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The Martyr - A short film by Edmund Stenson

A stunning animated short based on the life work of British author Margot K Juby

 


Is there someone from the Middle Ages more controversial than Joan of Arc? Objectively it's hard to make a case for any pretender, but if we were to ponder who gets to claim second place, then her brother-in-arms Gilles de Rais would certainly be a prime candidate. Knight, lord, legendary military leader, allegedly handsome, decorated hero of the Hundred Years' War, pedophile, child murderer, and the direct inspiration for the French folktale Bluebeard, a nobleman with a habit of murdering his wives and hanging their bloody corpses on hooks in his dungeon. Quite the résumé, except for the last bit which, as Margot K Juby argues in her book The Martyrdom of Gilles de Rais, is utter nonsense. In 1440 Gilles de Rais was tried by the Church, and ultimately executed, on a slew of sexed up charges that would make Jack the Ripper raise an eyebrow, not unlike the ones King Philip IV came up with in the early 14th Century to get rid of the Knights Templar, albeit much gorier and bloodier.

Courtesy of Edmund Stenson

Calling the circumstances around Gille de Rais' downfall controversial would be selling his story criminally short. Despite almost six centuries having passed since Gilles de Rais' bitter end, a thorough and unbiased look into the original sources is surprisingly something not many people have done. Luckily for us, it so happens that one of the few who have is alive and kicking: Margot K Juby is an author from the UK, and per her own words "Gilles de Rais' representative on Earth". Her aforementioned book, The Martyrdom of Gilles de Rais, is a deep dive into the facts as they have been claimed to have occurred by the witnesses at the trial held in October 1440. These official records are, as Margot never fails to remind us, the only contemporary source in existence regarding Gilles de Rais' legal tribulations. Every piece of proposed narrative outside of those documents was written long after the facts and is folklore and speculation at best, slander or two-bit fanfiction at worst.


Courtesy of Edmund Stenson

With this premise in mind, let's jump into the nitty-gritty of Edmund Stenson's mesmerizing short film, in which the origins and development of Margot K Juby's obsession with Gilles de Rais are voiced by Margot herself. Intertwined with Margot's narration is some of me most visually charming animation out there. The rise and fall of the disgraced French hero flash before our eyes thanks to the craftmanship of the madly talented Robbie Ward, who draws his animated scenes by hand. Yes, you read that right, everything you see in The Martyr has been hand-drawn by Robbie, a technique for which he's won many awards. Even the sound design in this short film is incredibly curated and satisfying, which really adds to the eeriness of the animation as Gilles de Rais' plunge into misfortune takes visual form. Pound for pound The Martyr is a brilliant project, and a thoroughly enjoyable little peek into Margot K Juby's life work. Watching this gem should be a guideline written on the first page of Margot's book, for it really compliments this already highly entertaining read by letting us in on Margot's motivations and sentiments.


The Martyr was screened in August 2021 during the Rhode Island International Film Festival and has been made publicly available on Youtube on February 4 2023. Margo's book on the other hand, which I highly recommend as it makes for a great read on a gloomy winter afternoon, can be purchased on Amazon. Below are direct links to more work from director Edmund Stenson and illustrator/animator Robbie C. Ward.


Official website for The Martyr: https://themartyrfilm.com/




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