(Translation)[3]
“Monday, September 19, 1440.
“Proces-verbal, appearance in court of Gilles de Retz and his submission to the jurisdiction of the Court.
“On aforesaid Monday after aforesaid feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, there appeared personally in court before the afore-mentioned reverend Father the Lord Bishop of Nantes, in the great hall of the new tower of the castle of Nantes, to give hearing before the tribunal holding session there, the honourable Guillermus Chapiellon, promoter of cases of office of the aforesaid court, reproducing in fact the letters of citation enclosed above, together with the enclosed execution of them,—there appeared this Chapeillon on the one hand, and on the other the aforesaid M. Egidius, soldier and baron, the accused. And this M. Egidius [Gilles], soldier and baron, after he in his wisdom had perceived that the promoter accused him of heresy, said that he wished to appear before the aforesaid reverend Father the Lord Bishop of Nantes, and some other ecclesiastical judges, also before the inquisitor for heretical wickedness, and to purge himself of the crimes laid against him. Then the aforesaid reverend Father appointed for the aforesaid Monsieur soldier and baron, who agreed in this, the 28th day of the aforesaid month to legitimately appear before the religious, the brother Jean Blouyn, the vicar of the inquisitor of cases of heretical wickedness, in the afor-mentioned place, to answer to the crimes and charges to be urged against him by the aforesaid promoter, ... to be tried in things pertaining to faith, as is lawful and proper....
“In the presence of the distinguished men Master Oliverio Solidi de Beauveron, and M. Johannis Durandi of Blain, rector of the parochial churches, of the diocese of Nantes, called as witness to the foregoing.”
[3] The entire ecclesiastical record was written in Latin with an occasional interjection of French.
The commission of Jean Blouyn as Vice-Inquisitor was written in Latin on parchment, to which was attached the great seal in red wax, which hung dangling by two silken cords. It was as follows:
“William Merici, of the order of Friars Preachers, professor of Sacred Theology, by the apostolic authority Grand Inquisitor of Heresy in the Kingdom of France, to our well-beloved brother in Jesus Christ, Jean Blouyn of the convent of our order in the city of Nantes, salvation by the author of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ:
“Heresy, says the Apostle, is an evil that, if not cut up by the roots by the iron of the Inquisition, will propagate itself as a cancer in secret, and in darkness bring death to the most simple soul. Thus, in order to proceed in the interest of their own salvation against heretics, their aiders and abettors, and the evil men, because of heresy or suspected of the crime, against those who oppose the Inquisition, or who restrict its free agency, it is necessary to proceed with great caution and rare prudence. We have fullest confidence in the Lord that you are endowed with a capacity, jurisdiction, and good will to exercise this high charge. For this reason, by the counsel of several of our brothers of which the wisdom is recognised by all, we have made, established, and created to-day, and by these presents we do make, establish, and create you in all forms and with all the conditions required by the law and the best authority which are in our hands, as our vicar in the city and diocese of Nantes.
“By these letters, then, and by this concession, power is given to you against heretics and against the culpable persons above designated which may be there or otherwise. Also requests, citations, interviews, interrogations, you can take against all; you can cause them to be retained prisoners and proceed against them in justice in any manner that you may judge convenient, even including a definite sentence. You will have finally all that by custom or by law belong to the charge of Inquisitors; for in all this, as well as by the force of the common law as by the grace of spiritual privileges enjoyed by the Inquisition, we give to you, as much as it is in all our power.
“In testimony of which, we have set our hand and seal to these letters patent.
(Signed) “G. Merici.
“Done at Nantes July 25, 1426.”
This letter was read to Gilles, and he was asked if he recognised it. He declared “No!” It was submitted to, and proved by, the court, and was recognised as authentic and genuine, and under its authority Brother Jean Blouyn was admitted to a seat upon the bench as representative of the Holy Inquisition and as judge in the case, aid to the Bishop.
The session of October 11th was ended, and Gilles led back to prison.
On Wednesday the judges met, not in the great audience chamber, but in the hall below, aula bassa. It was, and is, the custom in the prosecution of criminal cases to have the investigation of the witnesses before either the court or some high officer of justice prior to the public or official trial. In this investigation the procedure corresponds in some degree to that of our grand jury, or more properly before the prosecuting attorney as well as the presiding judge. The inquests made by the Bishop of Nantes, and with him his present prosecuting attorney, William Chapeillon, during the summer preceding, had been secret, the witnesses having been called up separately and examined privately; but on this occasion the session was open, at least to all witnesses, and, as Michelet describes them,
“a cloud of witnesses, poor people, came up single file, crying and sobbing while they recounted the details of the abduction of their children. Their cries and tears added to the horror of the crimes which they recounted and showed the great sorrow and grief to which they had been subjected, and the terrors through which they had passed.”
The following is a record of this session, and the depositions of the witnesses heard:
“Wednesday, September 28, 1440.
