
PERRINE
A trip where?
 
EUSTACHE
(Mysteriously) To Rome. I know some men there who study the Great Books and carry out the Ancient Work of Magic, true masters of the mysterious, not like those bogeymen of yours...
 
PERRINE
Beware, my Eustache. You know I know some spells...
 
EUSTACHE
You can't do anything to me, witch. I'm ready for... (With irony) ...but then again, maybe I talk too much...
 
PERRINE
(After a short pause) Can you swear you'll bring this master we need back from Rome?
 
EUSTACHE
Even better than that, La Meffraye...
(He laughs)


Part 19
In prison. Gilles, drunk, is consumed by his hallucinations.
 
GILLES
(Overwhelmed) Joan! Joan! You didn't keep your word, you didn't come! In the May sun, on the banks of the Loire, bathed in light... And you were a witch, a heretic, a relapsed pagan. The most beautiful things in the world are hollow, and the angels... (He snickers) ...your angels, they let you burn in Rouen! Everything's been turned upside-down, everything! And everything was becoming permissible, everything, everything, everything... What haven't I tried to do so that purity could rise again!? But you're not the one who came, Joan! No more than you come when I call you now... Your angels were demons!
(He suddenly starts invoking the forces
of hell, as he has done before)

GILLES
I conjure you, Barron, Satan, Belial, Beelzebub, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in the name of the Virgin Mary and all the Saints, to appear here in our presence, in order to speak with us and do our will...
(Long demonic snickering)
 
GILLES
(Normal voice) Who calls? Who laughed? That wasn't my voice, and yet... Joan! Joan, I invoked you...
 
BARRON
(From faraway) Rubbish! Rubbish!
(Snickering)

GILLES
Joan, Joan, your angels had eyes bright and sweet, they were watching me with fear, and I... I was striving to inspire their trust... Their voices... their pupils... their hands in mine! But something was building in me, like a flame, the flames of burning spiced wine, the flames of your stake in Rouen...
 
BARRON
(From faraway) Rubbish! Rubbish! Rubbish!...
(Snickering)
 
GILLES
(With cruelty) The angels! The angels! They had to be punished!... To make them suffer for their betrayal!...

  
Part 20
At night, at the Castle of Chantocé. Gilles de Rais is receiving Eustache Blanchet, just back from Rome.
 
EUSTACHE
My Lord, I was introduced to the Curia of Rome under the pretext of speaking to them about your chapel, but following your instructions, I also conducted my little investigation... I have the man you need, my Lord. Italy is the sacred land of magicians and alchemists, you know. The one I've discovered is the top student of Pierre d'Albano, who knew the spirits of the moon, and Bernard the Trevisian, who wandered the earth in search of the Philosopher's Stone. According to Francois Prelati, he has already discovered it...
 
GILLES
What do you call him?
 
EUSTACHE
Master Prelati, my Lord. He was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Arezzo, and even though he's in good standing with the Curia, he became a master of Spyrogyric Research despite his youth. He is very good, my Lord...
 
GILLES
Just bring him to me. If his merits match the praise you give him, your trip will make you rich. Introduce him.
(Eustache lets Prelati in)
 
EUSTACHE
Here is Master Prelati, my Lord. You can speak freely with him. He knows what you want from him and he's brought his black leather spellbook...
 
GILLES
Master Prelati, Master Prelati... Yes, you do seem very young. What can you do?

PRELATI
(With a strong Italian accent) I can do a lot, Monsignor. It's up to you, however, to explain to me what you want...
 
GILLES
I need gold, my lad. Lots of gold. I have searched for it through all possible means. You will find the aludel and the athanor here, as well as some stills, and beekers and double-bubblers, which you'll need in order to work the philosophical fire...
 
PRELATI
I see that you know about metallurgic principles, Monsignor. But have you succeeded in the ultimate masterpiece yet: the unique creation of the benevolent egg, which is white, red, yellow, sky-blue and green?
 
