The true story of the blue beard. The scariest story

Who hasn't heard of the villain immortalized by Charles Perrault under the name of Bluebeard? Since the story was published in 1697 in the collection “Tales of My Mother Goose ...”, all the children of Europe have read it, but not every adult knows where it came from. It is believed that Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, Baron de Rais, Marshal of France, hero of the Hundred Years War, contemporary and colleague of the famous Joan of Arc, served as the prototype of the Bluebeard. But did he rightly get the “laurels” of a murderer and a sorcerer?

On the morning of October 26, 1440, the square in front of the Nantes Cathedral was crowded with a huge crowd. Everyone wanted to look at the execution of a noble lord, accused of monstrous crimes. In the cathedral, Marshal Gilles de Rais repented and asked for forgiveness. The church - for apostasy, heresy, blasphemy and witchcraft. From his lord, Duke Jean of Brittany, for the numerous murders of young children. The ceremony was not long - already at ten o'clock a procession of wagons set off from the square to the place of execution: on the first - the marshal himself, behind him - two of his closest bodyguard servants and, according to their own testimony, assistants in wicked deeds - Henri Griar and Etienne Corillo . These two, people of no nobility, half an hour later will be burned alive at the stake. The executioner will strangle their master with a garrote, "symbolically" set fire to brushwood under the dead body, immediately pull out the corpse, which will be handed over to relatives. Those, however, will beware of burying the "monster" in the family crypt - he will find eternal rest under an unnamed slab in a Carmelite monastery on the outskirts of Nantes ...

Confidant of the Dauphin

“Once upon a time there was a man who had beautiful houses both in the city and in the countryside, dishes, gold and silver, furniture all embroidered and carriages, gilded from top to bottom. But, unfortunately, this man had a blue beard, and it made him so ugly and so terrible that there was not a single woman or girl who would not run away when she saw him. Already at the very beginning of the tale, it seems, there is the first slander against the hero of our story, who, judging by the portraits, wore a neatly trimmed dark beard.

Gilles de Rais, born in 1404 in the castle of Mashcoul on the border of Brittany and Anjou, is the offspring of an old and noble family that gave France twelve marshals and six constables (the holder of this position combined the duties of commander in chief and minister of war).

Sources do not say anything about his childhood, which is usual for that troubled era. Only the most general information is known. In 1415, eleven-year-old Gilles and his younger brother Rene lost both parents: Guy de Laval's father, Baron de Rais, died either in the war or in a duel, his mother died a little earlier, and the children were under the care of their grandfather Jean de Craon . He, apparently, put a lot of effort into instilling in Gilles a love of reading and the sciences - occupations, in fact, not very popular among the rather rude chivalry in those days. In any case, in adulthood, his pupil passionately collected antiquities and showed extreme inquisitiveness of mind. Having spent most of his life in the saddle and on the battlefield, he nevertheless managed to compile a rich library and never spared money to replenish it.

Even at a young age, this brilliant knight profitably (but, mind you, for the first and only time!) Married the maiden Catherine, granddaughter of the Viscount de Thouars, and received, in addition to his already considerable fortune, two million livres of dowry and vast lands in Poitou (in including the castle of Tiffauges, which is destined to play a significant role in its future fate). He was little interested in his wife and paid almost no attention to her. Suffice it to say that they had - in 1429 - only one daughter, Marie de Laval.

But the Baron de Rais used his wealth, at least lovingly, carefully and diligently. In a short time, it helped win over the heir, Prince Charles of Valois, and get a place in his retinue. The young dauphin, almost the same age as Gilles, unlike his new courtier, lived forever on the edge of the financial abyss, due to which his chances for the French crown were approaching zero. Yes, and the crown was illusory: half of the country had long been firmly occupied by the British and their allies the Burgundians, and in many provinces local feudal lords were in charge. Poor in all respects, the prince could hardly manage to hold only the cities in the Loire Valley, and at the same time he did not stick his nose out of his residence in the Château de Chinon.

The Hundred Years War raging all around determined the field of our hero. He decided to bet on the Dauphin Charles, in those years the correctness of this choice was not at all obvious. However, the baron did not betray him and did not miscalculate.

national hero

In Gilles de Rais, the blood of the famous constable Bertrand Duguesclin, the most famous of the country's commanders, who died in 1380, flowed. Of course, the laurels of the famous ancestor did not give rest to the great-nephew of the "thunderstorm of the British". And he managed to achieve the same loud fame. Overcoming the lethargy and apathy of his overlord and friend Charles, Baron de Rais spared no effort and means. He formed large detachments at his own expense and made - from 1422 to 1429 - very successful raids on lands occupied by the enemy, stormed several castles and finally covered himself with national glory, fighting hand in hand with Joan of Arc near Orleans and at Jarjo. For these exploits, Montmorency-Laval became Marshal of France at the age of 25 - an unprecedented case! Evil tongues claimed that this happened due to the fact that Baron de Rais, with his own money, supported not only the army, but also Charles with his entire court, paying for all kinds of feasts, hunts and other amusements that the Dauphin so adored. However, no one questioned the actual military exploits of the marshal.

After the memorable Orleans victory in May 1429, the war rolled to a successful end for Charles. On July 17 of the same year, he was crowned in Reims, the place where French kings have traditionally been crowned kings since 498. There was already so little doubt about the victory of the Valois that Gilles de Rais thought it appropriate to carefully signal to the newly minted sovereign that now that everything was going well, it was time to start paying off the loans. And, as often happens in such cases, the marshal not only did not receive back the funds spent, but, in addition, fell into disfavor and was removed from the court. After all, it is well known: a small debt gives birth to a debtor, a large one - an enemy.

Mistake by Gilles de Rais

Since 1433, our hero is officially retired. He lives quietly in the castle of Tiffauges in remote Brittany and, out of boredom, reads books on alchemy. In the end, there was also an urgent need for her - his financial affairs were still going badly, and the hope of correcting them with the return of the royal debt had vanished.

Apparently, in search of a way out of financial difficulties, Gilles de Rais also makes the main strategic mistake in life. In 1436, he cordially hosts the new Dauphin, Louis. Accepts as the son of his old fighting friend and king. The baron could not help but know that the Dauphin, the future King Louis XI, the most cunning of the monarchs of Europe, was already intriguing against his father and, in fact, was hiding from the royal wrath on the marshal's estates. Knowing Charles well, how could he doubt that the shadow of enmity between father and son would fall on him in the most direct way (even if formally Louis' visit was presented to him as an "inspector's" check).

