Joan of Arc
Blessed Heroine
or
Mad Heretic
1412 AD - 1431 AD
Background:
Henry V of England invaded France in 1415. Occupied France and prevented the French prince, Charles VII, from being crowned.
Henry V
French citizens in the towns were robbed, abused and terrorized.
Lawence Oliver portraying Henry V
The French army was demoralized.
Medieval tavern scene
Joan de Arc was an uneducated farm girl. Around the age 13 she claimed to hear the voices of God and the Angels. She heard these voices primarily when she was out in the fields listening to the church bells ring. She believed that these voices were telling her to liberate France from the English.
Generally poor folk, especially girls, were not well respected. However, Joan had a presence, a special quality of virtue which set her apart. In time, even the battle hardened soldiers would not swear in her company.
In 1428 (roughly 14 or 15 yrs old) Joan persuaded a relative to take her to Vaucouleurs to meet with Lord Robert de Baudricourt, the local garrison commander. Joan was promptly informed that she should go home and havc her father beat her severely for her imprudence.
Two months later her home village of Domremy was raided. By October the English had beseiged Orleans. Joan returned to the commander and Lord Baudricourt agreed to send her with an escort of six soldiers to see Charles VII at Chinon.
Seige - the act or process of surrounding and attacking a fortified place in such a way as to isolate it from help and supplies, for the purpose of lessening the resistance of the defenders and thereby making capture possible.
Charles ordered that Joan be question by theologians at Chinon and Poitiers; the clergy approved her and Charles was advised to place her with the army to help lift the seige of Orleans.
March 1429 - Joan dictated a letter to the English:
"You, men of England, who have no right to this Kingdom of France, the King of Heaven orders and notifies you through me, Joan the Maiden, to leave your fortresses and go back to your own country or I will produce a clash of arms to be eternally remembered. And this is the third and last time I have written to you; I shall not write anything further."
April 5-25 - Joan was given a banner and armor at Tours, then arrived at Blois, where the army was gathering for the upcoming campaign.
April 25 - Left for Orleans with an army and a large quantity of food supplies for the hungry city.
April 29 - Joan and a portion of her troops crossed the Loire in boats and entered Orleans with the supplies; the rest of the troops were forced by a lack of boats to return to Blois and cross the river there.
May 4 - After the remainder of the army arrived at Orleans, Lord Dunois launched an assault against the English-held fortifications around the church of St-Loup. Carrying her banner, Joan rode up and inspired the French troops to storm theposition successfully.
May 6 - French troops were brought across the river to attack the southern fortresses; St-Jean-le-Blanc was gained without a fight, followed by a successful assault against the English in Les Augustins.
May 7 - Carrying her banner during an assault on the earthwork in front of Les Tourelles, Joan was shot by an arrow but later returned to inspire the troops to victory.
May 8 - The English ordered all the remaining troops out of their positions, and abandoned the siege.
May 11- Joan met with Charles of Loches and convinced him to push forward toward Reims for his coronation.
May 11-12 - Joan's army captured Jargeau after a brief siege.
June 15 - Her army took the fortified bridge at Meung-sur-Loire and then moved onward to Beaugency.
June 17 - Beaugency's English garrison agreed to withdraw.
June 18 - Her army crushed a large English force at the Battle of Patay, during which the English lost nearly half of their troops.
July 17, 1429 - Charles VII was crowned at Reims' Cathedral. Joan was at his side, holding her banner.
Unspecified coronation scene
September 8 - Her army launched a determined assault against Paris: Joan was shot by an arrow while trying to find a place for her troops to cross the city's moat. The troops were then withdrawn against her wishes. Late November to late December - La-Charite-sur-Loire was besieged; the army was finally forced to lift the siege due to a lack of funding from the Royal
Court.
May 23, 1430 - Joan slipped into Compiegne, under siege by Burgundian troops, in an effort to aid the city. While leading a sortie in the late afternoon, she was surrounded and captured by Burgundian troops.
Jnuary 9, 1431 - Joan's trial began.
My Personal Opinion and Commentary on the Trial of Joan of Arc:
In the affidavit Joan was accused of scores of crimes from witchcraft and heresy to horse theft. Of particular concern were Joan's claim to hear the voice of God and her decision to dress in men's attire. During the trial Joan demonstrated clarity of thought and a straightforward logic, which won over some observers. Her devotion to the Catholic Church and love of God was movingly apparent. Yet, she was hounding by seemingly unimportant questions about the physical appearance of God's saints and her choice to wear practical clothing during warfare. The maturity of her answers exposed the shallowness of her inquisitors.
Nonetheless, the judges were convinced that her "voices" were from the Devil. Joan was threatened with immediate execution unless she disavowed her claims. The stress of imprisonment, hours of questioning, and the shouts of the angry crowd proved too much for the 19 year old girl. Joan signed the paper renouncing her claims and agreeing to henceforth dress in womanly attire. Joan was sentenced to perpetual confinement.
Some time later Joan, left alone with her "voices", became convinced that being shut out from His light and Grace was not what God had planned for her. Joan resumed wearing mens attire and proclaimed her communion with God was true. Joan was judged a relapsed heretic. She was then turned over to the secular arm of the law and burned. "Eyewitnesses described how even some of the English officials wept; one of them, the English Royal secretary, Jean Tressard, was heard exclaiming: 'We are all ruined, for a good and holy person was burned'."
Years later Joan's case was reopened. Her accusers were then put on trial. Historians have made the observation that the trial of Joan's accusers was far less fair than her own.
I want to emphasize that Joan was NOT executed for witchcraft, rather it was for heresy. "Heresy", comes from the Latin haersis which means "to decide to oneself". In modern terms, a heretic is anyone who entertains beliefs which are contrary to the "established church".
These quotes are taken from the official transcript of the trial.
Q - Do you know if you are in the grace of God?
A - If I am not, may God place me there; if I am, may God so keep me. I should be the saddest of all the world if I knew that I were not in the grace of God. But if I were in a state of sin, do you think the Voice would come to me? If would that everyone could hear the Voice as I hear it. I think I was about thirteen when it came to me for the first time.
Q - Was it God who prescribed to you the dress of a man?
A - What concerns this dress is a small thing - less than nothing. I did not take it by the advice of any man in the world. I did not take this dress or do anything but by the command of Our Lord and of the Angels.
Q - Which do you care for most, your banner or your sword?
A - Better, forty times better, my banner than my sword!
Q - In what likeness did Saint Michael appear to you?
A - I did not see a crown; I know nothing of his dress.
Q - Was he naked?
A - Do you think God has not the wherewithal to clothe him?
May 30, 1431 - Joan was turned over to the secular arm of the law and executed.
These last three pictures are taken from a 1920's silent film titled, "The Passion of Joan of Arc". I highly recommend renting this film and comparing to the 1999 version, "The Messenger: the Story of Joan of Arc".
Sources:
Joan of Arc, Brief Timeline
http://members.aol.com/hywwebsite/private/joanofarc_short_timeline.html
and
Quotes Joan of Arc
http://www.biographyonline.net/quotes/joan-arc.html