GILLES
No. But I have read Raymond Lully and I know that with a ducat, and its weight in raw copper and pure silver...
 
PRELATI
Tut tut tut!... Lully says literally: "Take some of that exquisite medicine, great like a beanstalk, sprinkle it on a thousand ounces of quick silver, and it will change into a red powder; and for more red powder, add more quick silver. After a hundred other transmutations, you will end up turning metal into gold finer than the finest gold in the world." That's what Raymond Lully says. But I can do better, Monsignor. I can attest that no truly sublime transmutation can be accomplished without...
 
GILLES
Yes?...
 
PRELATI
Shhh! Let's not name it. But I know what I'm talking about. Have you tried invoking evil spirits yet, Monsignor?
 
EUSTACHE
One night, a magician in the service of my Lord went into a thicket with a sword in hand. We heard a great jangle of arms, then the man came out looking pretty beat up, having fought with... someone who appeared to him disguised as a great leopard.
 
PRELATI
What!... daring to unsheathe against... Shhh!
 
EUSTACHE
Another time, a second magician traced the magic circle in a room at Tiffagues. My Lord went in there and...
 
GILLES
...I admit it, I was so terrified that I leapt out of the circle while chanting the Alma redemptoris mater! The poor magician was beaten badly by the...
 
PRELATI
Shhh, Monsignor! Those are all schoolboy tricks! Since when do people fight with those they need? (A pause, then in a low voice) I have the means to bring them forth, without a fight...
 
GILLES
Tell me.
 
PRELATI
You should know, Monsignor, that the first time they appeared, they came in the form of twenty silent crows. The next time, I was ready to offer a hen, a dove, a turtledove, or a pigeon, when I saw a handsome young man leap out. He called himself Barron, and has been a spokesman for the darkness ever since...
 
GILLES
Handsome? Glaser, who saw him, describes him as a scrawny monster, hunchbacked and horned, with a chancered mouth...
 
PRELATI
Tut tut tut!... That was just a little devil, Monsignor! I know only the master demons: Emperor Lucifer, Prince Beelzebub, Grand Duke Astaroth, Prime Minister Lucifugé, General Sargatanus... Barron is one of them. I don't care about active but inferior spirits, of which there are six kinds: igneous, aerial, terrestrial, aqueous, subterranean and nocturnal, according to the place they inhabit...
 
GILLE
And you believe that thanks to...
 
PRELATI
Shhh! I believe it, Monsignor, this is a matter of research and patience, and I can help place his science in your service...
 

Part 21
Some time later. Prelati is leading Gilles de Sillé, Eustache Blanchet and Gilles de Rais through a subterranean tunnel of the castle.
 
PRELATI
Are you ready, Monsignor de Sillé?
 
SILLÉ
Yes, I've drawn my sword. Let's go. No one will disturb us underground.
 
PRELATI
Master Eustache, steady your hand. Your candle is flickering... I demand silence...
 
SILLÉ
Watch out, the old woman!
 
PERRINE
I won't open my mouth, my Lord. (Snickering) I really want to see this demon Barron.
 
EUSTACHE
(Trembling with fear) My Lord, do I really need to stay?
 
GILLES
Come on, don't crap in your cassock.
 
PRELATI
Monsignor de Sillé, draw the great circle with the point of your sword. (Noise of the sword on the dirt) I will now inscribe the magic characters around it... First you, witch... aloe, myrrh and incense, and then my green powder on the burning coals... (Sizzling of the fire) Go ahead, Monsignor de Sillé.
 
SILLÉ
I conjure you, Barron, Satan, Belial, Beelzebub, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in the name of the Virgin Mary and all the Saints, to appear here in our presence...
(A pause)
 
GILLES
Nothing. Still nothing.
 
PRELATI
Patience, Monsignor. The voice of your cousin is not the right one. Now it's your turn to invoke.
 
