BIOGRAPHY
OF
JOAN OF
ARC
Contemporary
Account
DANIEL RANKIN AND CLAIRE QUINTAL
Copyright @ 1964 by the University of Pittsburgh
Press
Library of
Congress Card Number 64-21449
Manufactured in the United States of
America
Headpieces forProvenance, Chronicle Comments, and
Appendix are from a Latin Ms. Of Joan’s century, library of M. Ambroise
Firmin-Didot. Those for Prologue, Biography Comments, and Booklists are from
Chronicles of Monstrelet, who talked with Joan, No.2678 Bibliothe'que nationale.
The one for the First Chronicle ... is from Ms. fr. 189, Bibliotheque nationale.
All were photographed from Jeanne d'Arc, H. Wallon. Coat of Arms of Joan of Arc is depicted here for the
first time exactly as she described it during her trial. Drawn by Mrs. John
Preston, Tryon, North Carolina.
TO
BishopJohn J. Wright
of
with gratitude and
appreciation.
He has written eloquently
with genuine learning and gracious good
humor
Of
Joan of Arc
whose life, work, and sanctity
illustrate and illumine
the moral right
of
freedom of
conscience
PREFATORY NOTE
It might well have seemed impossible to attempt the
publication of yet another life of St. Joan of Arc unless, of course, one
could come up with a translation of the first of all the hundreds of biographies
of the Maid. That is what Father Daniel Rankin and Miss Claire Quintal
decided to do; they then added, for good measure, a first English
translation of a brief but eloquent (also anonymous) chronicle of great moments
in Joan's career.
The latter document ends with the kind of words which
have fired the determination of countless writers, musicians, and scholars
to make the all but inaudible splash of the ashes of Joan in the Seine re-echo
forever like thunder endlessly building up its reverberations. Commenting on the
intensely practical wisdom of the British in shoveling the poor relics of the
discredited girl into a bag to be thrown into the river, the anonymous
chronicler observes that this was done "so that no attempt could ever be made,
nor even a proposal be suggested, to use them for sorcery or any other
mysterious evil."
Well, God save us from "mysterious evil," but
preferably by the gentle, more enduring ways of knowledge and of
love.
Father Rankin and Claire Quintal are the most recent to
contribute -6 our knowledge of "the deeds and works of Joan who called herself
the Maid." Their contribution is (quite beyond the work of translation)
substantial, reasoned, erudite; it ranges from careful criticism of the
history and value of some standard sources and of these new texts to intriguing
bits of casual erudition for the sake of us less learned but deeply devoted
partisans of St. Joan.
vii
For example, how did the ill-fated Bishop Peter Cauchon
spend the day after the cruel death that, as Joan reminded him, came to the
saint through him? What kind of letters did Joan write and leave behind her,
this girl who said of herself that she didn't know A from B? Precisely who
taught a country girl tactical skill *in the placement of artillery? What later
became of those who appeared to have made out so well on the day that Joan
clearly made out so badly?
These and like questions receive fresh, fascinating
answers in the extensive notes added by the translators. It is in their
commentaries that one senses not only the diligence but the great love of these
latest scholars to have come to the service of Joan.
Both have done me the honor of confiding in me the
separate and intensely personal backgrounds of the motivation of the love
brought to this work and destined, one rejoices to know, in their projected
further books on Joan. Their passionate partisanship breaks through with mild
explosions from time to time in the authors' commentary. Should this irritate
the bleakly dispassionate, let these be grateful that the same love gave origin
and perseverance to the labor of making available two important documents and
other rich material for the study of that life which Mark Twain dared to
describe as the most noble life that was ever born into this world save only
One. Mark Twain's praise is fulsome; it admits of debate. But Winston
Churchill is not likely to be challenged in his assertion that "the
ever-shining, ever-glorious Joan of Arc ... finds no equal in a thousand years.
Father Rankin and Claire Quintal clearly establish how early that fact was
appreciated.
JOHN WRIGHT
Bishop of
Pittsburgh
viii
CONTENTS
Prefatory Note by Bishop John Wright
vii
Provenance
3
The First Biography of Joan of Arc
13
Authors' Comments
65
The First Chronicle to Record
Joan of Arc's Exploits
109
Authors' Comments
127
Appendix
133
Books Mentioned in the Comments
143
Index
147
ix
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Joan of Arc's Coat of Arms
Title Page
Bronze in St. Paul's Cathedral,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
vii
Louis XII
4
Louis Malet de Graville
5
Charles VII
12
Page 6 Ms. fr. 518
12
Page 7 Ms. fr. 518
13
Philip the Good
13
Map I. Orleans During Siege
20
Preparing to Fire a Fifteenth-century Bombard
21
Map2. The Loire Campaign 11-18 June 1429
30
Map 3. The Route to Reims
34
Map 4. Reims to Paris
38
Map 5. Compiegne and Environs-the Siege Of 1430
40
Domremy, an Aerial View
68
Domremy, the River Meuse and Its Valley
69
Vaucouleurs
76
Chinon
77
La Charite'-sur-Loire
92
Statue of Joan on the Ballon d'Alsace
93
xi
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY OF JOAN OF ARC
ABBREVIATIONS
Ay - Ayroles, J. B. J., La Vraie Jeanne d'Arc, 5
vols., Paris, 1890-1902.
Ch -Champion, P., Proces de Condamnation de Jeanne
d'Arc, 2 vols., Paris, 1920-21.
D-L-Doncoeur, P. and Lanhers, Y., Documents et
Recherches relatifs a Jeanne la Pucelle, 5 vols., Paris,
1952-1961.
T-L -Tisset, P. and Lanhers, Y., Proces de
Condamnation de Jeanne d'Arc, Paris, 196o.
Q - Quicherat, Jules, Proces de Condamnation et de
Rehabilitation de Jeanne d'Arc, 5 vols., Paris,
1841-49.
PROVENANCE
Our work
had its origin in a question prompted at times by interest at others by
curiosity. We were asked frequently in England, France, the United States, and
by friends from Sweden, "What was the first life of Joan of Arc?" or "Is
there such a thing as a first biography of Joan?" The answer, we hope, is
here. We make no pretense of a new discovery. The pages we have translated have
been accessible for a long time to all who wished to take an interest in
them, and some have. Our claim is a moderate one. We have moved this material
out of its quasiobscurity and placed it where it belongs-at the head of the
long list of lives of Joan of Arc because it is the earliest in time. And we
have added our comments on each section.
The anonymous author of this manuscript biography (and
we believe this account of Joan of Arc's life is a biography) gives a clue
to the time it was written. The author explains that he compiled the work "by
order of the King, Louis XII of that name." This places the writing before 15
15, which is the year Louis XII died. The eminent paleographer and
historian Quicherat believed "it was written about the year 1500." The literary
tone of the manuscript and its author's chirography belong to the early
sixteenth century. To use a phrase of the distinguished'and
lamented
JOAN OF ARC
Professor C. S. Lewis: the style is characterized by
"coupled synonyms.
It is French prose struggling away from the lack of
individual style of the chronicles. The reader is left with the impression
that the author is making an effort "to write better than he talked." He had a
good story to tell and he is striving to tell it well.
Our translation has been done directly from Ms. fr. 518
in the Municipal Library of Orleans and from a contemporary fragment in a
private collection. This first life of Joan of Arc was intended originally as an
introduction or explanation to prepare the reader for Joan's trial of
condemnation and a summarized account of her trial of vindication. Evidence
is not wanting to prove that this life has had charm and popularity, not, of
course, equal in interest to the record of the trials, but of sufficient appeal
to be reproduced frequently both in manuscript and printed form. Ms. fr.
18930, Chronique de Normandie, in the Bibliotheque Nationale, dated
"about 1522" by competent authority, incorporates part of Joan's life and
sections of the trial of condemnation from the Orleans manuscript. Other
variations of this Chronique de Normandie for instance no. 1488 of the MSS
of Saint Germain *in the Bibliothe'que Nationale, also use it. The title,
"Abbreviator of the Trial," (Abreviateur du Proces) signifies the
identical content so often borrowed.
This borrowing of the first life of Joan of Arc to add interest to the reissue of books already well received went on irregularly for more than a century. As will be 'indicated, the last reprint of the Life to increase the value of the contents of a book on Joan of Arc appeared in 1803 in Rouen. In that city the borrowings in print began. This pemits thq present translators to suggest that what is known today as the Manuscript of Orleans may have been written in
PROVENANCE
Rouen. Certainly, as internal evidence indicates
clearly, the compiler of this first life writes as if he knew little of the
English forts around Orleans at the time of the siege. He gives the impression
of composing his account of the siege from incomplete*information. Had he done
his work in Orl'ans it is reasonable to expect a more detailed knowl edge of the
city. There is a remote possibility that he knew of the account Guillaume
Girault, notary and twice municipal magistrate of the city of Orleans,
wrote 'in his official record for 9 May 1429,where he enthusiastically recounts
the glorious events of the preceding days, the deliverance of Orleans by Joan
the Maid. That he may have been influenced by Girault's account is
intriguing. (Boucher de Molandon, Premiere Expedition de Jeanne d'Arc,
pp. XVII, 10).
A book in 16o published in Rouen before 1578 borrowed
the manuscript life of Joan of Arc as part of its 3 8 pages. Its title page
reads: "Cy commence le Livre de la Pucelle: natifve de Lorraine, qui reduict
France entre les Mains du Roy, ensemble le jugement et comme elle fust Bruslee
au Vieil Marche a Rouen. Et a la fin plusieurs aultres choses advenues du depuys
en la Ville de Rouen. On les vend a Rouen au hault des degrez du Palaix,
chez Martin le Mesgissier."
With a slight variation in the first sentence of the Rouen publication Joan is 'introduced as she is in the manuscript:
In the year one thousand four hundred twenty and nine
there was in the land of Lorraine a young girl eighteen years or so of age
called Joan, a native of the parish of Dornremy. She was the daughter of Jacques
d'Arc, a farmer, and she had never done anything else except watch over animals
in the pastures.
This book lacks an indication of its exact date of
publication. However, in 1578 the same editor republished his
book
5
JOAN OF ARC
in a slightly different format, 29 pages in octavo. The
title, too, was shortened and improved. The volume's popularity is suggested by
reprintings in 1581, 1589, and 1610.
It is curious and interesting to notice that this
information about Joan of Arc, borrowed by a printer-publisher of Rouen, Marti
le Megissier, was annexed to his printing of a history, Description du pays
et duche de Normandye extraict de la Chronique de
Normandye.
The same thing happened in Orleans. The anonymous
biography of Joan was added in 1611 to an edition of a book of history,
L'histoire et discovrs av vray du siege qvi fvt mis devant la ville dOrleans
par les Angalois, le mardi 12 jour doctobre 1428 regnant alors Charles
VII roy de France ... avec la venue de Ieanne la Pucelle ... , better known
today as the journal of the Siege. The editors and printers of this edition were
booksellers of Orleans, Olyvier Boynard and his son-in-law Jean Nyon. The
commercial value of this publication must have been rewarding. Interest in
it spread far and wide through France. In 1619 a printer in Lyons, Claude
Larjot, furnished readers there with his edition. 1621 was a banner year.
Reissues were published in Orleans: two by Saturnin Hotot, another by Charles
Roze, again another by Louis Foucault. During the same year printers in Rouen
and Chalons issued their editions. French readers were being well supplied with
information on the life of Joan of Arc, her trial of condemnation, and the siege
of Orleans. Thus, her first famous achievements and her death were told in the
narratives combined in one volume.
Readers in Rouen were treated to a new printing of the
anonymous biography in a book published there in 1803 by Vincent and Philippe
Guilbert. Theirs is a melange of material about Joan of Arc entitled, Eloge historique de Jeanne d’Arc,
surnommee la Pucelle d'Orleans, suivi de notes,
6
PROVENANCE
de pieces justificatives, de son proces et de diverses
remarques historiques.
Except for the pages with a summary of the trial of
vindication, J.A.C. Buchon published in Paris in 1827 and1838 almost all the
other sections of the Manuscript of Orleans, including its life of Joan, under
the title Chronique et Proces de la Pucelle d'Orleans. This book and its
title seem to have been the inspiration for a faked manuscript done by Henri
Fabre of Lausanne (1 829-91),who “indulged fabricated manuscripts of special
interest for French collectors."(Otto Kurz, Fakes, p. 85). Fabre invented his
title, Chronique de la Pucelle d'Orleans, Jehanne d'Arc. His fabrication
now
reposes in the British Museum as Add. Ms. 30042, a
reminder of bourgeois credulity. It is a stocky, ugly forgery, its vellum
thick as boards and just as hard." How anyone could have been duped by it is a
mystery. In 1896 Albert Sarrazin in his Jeanne dArc et la Normandie (P.
4) accepted it as genuine.
During 1837, four years before Quicherat published the
first volume of his now indispensable five-volume work, Michaud and Poujoulat
edited a collection of documents entitled Nouvelle Collection des Memoires
pour servir a' l’Histoire de
France. Volume 3 reprints the anonymous first biography of Joan of
Arc.
The first serious inquiry into the importance of the
entire contents of the Manuscript of Orleans was made at the instigation of
Clement Charles Franqois de l’Averdy, who by royal permission sought out and
evaluated all manuscripts relating to the trial of Joan of Arc. In volume 3
Of his Notices et extraits des manuscrits ... published in 1790 in Paris,
he wrote an unfavorable judgment of the Manu-
JOAN OF ARC
script of Orleans. He had neither examined nor read the
manuscript. His opinion was based on the advice of others. Two scholarly priests
in Orleans, Abbe' Moutie' and Abbe' Francois Dubois, disagreed with him and
upheld the special value of this manuscript. L'Averdy's superior position and prestige prevailed. In 1847
Quicherat included a portion of the first biography of Joan from the Orleans
manuscript in his third volume, pp. 254-266. His volume five, issued in 1849,
includes an estimate of the entire manuscript, pp. 411-418. Again theJudgment is
unfavorable. In 1872 Beckmann, the plagiarist of Quicherat, introduced
German readers to the Manuscript of Orleans in his little book, Forschungen
uber die Quellen zur Geschichte der Jungfrau von Orleans, pp. 34-37. Pierre
Champion accepted Quicherat's opinion as definitive in his Proces de
Condamnation of 1920. Ayroles treats the subject in his
volume 3, pp. 278-285.
The combined weight of authority represented by l’
Averdy, Quicherat, and Champion awed students and readers into an acceptance of
their hostile opinion. One scholar refused to be awed, the learned, genial
Jesuit Father Paul Doncoeur (1880-1961). Amazed by the cavalier disregard of the
arguments and conclusion of Abbe' Dubois, he began a study of the Manuscript of
Orleans. In 1952 he published the painstaking, persuasive results of his study,
La Minute francaise des Interrogatories de’Jeanne d'Arc. His purpose was
to indicate and establish the document's intrinsic value: its pages that
deal with the trial of condemnation are the replies Joan gave in French to
her judges in answer to their questions. From what document did the compiler
copy his material? From original records of the tral which are now lost. The
omissions in the manuscript do not impair the validity of the argument. Father
Don-
8
PROVENANCE
cocur made no excessive claims for his own conclusions.
His motive in all his research was to allot its proper importance even to
the least detail in any document reflecting the speech and the opinions of Joan
herself. Owing to Father Doncoeur's perception and judgment the Tisset-Lanhers
edition of the Proces de Condamnation de Jeanne d’Arc, issued in 196o,
includes the pages of the trial from the Manuscript of Orleans before 3 March
1431.
Since the original records of the trial were in Rouen
and not in Orleans, Father Doncoeur agreed with our suggestion that the
Manuscript of Orleans may have been compiled in Rouen. We wish to pay
tribute to his stimulating friendship and to his constant, unselfish
encouragement.
The anonymous author of this first biography compiled
his life of Joan of Arc, as he explains, "by order of the King, Louis the XII of
that name and of His Lordship Louis de Graville, Admiral of
France."
The difficult problem of gathering information on Louis
Malet de Graville is made less tedious as a result of the research published
seventy-five years ago by P. M. Perret, Notice biographique sur Louis Malet
de Graville, Admiral de France, 144?-1516. Almost unknown today, this
admiral of France, “the last representative of an old and illustrious family of
Normandy," began his public life of unselfish service under Louis XI. His most
important work for the welfare of France was done under the regency of Anne de
Beaujeu during the minority of Charles VIII. The affairs of the realm were in
his hands. Today he would be called a Prime Minister whose wise and moderate
policies at home and abroad kept the ship of state on an even keel. He was
reputed fair and just. With his belief in the knightly quality of chivalrous
honor, he devoted himself faithfully to the
9
JOAN OF ARC
interests of his young sovereign Charles VIII. His
conscientious sense of public service was
exceptional.
The title or distinction, Admiral of France, was given him during January
1487. At that time it did not demand, apparently, a skilled knowledge of
seamanship. It seems to have allowed him to use his ability as a public servant
in the capacity of a Secretary of Naval Affairs. One of his predecessors in this
office in France, Louis de Culan, fought on land with Joan of Arc from Orleans
to Paris.
The date of his birth is unknown. His biographer places
it vaguely between 1441 and 1450. He died 30 October 1516. The accomplishments
of his active life are spelled out and preserved in the array of his titles. His
contemporaries agreed they were merited: Admiral of France, Lieutenant General
for the King in Normandy, Governor of Picardy, Lord of Graville, of Montaigu, of
Marcoussis, of Sees, of Bernay, of Vandeuil, Minister of War, Captain of Dieppe,
of St. Malo, of Pont-de-Larche, Chevalier of St. Michel, and Governor of Paris
in 1505.
He did not accompany Louis XII on his expeditions into
Italy. At home he devoted himself to policies of benefit for the people at
large. The Municipal Council of Rouen in 1493 proclaimed him "Father of the
Country" (Pere du Pais). Like Washington three centuries later he was not
influenced by selfish motives or personal interest. His ancestors delighted
in the proud old--Norman saying, "There was a Lord of Graville before there was
a King of France." (Vulson de la Colombiere, La Science heroique, 1664,
p. 159). Today what was Graville is part of the city of Le
Havre.
The family's link of interest with Joan of Arc is Jean
Malet de Graville, Louis Malet's grandfather, who is mentioned in many of
the French and Burgundian chronicles. He shared with Joan of Arc the struggle
for the deliverance of Orleans. He was at Jargeau, Patay, Reims, and
Paris.
