The Real Network Blind History

Gilles de Rais

--:--
Everyone knows the story of Joan of Arc - the patron saint of France, the heroine who was burnt at the stake for her valour and her faith. History has been less kind to Gilles de Rais, a man whose story is less heroic and more macabre. In the dungeons of his castle, the sounds of chains, the heat of fires, and the screams of children became his legacy. But did any of it really happen? Was he a mass murderer of children, or a victim of his wealth and military success? Those secrets are buried under stone and ash and legend, and we may never know for sure...
20 Sep 2022 English South Africa History · Education

Other recent episodes

Ep 1: Alexander the Great

If you feel like an underachiever, compared to Alexander, you are. Before he had even turned 30, he had conquered all of the known world. A military genius, divinity, tyrant, poet and alcoholic, his story is full of surprising twists. Find out about his horse, his lovers, and his death…
12 Feb 2019 17 min

Ep 2: Shaka Zulu

Shaka kaSezangakhona was Africa’s first imperialist. Before Shaka, there were tribes... after Shaka there was a kingdom. In this episode we trace the story of Shaka the warrior, the madman and the leader - because he was all three and more. The soil of our country is stained with the…
19 Feb 2019 15 min

Ep 3: President John F Kennedy

John F Kennedy is one of the most well-known and best loved Presidents of the United States. Most people know more about his assassination than anything else, but he had a really incredible (and unlucky) family, many affairs and a crisis or two of global proportions to deal with during…
26 Feb 2019 17 min

Ep 5: Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was the archetypal philosopher-king, a man of extraordinary talent and ability. He also had those rare qualities of introspection and self-awareness. He ruled when the Roman Empire was at its most powerful and after him, the world fell to pieces. Next time you see some profound thing on…
12 Mar 2019 15 min

Ep 4: King Edward III

Edward III was England’s greatest medieval king. When you think of King Arthur’s round table, jousting, feasts, battles, armour and castles - Edward had all of that, but he also had a dark side, and a reign filled with tragedy... including the Black Death which killed millions of his people…
5 Mar 2019 13 min
All episodes