GILLES
I conjure you, Barron, Satan, Belial, Beelzebub, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in the name of the Virgin Mary and all the Saints, to appear here in our presence, in order to speak with us and do our will...
(A pause)
 
EUSTACHE
(Becoming more and more frightened) I'm afraid, my Lord. Let me sneak away...
 
PRELATI
Silence! (A pause) He doesn't want, he doesn't want...
 
PERRINE
(Snickering) I guess he must be a little deaf...
 
GILLES
(Roughly) Prelati, my lad, I am starting to doubt you. Already I have offered many cocks and doves, as well as vervain and male incense, and I'm always relighting candles, we're not missing a thing...

PRELATI
Patience, Monsignor.
 
GILLES
Prelati, Prelati, it must succeed! My coffers are empty, I've promised to sell Chantocé, where all my power is, everyone is after me... It must succeed, otherwise... (Threatening) My anger is swift and sharp, magician!
 
PRELATI
Monsignor, you're not doing what you should be doing. If you would just sign the pact in due form...
 
GILLES
No, Prelati. I said No.
 
SILLÉ
Why not, cousin? The contract doesn't bind you to anything important...
 
PRELATI
It only binds Monsignor to give Barron whatever he asks for, except for his soul and his life.
 
SILLÉ
Do you understand, Gilles? Except your soul and your life... That's not too much.
 
PERRINE
Since my Lord'll get all the gold he'll ever want...
 
GILLES
(After a pause) Good. I accept. But make it quick.
 
PRELATI
That's not all, Monsignor. Animal sacrifice is no longer sufficient... (A pause) You must also offer the hand, the eyes, and the heart of an innocent child...
(A pause)
 
EUSTACHE
I'm afraid, my Lord, I'm afraid...
 
SILLÉ
Shut up, coward!
 
PRELATI
(Slowly) I repeat: the hand, the eyes and the heart of an innocent child...
 
SILLÉ
(Hinting) Your angels, cousin, your angels...
 
PERRINE
(Snickering) Monsignor can accept... I'll find him as many angels as he needs. Ha! Ha! Ha!
 

Part 22
One afternoon, in a field. The sound of shoveling.
 
PERRINE
That's good, that's good... Now, fill this hole up...
 
PRELATI
(Arriving) No, no, no! I said in Christian earth! These ashes shouldn't be buried here, but in Christian earth!
 
PERRINE
(Mocking his accent) Oh Monsignor, let the witch do the job! Oh Monsignor, go and speak with your horned devil...
(She snickers)
 
PRELATI
Witch! Witch! May your serpent tongue dry up! I saw him again, for the twelfth time... And Barron has given the black powder to me on a stone of slate in a silver case. Since our lord carries it with him, he no longer fears anyone.
 
PERRINE
(Sarcastically) Marvelous. Too bad you're the only one to see your demon though, macaroni...
 
PRELATI
Twelve times. The thirteenth time will be the one. Our lord is still too nervous. The last time Barron appeared to me, he showed me a small mountain of gold. I alerted the lord, and the lord saw the great green serpent, but he ran to fetch a piece of the True Cross, and he tried to touch the gold... then everything vanished. The lord is wrong to not sign the great pact, he hasn't committed himself enough...
 
PERRINE
What do you need, macaroni? For a year I've led you to at least two hundred angels, as you call them...
(Snickering)
 
PRELATI
It was necessary! It was necessary! But the sacrifice was not pure. In lieu of offering them sincerely to Barron, the lord treated himself...
 
PERRINE
(Snickering) That's a strange way to treat! Watching them croak and... Yes, like you said, the lord can be complicated... Chopping them up, keeping their heads on the mantle and kissing them before burning them... If only it was salt-mutton, which tastes better going down!
 
PRELATI
Shut up! You're just a common spellcaster. You don't know anything about anything!
 
PERRINE
And you, macaroni, if you're so powerful, how come you can't get your hands on Eustache again?
 