Punishment followed immediately. In order to get at least some cash, the marshal had to mortgage real estate - first one castle, then another ... These operations were absolutely legal and profitable, but a decree followed from the king: to restrict Baron Gilles de Rais in commercial transactions with his possessions. For the disgraced marshal, this was a considerable blow - with great zeal, he began to look for a way to turn lead into gold. He ordered his alchemist Gilles de Silla to concentrate on this task alone.

Almost the entire first floor of Tiffauge Castle was converted into an alchemical laboratory. The owner did not skimp on expenses. His agents bought on an industrial scale the components needed for the experiments, some of which - for example, shark teeth, mercury and arsenic - were very expensive at that time.

But, as you might guess, this did not help - it was not possible to get gold. In his hearts, the marshal said goodbye to the more or less sober de Sille and in 1439 invited the chief alchemist Francesco Prelati to take the place, who, apparently, convinced the baron of his exclusivity. Perhaps he was attracted by the fact that the Italian directly stated that he was a sorcerer and kept a personal demon in his service, through which he communicated with the world of the dead (and this at a time when the baron's former "learned men" were mostly priests).

Unfortunately, very soon Francesco Prelati gained enormous power over his master, a man who was both erudite and out-of-the-box thinking. The latter quality made him always want to communicate with extraordinary people, who clearly break the framework of his contemporary ideas about science. However, this time our hero did not recognize the obvious charlatan.

Over time, all of Brittany heard about their witchcraft exercises and was horrified to such an extent that the Duke of Brittany himself, whose vassal was the Baron de Rais, had to intervene. Soon the duke, at the head of two hundred armed soldiers, was knocking at the gates of Tiffauges. Clouds thickened over the marshal's head, but he himself did not yet know how menacing they were.

Another villain...

Most philologists - researchers of fairy tales, as well as historians agree that in the story of Bluebeard, the real plot with the execution of Gilles de Rais was superimposed in a bizarre way on the mythological, literary, and not vice versa, as is usually the case. From the very early Middle Ages in Brittany (as well as in the Celtic regions of Great Britain - Cornwall and Wales) there was a popular story about the Earl of Conomor, who married a certain Trephinia, later a saint. He asked for the girl's hand from her father, Count Geroch, but he refused "because of the extreme cruelty and barbarism with which he treated his other wives, whom, as soon as they became pregnant, he ordered to be killed in the most inhuman way." So, in any case, reports the "Biography of the Saints of Brittany." Then, through the mediation of one righteous abbot, the wedding - with the solemn oaths of Conomor to behave with dignity - nevertheless took place. But as soon as Trephinia became pregnant, the count - a pagan at heart - nevertheless killed her, apparently performing some kind of diabolical ritual. Further, as the legend says, the resurrection of the saint and the punishment of the murderer followed. Isn't it true that the contours of the future "horror story" about Bluebeard are quite visible? Considering that in the 15th century, when Gilles de Rais lived, stories of this kind were the main body of local folklore, it is not surprising that the fate of the marshal joined them. And it is not surprising that the children, "tortured" by the seigneur de Montmorency-Laval, merged in the people's memory with the wives from the legends of Conomor and already in this form came to Charles Perrault. A common thing in the history of literature...

Trial Strike

At the end of August 1440, Monsignor Jean de Malestruet, Bishop of Nantes, chief adviser and "right hand" of the Duke of Brittany, delivered a sensational sermon to a crowd of parishioners in the cathedral. His Eminence allegedly became aware of the heinous crimes of one of the noblest nobles of Brittany, Marshal Gilles de Rais, "against young children and adolescents of both sexes." The bishop demanded that "people of every rank" who had at least some information about these "chilling deeds" informed him about them.

The bishop's speech, full of meaningful omissions, made the listeners feel that the investigation had serious evidence. In fact, Malestruet was then aware of a single disappearance of a child, which somehow managed to be connected with Gilles de Rais, and it happened a month before the fateful sermon. There was no question of direct evidence - it is obvious that the ruling elites of the Duchy of Breton simply decided to use the opportunity to deal with the disgraced marshal.

Soon the bishop had a reason to inform the head of the Inquisitorial Tribunal of Brittany, Father Jean Blouin, about everything. In general, the investigation has since unfolded in all directions. A few days later, an indictment was issued. He made a strong impression on his contemporaries. What was not here: human sacrifices to the domestic demon, and witchcraft "using special technical means", and the murders of children with the dismemberment and burning of their bodies, and sexual perversions ...

A 47-count indictment was sent to the Duke of Brittany and the Inquisitor General of France, Guillaume Merici. Marshal was officially informed of them on September 13, 1440, and invited him to appear in the episcopal court for an explanation.

accusation of witchcraft

The meeting of the tribunal was scheduled for September 19, and Gilles de Rais probably understood that he had more than good reasons to avoid appearing. If he could still consider the accusations of missing children "not dangerous", then the witchcraft manipulations detailed in the indictment could cause great trouble. The Church persecuted them very fiercely. In addition, the Duke of Brittany also authorized a secular trial, and it also gave some results ...

In principle, it remained possible to flee to Paris and fall at the feet of Charles VII, but, apparently, there was very little hope for the help of an old friend, since the accused did not want to use this means. He remained at Tiffauges and announced that he would certainly appear in court. Here his situation was further worsened by his own close associates, whose nerves were not so strong. Gilles' friend, Roger de Briqueville, and a former trusted alchemist, Gilles de Sille, just in case, went on the run. In response, the prosecutor of Brittany Guillaume Chapeillon announced their search, which gave him a legal opportunity to come with the guards to the baron's castle and seize other suspects there: the Italian sorcerer and the baron's bodyguards - Griar and Corillo. All these people spent the last years side by side with the owner and, of course, could tell a lot about his activities. What they, in fact, did at the court, which met in October 1440 in the city hall of Nantes. The authorities tried to give the process as much publicity as possible: it was announced in the squares of all the cities of Brittany, and everyone who could have at least some, true or imaginary, relation to the case was invited to it (at the same time, the accused’s demand for a lawyer was rejected!) . Spectators were admitted freely, and their influx was so great that many had to hang around the doors. Gilles de Rais was insulted, women rushed at the guards in order to break through closer and be able to spit in the face of the “damned villain”.

As for the testimony... Suffice it to say that it lived up to the expectations of the crowd.

The alchemist Francesco Prelati, under oath, stated that Baron de Rae composed and wrote with blood an agreement with the demon Barron, in which he undertook to bring the latter bloody sacrifices for three gifts: omniscience, wealth and power. The witness does not know whether the accused received these gifts, but he made sacrifices: at first he tried to pay off with a chicken, but at the request of Barron he switched to children.