“Procès-verbal de réception des plaintes.
“The register in the case and cases of faith, in the presence of the Reverend Father in Christ, lord Jean de Malestroit, Bishop of Nantes, and of brother Jean Blouyn, vicar of Father Guillermus Merici, the inquisitor mentioned below, against M. Egidius (Gilles) de Rays, soldier, lord, and baron of the same place, under accusation.
“In the name of the Lord, Amen.
“In the year of the Lord 1440, on Wednesday, September 28, in the third indiction, in the tenth year of the pontificate of our most holy Father in Christ and Lord Eugenius IV., Pope by divine providence, and during the session of the council of Basle, there appeared before ... the lord bishop Johannes de Malestroit, ... and brother Johannes de Blouyn, ... vicar of Guillermus Merici, the inquisitor in matters of heretical wickedness, ... and before their scribes, ... the persons to be mentioned below, who, ... in tears and sorrows complained of the loss of their children and grandchildren and of others mentioned below, asserting that these children and others had, by the aforesaid Egidius de Rays and certain other accomplices of his and his abettors, been treacherously carried off and inhumanly strangled, and that he had committed upon them sins against nature, ... that he had often invoked evil spirits and offered homage to them, and had committed very many other enormous and unheard-of crimes of which the ecclesiastical court takes cognizance....
“Of whom the first complainant is Agatha the wife of Denys de la Mignon, of the parish of Holy Mary of Nantes, stating that a certain Colin her grandchild, the son of Guillermus Apvrill, about 20 years of age, small of stature and white of face, having on one ear a birth-mark, in the year 1439 in the month of August or thereabouts, on a Monday morning early went to the house commonly called la Suze in the city of Nantes (belonging to and occupied by Baron de Rays).... And afterwards she did not see the aforesaid Colin nor did she hear anything about him until a certain Perrina Martini alias la Meffraye, was arrested and shut up in the prisons of the secular court of Nantes. After this arrest she says that she heard it said by many that very many boys and innocent children had been carried off and killed by M. de Rays, she does not know to what purpose.
“Likewise the widow of Reginald Donété of the parish of Holy Mary of Nantes, also complained that Jean her son and son of aforesaid Donété used to frequent the house de la Suze in the city of Nantes; and since the feast of St. John the Baptist of the year 1438 she heard nothing about him until the aforesaid Perrina Martin, alias la Meffraye, was arrested and imprisoned and confessed that she had given him over to the aforesaid de Rays and his companions.
“Johanna, the wife of Guibeleti Delit, of the Parish of St. Denys of Nantes, likewise complained that her son Guillermus used to visit the house de la Suze, and went there during the first week of last Lent; and she had heard M. Jean Briant say that he had seen him in the aforesaid house on seven or eight successive days; that she had never afterwards seen her son, and that she suspected that he had been put to death in that house.
“Johannes Hubert and his wife, parishioners of St. Vincent of Nantes, complained that a certain son of theirs Jean by name, about 14 years of age, went to the house la Suze two years before the feast of the Nativity of St. John of last year, and then returning to the house of his parents, told his mother that he had cleansed the room of the aforesaid de Rays in the house de la Suze and had therefor bread in the aforesaid house, which bread he brought home and gave to his mother; to whom he also said that he was in favour with M. de Rays, and that the lord had given him white wine to drink; consequently he immediately returned to the house of Suze and was never again seen by his parents.
“Johanna, the wife of Johannes Darel, of the parish of St. Similien near Nantes, complained that on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul of the year before last, she was going home from the church of Nantes in the evening, and a child of hers aged seven or eight years was following her. When she had reached the church of St. Saturnine of Nantes, or was near it, she looked around to see her son, whom she thought to be following her, but she saw him neither then nor ever after.
“The wife of Yvon Kyeguen, stonecutter, of the parish of the Holy Cross of Nantes, complained that she had given to a certain Poitou, a servant of M. de Rays, one of her sons (this she did between the feasts of Easter and Ascension) to be a servant to him, as the aforesaid Poitou asserted; the son was about 15 years of age; and afterwards she never saw him again.
“Theophania, the wife of Eonette le Charpentier, butcher, of the parish of St. Clement near Nantes, complained that Peter the son of Eonet le Dagaye, the grandchild of the complainant, ten years old or thereabouts, was lost two years ago, and from that time nothing was heard of him until the aforesaid Perrina Martin, alias la Peliszonne, nicknamed la Meffraye, confessed, as is said, that she had given him to the followers of M. de Rays.
“The wife of Peter Coupperie likewise complained that she had lost her two sons, one eight and the other nine years old.
“Johannes Magnet complained that he had lost a son. Wherefore the said complainants said that they suspected that the aforesaid M. de Rays and his accomplices were culpable and conscious of the loss and death of the aforesaid children.”