PRELATI
That's not my business. Eustache Blanchet is the last of the cowards...
 
PERRINE
He's hiding near Mortagne. Some say he went running to the Inquisitor, to tell him everything.
 
PRELATI
Nobody will touch our lord.

PERRINE
(Snickering) Eustache, it made him sick to his stomach to see their guts torn out. He was shaking so bad that he wasn't even good for washing up the blood... All the same, he's scampered away, and we haven't seen hide nor hair of your demon yet! (Nearby, some galloping horses approach) Ah! Here comes the lord!
 
PRELATI
With his entire troop, and his loud laughter! He must've given someone a thrashing again...

(Gilles de Rais arrives on horseback)
 
GILLES
Ah, my friends, what a great joke, on this beautiful day of Pentecost! Heaven can't hold anything against me! I taught them a lesson, those church-goers! Wielding my sword, I burst into the Church of St. Etienne de la Mer Morte, right after High Mass, and I grabbed the cleric by the neck, who is the brother of the Duke's treasurer, who dared to harass my servants. I yanked him off the altar and beat him, then dragged him all the way to Chantocé where I gave him the rod... what a great joke! That'll teach them, the Duke and the Bishop, to mess with Gilles de Rais!
 
PRELATI
That's a great blasphemy, Monsignor. To attack a tonsured cleric while he's conducting Mass...
 
GILLES
Mind your own business, Florentinian! Thanks to you, and your Barron, I dominate heaven and command the angels... Okay, I want to go all the way now, Francesco Prelati. (Mocking him) Monsignor is ready to sign!
 
PRELATI
Ah, Monsignor... now we're getting somewhere!

GILLES

Read me the pact again.

PRELATI

(Reading) "Oh Beelzebub, I promise that I will serve you all my life, and give to you my heart and my soul, all the parts of my body, all my nerves, all my bones, all my veins... I will give my life for your service, and even if I have a thousand lives, I will give them all to you!"

GILLES

I'll sign it. Everything has been turned upside-down. I am now the strongest man alive! (Great burst of laughter) Barron, Demon Barron, here's to you...

Part 24
Gilles, in his prison at night, and due to his drunkenness, seeing shadows...

GILLES
(Sarcastically) At the peak of my life and my power... (Desperately) Alone, alone in this jail! Nobody to help me... like after Rouen, after Compiègne, when everything flipped end-over-end! Just like a wolf, a wolf hemmed in by the iron and the fire! A trapped wolf! Nobody to come to my rescue!

BARRON
(A faraway voice) The less the merrier... (Laughter) The angels have left you, but I remain yours, my partner in crime!...

GILLES
(Screaming) Joan! Joan! Joan!

BARRON
(Constantly snickering) Burned! Burned like your angels! Burned like yourself, soon!...

GILLES
Joan! Joan! Joan!

BARRON
(Reverberating) At the stake! At the stake!

JOAN OF ARC
(Almost simultaneously, her voice also coming from faraway) In the name of God! In the name of God! In the name of God!...

(The demon Barron howls, then disappears in a blast of thunder)

GILLES
(Distraught) Joan!... Your voice!... Joan the Maid!... At last!...

JOAN OF ARC
(Far away) Gilles, poor Gilles...

GILLES
I conjured you so many times, Joan! You failed to help me, I did everything to hear your voice again...

JOAN OF ARC
It was for you to come to me, not for me to come to you...

GILLES
Joan, witch, heretic, pagan...

JOAN OF ARC
Look at the anger of God upon those who have judged me: sudden death, leprosy and damnation, corpses in the street... The fire of Rouen was the fire of heaven and not of hell! Gilles, poor Gilles! You, whom I love... the prey of demons!

GILLES
My whole life... my whole life has turned upside-down... The angels deserved vengeance, cruelty...