Gilles de Sille spoke in detail about the sexual behavior of his former patron - heinous abuse of minors of both sexes. In addition, he confirmed that the baron participated in alchemical experiments, being aware of their sinfulness, and thus fell into heresy.

Their parents testified about the missing children. Some of them claimed that the last time they saw their children was when they sent them to the domain of the Baron de Rais to beg. Finally, Griar and Corillo gave the most terrible evidence that the marshal collected human heads that were kept in a special dungeon of the castle, and also that, sensing the danger of arrest, the marshal personally ordered them to destroy these heads (the testimony is especially important, in view of the fact that during numerous searches in the marshal's possessions did not find anything suspicious).

Seal of Evil

How did the connection between the real-life Baron Gilles de Rais and the literary character Bluebeard come about? And why is the "beard" exactly "blue"? It is known that, while collecting Breton legends, Charles Perrault, in particular, wrote down the following: Comte Odon de Tremeac and his bride Blanche de Lerminier were driving past the castle of Gilles de Rais. The baron invited them to dinner. But when the guests were about to leave, he ordered the count to be thrown into a stone bag, and the frightened Blanche offered to become his wife. She refused. Then he took her to the church and began to ardently swear that, if she agreed, "he would forever give her soul and body." Blanche agreed - and at the same moment she turned into a blue Devil. The devil laughed and said to the baron: "Now you are in my power." He made a sign, and Gilles' beard also turned blue. “Now you will not be Gilles de Laval,” Satan rumbled. “Your name will be Bluebeard!” Here you have the combination of two storylines: in the folklore consciousness, allegedly tortured children turned into wives, and the color of the beard became the “seal of evil spirits”. Of course, the legend was also overgrown with topographic features: literally all the ruined castles near Nantes and in the Loire Valley by the time of Perro were attributed to Gilles de Rais, and in Tiffauges, for a couple of coins, they showed a room where he slaughtered either little children or women.

Forced confession

No matter how strong nerves the experienced commander possessed, he must have experienced a shock. All the more respect is caused by the imperturbable calmness with which he continued to repeat his innocence and demand a lawyer. Seeing that no one thought to listen to him, he declared that he would rather go to the gallows than be present in court, where all the accusations are false, and the judges are villains. This, in turn, could not be tolerated by the “villains”: the Bishop of Nantes immediately excommunicated the accused from the church, and on October 19 the court decided to torture him in order to “encourage him to stop the vile denial.”

Gilles de Montmorency-Laval, Baron de Rais, was stretched out on the so-called staircase. This method of torture, the most popular in France at that time, consisted in the fact that the victim, tied by the arms and legs, was stretched on a horizontal grid, as if on a rack. Under torture, the courageous marshal quickly repented of his former stubbornness and promised to be more accommodating in the future. To begin with, he knelt before the bishop, humbly asked him to remove the excommunication, and later began to testify and little by little "confessed" to everything. True, new tortures were required for a complete “surrender” before the court, on October 21, but after them, Gilles de Rais publicly agreed that he “enjoyed the vice”, and described in detail his favorite methods of murder and his own feelings at the same time. The baron himself named the number of children tortured by him - 800 (thus, he had to kill one child a week for the last 15 years!). But the court prudently considered that 150 would be enough.

On October 25, the Bishop of Nantes repeatedly "expelled Gilles de Rais from the bosom of the Church of Christ" for "such grave sins against the dogmas of faith and human laws that it is impossible for a person to imagine them." On the same day, the "sinner", of course, was sentenced to the fire - along with his "talkative" accomplices. As an act of special humanity (after all, it was about the Marshal of France), in the event of repentance and reconciliation with the church, Gilles de Rais was promised not to burn him alive, but to strangle him first.

The marshal chose to reconcile with the church on these relatively humane terms, and was executed with his accomplices the next day. Among the relatives of the executed marshal, there was not a single one who would risk defending his name and honor.

Several centuries passed before some historians began to point out all sorts of flaws and inconsistencies in the charges in the trial of the hero of the Hundred Years War. The very fact of committing the acts incriminated to him is doubtful. In any case, his slander by specially trained witnesses seems very likely, and confessions under torture are inexpensive. In addition, the following fact also raises suspicions: the most odious characters of the process, like the sorcerer Francesco Prelati, were only imprisoned (from which, by the way, he quickly and easily escaped). Perhaps they slandered de Rais at the initiative of the king, who had a strong dislike for his former friend: he was sure that Gilles supported the disgraced Dauphin Louis, and most importantly, Charles really did not want to return the huge debt to the marshal.

Only in 1992 did French scientists achieve historical justice - they organized a new "posthumous trial" in the Senate of the French Republic. Having carefully studied the documents from the archives of the Inquisition, the tribunal of several parliamentarians, politicians and expert historians completely acquitted the marshal.

Bluebeard is a fairy tale for school children. She tells about a rich man whose beard was blue and everyone was afraid of him because of this. One of the girls decided to marry him, he seemed to her a good person and not so scary. And in vain, because he turned out to be the murderer of his wives. The girl almost paid with her life because of her curiosity.

Fairy tale Bluebeard download:

Fairy tale Bluebeard read

Once upon a time there was a man who was followed by a lot of good things: he had beautiful houses in the city and outside the city, gold and silver dishes, embroidered chairs and gilded carriages. But, unfortunately, this man's beard was blue and this beard gave him such an ugly and formidable look that all the girls and women used to, as soon as they see him, so God give them legs as soon as possible.

One of his neighbors, a lady of noble birth, had two daughters, perfect beauties. He wooed one of them, not appointing which one and leaving the mother herself to choose his bride. But neither one nor the other agreed to be his wife: they could not decide to marry a man whose beard was blue, and only quarreled among themselves, sending him to each other. They were also embarrassed by the fact that he already had several wives, and no one in the world knew what had become of them.

Bluebeard, wanting to give them the opportunity to get to know him better, took them, along with his mother, three or four of their closest friends, and several young people from the neighborhood, to one of his country houses, where he spent a whole week with them. The guests walked, went hunting, fishing; dancing and feasting did not stop; there was no sleep at night; everyone made fun, invented funny pranks and jokes; in a word, everyone was so good and cheerful that the youngest of the daughters soon came to the conclusion that the owner’s beard was not at all so blue, and that he was a very amiable and pleasant gentleman. As soon as everyone returned to the city, the wedding was immediately played.