PROVENANCE
The distinctive position to which he was appointed in
1425 crave him the title of Matre des Arbalitriers de France, the
Conmander of the King's Crossbowmen.
Louis XII was the son of the poet Charles Duke of
Orleans, detained after the diaster of Agincourt as a prisoner of war in England
for a quarter of a century. During her trial on Thursday 22 February 1431, Joan
of Arc mentioned this prisoner who was not to see France until 1440. The
poet's father, Louis, Duke of Orleans, brother of Charles V1, had been
assassinated in Paris in 1407. Bonne Visconti, a grandmother of Louis Malet de
Graville, was the sister of Valentine Visconti, wife of the murdered duke. This
relationship strengthened the ties between Louis XII and the Admiral. Joan of
Arc had given back the city of Orleans to the Valois-Orleans family of whom
Louis XII was the last representative.
Here we wish, with diffidence, to offer a conjecture
that Anne de Graville, one of Louis Malet's daughters, was the true
instigator of this first life of Joan of Arc. There are two probable reasons.
First, she was a writer. As Chaucer did long before her, she took from Boccaccio
the story of Palemon and Arcita and rewrote it into a poetic version of her own.
This is the most ambitious of her poems that have survived. Second, Anne de
Graville, like Joan of Arc, was independent and determined, a woman of strong
character and vigorous mind. Against the expressed will of
her
father she married her cousin, Pierre de Balzac.
(Anne de Graville by M. de Laqueuille.) She named her own daughter
Jeanne. This daughter brought to her husband Claude dUrfe (1502-I558) a
collection of books and manuscripts
JOAN OF ARC
inherited from her mother. One of the treasures of this
collection was the Manuscrit d'Urfe, designated today in the Bibliotheque
Nationale as MS Latin 8838. It contains part of the French record of Joan of
Arc's trial of condemnation. Quicherat annexed this section of the
manuscript to his first volume in 1841. On his competent authority
this was accepted as a transcript of the original minutes of the report of the
trial until Father Doncoeur's authority granted the place of primacy to the
report of the trial in the MS of Orleans. There is a curious interest in the
realization that Louis Malet de Graville and his daughter Anne had both
manuscripts to read. Champion was wrong about the significance of the MS of
Orleans. We agree with him, however, when he writes, "C'est donc dans la maison
de Graville que le translateur a travaille'." (Ch. I, XIV). The intellectural
curiosity of a mind as vigorous as Anne de Graville's may have prompted her to
propose a biography of the Maid. This unpretentious conjecture is expressed with
the hope that further research will reveal conclusive
evidence.
Daniel Rankin and Claire Quintal Paris, April 28,
1964
12
PROLOGUE
At the present time in France princes and nobles, the
lords and the people interest and concern themselves with the deeds and works of
Joan who called herself the Maid. But they dispute and argue. The chronicles
differ and disagree and many [people] of varied opinions discuss this
interesting question (font discussion de cette bonne matere). Each
side obstinately insists on its own firm opinion. There is little chance of
agreement and peace. (Et tant sont obstines l’un contre l’autre que nul n’y
peut mectre paix et concorde.)
Some accept and approve what she said and affirmed,
namely, that all the work she did was by command of God. Others speak of her
serious errors against faith, how she cast wicked spells and how when the evil
she did was pointed out to her she was neither penitent nor repentant. These
argue, "For this reason she was judged by the law to die (jugee a mourir)
and then burned to death in the city of Rouen for her misdeeds (en la ville
de Rouen pour ses demerites)."
My reply to them is, "She was condemned and executed,
but unjustly and through hatred, as is shown clearly in [the records of] her
trial of condemnation as well as that of her vindication, both of which I will
write out later on." Then all who read will see and realize without difficulty
how dishonest and unjust were her condenmation and death,.and what part hatred
had in both.
I write this by order of the King, Louis the XII of that
name, and of His Lordship Louis de Graville, Admiral of
France.
13
JOAN OF ARC
To all who may read [what I have written] my prayer is,
"Please bear with me, the writer, and forgive me for the mistakes and
inaccuracies you may find."
When I had examined and read all the chronicles which we
call the Great Chronicles of France with those by Froissart and Monstrelet and
Gagui as well as several compiled by other writers, I then considered and
compared carefully all the marvelous happenings in [the history] of the kingdom from the days of Marchomire
and Pharaon, the sons of the first king of France, right up to the present time.
I found no event so remarkable or memorable [as the story of Joan of Arc], nor
one more deserving to be written down and to be kept as a lasting memory by the
French. In short [I write this] so that the kings of France, her princes and her
lords, her nobles and all the people of this country may appreciate and
interpret the remarkable favor God has manifested by saving them from falling
into the servitude and sinking into the subjection of the old enemies of France,
the English.
I
THE ENGLISH LAY SIEGE TO ORLEANS
In the days of King Charles V11 during that year of
favor, one thousand four hundred twenty and nine [1428], after the
before-mentioned English had made several conquests and seized and held under
their obedience and control all the cities and regions of Normandy, Picardy,
Champagne, Maine, Anjou, Touraie and Beauce, and broadly speaking, all the
territory [of France] down to the river Loire, the Earl of Salisbury and William
de la Pole, the Earl of Suffolk, with Sir John Talbot and sundry lords and
captains of England accompanied by a large number of men-atarms proceeded
to subject Orleans to, a siege. They aimed
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
at capturing it to provide themselves with a passage
across the river Loire for their advance into the territory of Berry and
Auvergne and other areas beyond, even as far as Lyons.
To direct the siege more securely they built there four
stout fortresses, two on the Beauce side and two on the Sologne side of the
city. These they fortified with moats, artillery, and other necessary means [of
defense]. In this way the English held the city in so strong a subjection and
caused its inhabitants such dire distress they were unable to receive food or
relief without serious trouble and danger.
The English persisted for so long a time in this siege
that no matter what measures the King [Charles VII] resolved to take to help
those [in Orleans] with provisions and soldiers, they were in such dreadful need
that they had hardly any hope of their ability to hold out against the
enemy.
The captains and soldiers inside the city realizing they
could not obtain food without disastrous risks and damage -because they had very
little prospect of help from the King-and understanding that the people of the
city had not the least intention of falling under the authority of the English
or being subject to them, summoned the principal citizens and merchants of the
city and pointed this out to them:
We have no way to provide the city with food unless we
take a risk fatal for us all. We do not see any means of holding out against the
enemy. We do not have the least hope, none at all in fact, of help from the
King. Therefore, we ask you to tell us what you want us to
do!
The decision was unanimous: "We will not submit to the
subjection of the English! We will die first!" Then the captains remonstrated
further, "Do you realize the danger we are all in?" The citizens remained
steadfast in their determination, "We will not surrender the
city!"
15
JOAN OF ARC
After this decision several proposals were made about
means to find some expedient for the good of the city., Finally everyone agreed
to accept this plan or project:
We will send to the Duke of Burgundy, who now sides with
the English, asking him to be willing to take us under his protection for
we will be happy to give up our city to him. It is best to do this because the
Duke is related to the Royal House of France. We firmly believe that the present
alliance between him and the English will not last
forever.
To carry out their intention the citizens dispatched a
captam by the name of Poton de Saintrailles to the Duke to present their
proposal to him. He gave it his approval, on one condition: "Provided that the
Duke of Bedford who commands the English besieging Orleans is willing to give
his consent."
The Duke of Bedford had come there after the death of the Earl of Salisbury, killed by accident, as the story goes, by a "piece of artillery" while directing the siege on the Sologne side. As it is clearly stated in the Great Chronicles "No one knows who touched the flame to that piece of
artillery.”
Poton, whom I have mentioned went on to the Duke of
Burgundy. When the Duke of Bedford heard the proposal made to the Duke of
Burgundy, he retorted,
I did not beat the bushes for game to have someone else
get the birds. I'll have none of it! But if the people of Orleans decide to
surrender to me and will reimburse me for all the money expended on our army
during the siege, I will grant them quarter. Otherwise,
nothing!
This extreme ultimatum astounded the inhabitants of
Orleans, and even the King Charles VII and his Council, for all were at a loss
for an expedient to save the city.
16
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
2
JOAN OF ARC MEETS CHARLES VII
But there
was at this time in the land of Lorraine a young girl eighteen years or so of
age called Joan, a native of the parish of Domremy. She was the daughter
ofJacques d'Arc, a farmer, and she had never done anything else except watch
over animals in the pastures. To her, as she said, the will of God had been
revealed.
I must go to the King Charles VII to advise and help him
recover his kingdom as well as the cities and fortresses conquered by the
English in his domains.
She dared not tell this revelation to her father and
mother for she knew they would never assent to her going to the King. For this
reason she went and appealed to an uncle of hers to whom she made known the
revelation I have mentioned. She had such a power of persuasion that he took her
to a man of gentle birth by the name of Sir Robert de Baudricourt, at that time
captain of the town and castle of Vaucouleurs quite near Domremy. Joan begged
him insistently to arrange for her to go to the king of France. She
explained,
There is a need-it is a matter of serious necessity-for
me to speak to Charles Vil for the benefit of his kingdom, and bring him
important aid and help for the recovery of his realm, important help, I repeat,
for it has been revealed to me several times, that God wills
it!
At these words he did nothing but laugh at her and make
fun of her. He thought her flighty. However, she persisted steadily~ and for so
long a time that he yielded and provided her [with an escort], a gentleman by
the name of Ville Robert and a
small number of other attendants, who took
her to the King at that time in Chinon, where she
was
17
JOAN OF ARC
introduced to the monarch I have already
mentioned.
When she came into the room where he was, she
immediately made the inclinations and reverences one is accustomed to
make to kings, exactly as if all her life had been nourished at
court.
After these inclinations and reverences she spoke to the
King whom she had never seen before and said, "May God give you a good life,
very noble King!"
Because in that assembly several lords were dressed as
rich.ly or more so than he, the King replied, "But I am not the one who is king,
Joan."
Then as he pointed to one of his lords among those
present he said to her, "There, over there, is the one who is King." To
this she rephed,"You are the King and no one else. I recognize you
indeed!"
After these words the King asked her this question,
"What prompted you to come to me?" She explained, “I have come to raise the siege of
Orleans and to aid you to recover your kingdom. God wills it so." She continued,
"After I have raised the siege I will conduct you to Reims to be consecrated. Do
not distress yourself over the English, for I will combat them in any place I
find them."
Then she concluded, "Give me as many fightingmen as you
can afford to pay, for I have no doubt about doing all these things, even
driving the English out of your kingdom."
At this point the King had questions put to her about
faith. She was queried on several other matters, namely, on things holy, on war,
and other subjects of equal interest.
She answered all questions with such intelligence that
the king, the bishops, and the priests who were present were astonished, and not
without reason, when one considers the simplicity and the occupation of
this girl who
18
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
had never done anything except watch over anuinals in
the pastures.
At the conclusion of these questions and answers that I
speak of, the Kinor called together the members of his Council who recommended
that Joan be asked again what she planned to do. Her reply was, "To make war on
the English and to raise the siege which is now blockading
Orleans."
For this reason she implored the King to dispatch one of
his armorers or another individual to Saint Catherine of
Fierbois.
I want whoever goes there to bring back to me a sword
which he will find in the church, in a particular place which I will describe to
him. Fleurs-de-lys are cut into this sword, five on each
side.
Then someone asked her, "Were you ever in the
neighborhood of St. Catherine?" She replied, "No, but I know by divine
revelation that this sword I speak of is in the church. It is there in between
several pieces of old scrap iron." As she turned to the King she added, "With
this sword and the help of God and that of my good captains and soldiers, I will
raise the siege of Orleans and accompany you to Reims where you will be
consecrated and crowned, exactly as the Kings of France, your predecessors, have
always been crowned."
After this declaration the King was urged to send one of
his armorers to St. Catherine of Fierbois. [The one sent] readily found the
sword spoken of and fetched it to the King who presented -it to Joan the Maid.
She very humbly thanked him for it and requested him to give her a horse, armor,
a lance, and other equipment required for war. All these things were
straiolhtway delivered and given to her.
19
JOAN OF ARC
She accepted them at once, had the armor put on, and
immediately mounted the horse and poised her lance as in a joust. In all details
she acted like a man and a soldier, as one born to the ways of
war.
Moreover when she was invited to the Kmig's Council
there to give advice and to deliberate on what to do, whether to raise the siege
of Orleans or to recover towns and fortresses or to venture on an enterprise
against the enemy, she spoke and debated so shrewdly and sustained her opinions
with arguments so convincing that very often against the judgment of the
captains her opinion on what they were to do was followed. And what is even a
greater wonder, if the King and his Council held a meeting in her absence, she
knew all they had discussed and decided, the same as if she had been there. The
King and his associates were much amazed at this. Well they might
be!
Even though the chronicles I have read do not make
mention of one detail which I heard told and repeated long ago, not merely once
but many times, by eminent people of distinction 'in France, who asserted they
had read this particular fact in well-authenticated chronicles, and even though
[I have not read it] I have duly resolved to add it here to what I am writing,
on the one hand on account of the prestige and good repute of those who told it
to me and, on the other because, in my opinion, it is a matter worthy of
remembrance.
This is the account as I recall
it.
After the King heard what the Maid said, his confessor
or someone else made this recommendation, "In order to have more confidence in
Joan and to settle [the question] of faith and belief in her words, talk to her
in secret and
20
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
find out how she can have such positive assurance that
she is sent to you by God."
This the King did. To his question she replied, “Sire,
if I tell you things so secret that no one but you and God know them, will you
truly believe that I have been sent by God?" The King answered, "Yes." The Maid
went on, "Sire, do you not remember how on last All Saints Day, all alone in the
oratory of your chapel in the castle of Loches you made three prayers of
petition to God?" The King said, "Yes, I am well aware of the three requests."
The Maid inquired further, "Have you told or revealed these requests to your
confessor or anyone else?" The King answered, "No!" "Then," Joan said, "if I
tell you the three, will you believe my words?" Again the King said, "Yes."
Whereupon the Maid told him, “Sire, your first prayer was this. Because you no
longer wanted to be the cause of making and continuing war, the source of so
many woes, to regain your kingdom, you said this prayer: ‘Oh, God, let it be
your pleasure to make me lose heart in pursuing [my heritage], if I am not the
rightful heir of France.'
"In the second prayer you begged God, "If I am the
cause of the heavy afflictions and calamities which the poor people of France
endure and have endured for so long or if my sins are their source, let it be
Your pleasure to lift them from the people and in ict them on me alone. Let me
carry the guilt even unto death or any other chastisement according to Thy Holy
Will-'
"Your third prayer was, 'May God pardon the people,
if their sins are the cause of these afflictions. I appeal to You to appease
Your anger willingly and to release this kingdom from the misery it has known
for a dozen years or more.’ "
The King admitted she knew the truth and with faith in
her said, "I believe God has sent you and I have great hope that you Will help
me regain my kingdom." The King in his own mind carefully considered the
question of accept-
21
JOAN OF ARC
ing her assistance and of putting faith in her counsel
for all his affairs.
3
CHARLES VII SENDS JOAN TO BLOIS
FOR SUPPLIES TO RELIEVE ORLEANS
Now it is time to come back to my
theme.
The King, realizing the grave need for speedy relief to
those under attack in Orleans, summoned his Council-to which Joan was likewise
called-to weigh the means of [bringing] assistance and sustenance to those who
were under siege. "I will undertake to do both, if you give me armed men," was
Joan's declaration.
Then the King took further counsel with his captains.
They, knowing and admitting the dire necessity of those besieged, the resolute
success of the English, who, up to that moment, had achieved their aim in all
their projects, and the extremities in which the affairs of the King and the
kingdom existed, were of the opinion that the King might make use of this
proposal of the Maid.
All agreed to do this.
Gilles de Rais and Ambrose de Lore" were assigned to
accompany and escort her. They traveled with Joan to Blois where she was
received with due honor by the Chancellor of France, Regnault de Chartes,
Archbishop of Reims, Bastard of Orleans, La Hire, Poton de Saintrailles, and
other captains, all of whom werein the city. With all diligence they took such
steps as were required to provide the ordnance and supplies needed in
Orleans, that is to say, stores, four-wheeled wagons, two-wheeled carts, horses
and everything else required in such a situation. During the time taken to
accumulate the equipment I have mentioned, the Maid wrote a letter to the King
of England, the Duke of
23
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
Bedford, and other notables and military leaders of that
country. Here is the letter.
JESUS, MARY
KING OF ENGLAND and you, the Duke of Bedford, who
declare you are the Regent of the realm of France; and you, William de la Pole,
Earl of Suffolk, and you Sir John Talbot, and you Thomas Lord Scales, who say
you are the Lieutenant of this Bedford, render an account to the King of Heaven!
Give up to the Maid, who is sent by God, the King of Heaven, the keys of the
cities you have seized and violated in France. She has come here, by God's
order, to reinstate the royal line [of Charles VII]. She is fully prepared to
offer [terms of] peace, if you are willing to give satisfaction, provided you
agree to vacate France, settle the claims for the damage you have done, and
repay the sums of money you have taken during all the years you have occupied
this realm.
To you, archers, fellow soldiers, men of gentle birth,
and all others who are in front of the city of Orleans, [I say] by God's order,
GO HOME TO YOUR OWN COUNTRY. Unless you do, be prepared for further orders from
the Maid who in a short time is going into action [against you]. You will suffer
very heavy damage.
KING OF ENGLAND, I am a military commander and unless
you accept my counsel, this I assure you: in whatever region of France I find
your troops I will give battle and chase them and make them flee this country
whether they want to or not. If they do not obey, I will have them all slain. I
have been sent here by command of God, the King of Heaven, to combat them and
boot them entirely out of France. If they obey willingly, I will show them
mercy. And for you, do not make up your mind to remain here, for God, the King
of Heaven and Son of the Virgin Mary, has given you no authority over this
kingdom of France. Charles [VII], the RIGHTFUL HEIR, will have this
authority. God, the King of Heaven, wills it! The Maid has revealed to him that
before long he
23
JOAN OF ARC
Will take possession of Paris in good and glorious
company. If you are reluctant to believe this communication [written] by the
command of God and the order of the Maid, I caution you: in whatever place we
encounter you, we will give battle and strike you down. There we will make a
boisterous outcry (hayhay), the like of which has not been heard in
France for a thousand years. Have a firm faith [in what I say]. The King of
Heaven will give such power to the Maid that neither you nor your arnues will
know how to injure her or the troops she commands. When it comes to might, we
will see who has the better right!