JOAN OF ARC
Poor Gilles. Jesus himself shuddered, and I, in Rouen, was horribly frightened... But you, Gilles, beautiful Gilles, you did worse than to tremble and doubt... You sold your soul, Gilles!

GILLES
Joan... Joan... Help me! I am alone, alone, alone...

JOAN OF ARC
Gilles, Gilles, around you there are hundreds and hundreds of innocent tortured souls!... I can do nothing for you, nothing but meet you in the flames of the stake...

GILLES
The fire! The fire of hell!

JOAN OF ARC
The fire of heaven, Gilles! I'll meet you at the stake!...

Part 25
The courtroom of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal, the following morning, before the torture begins.
 
CHAPEILLON
Gilles, Baron of Rais, you are here, appearing before us in the dungeon of La Tour Neuve. As it was ordained yesterday, you shall undergo torture and be interrogated on the rack. Before proceeding from here, do you have anything to say?
 
GILLES
(Slowly, with humility) Guillaume Chapeillon, it is useless to trouble the executioner. In the interest of the ecclesiastical and secular processes, I implore that we defer the execution of said torture. I confess to all crimes and offenses I have been accused of, and promise to furnish a detailed account.
(General commotion)
 
BLOIN
I am astonished with what you are saying, Gilles de Rais. The Inquisition cannot be satisfied with this. I want to know the exact causes of these crimes and offenses.
 
GILLES
Alas, my Lord, you torment yourself as well as me. I have committed these crimes under my own will, and for my pleasure alone. Truly, there is no other cause, goal, nor intention other than my own indignity. I will confess the greatest things to you, and it will be enough to hang ten thousand men.
 
BLOIN
Will you confess everything?
 
GILLES
I beg that the excommunication cast upon me be lifted. And as for my accomplices, I ask that they confess everything, with the understanding that the principal, true and sole guilt is mine. For never again shall we, they and I, meet in this world. I pray to God that He grants us plenty of patience and understanding, and that I shall meet my accomplices in the great joy of Paradise. I shall pray for them in the flames, and from now on, I shall pray that the just and terrible anger of the Almighty have mercy... And for a final favor, I ask that on the day of my punishment a procession travel through the city of Nantes for the salvation of myself, and those who served me...
 

Part 26
The execution day of Gilles de Rais. On a street in Nantes, a procession passes through the threatening cries of the crowd. Prelati and Eustache Blanchet are lost in the commotion.
 
PRELATI
Just like a martyr, what a joke! The Bishop leads the procession, the whole city follows singing psalms, and even the mothers and fathers of his victims gape with admiration at his his repentance... what a puppet show!
 
EUSTACHE
(Trembling) I'm scared, Prelati! Burn this paper...
 
PRELATI
We've been acquitted, you and me, as well as his cousin de Sillé. Everything is back to normal, Blue-Beard has been beaten, his fortune has been liquidated...
 
EUSTACHE
I'll never forget those gallows above the stakes in the meadow of Biesse, and him, kneeling, his hands joined together, before climbing up there, and appealing for protection to Saint Michael, Vanquisher of Lucifer, and Joan of Arc, whom they burned in Rouen, whose judgment will soon be reversed... I'm scared, Prelati!
 
PRELATI
Weakling!... He cried "In the name of God! In the name of God!" just like the Maid. And then what happened?
 
EUSTACHE
And then, and then... he wasn't completely burned, you know? Before his death was made official, his rope was cut, and his body was entrusted to ladies and maidens of noble lineage, who bathed him, then bore his shrine to the Carmelites of Nantes... His spirit is still with us, Prelati! Burn this paper!...     
 
PRELATI
When I think how the fathers and mothers of this diocese will fast for three days so the soul of this monster can rest, and that they'll whip their children until they bleed, so his memory won't fade... (He snickers) It's a puppet show, I tell you! Anyway, let's burn this pact... Too bad for the great horned devil, who won't claim the soul of Baron Gilles de Rais!...
(He laughs long and hard)
 
 
END.

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