After a month, Bluebeard told his wife that he was forced to leave for at least six weeks on a very important matter. He asked her not to be bored in his absence, but, on the contrary, to try in every possible way to disperse, invite her friends, take them out of town, if she likes - to eat and drink sweetly - in a word, to live for her own pleasure.

“Here,” he added, “are the keys to the two main storerooms; here are the keys to the gold and silver dishes, which are not put on the table every day; here - from chests with money; here - from boxes with precious stones; here, finally, is the key with which all the rooms can be unlocked. But this small key unlocks the closet, which is located below, at the very end of the main gallery. You can unlock everything, enter everywhere; but I forbid you to enter that closet. My prohibition on this matter is so strict and formidable that if you happen to—God forbid—unlock it, then there is no such misfortune that you should not expect from my anger.

The wife of Bluebeard promised to fulfill his orders and instructions exactly; and he, having kissed her, got into the carriage and set off on his journey.

Neighbors and friends of the young woman did not wait for an invitation, but all came on their own, so great was their impatience to see with their own eyes those innumerable riches that were rumored to be in her house. They were afraid to come until the husband left: his blue beard frightened them very much. They immediately went to inspect all the chambers - and there was no end to their surprise: everything seemed to them magnificent and beautiful! They got to the storerooms - and what they didn’t see there! Lush beds, sofas, rich curtains, tables, tables, mirrors so huge that you could see yourself in them from head to toe and with such wonderful, unusual frames! Some frames were also mirrored, others were made of gilded carved silver. Neighbors and friends incessantly praised and extolled the happiness of the mistress of the house, but she was not at all amused by the spectacle of all these riches: she was tormented by the desire to unlock the closet below, at the end of the gallery.

Her curiosity was so strong that, not realizing how impolite it was to leave the guests, she suddenly rushed down the hidden stairs ... ... almost broke her neck. Running to the closet door, however, she stopped for a moment. Her husband's prohibition crossed her mind. Well, she thought, I'll be in trouble for my disobedience! But the temptation was too strong, she could not cope with it. She took the key and, trembling like a leaf, unlocked the closet.

At first she did not make out anything: it was dark in the closet ... the windows were closed. But after a while, she saw that the whole floor was covered with dried blood and in this blood the bodies of several dead women were reflected, tied along the walls, these were the former wives of Bluebeard, whom he slaughtered one by one. - She almost died on the spot from fear and dropped the key from her hand.

At last she came to her senses, picked up the key, locked the door, and went to her room to rest and recover. But she was so frightened that in no way could she completely come to her senses.

She noticed that the key to the closet was stained with blood; she wiped it off once, twice, a third time... but the blood didn't come out. No matter how she washed it, no matter how she rubbed it, even with sand and crushed bricks, the blood stain still remained! This key was magical and there was no way to clean it; blood came out on one side and came out on the other.

That same evening Bluebeard returned from his journey. He told his wife that on the road he received letters from which he learned that the case on which he was supposed to leave had been decided in his favor. His wife, as usual, tried her best to show him that she was very happy about his soon return.

The next morning he asked her for the keys. She handed them to him, but her hand trembled so much that he easily guessed everything that had happened in his absence.

“Why,” he asked, “is the key to the closet not with the others?”

“I must have forgotten it upstairs on my table,” she answered.

- Please bring it, do you hear! said Bluebeard.

After several excuses and delays, she was finally to bring the fatal key.

- Why is this blood? - he asked.

“I don’t know why,” the poor woman answered, and she herself turned as pale as a sheet.

- You do not know! said Bluebeard. - Well, I know! You wanted to enter the closet. All right, you go in there and take your place next to the women you saw there.

She threw herself at her husband's feet, wept bitterly and began to ask him for forgiveness for her disobedience, expressing the most sincere repentance and grief. It seems that the stone would have been moved by the prayers of such a beauty, but Bluebeard's heart was harder than any stone.

“You must die,” he said, “and now.

“If I must certainly die,” she said through tears, “so give me a minute of time to pray to God.”

"I'll give you exactly five minutes," said Bluebeard, "and not a second more!"

He went down, and she called her sister and said to her:

- My sister, Anna (that was her name), please go up to the very top of the tower, see if my brothers are coming? They promised to visit me today. If you see them, give them a sign to hurry up.

Sister Anna went up to the top of the tower, and the poor unfortunate thing from time to time shouted to her:

"Sister Anna, can't you see anything?"

And sister Anna answered her:

Meanwhile, Bluebeard, grabbing a huge knife, yelled with all his might:

"Come here, come, or I'll go to you!"

“Just a minute,” his wife answered, and added in a whisper:

And sister Anna answered:

I see the sun is clearing and the grass is turning green.

- Go, go quickly! yelled Bluebeard, “otherwise I’ll go to you!”

- I'm coming! - answered the wife and again asked her sister:

Anna, sister Anna! can't you see anything?

“I see,” Anna answered, “a large cloud of dust is approaching us.

Are these my brothers?

“Oh no, sister! this is a flock of sheep.

- Are you finally coming? cried Bluebeard.

“Just a little more,” his wife answered, and again asked:

Anna, sister Anna! can't you see anything?

“I see two horsemen galloping up here, but they are still very far away. Thank God,” she added after a while, “these are our brothers. I give them a sign to hurry as soon as possible.

But then Bluebeard raised such an uproar that the very walls of the house trembled. His poor wife came down and threw herself at his feet, all torn to pieces and in tears.

“It will serve no purpose,” said Bluebeard, “the hour of your death has come.”

With one hand he grabbed her by the hair, with the other he raised his terrible knife ... He swung at her to cut off her head ... The poor thing turned her extinguished eyes on him:

“Give me one more moment, just one more moment, to gather my courage…

- No no! he answered, “entrust your soul to God!”

And he already raised his hand... But at that moment such a terrible knock rose at the door that Bluebeard stopped, looked around... The door opened at once and two young men burst into the room. Drawing their swords, they rushed straight at Bluebeard.

He recognized his wife's brothers, one served in the dragoons, the other in the horse rangers, and immediately sharpened his skis; but the brothers overtook him before he could run behind the porch. They pierced him through with their swords and left him dead on the floor. The poor wife of Bluebeard was barely alive herself, no worse than her husband, she did not even have enough strength to rise and embrace her deliverers.