Duke of Bedford, you who now carry on the siege before Orleans, the Maid implores you not to force her to destroy you. If you do give satisfaction to her, you may yet live to see the French perform the most brilliant exploit ever turned to the account of Christianity.
If you wish to restore peace, I pray you to make reply
in the city of Orleans which I hope to reach in a short time. If you do not act
in this wise, you will ever bethink you of your heavy loss [of soldiers in
battle].
WRITTEN THIS TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK
[22 March 1429].
The March to Orleans
With preparations made to start out for the relief of
Orleans, Joan the Maid M the company of the Bastard of Orleans, Gilles de Rais
and Ambrose de Lore', La Hire, and Robert de Baudricourt, newly arrived from
Vaucouleurs, and other captains with a certain number of soldiers departed
from Blois to escort the food and fodder made available. [The convoy] took the
route on the Sologne side and Joan urged the whole group to make haste with all
possible dispatch. When the Enghsh in their sturdy boulevard built at
Saintjeaii le Blaix were notified of the com-
24
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
ing, of the French, they abandoned their boulevard and
withdrew into The Augustins which they had powerfully
fortified.
The Maid, aware of the enemies' withdrawal, had all the supplies pass on in front of them and with all possible speed had these provisions stowed into barges and ferried across the river. This done, she and her entire escort with their own provisions crossed over the river into the city, where they were greeted with JOY.
On the morrow as soon as Joan and the lords and
captains whom I have mentioned became aware that the supplies they had
convoyed would suffice only a few days, they reached a decision to send [an
appeal] back to Blois to the Chancellor, the Archbishop of Reims-I mentioned him
before-to provision the city anew. For this purpose they dispatched the Bastard
of Orleans, Gilles de Rais, and Ambrose de Lore' with their escorts to
explain again the exigency of those within the city. They were to say, "If you
do not give us aid without delay, we will be forced to surrender the city to the
enemy!"
In the meantime Joan the Maid waited in Orleans with
other captains and soldiers to renew the courage of those within the city and to
help them ward off an attack I in case the enemy decided to make ever-y effort
to carry it by storm.
When the Bastard, de Rais, and de Lore' made their
appeal to the Chancellor and others of the King's Council who were there at
hand, an order was given to provide an impressive amount of food and provender.
This was done immediately. Then the decision was reached to take these supplies
to Orleans along the route through La Beauce.
The Mioment this materiel was brought together,
the
25
JOAN OF ARC
Bastard, de Rais, and de Lore', with all the men at arms
they could muster, marched out of Blois at once along the route agreed upon, by
way of La Beauce. With these provisions in their charge, they pitched their camp
halfway along the road between Blois and Orleans. Very early in the morning of
the next day they decamped and continued on the march until they reached a
little village close to Orleans. The Maid, apprised of their approach, had all
the captains and soldiers *in the city mustered for an immediate sortie. She
disposed her men in such good order that she and the troops marched out in front
of the enemy who did not sally forth from their fortresses. And so they moved
forward without hindrance and went on tojoin those who were bringing up the
supplies. When they joined their forces and made certain of their strength, they
marched back toward Orleans with the stores and passed again in front of the
forts with no opposition and went into the city.
4
ORLEANS DELIVERED
At this point the reader should realize that the English
had built two solid forts on the Beauce [or North] side of the city. One,
because it was larger and stronger, was called London. The smaller was
named Saint Loup. On the Sologne [or South] side they built two others,
one at the head of the bridge [The Tourelles], the other on the site of
The Augustins. They had constructed a boulevard, as I have said, at
Saint Jean le Blanc.
Next morning, Joan the Maid in full armor, with the
nobles, the captains, and the soldiers prepared for battle. She sallied forth
the first from the city and dashed on ahead to attack the fort of Saint Loup
just mentioned. When the English in the stronger fort [London] saw this
vigorous
26
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
assault against their own people, they rushed out of
their stronger fort to go to the aid of their own soldiers, but, righteously
repulsed by the French, they were compelled to retreat into their own fortress.
Whereupon the French renewed their attack more boldly and took Saint Loup
by assault. All those within were either captured or killed. The Maid ordered
the immediate destruction of the fort before she turned with her troops and rode
back to Orleans.
The next day and for several days after, the nobles and
captains met together several times for a number of secret parleys to discuss a
possible attack on the fort called London. The Maid was not summoned to
these deliberations. Finally they agreed to the attack as a feint. "In our
estimation," they concluded, "the English on the Sologne side will dash across
the river to aid London. This move will deprive these bastiles and forts
of their garrisons. In this way we can capture the Sologne forts with a handful
of our soldiers."
After this decision they deliberated about telling the
maid, to find out if she thought their idea to assault London was a good
one. Her reply was,
You believe, gentlemen (messeigneurs les
cappitaines) that because I am a woman, I do not know how to conceal a
secret. For your information I know every detail you have discussed. Here I give
you my pledge-I WILL NEVER REVEAL PLANS WHICH ARE TO BE KEPT
SECRET.
After this declaration they decided the Bastard of
Orleans, who knew her best, should detail their scheme to her. When he did, the
Maid had this to say, "I agree with your plan, if it could work out as you
foresee. However, because I am sure it will not, I do not
approve."
This is why the nobles and captains did not dare make a
move to carry out their project in opposition to her decision. In
particular they reflected, "All things she has undertaken have been brought
to a happy ending." At once
27
JOAN OF ARC
then they went on to ask her, "What are we to do?" She
had an answer. I think it wise to assault the forts in the vicinity of Saint
Laurent on the other side of the river [the Beauce side]." They came to an
agreement to do this.
Now there was a goodly number of boats moored to the
walls of the city. The soldiers she wanted to take with her went aboard and all
crossed the river, she with them, to the other bank. With sure dispatch she drew
them up in formation to attack one of the forts. At her command they marched
toward the one at the entrance to the bridge. [This was The Tourelles.]
Entrusting herself to God she began the assault boldly. The fierce defense by
the enemy prolonged this assault until about an hour before the sun set.
Realizmig the deternuined resistance of the enemythe Maid gave the signal of
retreat to her troops who, on her order, withdrew toward the boats 'in which
they had crossed the river. The English, seeing the French in retreat, charged
out of their fort to reach the French as they attempted to draw back [to
their boats], as I have said.
The Maid, on perceiving this, rallied her soldiers in
good order to counter the onset. She inspired them with such strength of courage
that they forced the English to waver and move back into The Augustins,
against which she directed this new attack. In spite of the fort's superiority
artillery and manpower she took it by storm. The enemy was constrained to flee
into the bastile [The Tourelles] which, as I have said, was at the head
of the bridge. This fort had very strong towers of stone.
After this she detailed the lookouts for the night.
The next morning at dawn she gave the order of the
day.
28
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
Soldiers, the time has come to storm the enemy. Today I
give you my pledge that the English will be conquered and chased out of the
Kingdom of France.
Joan’s pledge animated the French with greater courage.
Under its incentive they stormed the bastile which, I assure you, was defended
by the enemy with determination. Undaunted by this resistance the French,
cheered on by the words of the Maid, who was always in the forefront of the
attack, did not decrease their efforts.
Joan, wounded in the leg (some say in the shoulder) by
an arrow from a crossbow, without seeming to pay any attention to it, did not
retire from the fight but gave an example of courage to her troops, who
following her example, leaped after her into the moat of the bastile. Aided by
ladders which had been placed to project above the walls they entered within.
This is how they took The
Tourelles by
assault!
From four to five hundred English were killed there, among whom death took three of their captains, Lord William Moleyns, Lord Richard Poynings, and Captain William Glasdale, officers who were in command of the siege on the Sologne side. All the others were captured. The English across the river on the other side [in Beauce] were witnesses of the assault and the capture of those taken but were powerless to come to their relief.
With this task accomplished the Maid and her company
crossed over the bridge and reentered the city exactly as she had promised on
her departure the day before. To celebrate the victory the inhabitants of
Orleans started to sing the Te Dewn laudamtis. The church bells in the whole
city rang out. All night long the citizens in high glee made merry noise. Next
day in the early morning the enemy, understanding the menace that beset them,
withdrew from the other forts and retreated in great haste to Meuing.
In
29
JOAN OF ARC
this way at last to the deep shame, damage, and
embarrassment of the English the city was delivered from the suffering
of the siege. To the King, his friends, and his subjects this was a matter of
high honor and of great glory.
5
JARGEAU
[At this point in his narrative the compiler omits all
mention of Joan of Arc's activities during the month between the fall of Orleans
and the assault onjargeau. A brief summary of her journeys during these weeks
will supply this omission. Most biographers of Joan, in retelling the happenings
of this month ofjourneys back and forth over a region today aptly called the
"Route of the Castles in the Valley of the Loire," forget and fail to remind
their readers that half of these weeks were taken up with Joan's convalescence.
She was recovering from the damage and discomfort of the injury inflicted by the
arrow
Map 2. The Loire Campaign 11-18 June
1429.
30
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
that hit her. We know from Joan's own words that the
wound took two weeks to heal, although she did not stop riding horseback or
doing her work. Her work, done with determination, was diplomatic. She had to
persuade and convince Charles VII of the advantages of "the campaign of the
Loire" and of the imperative need of going to Reims for his coronation. The King
up to this time had made one rapid decision in his life. Years earlier, insulted
by rude and scoffing remarks shouted as he passed by, he ordered, on the
instant, the destruction of the castle of Azay-le-Rideau. Now, cautious and
wary, his decisions were slow. Joan had to brave a monarch's sluggishness.
This was her work. The days were not idyllic.
As willbe seen, in the testimony of Simon Beaucroix,
from Orleans Joan went to Blois. The Chron. de la Pucelle and Beaucroix
indicate she moved from Blois to Tours. Then she went south to the castle of
Loches, as Dunois and Beaucroix remember. On Saturday 4 June she was at
"Selles-en-Berry," today Selles-sur-Cher. An item in the city treasurer's
accounts for Orleans records a payment made to the herald, Jacquet Compaing, for
a journey to Selles where he talked to Joan on 4 June, "le quatriesme jour de
juing." (Q 5, 262). The young Laval brothers wrote a letter to their mother that
confirms this account. They met Joan with the King near St. Aignan. From there
the cavalcade moved to Romorantin (Q 5, 107). Another item in the financial
records of Orleans indicates Joan was there again on Thursday 9 June. From
Orleans she set out on Friday 10 June for Jargeau (Q 3, 94; D-L 5, 212).] The
Authors
Now with the siege brought to an end, as I have said, the Maid entreated the King in earnest, "Assemble all the soldiers you can so that you will retake the cities and fortified places held by the enemy round about Orleans." For this reason the King gave an order to the Duke of Alenqon:
“REPORT BACK TO ME WITH ALL THE TROOPS YOU CAN MUSTER.
“
This the duke did with diligence. Then he came to
the
JOAN OF ARC
King with a great number of nobles and men-at-arms who,
although they were to have no pay from the King, came nevertheless-at least the
greater part of them-to see the Maid and to carry on the war in her company
against the enemy. On all sides, she was spoken of as-
ONE SENT BY GOD.
After the troops were inspected the army moved straight
to Jargeau to subject the city to a siege. Eight days later through the counsel
and skill of the Maid the city was carried by assault. Seized as prisoners there
were the Earl of Suffolk, William de la Pole, with his brother [John]. Their
other brother [Alexander] and very many of the English were
killed.
6
MEUNG-SUR-LOIRE AND BEAUGENCY
TAKEN FROM THE ENGLISH
After four or five days the nobles and their troops
marched away from Jargeau, advanced to Meting, and there attacked and took
the fortified tower at the entrance to the bridge and the bridge too. Then they
posted lookouts in the tower, stationed their sentinels with great dispatch, and
at once were on the march straight to Beaugency. Warned of the approach of the
French the English evacuated the town and withdrew into the fortified castle
which, two days later, they gave up by capitulation.
The Action at Patay
Not long after the surrender of the castle of Beaugency
it was rumored about in the French ranks that Talbot and John Scales, at the
head of five thousand English [troops], had reached Janville in Beauce, at that
time under the authonity of the English. Our forces were told that
Talbot
32
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
and his men were on the march toward Meung in the false
belief that the French were laying siege to the place.
On hearing this news the [French] captains dispatched
cavalry scouts to reconnoiter and report the reality of the situation. Their
report was in these words, "Talbot is coming with a big army." As soon as
this news came in the nobles and the captains held a meeting to ask the Maid's
advice. She said, "In my opinion our entire French force must advance to
encounter Talbot." They all
replied, "Agreed!" We [the French] on our part ordered scouts out to determine
the condition of the enemy. They reported, "The enemy is marching forward 'in
regular formation." Then we decided to dispose our troops for
battle.
First of all our advance guard was quartered in Patay, a
village with a strongly fortified church. Sent out to ride with these were the
Sire de Beaumanoir, Ambrose de Lore', La Flire, and Poton de Sintralles with a
goodly number of soldiers. The Duke of Alencon, the Constable [Richemont],
the Count of Vendome, the Bastard of Orleans, and Joan the Maid brought up the
rear. When the English, trooping forward in order, caught sight of the French
and saw their might, they veered toward a wood nearby to choose a field of
battle more fit for combat. When our horsemen saw their maneuver to gain this
wood, they smote them so rudely that the horsemen of our enemy were thrown into
disorder and put to flight. The English foot soldiers, alarmed at the sight of
their horsemen running away, scattered for safety into the woods and the
adjacent village. But the Duke of Alencon in a rapid forward movement
advanced into position, cut them down, and destroyed them. Three thousand
and more of the English were killed there and several captains captured, Talbot
among them.
After this disaster the village of Janville in Beauce
and
33
JOAN OF ARC
other fortified towns close by returned to the
allegiance of the King.
7
THE ROUTE TO REIMS
After these victories were won and the cities and
fortresses I have mentioned were captured by the stratagem and skill of the
Maid, she went directly to the King to say to him:
Beloved Sire, up to the present time, as you know, God,
to Whom you should offer thanks, and your faithful servitors have cared for the
interests [of your kingdom]. Now the time has come for you to begin to make
preparations to go to Reims, where like the Kings of France, your predecessors,
you will be anointed and crowned. It is God's pleasure that this be done. What a
great benefit it will be for you! After the consecration, you, the revered,
crowned King, will receive more
Map 3. The Route to Reirns.
34
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
homage from the people of France. Your enemies will hold
you in greater fear and dread. What if all the cities, castles, and fortified
places along your route in Champagne are in the hands of your enemies? Have no
anxiety. Aided by the power of God and that of your captains and soldiers you
will move with safety along the way we will make for you. Assemble your
soldiers. We will carry out the will of God!
Even after such words [of assurance] this venture
impressed the King and his entire Council as very hazardous for, as it was
said, "The entire province of Champagne has been seized by the English and is
under their control." However, the Maid's confidence gave them a real hope of
accomplishing what she was asking for, partly because she had achieved all her
projects, partly on account of the upright and saitly life she led. They could
see she went to confession very often and received the Body of Our Savior each
week. Then again, they were aware that she never did any tasks [expected] of a
woman.
After the Maid had had her say, as I have noted, the
King went away to Gien on the Loire and summoned all those who could be of
service to attend him on his march.Quite a number of those summoned came there
to go forth with him and advance toward Reims. When decisions about details were
settled, he gave immediate orders to several captains and their men-at-arms to
move forward
with the Maid to discover if the enemy were making
preparations for combat. No time was lost in doing this.The captains and their
troops took the route direct to Auxerre. The King and his army brought up the
rear.When the people in the city of Auxerre learned of the King's approach, they
showed such hostility-with the connivance of certain ones close to the King-that
neither he nor any of his entourage entered that city. To the soldiers who
paid for it, the inhabitants sold food. The King
36
JOAN OF ARC
marched away and reached Saint Florentin. Here he was
welcomed cordially. The people swore under oath to be loyal to him. Within a
short time the whole army left this place and took the road to Troyes, a city
which they besieged. After the King and his forces had spent six days in the
assault, provisions for the troops failed. A new supply could not be found. This
is why the fighting men were reduced to the necessity of having nothing except
beans and kernels of grain for their food.
With starvation facing his army the King called together
his nobles and captains, without bidding the Maid be present, for advice on
what to do. With one exception their opinion was unanimous: the King should turn
his army about-face and withdraw. First, because the troops lacked provisions;
second, because the King had hardly any funds to pay his soldiers. Of those
summoned to this Council all decided alike, except one by the name of Robert Le
Macon, who observed, "The views
voiced here seem convincing, enough, but I would be pleased to hear what the
Maid has to say. She is the cause of this enterprise."
Presently the King had her summoned. The necessity of
food for the army was explained to her. In view of the needs of the troops how
was a new supply to be had? "In your opinion," asked the King, "what am I to
do?" To this Joan replied, "Sire, if I tell you what I know to be the truth,
will you believe me?" As the King did not answer promptly, she repeated her
question. This time the King answered, "Joan, if you tell me anything to my
advantage, I will readily believe you." Joan's words were, “I GIVE YOU, SIRE,
THIS ASSURANCE. BEFORE TWO DAYS THE INHABITANTS OF TROYES WILL SUBMIT AND
SURRENDER THE CITY TO YOU.
After these words were spoken the King was advised to
delay [his departure] for two more days. He then issued an
36
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
order, "No one is to withdraw from this siege."
Immediately after this was proclaimed, the Maid, fully armed and mounted,
had these words cried about through the ranks,
TO ALL MEN BEARING ARMS AND TO ALL OTHERS: Bring along
scaling ladders, bundles of wood, tree branches, and other things we need [to
aid] in assaulting the city.
She personally directed the casting [of the wood] into
the moats and the position of the ladders against the walls. When they saw this,
the city officials quickly authorized their bishop, with a group of citizens and
a number of soldiers who were in the city, to go to the King. These agreed to
surrender their city to him, if he consented to permit the English to depart in
safety with their baggage. To this the King agreed and specified that on the
morrow in the morning he would enter the city.