It turned out that Bluebeard had no heirs, and all his property went to his widow. She used one part of his wealth to marry off her sister Anna to a young nobleman who had long been in love with her; for the other part, she bought the captain's ranks for the brothers; and with the rest she herself married a very honest and good man. With him she forgot all the grief she had endured as Bluebeard's wife.

bluebeard prototype

The French marshal is considered the prototype of the Bluebeard. Gilles de Montmorency-Laval Baron de Rais comte de Brienne is notorious as a Satanist, a man with a disturbed psyche. Rumor has it that in addition to the fact that the marshal was suspected of witchcraft, he also corrupted children, both boys and girls; practiced alchemy. However, he did not kill his wives, although many historians try to attribute this sin to him. Now this man is known as Gilles de Rais as an associate of Joan of Arc. He was executed for all his crimes, although in fact they relied more on rumors than on facts. He instilled too much fear in people.

For all the deeds of this man, and this is more than 200 crimes, he was considered and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable criminals. It was for what fear he inspired that the author of Bluebeard, Charles Perrault, took him as a prototype for his fairy tale. By the way, many other writers and composers used this character in their works.

Although Gilles was such a terrible person on the one hand, on the other hand he was the bravest of warriors. The battle of Tourelles, in which he won, brought him fame and sealed his name in history, despite all his other dishonors.

There is also another version of who is the prototype of Bluebeard. They say once Tryphina, the wife of Conomor (the ruler of Brittany) randomly wandered into her husband's secret room, where she found the corpses of his ex-wives. With the help of magic, she learned that all the women were pregnant at that time. As soon as Tryphina became pregnant herself, she tried to escape, but she did not succeed.

Bluebeard: a summary

Bluebeard is a rich man who lives alone in his castle. Everyone around him knows and fears him. There are several reasons for this. The first is, of course, the color of his beard, which confuses with its abnormality, the second is the inexplicable disappearance of all the girls who marry him.

Two girls live near the Bluebeard's palace - sisters. He invites them along with his girlfriends and friends for a week-long vacation outside the city and the youngest of the sisters decides that their neighbor is not so scary. He begins to seem kind and helpful to her. And so she decides and marries Bluebeard.

The wedding is played and the girl moves to the castle. Unexpectedly, Bluebeard is going on the road and orders his wife to walk and have fun, to use any wealth, but only not to enter the closet. (Why does he then give her the key to this closet? Apparently, he still wanted her to enter it.)

Girlfriends come to the girl, they inspect the whole castle together, marveling at all the decorations and unheard-of riches. Then Bluebeard's wife can't stand it, runs into the closet and opens it. Oh, my God, there she discovers the corpses of ex-wives. Out of fear, she drops the key and stains it with blood. The terrible thing is that it is impossible to wash the blood - the key is bewitched. As soon as the girl rubs the stain, it immediately appears again.

In addition, Bluebeard returns ahead of time. He understands that his wife opened the door and wants to kill her. She asks for a couple of minutes, and she sends her sister to see if the brothers are coming, and if they are coming, hurry them up. Here Bluebeard grabs a knife and then the girl's brothers burst in and kill him.

The prototype of the character could serve as the French baron and marshal Gilles de Rais, who was executed on charges of numerous murders.

The tale has served as the basis for a number of theatrical versions. The most famous are the eponymous operetta by Jacques Offenbach and Bela Bartok's opera The Castle of the Duke Blue Beard. In both cases, the plot is greatly changed: in the operetta - in an ironic way, and in the opera - in a philosophical and mystical way.

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✪ BLUEBEARD: The prototype of a spooky fairy tale character from childhood

✪ Charles Perrault "Bluebeard".

✪ Perro Charles "Bluebeard" (ONLINE AUDIOBOOKS) Listen

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Plot

Women are afraid of a wealthy aristocrat nicknamed Bluebeard: firstly, because of the blue color of his beard, for which he received such a nickname, and secondly, because the fate of his seven ex-wives remains unknown. He proposes to one of the daughters of a neighbor, a noble lady, inviting the mother to decide for herself which of the daughters to marry. In fear of him, none of the girls dare to marry him. As a result, having won the heart of the youngest daughter, the master plays a wedding with her, and she moves to his castle.

Soon after the wedding, the gentleman, about to leave on business, gives his wife the keys to all the rooms, including the mysterious closet below, forbidding her to enter there under the threat of death. In the absence of her husband, the young wife cannot stand it, opens the door and discovers a pool of blood and the bodies of all the missing wives of Bluebeard there. Terrified, she drops the key into a pool of blood and, recovering herself, tries to wipe off the blood. But since this key is magic, it doesn't work.

Unexpectedly, Bluebeard returns ahead of time and, from the excitement of his wife, guesses that she has violated the ban. Seeing a bloody stain on the key, he passes a death sentence on his wife. She asks him for five minutes to pray before her death, and she sends her older sister to the tower to see if the brothers have arrived. Bluebeard runs out of patience, he grabs his wife, but at that moment her brothers arrive and kill him.

Plot options

The English plot of the tale is slightly different from the French. There, Bluebeard simply kidnaps a beautiful girl who happened to meet him on the way and forcibly makes her his wife. All the servants in Bluebeard's castle are corrupt, except for one beautiful shepherdess, with whom the young mistress became friends. Bluebeard leaves, leaving the keys to his wife, and forbids opening the only closet. The hostess and the shepherdess a week before the return of Bluebeard to the castle, out of curiosity, open the closet and see the corpses of women hanging on seven hooks, the eighth hook is free. In horror, the young woman lets go of the key, it falls and is stained with blood. The girls try to wipe off the blood, but the more they wash, the brighter the stain becomes, and it will never be erased from the magic key. Realizing that the mistress cannot escape punishment, the shepherdess sends a talking jay with terrible news to the brothers of her mistress. Bluebeard returns and sharpens a knife to kill his disobedient wife. The shepherdess is looking tensely from the tower to see if the brothers of the hostess are coming. At the last moment, the brothers still have time. There is a battle: two brothers fight with Bluebeard, and his sinister three dogs: Dogs big and strong as bulls, for an hour. However, the brothers manage to win and kill them. They take home a sister and a young shepherdess, whom the younger brother marries with the blessing of his parents. And the shepherdess receives Bluebeard's castle as her wedding dowry.

Plot origin

There are two traditional versions of the origin of the Bluebeard character, both of which go back to infamous figures from Brittany.