The next morning the English, taking with them some
French [soldiers] whom they held as prisoners, were ready to set out safely from
the city with their baggage. This the Maid would not tolerate! She then set the
French prisoners free. The English protested, "This is an injustice! Contrary to
the terms of capitulation!" Finally an agreement was reached. The prisoners were
to be given their freedom, provided the King paid a certain sum of money as
ransom. After this arrangement the King rode into the city where the people
welcomed him right joyously and swore fidelity to him. He authorized [the
appointment] of officials for the law courts and for the civil administration of
the city. He had sentinels stationed to guard the place.
With this accomplished, the King set out and marched to
Chalons where all the people greeted him with great joy and swore fealty to him.
Here too he installed sufficient officials for the public welfare. Then he
departed and went straight to Reims. Despite the fact that this city was
under
37
JOAN OF ARC
English authority, its inhabitants acclaimed him with joyful enthusiasm and acknowledged him as their Sovereign Lord and King.
8
REIMS, THE CORONATION
The Dukes of Bar and of Lorraine and Robert of Commercy
accompanied by an impressive number of men-at-arms came to Reis to present
themselves to the King and offer their service to him. The King greeted them
all, "I welcome you cordially and thank you for your noble good
will.
Two days passed. [On Sunday, 17 July 1429] Charles VII
was anointed and crowned by Regnault de Chartres, the
Map. 4. Reinis to Paris.
38
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
Archbishop of Reims, in the presence of the Maid who
bore the standard of the King 'in her hands. She rejoiced with great Joy because
by her entreaties and through her counsel and perseverance she had conducted the
King to his consecration and crowning. She exhorted him to render thanks to God
for the good he had received, for the honor the coronation was bringing him, and
for the triumphs God had provided for him.
After the solenmities mentioned above and the oath of
loyalty sworn by the people of the city, the King, following the Maid's
suggestion, took his leave [of Reims] and proceeded on the road to
Vailly-sur-Aisne, where he was readily received and acknowledged. It was exactly
the same in Soissons. He moved forward from there through the province of Brie
where he retook several fortified places held by his enemies. GOOD RESULTED FROM
ALL THE ENTERPRISES HE VENTURED ON AT THE PROMPTING OF THE
MAID.
9
CAPTURED AT COMPIEGNE
Here I will refrain from adding further details to these
actions and activities of Joan because all are related at full length in the
chronicles I have mentioned. What I have selected to retell helps toward an
understanding of the great deeds she did for France, for she is admirable and
deserves to be remembered. I would not know how to relate and proclaim her
exploit~ adequately. My intention is not and was not to retell them all in full
detail.
Here I wish merely to relate how and in what way she was
captured before Compiegne and afterward taken to Rouen. There her mortal
enemies, the English, took strong legal action [against her] and the trial
began. This court condemned her falsely and flagrantly to be burned
to
39
JOAN OF ARC
death, as the trial of vindication has since proved.
This trial of vindication declared her innocent of all the charges in the
accusation against her, in spite of the decision by the members of the
University of Paris, who, sycophants as they were, to gratify the King of
England, found her guilty of heresy, in opposition to the view of the late John
Gerson, our Master, Doctor of Theology and the Chancellor of Notre Dame of
Paris. His works show and prove that he
Map -5. Compigne and Environs-the Siege of
1430.
was scholarly and judicious. At the end [of my book] I
intend to include his opinion [of the Maid] with the arguments that brought
him in opposition to the University. Thus the reader may decide on which side
there is more likelihood of good sense and truth.
Now to come back to what I was saying about the Maid.
Her renown spread more each day because the good fortune of the King
flourished. He achieved without fail everything he did at her suggestion.
Moreover she was given her share of appreciation and approval for all
that
40
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
was done. For this reason, as I have said, some nobles
and captains conceived a great envy and hatred for her, something very
likely and easy enough to believe in view of what was to happen before long. For
while she was in Lagny-sur-Marne, she was told that the Duke of Burgundy and a
goodly number of English had laid siege to the city of Compie"gne, which a short
while before had been brought under obedience to the King. With the few
soldiers near her at the moment, she hurried from Lagny to bring help to
those besieged within Compiegne. Her coming renewed the courage of the
inhabitants.
A day or two later a sortie to attack the besieging
forces was decided on by a certain number of those within the city. Although
Joan did not approve the decision to make this sortie-as I have read in some
chronicle-nevertheless she agreed to go out with this body of troops to avoid
being thought a coward. This was her undoing. While she was bravely fightmig off
the enemy, someone among the French sounded the signal to retreat. Thereupon
each one hurried to withdraw [from the combat]. Joan determined to retard the
advance [of the enemy] to allow our troops time to retreat. When she herself
came near the city gate, so many were forcing their way to it she found she
could not get through. And there she was captured by the soldiers of John of
Luxembourg, who was at this siege with the Duke of
Burgundy.
Some prefer to say that one among the French was the
cause of the hindrance that kept her from getting through the gate. This, though
I will not say it is the truth, is easy for me to believe. Because it is not
said [in the chronicles] that any other Frenchman, not even "a nobody," was
captured or wounded at the gate. Be that as it may, [her capture] was a grievous
injury to the King and his realm. You can judge of this by the
astonishing
JOAN OF ARC
triumphs and victories won in the short time she was
with the King.
After her capture by the followers of John of
Luxembourg, in the way I have explained, he had the Maid brought to his
castle of Beaurevoir. In this place he took care to guard her very carefully day
and night. He feared she might escape by magical trickery or some other subtle
deception.
The King of England and his Council, alarmed that she
might elude them through payment of ransom or in some other way, lost no time in
laying claim to her. To uphold their demands [envoys] were sent several times to
the Duke of Burgundy and to John of Luxembourg. The latter spurned their claim
altogether. He would not listen to it.
At this the King of England was indignant. He convoked
his Council for frequent discussions to hear their opinions. What was he to do
to get possession ofJoan? A conclusion was reached. Finally the King was advised
to summon the Bishop of Beauvais to whom these facts were to be pointed
out:
The Maid has made use of magic and diabolic cunning. She
is a heretic. She was captured in your diocese. She is now a prisoner in your
diocese. It is up to you to inquire into these matters. Summon and admonish the
Duke of Burgundy and John of Luxembourg to hand over the Maid to you to bring
her to trial as it is set forth in the provisions of the-law of the Church
against heretics. Offer to pay any reasonable sum agreed upon for her
ransom.
After several protests the Bishop agreed to do this,
with the proviso that his decision depended on the advice he received: could he
and should he do it. He then appealed to the University of Paris to give him a
legal opinion. He
42
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
was advised, "You may and should proceed [with a
trial]."
To court
favor with the King of England, the University of Paris agreed with the Bishop's
opinion that they should write to John of Luxembourg, who was keeping the Maid
his prisoner, to release her to stand trial. Further, they would add, "If you do
not you will prove you are not a good Catholic." Several other questions are
treated in this letter, as will be seen in the copy which I will include further
on.
As soon as the Bishop received the opinion and the
proposal of the University he decided to forward such a claim, which was
then put down in writing. Here follows
A TRUE COPY OF THE FORMAL DEMAND SENT BY THE
BISHOP
OF BEAUVAIS TO THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY AND JOHN OF
LUXEMBOURG FOR THE DELIVERANCE OF THE MAID
By order of the King of England and under his otvn episcopal authority the Bishop of Beauvais requiresfrom the Duke of Burgundy and John of Luxembourg and the Bastard of Wandonne
That this woman, the so-called Joan the Maid, now a
prisoner, be handed over to the King of England who will transfer her to the
Church. Under suspicion and reputed guilty of numerous crimes, she is to be
charged with sorcery, idolatry, the invocation of demons, and other offenses,
all contrary to our belief and against the Faith.
Owing to her evil reputation she is by no means to be
dealt with as a prisoner of war. Nevertheless to reward those who captured her
and who have kept her a prisoner, the King of England has decided to offer them
[in exchange for her] a princely sum, not to exceed 6 thousand livres. To the
Bastard [of Wandonne] who captured her, he proposes to allot an annuity in the
amount of 2 or 3 hundred livres to [help him]
maintain his estate.
Item. The
Bishop, in his own name, calls upon those herein mentioned, individually and
collectively, to consign this woman to him. As it behooves him, he will conduct the
case against
43
JOAN OF ARC
her, for she was captured in his diocese and comes under
his spiritual jurisdiction. He is fully prepared to assume this
responsibility in association with the Inquisitor of the Faith. If the need
arises [he is ready] to assemble doctors of theology and doctors of the
decretals with other eminent scholars, all skilled in the administration
ofjustice. [He is determined] to conduct this trial in due and fitting form for
the exaltation of the Faith and for the benefit of those who have been deceived
and betrayed by this woman.
Item. And
finally should those mentioned above or even one of them be unwilling to accept
and to consent in obedience to what is herein stated, in the terms of this
document, namely that although the capture of this woman is in no way
equivalent to the capture of a king or prince or an individual of noble
lineage, any one of whom, had he been captured, king or dauphin or other royal
prince, the King of England, if he so willed, could have got possession of by
giving the one who made the capture 10 thousand livres, according to the
law, the practice, and the custom of France, therefore the Bishop, in the name
of the King of England and in his own name demands and orders the
above-mentioned to hand over the Maid to him for he guarantees the payment of 10
thousand livres in fulfillment of all conditions. As the law requires and
under pain of its penalty the Bishop commands that the Maid be given up and
handed over to him.
The letter from the University of Paris to John of
Luxembourg, which I have mentioned already, is as
follows:
A TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PARIS TO
JOHN OF LUXEMBOURG FOR THE DELIVERANCE OF THE MAID
Most Illustrious, Respected, And Mighty Seigneur, We
Commend Ourselves With Great Attachment To Your High Nobleness.
In your wondrous wisdom you know and acknowledge that
all good Catholic Knights must, in the first place, devote themselves might
and main to the service of God. The foremost
44
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
solemn oath of the Order of Chivalry is, "To safeguard
and uphold the honor of God, His Holy Church, and the Catholic Faith." Your
memory of this oath served you well when the woman who calls herself The Maid
was captured in the presence of your noble person and authority. Through her the
honor of God is foully sullied, our Faith grievously wounded, and the Church too
much discredited. She has occasioned the diffusion of idolatries, vain
beliefs, evil doctrines, and other irreparable disorders and depravities in
this kingdom. Verily, all Christians owe you a supreme debt of gratitude for
your fruitful devotion to our Holy Faith and to this entire
realm.
As for us we give thanks to God with all our hearts for
your great valor and noble courage. A capture of such [importance] will become
merely a little thing unless it brings about whatever is required to make
amends for the offenses perpetrated by this woman against our very gentle
Creator, His Faith, and His Holy Church. Her other misdeeds are
innumerable.
It will be the greatest evil that ever was, an atrocious
offense against Divine Majesty, if this affair languishes. She could be rescued,
lost to us! It is rumored that certain of our foes are designing such a scheme,
applying to their intention by means the most crafty, all their wiles. And, what
is worse, by sums of money and threats of violence
(randon).
Let us hope God will not allow a mischance so mischievous to afflict His people. May your illustrious good sense not tolerate it, but lead you to take steps to meet this emergency resolutely. If in any way her deliverance is brought about without condign atonement, what an irreparable disgrace for your high nobleness and for all others who may meddle in this affair. Let a stop be put at once even to the possibility of such a shocking deed. This is imperative! Therefore, because delay involves too serious a risk, one very injurious to the realm, we, with genuine humility and devoted attachment, pray your honored and puissant nobleness to give up this woman and have her brought to justice for the good and the grandeur of this kingdom, for the preservation of the Faith, and in the
JOAN OF ARC
interest of Divine Honor. Send her without delay to the
Inquisitor of the Faith who has required and does require her [to be
delivered to him]. His purpose is to examine the merits of the grave accusation
[against her], so that the will of God may be done and the people enlightened by
the truth of sacred teaching, as is their due. Or if you prefer and choose, give
up and deliver this woman to the Reverend Father in God, the highly honored
Bishop of Beauvais, for as is well known she was made captive [in territory]
under his jurisdiction. The Bishop and the Inquisitor are to be her judges
'in this Trial of Faith. Every Christian of whatever degree is bound [in
conscience] to obey them, under solemn penalties of the law. By complying with
this command you will gain the grace and the love of the Supreme Divinity and
you will be an instrument for the exaltation of our Holy Faith. You will
enhance the glory of your great and noble name and in an equal manner that of
the most high and all powerful prince, the ever redoubtable Duke of
Burgundy.
We then who are in your debt will beg God to bestow good
fortune on your noble self. May He, Our Savior, direct you with Divine Grace in
all your activities in this world and grant you happiness without limit in
heaven.
Written in Paris, the 14th day of July
1430.
10
JOAN'S TRANSFER TO ROUEN
After the before-mentioned Summons and Letter were
written and sent off, the Bishop of Beauvais, whose name was Peter Cauchon, set
obt from Paris with a representative of the University of Paris and an apostolic
notary. They came to Compie'gne where the Duke of Burgundy and John of
Luxembourg were directing the siege before that ,city. To the Duke the Bishop
showed the document with the Summons [to hand over the Maid]. After accepting
this the Duke handed it to his Chancellor, Nicolas Roli,
46
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
who was with him and said, "Give this to my Lord of
Beaurevoir, John of Luxembourg." In a little while the Summons was presented to
Luxembourg who accepted it and read it. Then he was given the Letter of the
University, which he also read.
In the affidavit of the apostolic notary, whose name was
Triquelot, mention is made only of the document of the Summons. I append here my
translation of his affidavit from the original Latin.
In this year of grace one thousand four hundred and
thirty, on the sixteenth day ofjuly, in the thirteenth year of the
pontificate of Pope Martin V, in the headquarters of the very renowned
prince, the Duke of Burgundy, set up before the besieged city of Compiegne, and
in the presence of the distinguished knights, Nicolas of Mailly, the
bailiff of Vermandois, and John of Pressy, with a large number of eminent
individuals, etc., the Reverend Father in God, Peter, Bishop and Count of
Beauvais, handed to the very illustrious prince, the Duke of Burgundy, a Summons
written on paper containing the five articles, word for word, as you may read in
the true copy of this document inserted above. This Summons the duke (I report
this truthfully) gave to his honorable servitor, Nicolas Rohn, his Chancellor
who was present. The duke ordered him in turn to give it to the noble and
powerful lord, John of Luxembourg, the Lord of Beaurevoir. The Chancellor
gave this Summons to John of Luxembourg who thus received it, as I in truth saw.
These facts that I write here took place in my presence.
Signed, TRIQUELOT,
Apostolic and Royal Notary and
Copyist.
When the Summons with the Letter of the University were
presented and taken, as I have said, the Bishop
spoke
JOAN OF ARC
with the Duke of Burgundy and John of Luxembourg. After
a number of explanations a satisfactory agreement was reached. For a specified
sum of money offered by the Bishop, the Maid would be handed over to him. Three
or four days later this was done. The Bishop took the Maid and then gave her
over to the English in whose hands she was brought to Rouen, where, thrown *into
'the strong prison of the castle 'in that city, she was well jailed, well
shackled, and well guarded.
Here I must add a pertinent letter of the King of
England.
A TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER OF THE KING OF ENGLAND
RELATING TO JOAN THE MAID AND THE BISHOP OF BEAUVAIS
Henry By The Grace Of God King Of England, To All Those To Whom These Presents May Come, Greeting
For some time past it has been known to all and it is
notorious that a woman who insisted on being called Joan the Maid, discarding
the garb and vesture of the female sex, an act repugnant and forbidden by
all law, a deed contrary to Divine Law and abhorrent to God, put on and wore
men's garments and likewise armed herself as a man.
She has perpetrated and been the occasion of ruthless
homi cides. And as it is established, she let it be noised about among simple
folk, to lead them astray and deceive them, that she was sent by God and knew
His divine secrets. This is not all. She made many other dogmatic assertions,
all very perilous, all the occasion of prejudice and scandal to our Catholic
Faith.
While occupied with these abominations, continued with
hostility in opposition to Us and Our subjects, she, in her armor, was taken
prisoner at Compiegne by one of Our faithful subjects. Since then under
guard she has been brought to us [in Rouen]. And because of superstitions,
erroneous doctrines, and other crimes of lese majeste against the Divinity, as
is well known she was suspected repeatedly and reputed as
notorious
48
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
and defamed and under suspicion. In consequence We have
been petitioned earnestly and insistently by the Reverend Father in God, Our
loved and loyal counseflor, the Bishop of Beauvais, who is, for this Joan, the
Ordinary and the Ecclesiastical judge of the Church. She was apprehended and
captured within the borders and boundaries of his diocese. In exactly the same
way we have been exhorted by Our very dear and well-beloved daughter, the
Unliversity of Paris, to be willing to allow this Joan to be given over, yielded
up, and delivered to the said Reverend Father in God to interrogate and examine
the said Joan on these crimes mentioned above and further to take legal action
against her in accordance with the statutes and canons of the laws of God and
the Church, and finally, to summon those who shall be made to come to the
Bishop.
Therefore, WE,
for the reverence and honor of the name of God, for the defense and exaltation
of Holy Church and the Catholic Faith, yearn with devotion to accede, as a true
and humble child of Holy Church, to the entreaties and exhortations of the
said Reverend Father in God and the appeals of the Doctors and Masters of the
said University of Paris, Our daughter.WE charge and command that at all times
and whenever it shall be deemed necessary by the Reverend Father in God,
this Joan shall be brought and transferred to him, actually and in fact, by Our
officials and soldiers who guard her, so that he may interrogate and examine her
and conduct her trial in accordance with [the will] of God, with what is right,
and with the laws of God and the Church.
Therefore, WE
issue a mandate to Our said officials and soldiers who have this Joan under
guard that they bring and transfer her to the said Reverend Father in God,
actually and in fact, without the least refusal or objections each and every
time that they shall be requested by him.
WE enjoin all our justices, officials, and.subjects,
whether French or English, not to put any obstacle or difficulty, actually and
in fact, in the way of the said Reverend Father in God or in the way of all
others who have been and will be summoned to attend, to be occupied with, and to
pass judgment in the
49
JOAN OF ARC
said trial. Let all those who will be solicited by the
said Reverend Father in God give him aid, help, support, protection, and
encouragement, under pain of severe punishment.
WE intend, if need be, to get this Joan back again and
to have her again [in our power] if it should happen that she is not condemned
and convicted of the crimes herein mentioned, in particular the specific ones
and some others that touch and corrupt our Faith.
In testimony of this WE have had Our ordinary seal
affixed in the absence of the great seal.
Given in Rouen the 3 rd day of January, in the year of
grace 1431, and of Our reign the 9th.
Thus signed: By
the King at the relation of His Great Council
John de Rinel
Within a determined short time the Bishop of Beauvais,
at the solicitation of the King of England and the members of his Council, who
desired the death of the Maid, betook himself to Rouen. To this city he summoned
all the very renowned dignitaries, the most learned and lettered advocates
and lawyers. Their names are written in the record of this trial. To those
assembled the Bishop addressed these words,
I say and declare to you that your sovereign lord, the
King of France and England, has been urged by the nobles and by the individuals
of His Council, and by the University of Paris to proceed with the trial of a
woman whose name isjoan, but who in vulgar language is called the Maid. She is
accused of heresy, of black magic, as well as several other crimes and misdeeds.
Now as you know this woman was captured and taken prisoner in my diocese.
Therefore it is up to me to conduct her trial. With your consent, I intend to
apply myself to this task. I ask you to assist me in this charge so that I may
make no mistake in these proceedings.
50
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
All those present gave answer: "We are prepared to obey
the King. We will assist you readily during this trial."
Because at that time the archiepiscopal see had no
incumbent, which meant that jurisdiction rested in the hands of the Chapter
of the Church of Rouen, the Bishop Peter Cauchon found his way into the Chapter
and repeated to the Dean and the Canons words of the same purport he had
expressed the day before.
"Because I am not in my own diocese," he explained, "I
beg you to give me permission and grant me the freedom to proceed [with this
trial] in the territory of the Archbishop of Rouen. Allow me to work here."
He was accorded this privilege. Then he concluded, "May I have your
agreement in writing?” This too was approved.
II
JOAN CONDEMNED
Protests were made to the Bishop that Joan the Maid had
the right to be transferred to the [church] prison of the Archbishop of Rouen,
because her trial in an ecclesiastical court was on a problem of faith [the
crime of heresy]. However, in spite of these protests the good Bishop (le
bon seigneur), ever disdainful,
preferred to satisfy the King of England and court the favor of the English by
leaving her in the prison of these Englishmen, her mortal enemies. In this way
he commenced to reveal his deliberate determination to administer
"righteous justice."
During this trial he and his adherents showed themselves no less determined on the death of the Maid than Caiphas, Annas, and the scribes and pharisees were for the death of Our Saviour. This is clear, in plain view, in the transcript of the trial. In two copies I came across several lies. Conflicting differences are in what is written there, particularly
51
JOAN OF ARC
in the [report of] her replies to some questions. In
Joan's trial of vindication it is rightly proved that the [transcript] of her
trial of condemnation was altered fraudulently in several
instances.
JOAN'S LAST DAY ON EARTH
In The Year Of Our Lord 1431, This Wednesday, Next To The Last Day Of May, Was The Last Day Of The Trial.
The Legal Citation
Summoned by our authority to appear in person and to
listen to the decision [of the court] in our presence, Joan [was] in the Old
Market Place of the city of Rouen at eight in the morning to hear herself
proclaimed, "A Relapsed Heretic, Excommunicated," with the usual announcements
made on such occasions.
Later on in the morning of that day, toward nine
o'clock, We, the Bishop, Peter Cauchon, and the judges for the trial, were in
the Old Market Place close to the church of St. Savior. Present and in
attendance were the Bishop of Therouanne and the Bishop of Noyon with a number
of doctors, clerics, and lawyers. At the conclusion of the sermon preached to
Joan, we admonished her for the salvation of her soul to resolve to be
penitent for her wicked deeds. That she might be truly contrite we designated
twofriars of the Order of Preachers to be there near her for the sole purpose of
giving her continual spiritual guidance.
After these endeavors just mentioned We, the Bishop, and
the Deputy of the Inquisitor [were] mindful of the details above, in which it is
manifest that Joan, by persist ence in her wickedness, had feigned sorrow and
contrition with evil intent and diabolic obstinacy. She had profaned the divine
and holy name of God, an act of damnable
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
blasphemy. By proving herself an irreclaimable heretic,
relapsed and in error, she is worthless and not in the least deserving of any
mercy. THEREFORE, we pronounce this Final Sentence: IN THE NAME OF THE LORD,
AMEN
WE , Peter Cauchon, by divine mercy, the lowly Bishop of
Beauvais, and Friar John Le Maitre, the Deputy of the inquisitor of the Faith,
judges competent in this action,
WHEREAS,we deem you, Joan, who call yourself the Maid,
to be a relapsed heretic, fallen into a diversity of crimes and offenses,
schism, idolatry, invocation of demons, and sundry other evils
and
WHEREAS, in our just judgment we have so declared
you,
However, because the Church never folds its arms against
those who have the will to come back to her,
WE were of the opinion that, after full deliberation and
in full good faith you had turned away from all the evils you had cast off, when
you promised, vowed, and swore publicly never to embrace them again, nor any
other heresies whatsoever, but, instead, to abide in union and communion with
the Catholic Church and with our Holy Father the Pope, exactly as this is
embodied in the abjuration to which you set your own hand,
Nevertheless, and this we cry out with deep grief, "You
are for the second time a relapsed heretic, like a dog which has the habit of
going back to its vormit!" Therefore, we proclaim, "You have reincurred the
seritence of excommunication under which you first fell. You have fallen
back into your former sins.WE PRONOUNCE YOU A HERETIC."
From our tribunal in this court of justice, by this
sentence in these written terms, be it known,
WE throw you out of the unity of the Church, we discard
you as a rotten member.
53
JOAN OF ARC
WE give you up to secular justice, which we beg to deal
with you gently and generously in relation to your life and your
person.
Joan Put to Death
When this judgment was heard, the bishop, the
inquisitor, and a number of the judges betook themselves away from this
place and allowed Joan to remain on the scaffold alone.
At once the bailiff of Rouen, an Englishman, who was
ready, without further formality, without even pronouncing any sentence of
death against her, ordered Joan taken to the space for her
burning.
Joan, listening to this command, wept and cried out in
bewilderment, so that she moved the people and all those present to tears of
compassion.
Without the least delay the bailiff ordered the fire ht.
This was done.
And there she was burned shockingly, martyred indeed, an
example of monstrous cruelty.
For this reason a number of persons, some individuals of
importance, others just plain people, muttered wrathfully against the
English.
EPILOGUE
The Aftermath-Letters of Agitated mid Fulsome
Explanation
A TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER OUR KING [HENRY VI]
WROTE
TO THE PRELATES OF THE CHURCH, TO THE DUKES AND COUNTS
AND OTHER NOBLES, AND TO THE LOYAL CITIES OF OUR REALM IN
FRANCE
Reverend Father in God,
It is sufficiently well-known, reports are scattered in
every direction, that a woman who had herself called Joan
the
54
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
Maid, an erring
prophetess dressed like a man these two years or more, a state of affairs
contrary to divine law and to the condition of the female sex, an abomination to
God, while arrayed 'in this fashion was brought to our foremost enemy [Charles
VII]. To him and his adherents-churchmen, nobles, and the people-she gave
to understand (and she did this often) that she was sent by God. She prided
herself presumptuously on frequent and private message's from St. Michael 'in
person, as well as from a great multitude of heavenly angels and saints,
for instance, St. Catherine and St. Margaret. Through such deceits and by
the guarantee of assured future victories she beguiled and deluded
many.
She diverted the minds of men and women from the way of truth. She led them to a belief in fables and falsehoods. This is not all. She put on armor like a Knight or Equerry and designed a banner and what is more outrageous, through excessive pride and presumption she made the demand to have and to display the truly noble and surpassing Royal Arms of France. For this she was granted only partial permission. But she did display them during several battles and sieges, she and her brothers too, as is wellknown, namely, a shield azure, with two golden fieurs-delys and a sword point upward with its tip encircled by a crown! In such manner she took the field to lead groups and even whole companies of men-at-arms and archers. She caused and inflicted inhuman cruelties by shedding blood, by fomenting disorderland sedition, by cajoling the people to perjury and pernicious revolt, and to superstition and false beliefs. She disrupted all possibility of real peace by reviving a languishing war.
She allowed people to venerate and worship her as a
saintly woman. She did damnable work in divers other ways, too long to relate
here but well-known in certain localities.
55
JOAN OF ARC
Nearly the whole of Christianity has been scandalized by
such actions.
II
God in his Power took pity on His loyal people. He did
not leave them long in peril nor did He suffer them to abide in the new
credulity, vain and perilous as it was, into which they had entered without
heed. In His great mercy and forbearance He pemitted this woman to be captured
at Compiegne and to be placed under our authority and control. Since then the
Bishop of the diocese in which she was taken, in his office as her
ecclesiastical judge, has claimed her as a notorious woman of evil reputation,
guilty of the crime of lese majeste against God.
WE, both out of respect for our Holy Mother the Church,
whose saintly decrees we prefer to our own personal desires and will, and
for this further reason, the honor and exaltation of our Holy Faith, ordered the
above-mentioned Joan consigned to the Bishop so that he might bring her to
justice.
WE did not wish the lawyers and officials who administer
justice in our civil courts to concern themselves with the punishment and
penalty in her case (insofar as this is justifiable and within our legal rights)
after WE weighed the heavy damages, the troubles, the horrible killings,
the detestable cruelties, and other innumerable evils she had committed against
our realm and our loyal, obedient subj ects.
The Bishop in association with the Deputy Inquisitor for
Heresy and Error opened the trial of this woman Joan with great solemnity and
all due formality in the presence of a distinguished number of skilled
professors, doctors of theology, and doctors of canon law. The Bishop and
the Inquisitor, her judges in these legal proceedings, had this woman Joan
interrogated on diverse occasions for several
56
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
days. Her assertions and admissions were examined
exhaustively by the said professors and doctors, and then broadly speaking,
by all the Faculties of our dear and well-beloved daughter, the University of
Paris, to whom the said assertions and admissions were
sent.
In conformity with the decision and pronouncement [of
the University] the judges found Joan guilty on charges of superstition,
prophecy, and idolatry, a woman who had invoked devils and blasphemed God and
His saints, a schismatic gone far astray from the Faith of Jesus
Christ.
To convert her, to bring her back to Holy Mother the
Church, to cleanse her of such horrible, detestable, and pernicious sins and
crimes, to heal her soul and save it from eternal damnation, she was often and
at great length very gently and very charitably admonished that with all her
errors cast away and left behind she could return humbly to the straight
path and the way of truth, other-wise she put herself in grave peril of soul and
body.
III
Alas, as already noted, that very dangerous spirit of pride and outrageous presumption, which strives without ceasing to perturb and prevent the union and safety of faithful Christians, so-held her mind and filled her heart that Joan, obstinate and hardened against every sane doctrine, sound counsel, and tender exhortation, refused to soften her heart and humble herself. On the contrary she boasted frequently that everything she did was done well, that all she undertook was by command of God and the saintly virgins who appeared to her visibly. What is worse, she said she recognized and would recognize on this earth only [the authority] of God alone and that of her saints of heaven. She refused and rejected the authority of our Holy Father the Pope, that of a general council and of the Universal Church
57
JOAN OF ARC
Militant. Her ecclesiastical judges, realizing during
the long period of time [of her trial] her hardened and obstinate spirit, had
her brought before the clergy and the people gathered in great numbers. In their
presence a renowned doctor of theology presented a review of her case in a
sermon in which he publicly and solemnly explained and exposed her crimes and
errors, for the exaltation of our Christian faith, the up-rooting of errors, the
edification and improvement of Christian people. She was charitably
admomshed anew to return to the unity of Holy Church and to correct her
failings and her errors. Even after this she remained obstinate and
opinionated.
IV
For this reason the judges, in accordance with the law
and established practice in such a case, proceeded to pronounce sentence against
her. But before this sentence was read in its entirety, she made a move, or so
it seemed, to discard her stubborn spirit, announcing she wished to return to
Holy Church. Her judges and the clergy heard this withjoy and right good will,
hoping in this way to retrieve her soul and body from torment and perdition.
Then she submitted herself to the authority of the Church. She revoked and
abjured publicly, with words from her own lips, her errors and her detestable
crimes. She signed with her own hand the document of revocation and abjuration.
Then our Holy Mother Church who rejoices over the one sinner who does penance,
desiring to bring back to the fold the sheep strayed and lost in the desert,
condemned this womarijoan to prison [for life] to do salutary penance. She had
barely returned to prison before the fire of her pride, which had seemed
extinct, was ablaze with flames fanned by the pestilential breath of the
Devil. Before long this wretched woman fell back into the fatuous follies and
errors she had
58
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
previously held, the ones, as I have explamied, she did
abjure and revoke. Therefore, in conforrmity with the decrees and edicts of
Holy Mother the Church, this woman, fallen again, indeed, into her former errors
and blasphemies, was given over to civil justice and straightway condemned to be
burned in the fire lest she hereafter contaminate other followers of Our Lord
Jesus Christ. Realizmig the approach of death she fully adnUitted and confessed
that the spirits she said had appeared to her so often were evil ones and liars.
She admitted that their promise of her deliverance was a deceit. She
confessed that these spirits had mocked and betrayed her.
The case is closed! This woman and her work ended in
death!
V
WE notify you now, Reverend Father in God, to acquaint
you with the whole truth of this affair, so that wherever you may deem it
appropriate in your diocese, sermons may be delivered in public or 'in another
manner to proclaim these facts for the benefit and advantage of our Holy Faith
and for the edification of Christian people, wronged and deceived for so long a
time by the mischief of this woman and her work. By these means you will provide
yourself with the power, as it behooves your eminent authority, to save every
individual soul confided to your care from audacious, heedless faith in such
errors and perilous superstitions. One noticeable peculiarity of the
present age is the appearance of several false prophets and sowers of damnable
errors and false beliefs who with foolhardy daring and outrageous
presumption rise up against our Holy Mother the Church. They would, perforce,
pollute Christianity, with the poison of false belief, unless Christ Our
Lord in His Mercy forestall them and unless you and His
59
JOAN OF ARC
other officials, as behooves you, work together with
perseverance to punish and destroy the whims and the perfidious daring of
these reprobates.
GIVEN IN OUR CITY OF ROUEN THE 28TH DAY OF JUNE
1431
[This next letter of Henry VI was written to guarantee
royal protection for everyone in any way concerned with the trial of Joan of
Arc.]
A TRUE COPY OF THE LETTER OF HENRY VI, DATED 12 JUNE
1431
Henry By The Grace Of God, King Of France And England,
To All Those To Whom These Presents May Come,
Greeting
It is now some time since WE heeded the pleas and the petition of our very dear and truly well-beloved daughter, the University of Paris, that a woman who had herself called Joan the Maid and who was captured while bearing arms by one of our subjects in the diocese of Beauvais within the limits of the spiritual jurisdiction of the bishop of that see, be given up, handed over, and transferred to the Church. She was a notorious woman, unfavorably known and under suspicion of havm'g said, repeated, and spread in several and varied places and regions of our Realm of France distinctly dangerous errors. To the great scandal of the entire Christian world she committed, perpetrated, and was guilty of excesses, misdeeds, and crimes most monstrous against our Holy Catholic Faith. On several and different occasions WE were requested and urged with diligent insistence by our beloved and faithful counsellor, the Bishop of Beauvais, the judge in ordinary of this woman, to consent to surrender, transfer, and deliver her to him, to judge, punish, and sentence her-provided that, after a trial conducted in due and lawful form, she was found guilty and convicted of the above-mentioned errors, crimes, excesses, and offenses, or anyone or several of them.
60
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
WE as a good Catholic and son of the Church, following
in the footsteps of our predecessors, the Kings of France did not wish to do
anything that could or might, in any way, delay or obstruct the Holy Inquisition
of our Hallowed Faith. With the realization that the proceedings of the
Holy Inquisition are preferable to those of secular and temporal justice in
rendering to every individual what is his by right, [WE] gave an order to
have this woman transferred and delivered to our Counsellor, her judge in
ordinary as indicated above, for him to inquire into her errors, crimes,
excesses, and offenses and to insdtute legal proceedings against her
insofar as he deemed this justified. For these proceedings the Deputy
Inquisitor, in the absence of the Inquisitor, was associated with the Bishop,
our Counsellor. Together they conducted their investigation and the trial
against this woman's errors, crimes, excesses, and offenses so well that in
their final sentence this woman, after she had positively and in public
abjured her errors, crimes, excesses, and offenses, embraced them again (this is
clear in the record of her trial), and, at last, was declared a relapsed
heretic, cast aside, abandoned, and handed over to the secular court in which
she was condemned to be burned and to die in the fire. In this way she was put
to death.
II
Should there perchance be some who give the errors and
misdeeds of this woman their approval or others who decide and endeavor
perversely, through hatred or vengeance or other motives, to interfere with the
lawful judgment of our Holy Mother the Church and to draw from the legal action
of those responsible for the trial [of this woman] cause to cite before our Holy
Father or the General Council or any other court of law the Reverend Father in
God, the
61
JOAN OF ARC
Bishop of Beauvais, the Deputy of the Inquisitor, the
Doctors, the Masters, the Clergy, the Plaintiffs, the Lawyers, the
Counsellors, the Notaries, or any others active in this
trial,
WE, as the Protector and Defender of our Holy Catholic
Faith are resolved to support, sustain, and defend the said judges, Doctors,
Masters, Clergy, Plaintiffs, Lawyers, Counsellors, Notaries, and all others who
were active in any manner whatever during this particular trial, and to support,
sustain, and defend them in all they declared and decided in each and every
detail of the circumstances and conditions that surround and affect this trial,
so that from this time forth alliudges, Doctors, Masters, and all others
[concerned] shall be more inclined, disposed, and encouraged to promote and
undertake, without fear or dismay, the extirpation of errors and false doctrines
which-and we say this with sorrow-arise and multiply in this present time
through various regions of Christianity.