According to the first, the prototype of the legend was Gilles de Rais, who lived in the 15th century and was executed on charges of killing several of his wives and ritually killing 80 to 200 boys in order to summon demons. It is worth noting that these allegations were most likely falsified. So, he had only one wife, and after his arrest and death, there was a fairy tale among the people that the devil dyed his blond beard blue because he killed six of his wives, and archaeologists, when examining his castle, did not find any remains testifying to massacres and burials. Perhaps the baron was slandered by order of King Charles VII, who was a friend of de Rais, and later his enemy. In 1992, French scientists achieved historical justice - they organized a new "posthumous trial" in the Senate of the French Republic. Having carefully studied documents from the archives of the Inquisition, a tribunal of several parliamentarians, politicians and expert historians fully acquitted Marshal de Rais.

According to the second version, the legend is connected with the ruler of Brittany, Conomor the Accursed, whose wife Tryphina discovered a secret room in his castle, where the corpses of all three of his ex-wives were located. The spirits informed her that they were killed while pregnant. Having become pregnant, Tryphina escapes, but Conomor catches her and decapitates her.

It should be noted that the fate of the two wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, who were executed on the orders of their husband for adultery and high treason, also had an indirect influence on the formation of the plot. In some illustrations and adaptations of the fairy tale, the visual image of Bluebeard very much echoes the appearance and costume of Henry VIII.

Russian translation

Screen adaptations

• The silent short fairy tale film by Georges Méliès " Blue beard" (fr. Barbe-bleue) 1901 is the first film adaptation of the novel. Starring Georges Méliès himself.
• In 1951, the film "Bluebeard (film)".
• In 1972, the movie Bluebeard was released, starring Richard Burton. Wrote music for the film

Let's remember the plot of this fairy tale Charles Perrault, first published in 1697. Once upon a time there was a very rich gentleman, but because of the blue beard, which made him ugly and scary, he could not find a girlfriend in any way. He was seduced by the daughters of a respectable lady who lived next door. He wooed them, was refused, but showed perseverance: he arranged a whole week of entertainment for them and all the respectable neighboring youth in his castle. The action was a success, and the youngest daughter gave up. We got married and the honeymoon went great. The young woman was happy, but her husband got together on business and “asked her to have a good time in his absence, to invite her friends, to go with them to the country castle, if she wanted to, and everywhere to do whatever she wanted.” The husband forbade only visiting one room in the castle, threatening with terrible punishments. The wife invited her friends, and while they were jealous of her wealth, bypassing the castle, she rushed to the forbidden room. What did she see there? "The whole floor is covered with clotted blood, which reflected the corpses of several women hanging on the walls." These were the former wives Bluebeard, killed by him. Out of fear, she dropped the key, staining it with blood. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't wash it off. The suddenly returned husband, seeing the key, understood everything and suggested that his wife quickly prepare for death. Fortunately, her brothers arrived in time and everything ended well - they killed the villain, and the wife, having inherited his untold wealth, successfully married again and even sponsored her sister and brothers.

Sado without maso

The real prototype of Bluebeard is often considered the richest Baron and Marshal of France Gilles de Rais. In 1440 he was executed for terrible crimes. Having sold his soul to the devil and becoming an alchemist and warlock, he performed monstrous rites, during which children were tortured and killed. De Rais himself took an active part in them, besides, he was engaged in sodomy and necrophilia. The baron confessed to about 800 murders, but the judges decided that there were about 150 of them. There was no more terrible figure in the history of France.

But at the same time, Gilles de Rais was almost a national hero. He earned the title of marshal for his bravery in the Hundred Years' War. Moreover, he was the closest ascetic Joan of Arc and accompanied her in almost all battles. It was he who was entrusted with the honorable mission of delivering oil for chrismation Charles VII during his coronation in Reims in 1429. But at the beginning of the 30s he departs from valiant deeds, lives alternately in his castles, of which he had more than Bluebeard, and indulges in all serious. He surrounds himself with a private army, a huge retinue and even a staff of priests. His lifestyle and trips are similar to royal ones. And creepy things happen in the forbidden rooms of castles.

Marshal of France Gilles de Reine Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Unlike the fabulous Bluebeard, de Rais did not kill wives, but children. He sent his only wife to a monastery. Why did Perrault "reward" the hero with a blue beard and why do we identify him with Baron de Rais? One could assume that the great storyteller invented a blue beard for the hero in the same way as a red cap for a peasant girl and boots for a cat. In folk tales, on the basis of which they are written, the cat performs feats barefoot, while the girl's head is not covered. “In the memory of people, Re remained a legendary monster. In the land where he lived, this memory was mixed with the legend of Bluebeard, ”explains this collision Georges Bataille, the famous philosopher and author of the most complete book about Gilles de Rais. In his opinion, there is "nothing in common" between the hero of a fairy tale and the real baron. And this seems to be true.

Fathers and Sons

Much closer to Perrault's tale is the legend of Comoros - King of Brittany who ruled in the 6th century. He married some triphymia who later became a Catholic saint. When she became pregnant, she had a vision of the former seven wives of the king, who were killed by him. They persuaded her to run away. Komor caught up with his wife and, learning about the pregnancy, cut off his head. And the father with the help Saint Gildas resurrected her. Therefore, the saint is often portrayed without a head - she holds it in her hands. In this legend, only the forbidden room is missing, but it looks more like a fairy tale than the story of Gilles de Rais.

But why does Komor kill wives when they find out they are pregnant? This motif is found very widely in mythology. Ancient Greek god Kronos It was predicted that his son would overthrow him. To avoid this, he swallowed newly born children. But instead of one of them, his mother slipped him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Kronos swallowed it, the child escaped and then really overthrew his father and became the main god on Olympus. This was Zeus. But he also received a prophecy that he would be overthrown by his son. To maintain power, Zeus ate his wife when she became pregnant. As a result, he inherited from her ... pregnancy. But a girl was born, however, her husband-like. It was Athena. She appeared from the split head of Zeus immediately in combat gear - in a helmet, with a shield and a spear.

Kronos, devouring children. public domain.

But among the tales there is no exact prototype of the Bluebeard. There are fairy tales with forbidden rooms in which they kill, dismember, and then resurrect. But unlike Perrault, this is done not only by husbands, but also by animals, robbers or some kind of non-humans and messengers from another world. Experts believe that the main thing in them is not the image of the husband, but the lawlessness that occurs in the forbidden room. This is what the heroine of the fairy tale sees Brothers Grimm“An outlandish bird”, which was beheaded and then saved: “In the middle of the room stood a huge basin full of blood, and in it were the bodies of people, cut into pieces, and next to the basin was a stump of a tree and a shiny ax was placed near it.”