WE have been duly and personally informed that the said
trial began and ended with the deliberation, thejustice, and the reverence
required by the laws of the Church. For this and the further reason that the
burden of the accusation [against this woman] was based upon the decisions of
the Doctors and Masters of the Faculties of Theology and of Decrees of the
Ujiversity of Paris, our very dear and well beloved daughter, and upon the
opinions of a group of Bishops, Abbots, and Prelates, all Doctors, Masters, and
Clerks, expert in the laws of God and the Church, with other churchmen in great
numbers, of whom the entire group or the greater part were daily present and in
attendance with the said judges, questioning this woman and conducting her
trial,
WE pledge our word as Kinor to aid and defend and to
give aid and defense at our personal cost and expense, in
court
62
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY
and out of court, if it happen that any individual
whatever (regardless of his state, dignity, degree, preeminence and authority,
be he judge, Doctor, Master, Clerk, Plamitiff, Lawyer, Counsellor, Notary, or
anyone else) who was concerned with, worked for or was heard during the trial
[of this woman] should be summoned to appear on account of this trial and its
circumstances, before our Holy Father the Pope, or the General Council, or
before the Commissioners or Deputies of either, or in any other
way.
On their behalf in such a court action, wEfor the honor
of God, respect for the Church, and the defense of our Holy Faith, will oppose
the legal proceedings brought against any of these persons, no matter what their
state or circumstances, and wEwill pursue this course under every aspect
and point of law and legality, at our own expense.
WE command all our Ambassadors and Messengers, those of
the Blood Royal and Lineage and all others, who are or will be in the Court of
Rome or at the General Council, all Bishops, Prelates, Doctors, and Masters, all
our subjects and loyal followers in our realms of France and England, and the
Procurators of our Kingdoms in the Court of Rome, and each of them in every
instance when they hear or have cognizance (or there be need as the occasion
above mentioned arises) that theJudges, Doctors, Masters, Clerks, Plaintiffs,
Lawyers, Counsellors, Notaries, and others or any one of them, are to be brought
to court and tried before the Pope, the Council, or other legal authority, to
join together in our name, without the least delay, for the aid and defense of
the above-mentioned Judges, Doctors, Masters, Clerks, Plaintiffs, Lawyers,
Counsellors, Notaries, andall others or any one of them by all ways and means,
canonical and juridical. Let them require the subjects of
63
JOAN OF ARC
our Realms, present here at this time, and the subjects
of the Kings, Princes, and Nobles, allied and in league with us to give them
aid, counsel, favor, and assistance in this matter by all possible ways and
means without the least delay or difficulty.
in witness whereof WE have had our ordinary seal affixed
to these presents in the absence of the great seal.
Dated at Rouen, the 12th day of June in the year of
grace 143 1 and of our reign the 9th.
[on the fold]
By the King at the relation of his Great Council.
Present were the Cardinal of England [Henry Beaufort], You [the Chancellor of
France, Louis of Luxembourg], the Bishop of Beauvais [Peter Cauchon], the Bishop
of Noyon [jean de Mailly], and the Bishop of Norwich [William Alnwick], with the
Earl of Warwick [Richard Beauchamp], and the Earl of Stafford [Humphrey
Buckingham], the Abbot of Fe'camp [Gilles de Duremont], and the Abbot of Mont
St. Michel [Robert Johvet], and [John] Lord Stafford, [Ralph] Lord Cromwell,
[John] Lord Tiptoft, Peter Count of St. Pol, and several
others.
Thus signed:
CALOT
64
COMMENTS ON THE LIFE OF JOAN
OF ARC
(p 13 to p
14)
With his remark, The chronicles differ and
disagree," the compiler of this first Life awakens interesting expectations. He
increases our interest when he lists the chronicles he has read: Froissart,
Monstrelet, Gaguin. Although he does not say directly that his intention is
to point out his sources (this is a battered word but there is none to take its
place) his purpose is to make a favorable impression on his readers by telling
them where he has searched for his details. With an air of disarming frankness
he seems to list his "recognized authorities."
Jean
Froissart
(1338-1410?) of course, he knew he must mention to give his readers a
definite assurance of the breadth of his own reading. He knew better than we may
understand now that no one of his day expected him to find a word about Joan of
Arc in Froissart. Yet the very purpose or reason for his writing about Joan of
Arc at all was based upon the systematic design Froissart followed; his
philosophy of history was to point out events of the recent past in France and
England "worthy of lasting memory.”
Here is Froissart's
explanation of his appreciation of the value of history taken from page I
of volume I in Thomas Johne's translation of the Chronicles of England
and France .... We use the 1839 edition.
That the honourable
enterprises, noble adventures, and deeds of arms performed in the wars between
England and France may be properly related and held in perpetual remembrance-to
the end that brave men taking example from them may be encouraged in their
well-doing, I sit down to record a history deserving great
praise....
65
JOAN OF
ARC
Monstrelet (1400-1453) is another
matter. It is gratifying to have him mentioned by the compiler without the
slightest antipathy to his fervent Anglo-Burgundian judgment on Joan of Arc.
(Our indication of chapters 'in Monstrelet refers to Buchon's edition.) In
chapter LIX of Bk. 2 Motistrelet depicts the feelings of the inhabitants of
Orleans during the oppressive siege before the coming of Joan of Arc. They are,
he says, aware of the peril of falling "into the servitude and subjection of
their enemies [the English]." (En la servittide et obeyssance de leurs
enneinis.) Our compiler writes of the thanks the French owe to God for
freeing them from that fall "into the servitude and subjection of their old
enermies, the English." (En la subiection et sertlitude des anciens
enneinys de France, les Angloys.) Monstrelet has been of
service.
Now and in what measure
Robert Gaouin was used will be pointed out later on. He was a friend of Erasmus
and he wrote a history, not a compiled chronicle. The "Great Chronicles of
France 11 are better known as the Great Chronicles of Saint Denis. Afier the
death of Charles VI on 21 October 1422 these records were not continued until
Jean Chartier took up the task in 1437. The compiler owes Chartier's
Chronicle of Charles VII an enormous debt. Our references are to Vallet de
Viriville's edition. The so-called Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris is a
source the compiler for his own reasons preferred not to mention. The sentence,
[Joan was] burned to death in the city of Rouen for her misdeeds," is a direct
quotation. (Journal, Tuetey's ed., P. 3 54).
When the
compiler wrote, "All the work she did was by command of God," he took this from
Joan's words during the trial. On Wednesday 2 May she told her judges, "In
regard to my work and my words, as I have explained before, I refer and submit
them all to God, who ordered me to do what I have done."
66
AUTHORS
COMMENTS
THE ENGLISH LAY SIEGE TO
ORLEANS
(p 14 to p
16)
This section's first
paragraph does not squander details in its succinct summary of eleven terrible
years of invasion. From I August 1417, when Henry V relanded in France to
recover "the old dominion of Aquitaine and the duchy of Normandy" (Burne The
Agincourt War, 115), to the first day in the siege of Orleans, 12 October
1428, the ignoble art of war created disaster for both England and France. The
folios of the chronicles, French, Burgundian, and English, overflow with heroism and
horror, futile death and noble devotion, as they record that tumultuous era when
"Normandy, Picardy, Champagne, Maine, Anjou, Touraine, and Beauce" felt the
logical results of fifteenth-century politics gone awry, the flail of
war.
When our compiler dates the
beginning of the siege 1429, he is copying from Jean Chartier, who, in his
chapter 32 wrote, ”l’an mil CCCC vingt et neuf fust mis le siege devant la ville
d'Orleans par le conte de Salbery." (Vallet de Viriville's edition 1, 60).
Chartier is not the source of the remark reducing the number of forts built by
the English around Orleans to four. We have not discovered where this falsely
precise information came from.
In his design to keep his
paragraphs sparse the compiler discards any discussion of the two plans the
English had "for their advance" south into France. This problem proposed a
choice, Orleans or Angers. Bedford argued for Angers. He lost and never went
near Orleans. How this came about is submerged in the rigid silence of
official records. Had his scheme developed into an actual attack on the city in
Anjou, Joan of Arc would be known as "The Maid of Angers," a destructive blow to
that strange segment of French opinion which, by using the phrase "Maid of
Orleans" as a pretext, claims to believe Joan was the bastard daughter of the
Duke of Orleans and Isabelle of Bavaria, Charles VI's queen. The Estates of
Normandy, meeting in Rouen, that is, the authorized representatives of the
higher clergy, the nobility, and the wealthy
67
merchants, were told in July
1428 by Pierre Surreau, who was charged with receiving and disbursing English
government funds in France, and who had attended the deliberations of the Great
Council in Paris, that Orleans not Angers was to be besieged. (Bibl. Nat., MS
fr. 4488, folios 655-56).
Bedford had valid political
reasons not to approve of Joan of Arc. She was a mere girl who crumbled the
English dream of conquest. He penned his bitter opinion of the girl and of the
choice of Orleans over Angers in a furious letter Of 143 3 written to Henry VI:
"And all things in [France] prospered for you till the time of the siege of
Orleans, taken in hand, God knoweth by what advice. At the which
time ... there fell, by the handof God, as it seemed, a great stroke upon your
people ... caused in great part... [by] a disciple and limb of the Fiend, called
the Pucelle, that used false enchantments and sorcery.(Proceedings and
Ordinances of the Privy Council of England, IV, 223).
Today England harbors two
opposed estimates of Joan of Arc. One is favorable, the other echoes Bedford. A
pungent example of this was penned in 1961 by the brilliant critic and novelist,
Rayner Heppenstall, for whom Joan remains "That dreadful girl, the most
detrimental figure in European history." (The Fourfold Tradition,
33).
The geographical litany of
the regions of France "seized and held" by the English- 'Normandy, Picardy,
Champagne, Maine, Anjou, Touraine, and Beauce" (this last the portion of
Orle'anais north of the Loire) is, with the exception of Touraine, satisfactory.
Thomas Duke of Clarence had penetrated into Anjou as far south as Bauge' to die
there in a brief, explosive military disaster. Salisbury then executed a
brilliant retreat into Normandy, collected fresh troops, and thrust his return
into Anjou with relentless vigor to reach the walls of Angers. But Anjou was
never entirely in the hands of the English. Maine,
68
on the other hand, was
captured completely. The shattering victory of Verneuil broke the barriers
defending this region. Cruel defeats at Le Mans and Mayenne ended serious
resistance there. For Champagne and Plcardy the Duke of Burgundy held enough of
both regions to make them secure for the English. Normandy, except for Mont St.
Michel which never fell, endured an English yoke for decades. Touraine is the
only misplaced item in the compiler's litany of losses. Fierbols, Loches,
Chinon, Tours with the rest of Touraine were never wrenched from Charles VII. In
each of these regions the temperature of sentiment favorable to Charles VII
fluctuated. When it cooled into collaboration against him, the justification was
the claim of an eternal French privilege, excessive individualism,
sometimes a synonym for expediency. Pages of French history before
Charles VII and after him up to the present are stamped with the claim of this
disturbing distinction. The inflexible integrity of leaders as diverse as Joan
of Arc and General de Gaulle represent, by contrast with this ever ripe
opportunism, the real grandeur of France.
There is a remark in the
manuscript that occasioned arguments with friends and acquamitances who
pride themselves as being knowledgeable in French history or geography: "[The
English] aimed at capturing [Orleans] to provide themselves with a passage…into
the territory of Berry and Auvergne and other areas beyond even as far a Lyons."
Here Lyons was the stumbling block that bruised them the most. To assuage the
pain of others who may be grazed by the mention of this city as an English
objective at the time of Joan of Arc we offer the tranquilizing authority of
this statement on p. 198 of Colonel
Burne's study, The Agincourt
War, ". . . towns as far distant as Lyons began to tremble for their
safety." The opinion of Professor Jacob on page 191 of The Fifteenth Century
should heal all afflicting doubts, at one time Salisbury looked likely to
threaten Lyon."
These details- Salisbury's
death, the direction of the siege,
69
JOAN OF
ARC
the embassy for Orleans to
the Duke of Burgundy, and Bedford's reply of refusal-are taken from chapter
34 of Jean Chartier, pp. 63-66 in ValIet de Viriville's edition, and from Robert
Gaguin's Compendium super Francos, Lib. X, folios CXVI to CXVII-the
edition of 1504 in the Rare Book Collection of Yale University Library.
Bedford's testy reply to Burgundy, after the emissaries from Orleans visited
him, is put into a stimulating Latin rendering by Gaguin, folio CXVIL lines 5-7,
"Audita legatione Bethfortus non ego, inquit, dumos sentesque discussi ut alter
avibus potiatur. Aurelianenses pro mea voluntate subjugatos recipiarn et quas
per totam. obsidionem impensas feci eas compessabunt."
JOAN OF ARC MEETS CHARLES
VII
(p 17 to p
22)
The Voices: Details about this "young
girl called Joan" are from Chartier, ch. 36, the Geste des nobles, ch.
250, the Chron. de la Pucelle, chs. 421-43, and the Minutes of her trial.
Her reluctance to confide in her parents, glanced at in Chron. de la
Pucelle, is argued in detail during the trial. She was asked on Thursday 22
February 1431, the second day she appeared before herjudges "What
instruction did your Voices give you for the good of your soul?" Her reply
explained, "My Voices said it was necessary for me to go into France but my
father must know nothing about it." She added, "I went to an uncle's house. He
brought me to Robert de Baudricourt."
Two weeks
and three days later, on Monday 12 March, the prickly subject came up again. "Do
you believe you did well to leave home without permission of your father and
mother?" Joan retorted, "I obeyed them well in everything except about leaving
home. But since then I wrote them a
letter and they forgave me." And, there are those who declare Joan could
neither read nor write!
The pious
judges, not impressed, continued, "Did you ask your Voices if you should tell
your father and mother of your going?" Joan explained patiently, "My Voices were
willing enough for me to tell my father and mother-but they
would
70
AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
have put difficulties in my
way, if I had. For my part, nothing could have made me tell them! My Voices gave
me this choice: tell your father and mother or say nothing." There is a curious
variation here from her first explanation. The devout judges, not yet nagged
into irritation by the length of the trial, let it pass. The magic of her voice,
the mystery of her presence were still in her favor.
The author of the Journal
d'un Bourgeois de Paris wrote in his diary for 1431, after Joan's death,
"St. Catherine and St. Margaret appeared to her and said, 'Go to a captain whom
we will name.' She went but without the permission of her father or mother."
(ed. Tuetey, 267.) He was a University of Paris adherent, embarrassed as his
Alma Mater was, by the Maid.
Ville Robert: Robert de Baudricourt did
give Joan an escort for her hazardous, foolhardy, successful voyage to Chinon.
"Ville Robert," mentioned only by Chartier, was not one of the group. We are
almost convinced that Chartier's secretary, ever absent-minded, was thinking as
he wrote of someone named Robert whose nickname was "ville," an Old French form
of veille, and this would mean perhaps "Robert the Night Watch" (see Littre').
Baudricourt's first name helped his inattention. Joan gave a summary account of
her journey to the inquisitive judges. On Thursday 22 February 1431, this detail
was in her remarks, "When I left Vaucouleurs I was accompanied by a knight, and
esquire, and four servitors." We learn the names of her escort from witnesses
for her vindication.
The Sword: The mysterious sword is
another matter. During the trial on Tuesday, 27 February 1431, Joan answered the
first questions of the subtle Doctor of Theology Jean Beaupere. Learned but
cautious, he was wise, he thought, to seek a possible influence of sorcery in
this sword. He began, "Did you ever go to St. Catherine de Fierbois?" Joan's
detailed reply said in part,
71
JOAN OF
ARC
Yes, and one day while I was
there I heard three Masses. From St. Catherine de Fierbois I went on to Chinon
... While I was in Tours -it may have been Chinon-I sent this request for a
sword which was in the church of St. Catherine de
Fierbois:
SEARCH OUT A SWORD WHICH IS
IN THE CHURCH BEHIND THE ALTAR.
It was found at once but was
all covered with rust.
Beaupere broke in at this
point to inquire, "How did you know the sword was there?" Joan kept on as if she
had not heard. "The sword was in the ground. It was rusty and five crosses were
marked on it." Then as if she caught his question,
I knew it was there because
my Voices told me. I never saw the man who went to look for it. I had written to
the priests of that place to ask them for the sword. They sent it. It seems to
me it was a little underground behind the altar. However, I am not sure exactly
if it was in front or behind the altar, but I think I wrote at the time that the
sword was behind the altar. When it was located the clergy of the church rubbed
it hard (confricaverunt) and all at once the rust dropped off without
injury [to the sword]. It was an armorer (artnarius) of Tours-some manuscripts
call him "a dealer in weapons" (mercator armorum)-who went to search for
it. The priests of St. Catherine presented me with a scabbard. At the same time
the priests of Tours had two others made, one of deep red velvet, the second of
golden cloth. I had another made of very tough leather.
We believe
that the writer of this Life never read what Joan said about the sword at the
trial. He relied exclusively on the chronicles at his disposal. This explains
why he accepts their not-quite-correct details in the first place, the "five
fleurs-de-lys" instead of Joan's "five crosses." He takes this peculiar
error fromJean Chartier, the original and much-copied source of the confusion.
Long ago in 18 5 8 Vallet de Viriville examined all the extant manuscripts and
printed copies of Chartier. A few mention "five little swords" but by far the
greater number .repeat "five fleurs-de-lys." Not a single one is satisfied with
Joan s readily understood description. We think the good monk knew better. He
preferred, we venture to say, a symbol of monarchy to one of religion. A less
likely explanation has
72
AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
been suggested to us,
namely, that the scribe, toiling away for jean Chartier and reading the Chron.
de la Pucelle, was captivated by the description there of the
scabbard and transferred his delight in it to the sword (Chron. p. 2,77). "When
the sword was brought to her she had a scabbard made for it spangled with
fleurs-de-lys (parseme).
Once put into circulation
this specific mention of the symbol of French royalty continued to be repeated.
The monk Pierre Empis, always concise, eschews numbers but holds to the symbol:
"a sword on which fleurs-de-lys were engraved" (une epee stir laquelle des
lis e'taient sculpte's). Readers will find Empis easily in Ayroles 3, 481. A
resounding contrast with Empis is given in the Chron. de Philippe de
Vianeulles, "On both sides this sword was marked and covered with
fleurs-de-lys" (ed. Charles Bruneau, 2, 199), and in Robert Gaguin's
Compendium which describes the "antiquum ensem inter sacras oblationes
utraque parte liIiis insculptum." (Bk X, fol. CXVII). Joan's account of the five
crosses is followed faithfully in the Chron. de la Pucelle (p. 277) and
by the Journal du Siege in its entry for Thursday 17 February 1429. With
gay Italian enthusiasm the Chronicle of Antonio Morosini raises the number of
crosses to nine (Morosini 3, 109). Two others tell of the sword without
decoration. First, Italian Guerneri Berni writes, "Questa Pulzella si fece dare
una spada che era in una chiesa, " (Q 4, 519). Second,, The Clerk of the City of
La Rochelle goes into full details about the recovery of the sword but omits all
mention of its embellishment (Revue historique, 1877, 4, 338). The
Chron. de Lorraine transfers the discovery of the sword to the Cathedral of
Chartres. In this chronicle whenjoan met the king she demanded, "Make sure that
I have the swordwhich is in Notre Dame of Chartres." (Q 4,
332.)
Caxton, a contemporary of
Joan of Arc, does not mention her sword. Other English chroniclers, for example
Edward Hall and Holinshed, both sources of Henry V1, Part 1, do not
neglect the weapon. Hall, aghast that "wise men did believe" Joan, exclaims,
"What should I speake how she had by revelaclon a swerde, to her appoynted
in the churche of saincte
73
JOAN OF
ARC
Katheryn of Fierboys in
Torayne where she never had been." Holinshed paints in more
details,
Then at the Dolphins sending
by hir assignement, from saint Katharins church of Fierbois in Touraine
(where she never had beene and knew not) in a secret place there among old iron,
and appointed She hir sword to be sought out and brought hir, that with five
floure delices was graven on both sides, wherewith she fought and did manie
slaughters by hir owne hands. (Bullough's Sources of
Shakespeare, pp. 27 and 75).
In Henry V1, Part I,
Joan is heard to say,
I am prepar'd: here is my
keen-edg'd sword, Deckd with five flower-de-luces on each side; The which at
Touraine, in Saint Katharine's churchyard, Out of a great deal of old iron I
chose forth.
(Act 1, sc. 2,
98-101.)
A representative of German
medieval culture, Eberhard Windecke, added in his chronicle a new story, albeit
a bloody one, to the legend of the sword. Joan, angered at the reappearance
of two camp followers (zwei fahrende Tochter) she had ordered away from
the army, "drew her sword and cut off the head of one of them. The girl died."
(Lefevre-Pontalis, Les Sources allemandes, 99)_
In the Commentaries
of Pius II, Joan dispels Charles VII's doubts and misgivings about reaching
Reims for his coronation with this terse vaunt, "With an invisible sword I will
clear your way." (Q 4, 510. Joan of Arc's sword of Fierbois once just a fact
became a legend with variegated nuances until the fancy of a Renaissance Pope
fashioned it into a spectral blade. Variety adds piquant zest to the annals of a
former day.
Joan s positive "No" to the
question, "Were you ever in St. Catherine de Fierbois?" would be a problem if it
could not be unraveled easily. Chartier again is the culprit. In the Chron.
de la Pucelle he read, "Did you ever see the sword before?" Joan's reply was
"No." Chartier shifted this "No" from the sword to the locality where it was
found. Why? Was he humoring his desire to add a tint of the miraculous to the
palette
74
AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
of the marvelous his brush
was using to portray Joan? Jean Bouchet in his Annales d'Aquitaine
(Ayroles 3, 294) and Philippe de Vigneulles repeat this inept morsel. Joan the
saint, frank, healthy, and refreshing, needs none of this offensive fervor. in
the Journal du Siege the "No" does not go astray.
Joan’s Skill: Echoes of the exclamations
of surprise and delight in Chinon over Joan s horsemanship and her skill with a
lance (the type of lance she used is never specified) found an immediate
response of admiration in the pens of Joan's contemporaries. A letter of 22
April 1429,written in Lyons and sent to Brussels, reports, "Each day the Maid in
armor, astride a horse and with a lance in her hand rides with the king's
forces." Edmond de Dynther's chronicle repeats this word for word (Ay. 3, 539; Q
4,426). The monk who wrote thefirst mention ofJoan put this information 'in his
chronicle between 18 and 30 June 1429. "She performs wondrous deeds of arms. She
handles the thrust of a lance with great power and readily avails herself of its
aid, as can be seen day after day." The clerk who recorded news as it reached La
Rochelle wrote in his register,
As soon as her armor was
made she put it on, went out into the fields of Poitiers with other armed
combatants where she handled her lance as well or better than any man there. She
rode spirited chargers, the capricious ones that no one else dared mount without
fear. (p. 338)
Poitiers is a slip of the
pen but the admiration is correct.
These earliest reports take
her strength for granted. Later writers, mo re satisfactory about her energy, are sometimes contradictory.
In the Chron. de la Pucelle Joan is "strong with a well-formed body." The
Augustinian friar, jacobo Phihppo Bergamo, whose remarkable imagination located
Orleans on the Rhone, describesJoan as "small in stature indeed but very strong
(praevalida) in her entire body." Alain Bouchard prefers her "tall and
very beautiful." The Chron. de Lorraine says Joan was a young girl of great vigor and
strength, tall and power-
75
JOAN OF
ARC
ful." Holinshed agrees: "Of
favour was she counted likesome, of person stronglie made and manlie, of courage
great, hardie, and stout withall …”
In sworn testimony for her
vindication in 1456 two of Joan’ s intimate friends recall her skill with horse
and lance. She took a natural delight in her dazzling energy. Her audience did
too. The Duke of Alengon remembered,
After dinner [one day in
Chinon] the king went for a walk in the grounds [of the castle]. In that very
place Joan tilted with a lance, When I saw she held and tilted the lance seemly,
I gave her a horse. (Q 3, 92; D-T 5, 211)
Marguerite La Touroulde,
with whom Joan had lodged in Bourges, paid the younger woman this compliment,
"Joan on horseback handled a lance like an expert among the soldiers, all of
whom were astonished." (Q, 3, 88; D-T 5, 209). These two remarks, expanded by
future writers, became the source of enlarged stories. The Chron. de
Lorraine, as usual more like fiction than history, transfersJoan's first
action with a lance to the Duchy of Lorraine. Baudricourt has come with Joan to
Duke Charles. Astonished when she assures him she will ride and show her skill
with a lance, although she never did either before, the duke gives her a steed,
armor, and a lance. Joan, spurning the stirrup, blithely leaps into the saddle
and runs a faultless tilt to gain the fascinated approval of the assembled local
nobility. just a slender trifle for a saint in a saddle! (Q 4, 331). In a burst
of eloquence Pius II gives her a spear, compares her to Camilla, and "mounts her
on a spirited steed" which she made "leap, run, and
curvet."
The Secret: We need not wonder about
the detailed account here in which Joan divulges to the king the secret prayer
he alone knew about. The sources for this, which the biographer for Louis XII
admits he has not read, could be Pierre Sala and Alain Bouchard. Both give us
gentle examples of naive hagiography, both propagate the pious fraud that
Joan's parents took
76
AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
her to Charles VII. Nothing
for them, it appears, succeeds like the successful unraveling of a royal secret,
no matter how private the circumstances (Ay. 3,277-8 and 287-8; Q 4,268-71
and 2,79-80). There will always be zealous people not timid about undertaking
the adventure of prying into others' affairs, even their prayers. We do not need
a Freud to explain this proclivity.
“As many ... as you can
afford to pay…” Soldiers have to be paid. Joan knew this. Les Payeurs
d'Armes by Fremont gives an interesting account of the sums received by
different classes of soldiers.
3. CHARLES VII SENDS JOAN TO
BLOIS ...
(p 22 to p 26)
Troops and
Materiel:
Joan asked the King for troops and was given them to help her break the English
blockade around Orleans. This is certain. The question, "How many?"
introduces at once less certainty because her answer, given on Tuesday
27 February 1431 and preserved for us only in the Latin translation of the trial
record, leaves us wide-eyed. The French minutes for this detail do not exist. In
the translation Joan's surprising reply reads, "He gave me ten or twelve
thousand men." (X vel X11 milia hominum). If the accuracy of this figure
is doubted, remember herjudges were her enemies. The eminent theologian,
Thomas Courcelles, who did the translation, was the most bitter of all. His
hatred is steady, intense. To know what this means refer to his vapid remarks
for her vindication. Father Paul Doncoeur's brilliant study, La Minuteftan~aise
des Interrouatoires de Jeanne la Pucelle, indicates where Courcelles stealthily
altered the original minutes. The lost French original prevents a decision on
the problem of the ten or twelve thousand troops. Abbe' Dubois, who knew
more about the siege than any other scholar, voices a judicious doubt about
Joan's reply in his Histoire du Siege d'Orleans, ed. by Charpentier and
Cuissard, 407-408.
77
JOAN OF
ARC
Many witnesses for Joan's
vindication hammer away repeatedly on two themes, her belief in the work she was
to do at Orleans and her success there. When the din dies down the voice of
Franqois Garivel, a member of the King's Council in 1456, arouses our interest
afresh. He tells us something new.We listen again. In that hopeful spring of
1429 he had talked to Joan in Poitiers. He questioned her about the number
of troops she would need for
Orleans. She answered "If the King answered, is willing to give me a body
of troops hotvever sinall in number (quantalamcumque), I have no doubt
that the work will be done."
This sounds like Joan
talking, calm, assured, confident. The phrase "ten or twelve thousand" does
not.
"Small in number" may be an
accurate estimate of the troops Joan was given. When she arrived before Orleans
she had an argument with the Bastard, the "lieutenant general there for the King
in matters of war." Joan's indignation over the route followed to the Loire "by
way of the Sologne side" flared into words of reproach. The Bastard, not plagued
with pompous self-importance, explained his decision
generously.
The English are here in
large numbers. The army escorting the convoy did not appear to me nor to the
other captains a sufficient force to resist them and to ensure the
entrance of the convoy on [the Beauce] side.
Ten or
twelve thousand troops would have been more than a sufficient
force.
Joan’s military chaplain,
the Augustinian friar Jean Pasquerel who enjoyed exaggeration, spoke clearly on
this point in his statement for her vindication. "In comparison with the English
the troops of the King [for the march to Orleans] were small (modica) in
numbers." His words deprive us of the need of further comment on the "ten or
twelve thousand." The strength of the English forces around Orleans has been
studied alertly by Boucher de Molandon and Adalbert de Beaucorps in their
earnest research, L'Arine'e anglaise sous les Murs d'Orleans. Louis
Jarry's book has an equal interest, Le Compte de l'Armee anglaise au Siege
d'Orleans.
78
AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
Opinions: The King endorsed Joan. His
counsellors approved her. That she was not accepted by all his advisers with
equal enthusiasm is natural. She was an outsider, a girl. Her feminine presence
created its own disturbance. Not that she ruffled the calmness of masculine
emotions or mind. She was merely a woman, disturbance enough to upset the
conservative. Echoes of distrust and disapproval are in the notes of the Dean of
the Collegiate Church of St. Thibaud of Metz. His language is quaint,
graphic:
The English held
the siege before Orleans, a siege wonderfully nailed down (clout). Then the Maid
asked and beseeched the King to be willing to find some of his people for her.
"I will undertake, for the delight of God, to raise the siege, to battle the
English. I have no doubt that I will halloo to victory." Then the captains of
the king made derision and mockery, "Look, our valiant champion and captain! She
will recover the kingdom of France?" They muttered against the King and his
counsellors, aH except the Duke of Alengon and a courageous captain of good will
named La Hire.
(Q 4,
327)
The testimony of Joan's
young page, Louis de Coutes who idolized her, is more impressive. In 1456 he had
not forgotten his pang of surprise in 1429,
From Tours Joan went to
Blois in the company of the troops of the King. This group [of soldiers] at that
time did not have the least trust in Joan, (illotunc habebat minimam fiduciam
in eodem Johanna). (D-L, 5, 197).
This lack of confidence in
Joan may have had its murky origin in the influence of the enigmatic Archbishop
of Reims, Regnault de Chartres, who had presided over the commission of
churchmen in Poitiers where it had been agreed that the King might make use of
Joan's help. Toward Joan he had a diplomat's pitiless superiority. His letter to
the people of Reims afier Joan's capture is heartless, an expressive nod of
adverse opinion more subtle than avowed hatred (Q 5, 168).
79
JOAN OF
ARC
Blois: Time and an explosion of
fury during the French Revolution have destroyed all trace ofJoan of Arc's
days in the city of Blois. No chronicle even hints at the location of her
residence. The Chron. de la Pucelle gives us a garbled relation of a short
religious ceremony.
During her stay in
Blois she had a white [the color of unbleached linen] standard made on which
were images of our Holy Savior and two angels. She had this blessed in the
church of Our Holy Savior.
In reality this standard was
made in Tours. The chronicle must mean the smaller banner which her chaplain
carried. Today a plaque near the castle marks the site of this little church
wrecked by the enthusiasm of the French Revolution. Simon Beaucroix, the married
cleric who gave his opinion ofjoan for her vindication, remembered that she
returned to Blois after the triumph of freeing Orleans. He does not say why.
Today in Blois the most satisfactory evidence ofJoan's presence in the city is
the American tribute to her mi the Public Gardens, an equestrian statue
overlooking the river Loire, the gifi of a New York philanthropist Mr. J.
Sanford Saltus and his friends, dedicated 13 August 1923. This is a replica of
the statue to Joan by Ann Hyatt (Mrs. Huntington) on Riverside Drive, New York
City. The artist has captured in bronze one abrupt, taut split-second of a
br-usque stop, horse and rider tense, motionless before the decisive
onrush.
Joan s Letters: The cross
with the words Jesus Maria on Joan's letter to the English incited the
curiosity of her judges. On Saturday 17 March 143 1, during the afternoon
questioning, they asked her, "You mark your letters with the sign Jesus Maria?
What does this mean?" Joan replied laconically, "The secretaries added them.
Some said it was becoming for me to use these two words, Jesus Maria."
This repeated question must have bored Joan, for two weeks before on Thursday 1
March
8o
AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
they had asked her, "Is it
your custom to begin your letters with the names Jesus Maria and a cross?
I " She replied clearly, " On some letters, Yes; on others, No I Then she
revealed a secret agreement. "At times I used the cross to warn those who
understood [what it meant] not to do what I had written in that letter." The
'udges accepted this and went on to read to her the entire letter to the
English. She gave them prompt answers to their prying inquiries about this. (Q
1, 83; T-L, 82).
The mistaken, commonly
accepted notion, odd and beguiling as it is, that Joan of Arc did not write
or read, suppresses for many all awareness of the number of her letters we know
about. Some have been lost. Others remain in their original form or have been
kept in documents that copied them.
THESE ARE THE LOST LETTERS
WE KNOW DID EXIST.
1. To her father and mother
begging them to forgive her for leaving home.
2. The letter she wrote from
St. Catherine of Fierbois to the King in Chinon.
3. To the priests
of Fierbois from Poitiers. To the King during the siege of Orleans. That third
letter
to the English.
6. Her invitation to the
Duke of Burgundy for the King's Coronation.
7. One to Charles VII about
Catherine de la Rochelle.
8. To the people in Tours
asking them to give a wedding gift to the daughter of the artist who had
painted her standard.
9. All the letters marked
with the cross which meant, "Do not believe this or do
it."
10. Doncoeur believed that a
letter from Joan went with the gift of 14 a little ring" she sent to Anne
de Laval early in June 1429(Q 5, i0q).
11. To the Bishop of
Senlis.
12. To the people of
Troyes.
13. To the King of
Navarre.
14. To the people of
Clermont-Ferrand.
81
JOAN OF
ARC
THESE ARE THE LETTERS THAT
HAVE NOT DISAPPEARED.
For the year
1429
1. The famous 22 March
summons to the English.
2. A letter, again to the
English, dictated byjoan to her chaplain, Friar Pasquerel, 5
May.
3. To the people of Tournai
(now in Belgium) dated 25 June.
4. To the people of Troyes,
4 July.
5. To the Duke of Burgundy,
17 July.
6. To the people of Reims, 5
August.
7. To the Count of Armagnac,
22August.
8. To the people of Riom, 9
November.
For the year
1430
9. The second to Reims, 16
March. io. The much-disputed letter to the Hussites, 23
March.
10. The third to Reims, 28
March.
Not an overwhelming
collection but one to pique interest.
4. ORLEANS DELIVERED
(p 26 to p
30)
The Plans: The cleric, monk, or friar
who wrote this Life knew less than little about the fortsl bastiles, and
boulevards the English constructed on each side of the river. Of all the books
written about this siege not one is definitive. Each writer counts and totals
the English fortifications to suit a personal preference. Our author is the only
one to reduce them to four, two on each side of the Loire. We have not
discovered the source of his balanced quota. He prolongs the attack on The
Tourelles over a two-day period because Chartier does in his chapter 3 8. He
rewrites the account of the war council from which Joan was excluded with pretty
details that please his ingenious imagination. Chartier seems to be the
only early chronicler to record this bizarre business. In chapter 37 his account
is less gushy. An angryjoan makes no mention of her sex. Too indignant to sit
down, she remains standing to say bluntly, "Tell me what you have approved and
decided. I am keeping secrets much more
82
AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
important than this one of yours!" The truth is, she was.
Joan never told anyone the secret she had revealed to the king. The Bologna
Manuscript Of 1569, "qui fut donne
Monsieur le Cardinal d'Armagnac . . . le Jour de Notre-Dame XXV de mars MDLXIX,"
relates that Joan knew the decision of the captains even when she was excluded
from their meetings (pp. 12-13 of the 1890 edition of Andre Du Bois de La
Villerabel). The Chron. de la Pucelle (Q 4, 227) and Pierre Sala (Q 4,
278) both remind us that Joan opposed plans of other military commanders.
Secrets are not involved in either narrative.