There are many similar pictures in the fairy tales of different peoples, including ours. Vladimir Propp, the most influential specialist in fairy tales in the world, saw in this the phenomenon of the so-called temporary death. It was carried out during the initiation: a person was killed, cut into pieces, then collected and resurrected. It is clear that this was done for fun, but under the influence of hallucinogens or other psychotechniques, the initiate took it literally. For greater certainty that executions were carried out with him, they could cut off his finger, inflict several scars, and leave other signs of violence. As a result, the initiate was reborn as a new, different person. Such serious rituals with dismemberment and shift of consciousness were usually performed at initiation into shamans. They often passed in the forbidden room - like in a fairy tale. In special men's houses where this was done, there were often such premises. This was observed among archaic peoples who practiced such rituals even in the 19th-20th centuries. In ancient times, the ancestors of the so-called. civilized peoples. Fragments of memories of this remained in fairy tales.

Of course, all this reading is not very suitable for children in our tough times. But you need to remember this, because social psychologists say that what happened once can happen again. And today wild customs are already being revived. In Syria, terrorists eat the hearts of dead enemies, and in Denmark they publicly kill and dissect animals in front of children. Children's books are already full of talk about euthanasia, violence, homosexuality, drug addiction. In Sweden, writers pride themselves on their ability to portray children as mean and obnoxious. Should we follow this path or open other books?

In the next issues, read about what kind of fairy tales children should be brought up on.

Hello dear reader. The tale Charles Perrault's Bluebeard is probably taken from an old Breton legend. Many motifs of this tale are contained in folk songs-complaints. Take, for example, the song that is quoted in the book by J. Tierso, about a girl who is brought to the bank of the river by someone like Bluebeard: You see, there is a river, Fourteen ladies are drowned in it, you will be the fifteenth. Here is a song recorded in the mountains of Loser, it tells about three brothers who married their sister to a villain. He beats her. Blood flows like that, blood flows like that Her blood flows into the cup... Husband forces, husband forces This blood to be drunk instead of wine. The girl is trying to wash the dress in the river. Her brothers gallop past, not recognizing the girl. She complains to them about the villain of her husband. The knights are galloping, the knights are galloping, They are galloping to the castle sooner. They search everywhere, they search everywhere, In the tower they found a husband... With a sharp sword, with a sharp sword They cut off the husband's head. Here, the motives of jumping and retribution are already evident. Compare with the text of a fairy tale: “I see two horsemen, they are jumping here ...” - “Thank God!., these are my brothers”; "They pierced him through with their swords, and he fell dead." The psychoanalytic conclusion from this tale is the following: nothing is perfect in the sublunary world and the secrets of the male subconscious should not be abused, since sadism and bloodlust can be hidden behind love. The indelible blood-stained key is essential: it's foolish to ignore danger when you're around a serial killer. The heroine of the tale is saved by brotherly love, not by love for a man. The unusualness of this tale lies in the fact that the title character had a real historical prototype. On October 26, 1440, Baron Gilles de Rais was executed in the central square of Nantes. This, for example, is written by Michelet. In all the cities and large towns of France, a court order was read out that the executed man had killed many innocent children in order to obtain gold with the help of devilish tricks. Subsequently, there was a legend about a bloodthirsty villain, which was reflected in the tale of Bluebeard. However, the real Gilles de Rais is a talented military leader who became a marshal of France at the age of twenty-five, an associate of Joan of Arc. He was born into a wealthy and noble family and received an excellent education. He was married only once to a contemporary of Catherine de Thouars, who, we note, outlived her husband, subsequently marrying John II Duke of Vendôme. After the execution of Joan of Arc, Gilles de Rais became interested in alchemy, spending huge sums on experiments, trying to get the philosopher's stone. Four years later, Gilles de Rais shows in the presence of the king a grandiose performance of "The Siege of Orleans": one hundred and forty actors read twenty thousand five hundred poems dedicated to the Virgin of Orleans. The production was defiantly luxurious, even theatrical rags were made of expensive fabric. These huge expenses at the trial of 1440 figured in the speeches of the baron's accusers. The process took place in a huge hall with a large crowd of people. Many of those present were parents of missing children. The unfortunate, gathered throughout the country, were able to convince that the culprit of their grief was none other than the baron. His servants, carefully “processed” in the cellars of the Inquisition, also acted as witnesses, they told things that made your hair stand on end. A thorough search was carried out in the castles. But, contrary to the rumor about the castle cellars full of bones, not a single corpse was found there. Nevertheless, after a series of meetings, at which, in violation of all existing rules, neither a lawyer nor a notary were admitted, an accusation was made that boiled down to three main points: insulting a minister of the Church, summoning demons, killing children, accompanied by bullying and sexual perversion . Gilles de Rais declared that the indictment was sheer slander and began insistently demanding another trial. He even agreed to be tested with a red-hot iron. But his protest was declared unfounded, and the bishop solemnly excommunicated him from the Church. Under the threat of torture, the accused confessed to the murders, alchemy and sodomy. One can only wonder how Gilles de Rais turned into the Bluebeard of folk tales. Meanwhile, in one Breton ballad, the names of Bluebeard and Gilles de Rais alternate in couplets so that both characters apparently merged into one. Allegedly tortured children turned into murdered wives. And the blue color of the beard probably comes from a different legend altogether. In 1866, Abbe Bossard wrote a voluminous book about a man nicknamed Bluebeard, where he devoted considerable space to the famous trial, judges, charges and sentence. In the 20th century, researchers repeatedly asked the question: “Was Gilles de Rais really guilty of the crimes attributed to him?” - and each time they came to the conclusion that most likely not. The death of seven or eight hundred boys was imputed to the baron, however, as follows from the case file, not a single body or skeleton was found in the castle. It is not for nothing that the court verdict speaks of only thirty-four cases. However, this accusation was not supported by real evidence, except for the confession of the defendant himself, extracted under torture. In the testimonies, the same thing varies: - there was a boy (good, small, capable, like an angel, white); - once he left (to graze sheep; to the city for bread, to school; to the castle for alms; he was taken in training; disappeared without explanation); - His parents didn't see him anymore (but someone heard from someone that he ended up in Sir de Re's castle). Meanwhile, it is known that up to thirty thousand children a year disappeared in France in the 15th century, and no one really looked for them. Historians argue only about the motives that gave impetus to the prosecution of Gilles de Ré and the subsequent trial. Was it the proclamation of a "witch hunt", or was the process dictated by political motives? Or maybe someone was eager to profit from the property confiscated from the convict? It is known that Gilles de Rais inherited a huge family fortune, his lands were not inferior in size to the possessions of the Duke of Brittany himself and even surpassed them. By the way, the widow of the executed man remarried a year later. In 1992, at the initiative of the Vendéan historian Gilbert Prouteau, a new trial took place, which completely rehabilitated Gilles de Ré. Documents extracted from the archives of the Inquisition confirmed that there were no tortured children or terrible experiments. The researchers took into account a lot, including the testimony of contemporaries. For example, in the chronicle of the 15th century, written by Monstrele, about the verdict handed down by Gilles de Rais, the following is said: “Most of the nobles of Brittany, especially those who were related to him, were in the greatest sadness and embarrassment from his shameful death. Before these events, he was much more famous as the most valiant of knights. Before reading this fairy tale to their children, we advise parents to first get acquainted with its content themselves, and then, having made an appropriate decision, read the fairy tale "Bluebeard" online with pictures, with illustrations from famous books, to young children. In our opinion, it is more suitable for teenagers.