Joan’s
Wounds: A
caltrop caused Joan's first wound. This was an iron device adorned with sharp
spikes. Thrown on the ground it impeded and injured mounted troops. On Friday 6
May 1429, during, the attack on The Augustins, she stepped on one of
these orb-like inventions and injured a foot (Q 49 227). Next day she was
wounded more severely, this time above a breast, by an arrow, not "in the leg"
or "in the shoulder." She had predicted this accident. Her judges listened to
her explain the circumstances during the trial on Tuesday 27 March 1431. They
had asked her,
When you were on your way to
relieve Orleans, did you not tell your people that you would take to yourself
the ar crossbows, and stones [hurled] by the cannons?
Joan gave the assembled
priests and prelates a firm denial.
No. I did not. Over a
hundred or more soldiers were wounded there. This is what I told my people, "Do
not have any doubts about it. You will raise the siege!" I was wounded in the
neck [this is Courcelles's word for breast] by an arrow from a crossbow. St.
Catherine amply consoled me. Within two weeks I recovered fully. The wound did
not stop me riding horseback or doing my work.
Here the inquisitor broke
in, "Did you have foreknowledge of this wound?" "Indeed I did," Joan replied.
"The revelation came from my Voices, St. Catherine and St. Margaret. I told the
King about it. In spite of my wound, I did not give up
working."
In their remarks for Joan's
vindication, the Bastard, then Count Dunois, and her chaplain jean Pasquerel add
some
83
JOAN OF
ARC
exciting details about the
circumstances of this wound, details which the inquisitors in fulfilling their
holy office would have discarded as unholy self-satisfaction on her part, had
Joan told them. (Q 3, 8 and 109; D-L, 163 and 221.)
Towards the end of his
chapter 38 Jean Chartier relates the incident of this wound. He adds mistakenly
thatJoan "did not retire or budge from the moat" where she received the injury.
Our compiler with tender trust copies him again. There are accounts of this
serious wound in the Chron. de la Pucelle, in the Journal du
Siege, and in Eberhard Windecke. The German chronicler keeps closest to the
facts as jean Pasquerel tells them. Joan forewarned her chaplain on Friday
evening 6 May, "Tomorrow blood
will flow on my body from a wound above my breast." This proved to be the truth.
"The next day," he continues, "as she had predicted an arrow pierced her
body above a breast."
To heal this jagged gash
some soldiers suggested she apply a health charm they had and believed in. Joan
refused. Instead she accepted a dressing of "olive oil and lard." Revived by
prayer and this ancient remedy Joan "hastened back to the attack." (Q 3, 109;
D-L 5, 221.)
She had a near escape from
another severe wound at Jargeau when a stone struck the light helmet she wore
and knocked her down. The Duke of Alengon recalled this accident. Fuller details
are furnished by the Journal du Siege.
The Maid was so
near the wall [of the city] an Englishman heaved a heavy stone of some weight on
her head. It struck her such [a blow] she was obliged to sit down on the ground.
Although this stone was a very hard mass it broke into very small pieces, hardly
injuring the Maid at all. Displaying energetic courage, she sprang up quickly.
(Q 4, 172)
Joan suffered another wound
while battling under the walls of Paris. Again an arrow from a crossbow hit her,
this time in the thigh. During her trial she told her judges on Thursday 22
February 1431 how this wound healed in five days. Joan's misfortune during the
attack on Paris and her bitter lack of success there received widespread
publicity during her lifetime
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AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
and for decades after her
death. A partial list of writers who tell of her reverses includes Chartier, of
course; the Journal du Siege; Eberhard Windecke; the Journal d'un
Bourcreois de Paris; the Chroniques de Perceval de Cagny; Philippe de
Vigneulles; the Dean of the Collegiate Church of St. Thibaud of Metz; the Clerk
of Parliament in Paris, Clement de Fauquemberque in his Notes; Walter
Bower in the Scotichronicon; Monstrelet; and Pius II. The notoriety of
failure! Philippe de Vigneulles regrets with sympathy, "Fortune turned her back
on the Maid." The thesis that Paris could have been taken if Charles VII had not
been there is easy to defend. Orleans celebrates the anniversary of its
deliverance. Paris does not because the King for whom Joan continued her
purposeful work destroyed her chance of activity by turning his back on his own
good fortune.
5.
JARGEAU
(p 30 to p
32)
[See also Appendix p
133]
Jargeau: This brief version of the
taking of Jargeau away from the English, which they had held since October 1428,
is in Jean Chartier, chap. 42, the Chron. de la Pucelle, chap. 50, and in
Gaguin, Bk. X, fol. CXVIII. The surprise in each one of these accounts is
identical. All three allow the siege of Jargeau to languish "eight days." The
Journal du Siege is more accurate. In its relation the town fell within
two clays. The formal attack began on Saturday morning i i June 1429, and after
a ferocious assault Jargeau was taken on Sunday 12 June. Joan was in Orleans the
next day. (Q 4, 13 and 235.)
When Dunois talked about
this battle for jargeau during his remarks for Joan's vindication he omitted all
mention of-an attack he had directed some time before without her help. In this
earlier effort he had been repulsed. This is what he preferred to
say:
After raising the siege of
the city of Orleans the Maid with me and other war captains went to the King,
then residing in the castle of Loches. We asked him to direct his troops to
recover the towns and castles along the river Loire. We meant Meung,
Beaugency,
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JOAN OF
ARC
and Jargeau. [With these
places freed] he could go on to Reims for his consecration with greater security
and freedom. . . . From that moment the King made every possible effort. He sent
the Duke of Alengon, me, and other commanders with Joan to recover these towns
and castles I have named. Within a few days, in fact, these places were brought
back to the obedience of the King, through the influence of the Maid. (Q 3,
9-10; D-L 5, 164.)
This is an intensely felt
compliment.
Suffolk: What is said here about
the Earl of Suffolk and his brothers a Jargeau is accurate. The Journal du
Siege takes the time to give their names. (Q 4, 170.)
There is a good story,
perhaps apocryphal, about the Earl of Suffolk in the notes of the Clerk of the
City Hall of La Rochelle. Realizing that he was about to be taken prisoner at
Jargeau. by the Duke of Alengon or by others of the French nobles present,
Suffolk objected, "I will not surrender to you. I'd rather die first." Then he
cried out with a loud voice, "I surrender to the Maid, the most valiant woman in
the world. She has vanquished us all to our utter confusion." If the English
chronicles of the fifteenth century had not been so niggardly with their
information we might know the truth about this impetuous gallantry of the Earl
of Suffolk. (Revue historique, mai-aout 1877, P. 340). A French letter
written before the end of June 1429 adds a superlative note of chivalrous
courtesy to the Earl's action:
“At Jargeau the Earl of Suffolk on bended
knee surrendered to the Maid." (Q 5, 121.) This is an eager imagination at work,
the art of seeing the unlikely.
6. MEUNG-SUR-LOIRE AND
BEAUGENCY
(p 32 to p
34)
Meung-sur-Loire and Beaugency: In the
fifteenth century the military importance of Meung was in its fortified bridge
across the Loire. Beaugency s importance was in its tall, strongly fortified
castle impressive even today as lean, grim-looking
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AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
remains. The swift sentences
here about Metung and Beaugency, few because the sources are brief, come from
hurried remarks in Chartier, chs. 42 and 43, the Chron. de la Pucelle,
ch. 52, and Gaguin. If the compiler read Monstrelet's ch. LXI, he discarded its
details.
Salisbury: Thomas Montecute, Earl of
Salisbury, 1388-1428, had possession of Jargeau, Meung, Beaugency, and Janville
before he laid siege to Orleans. Taken to Meuing after his grisly injury during
the siege, he died there on Wednesday 27 October 1428 (Journal du Siege,
Q 4, 101). If any reader prefers the date “3 November 1428" given in Dugdale's
Baronage of England, I, 653,
he may have failed to notice in this account the remark, "He died two days after
he was wounded." The time of the wounding was late Sunday afternoon 24 November
1428.
Salisbury, the great
soldier, would have been a more worthy opponent of Joan of Arc, the soldier
saint, than any other English commander of his day. Both had the same military
talents -imagination, daring, skill, relentless drive-and the personality to
inspire confidence. Salisbury's death rescued him from the humiliation of defeat
at the hands of the Maid. Waurin, a soldier under him, wrote a sincere tribute
to his memory. Any success of Joan of Arc against the redoubtable Salisbury
would have provoked her contemporaries to praise more rapturous than she ever
received. Waurin's sympathetic praise is touching:
He was accounted in his time
through France and England the'most expert, subtle, and successful-in-arms of
all the commanders who had been talked about in the last two hundred years. He
had all the virtues of a true Knight, for he was gentle and humble and
courteous. He was liberal with all he possessed. He gave alms freely. To the
lowly he was kind and full of sympathy. To haughty enemies he was like a lion or
a tiger. (Waurin 3, 254.)
Insofar as a man's last will
a testament expresses accurately his virtuous qualities, moral or natural, the
terms in which Salisbury states his wishes about the disposal of his property
after death, corroborate Waurin's eulogy. The Testa-
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JOAN OF
ARC
Mentum domini Thome de Monte
Acuto comitis Saresburie,, a document rich in
human interest, is in Prof E. F. Jacob's superbly edited Register of Henry
Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, vol. 2, 390-400. Joan of Arc, whose
liberality to the poor and the lowly is told in Quicherat 2, 427, 438 and 3, 88,
464, would have loved and applauded Salisbury's
generosity.
Patay: The account of the battle
of Patay, more tense and vigorous than any other page our compiler wrote,
comes from the three sources noticed above. The surprise of the French victory,
its annihilation of a stalwart portion of English troops, literally stunned the
chroniclers who tried to describe its details. All accounts are tangled. To
arrange the movement of the sudden events of that day into a lucid narrative is
no longer possible. Joan of Arc had predicted a moment of new grandeur for
France. "Today's victory will be the greatest the King has had for a long time."
(Q 3, 99; D-L 5, 215.) She did not say, “I will bring him victory." Today,
however, England's most competent historian of the fifteenth century, gives this
explosive hour to her.
Because she gave her
opponents no time and no rest, Patay was Joan s battle, though she was only in
the van with Arthur de Richemont the constable, while La Hire and Poton de
Xaintrailles formed the spearhead for the main body under Alencon and Dunois.
(Jacob, The Fifteenth Century , p. 247.)
Writers from Joan's day to
the present, excited by the surprises of Patay, add an occasional
misstatement to their narratives. The first to do this was Charles VII
himself. He made the slight mistake, repeated by others, of placing the name of
Sir John Fastolf in the list of the captured. In a letter to the residents of
Tours, preserved in substance in the records of the Mayor's office of that city,
we read:
To Stephen de la Fontaine, a
royal messenger, who rode to Tours with a letter from the King, the sum of 6
livres tournois is given and paid by order of the people of Tours. This
letter tells of the battle
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AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
won by [our] leaders, the
Duke of Alencon, the Count of Vend6me, and the Maid, against the English, our
ancient enemies.... On the 18th day of the present month [of June] 2,500 English
were killed or captured. Taken prisoners were [Lord] Talbot, [Sir John] Fastolf,
[Sir Walter] Hungerford, [Sir Thomas] Rempston, [Lord] Scales and other
captains.... And for this good news 6 livres have been given to the
messenger . . . on the 22nd day of June 1429. (Q 5,
262-263.)
In her letter to
"the noble, loyal French in the City of Tournai,” written at Gien 25 June 1429,
Joan announces the good news of Patay, includes Fastolf among the captives, and
begs all the inhabitants of the city to "be ready to go to Reims for the
coronation of the Noble King Charles" (Q 5, 125). Sir John Fastolf and his
depleted contingent, deprived of their supplies and ammunition, retreated to
Janville, a village "qui est assez bonne petite ville," in Waurin's words.
Salisbury had taken the place on 20 August 1428. Now, with the gates of the
village proudly closed by its people against him, Fastolf marched on to Etampes,
at least 6o fatiguing miles from Patay, without rest or respite from French
annoyance.
Eventually Talbot, the
nominal commander at Patay, was ransomed. His own petition for the favor of
having 8,ooo marks brought from England to pay his ransom was allowed on 8
January 1430. (Stevenson, Letters and Papers of the Wars of the English in
France, 1, 422-423.) Talbot lived through twenty more years of conflict. Defeat
and death were in wait for him at Castillon in old Gascony in 1453. He was then
the Earl of Shrewsbury, and the battle he lost allowed the records of the
Hundred Years War to be closed. Three years late Joan of Arc's vindication was
proclaimed officially by the Church.
7. THE ROUTE TO
REIMS
(p 34 to p 38)
The March to Reims: With more than usual carelessness the chroniclers crowd confusion into their accounts of the start of the march to Reims for the coronation. The more direct, the logical route north from Gien was by way of Montargis. After
89
JOAN OF
ARC
a feeble start this was
abandoned. The explanation given is that some towns not far distant from Gien
were displaying "the flag of St. Andrew," a symbol of adherence to England. This
explanation is ludicrous for troops who had battered the English brutally'
at Orleans and deprived them, in that week of brilliant victories, of Jargeau,
Meting, Beaugency, and Patay. There was money to be had for one of Charles VII's
intimates by going west and north in a curved route leading to
Auxerre.
The essential details and
dates of the itinerary to Reims seem to be these:
Wednesday 29 June 1429, the
cavalcade rides out of Gien. Friday 1 July, Auxerre is stubbornly
defiant.
Sunday 3 July, the town of
St. Florentin yields loyally to the French.
Tuesday 5 July, the
cavalcade reaches Troyes, a city doggedly obstinate.
Monday 11 July, this city
capitulates after six days of opposition.
Friday 15 July,
Chalons-sur-Marne opens its gates.
Saturday 16 July, the
cavalcade arrives in Reims.
Sunday 17 July, Charles VII
is consecrated in the cathedral.
The sources of Part 7 are
Chartier, chs. 46, 47; Chron. de la Pucelle, chs. 57, 58; Journal
du Siege, and Gaguin, Bk. 10 folio CXVIII.
Joan's
Advice:
Joan's eloquent little speech to the King, spoken to persuade him to decide to
become energetic and to move toward Reims, is longer than any of her remarks on
record. The ideas are hers; the words, only in part. The reference here to the
Maid's religious fervor, frequent communion and confession, comes directly
from Chartier, ch. 45 and the Chron. de la Pucelle, the last lines of ch.
55. Neither of these sources is responsible for the unexpected change of the
subject to the amusing non sequitur, "Joan never did any tasks [expected] of a
woman." This remark is not a gibe, merely a gauche distortion of an observation
by Gaguin, who in folio CXVIII,
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AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
lines 3 and 4, after talking
aboutJoan's "purity of life" and her "holiness" in general concludes, "She
neither acted as women do, nor talked as women do." (Et nihil muliebriter
agebat atit loqtiebattir.) For women in general this is not a compliment.
For Joan of Arc it is an expression of admiration, praise, courtesy,
respect. She, although feminine, had for this clerical mind qualities worth
noting. What Robert Gaguin, a learned, cosmopohtan churchman of his time,
the Superior General of the Trinitarians or Mathurmis, thought of women is
patent.
La Tremoille: Unlike the chroniclers,
the compiler neither points a finger of blame nor reproaches anyone by name for
the shock of the stalemate before Auxerre. He is content to say, "with the
connivance of certain ones close to the king" Auxerre was not disturbed.
Chartier, the journal, and the Chron. de la Pucelle are not so shy. For
them the culprit is the King's most intimate adviser Georges de La Tremoille,
the obese owner of the castle of Sully. For this disservice to his King, Georges
de LaTremoille pocketed "two thousand gold crowns." (The Chron. de la
Pucelle specifies "deux mille escus.") There is material in French
archives for a revealing study of the career and character of this superior,
aristocratic intrigant. What Professor E. Cosneau did for Richemont could be
done for Georges de La Tremoille. The revelations could be as surprising and
gripping as romantic fiction. His interest in money alone equals that of his
contemporary, the Cardinal of Winchester, Henry Beaufort. A document
of rare interest, almost unique in history, is the royal order Charles VII
signed at Georges de La Tremoille's personal request in Poitiers on 7 May 1431,
a short time before Joan of Arc was condemned to death, "to annul all the
excesses Georges de La Tremoille had committed since the year 1416." This
mandate was an attempt to put a white robe of innocence around the burly Peer of
the Realm, a tragicomedy of regal favoritism. (Les La Tremoille pendant
cinq Siecles, I, 192-195.)
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JOAN OF
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Joan’s
Influence:
If there were times when each soldier of the army of Charles VII had little to
eat on the route to Reims, he was
paid little enough money for his needs. "Audit lieu de Gyen sur Loire fut
faict un payement aux gens de cruerre de trois francs pour homine d'armes, qui
estoit peu de choses." (Chron. de la Pucelle, 313) Without the
presence of Joan of Arc it seems certain that the courage and stamina of the
soldiers marching toward Reims would have dissolved into a speedy
disaster.
Le Macon: Robert Le Macon, shown
here in a favorable light toward the Maid, hardly deserves this distinction. He
was an intimate associate of Georges de La Tremoille. We suggest his intention
was to denigrate Joan. Did he not wish to say, "She has involved all of us in
this trouble, this impasse. Why not let the blame fall upon her? Let her talk
and it will."? Usually called in the records of the time "the Lord of Treves,"
he was ennobled in 1400 and died on 2
January 1442.
Troyes: The reference here to
Charles VII's quick appointment of public servants to maintain law and order in
Troyes and Chalons is an expanded version of a remark the compiler read in
Gaguin, folio CXVIII, verso, lines 31-33. The Chron. de la Pucelle,
319-320 and Chartier I, 96 refer briefly to the same decisions. The worthy
Bishop of Troyes, who came out with citizens and soldiers to treat with the King
about the terms of the capitulation of their city, was jean Leguise' or
Laiguise', whose father had been one of the first of the city's celebrities to
sign the articles of the disruptive Treaty of Troyes in 1420. The Notary
(Greffier) of La Rochelle, pages 341-342, adds details to his account of
the Bishop's diplomatic move that other writers neglect.
During her
trial on Saturday 3 March 1431, in the mass of miscellaneous topics argued that
day, Joan was asked abruptly, "What honors did the people of Troyes show you on
your arrival?" Her reply was, "Honors to me at Troyes?
None!"
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AUTHORS’
COMMENTS
8. REIMS, THE
CORONATION
(p 3 8 to p 39)
Joan’s Standard: The writing here has a quality of compression, a skillfully inspissated account of the coronation marred by one detail of absurdity, "the Maid bore the standard