Once upon a time there was a rich and noble man. He had a lot of everything: estates, and houses, and gold, and silver, one misfortune - his beard was completely blue and because of this he was so ugly and terrible that everyone ran away from him like from a scarecrow.

A noble lady lived next to him, and she had two beautiful daughters. So Bluebeard planned to marry one of them: but neither one nor the other wanted to marry him, because they were afraid of his beard, yes, besides, they knew that he had several wives, but no one knew what happened to them.

In order to get to know his neighbors better, Bluebeard invited them, along with his mother and friends, to his estate, where they spent a whole week.

It was so fun there that at the end of the week the younger sister stopped being afraid of Bluebeard and agreed to marry him.

As soon as they returned to the city, the wedding was played like that.
A month after the wedding, Bluebeard told his wife that he had to leave for six weeks on an important matter. He asked her not to be bored, invite her friends, ride, have fun and not deny herself anything. At the same time, he gave her the keys.
“Here,” he said, “are the keys to the storerooms: here is the key to gold and silver dishes, this one is for chests with money, this one is for chests with precious stones, with this key you can unlock all the rooms, this same key is for the small rooms on the lower floor. You can unlock everything, go everywhere, only I strictly forbid you to enter this room, and if you enter it, then expect severe punishment.
The young woman promised to fulfill everything, and Bluebeard kissed her, got into the carriage and left.

Neighbors and friends did not wait for an invitation and themselves came to the young woman: they had long wanted to see her innumerable riches, but they were afraid of Bluebeard. The friends immediately ran to inspect the rooms, which were one more beautiful than the other, then moved on to the pantries. What was not there: magnificent carpets, sofas, curtains, tables and mirrors in which one could see oneself from head to toe, in wonderful silver and gilded frames. The guests did not cease to gasp and envy their friend: but she did not rejoice at her wealth - she wanted to unlock the room on the lower floor as soon as possible.
Finally, she could not stand it, left her guests and went downstairs. Running to the little room, she almost stopped, remembering her husband's threat. But she so wanted to know what was in this room that she could not resist, took out the key and unlocked the door.

At first she couldn't see anything because the windows in the room were closed. But then she noticed that the whole floor was covered in blood, and the bodies of dead women lay against the wall: these were all the wives of Bluebeard, whom he slaughtered one by one. The poor thing almost died on the spot from fear and dropped the key on the floor.
Recovering a little, the young woman picked up the key, locked the door, and went into her room.
It was only then that she noticed that the key to the room was stained with blood. She began to wipe it, but the blood did not go away. No matter how much she washed, how much she rubbed with sand and crushed bricks, the stain did not decrease. The fact is that the key was magical and it was impossible to clean it: on the one hand, the blood was erased, and on the other, it stood out.
That same evening, Bluebeard returned from his journey. He told his wife that on the way he learned that the matter was already over and he hurried back home. The wife did her best to show that she was glad for his return.
The next morning Bluebeard demanded her keys back. When she gave them, her hands trembled so much that he immediately guessed that she had disobeyed him.
"Why," he asked, "is there no key to the little room here?"
“That’s right, I left it on the table in my room,” she answered.
"Well, bring it right now," said Bluebeard. Willy-nilly, I had to bring the key. Bluebeard examined him.

Why is there blood on the key? he asked his wife.
“I don’t know,” answered the poor woman, turning pale as death.
- How you do not know? cried Bluebeard. “Well, I’ll tell you why. You wanted to enter the room. All right, my dear, you will go in there,
and stay there.
The poor thing threw herself at his feet and begged for forgiveness with tears. But Bluebeard did not want to listen to anything.
- No no. You must die now,” he said.
“If I must die without fail,” she said through tears, “then let me at least pray to God.”
“Okay, pray, I’ll give you 7 minutes,” Bluebeard replied, “but not a second more.
Left alone, she called her sister and said to her:
- My sister Anna, climb to the very top of the tower and see if my brothers are coming. They promised to visit me today. If you see them
give them a sign to hurry.
The sister went up to the top of the tower, and the poor thing asked her every minute:
And sister Anna answered:

“All I see is dust sparkling in the sun and green grass. Meanwhile, Bluebeard has taken a large knife and shouts to his wife:
"Come here quickly, or I'll go up to you."
“Give me just one more minute to pray,” the wife answered, and then quietly asked:
"Anna, my sister, can't you see anything?"
Anna replied:
I see only dust sparkling in the sun and green grass.
"Come here this minute, or I'll come to you myself!" shouted Bluebeard.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” the wife answered, and quietly asked her sister:
"Anna, my sister, can't you see anything?"
“Now I see,” Anna answered, “a large cloud of dust approaching from the other side…
— Thank God, my brothers are coming.
“Ah, no, my sister, this is a herd of rams.

- Will you finally get off? shouted Bluebeard.
"One more minute," his wife begged, and again asked her sister: "Anna, my sister, can't you see anything?"

“I see two riders, but they are still very far away… Thank God,” she exclaimed after a while, “these are our brothers. Now I will give them a sign to hurry ...
But then Bluebeard raised such a cry and noise that the whole house trembled. The poor woman came down and threw herself at his feet, begging him to forgive her.
"Well, tears won't help the cause," said Bluebeard, "you must die."

And he, seizing her by the hair, took the knife and swung it, it was to cut off her head. But the poor woman asked him to give her another minute to gather her courage.
“No, that’s enough,” he answered, “pray to God,” and waved the knife.
But at that moment the brothers burst into the room and rushed with swords straight at Bluebeard.

Bluebeard, recognizes them, rushed to run. But the brothers caught up with him and pierced him through with their swords. The poor woman was almost alive with fear: she could not even get up from her seat to hug and thank her brothers.