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Author: Mark Russell Bell
This 1429 sketch by Clèment de Fauquembergue appeared in the protocol of the parliament of Paris.
The case of Joan of Arc is one where 'divine guidance' was associated with a teenager personally taking up arms and inspiring troops to victory. According to trial transcripts, the first voice that came to her was that of Saint Michael. She is quoted as having declared: "I saw him before my eyes; he was not alone, but quite surrounded by the Angels of Heaven." St. Michael told her that St. Catherine and St. Marguerite would be her aids. Another quotation of Joan is: "I have done nothing except by revelation from God."
Jules Michelet included a biographical profile of Jeanne in a historical book about France and this portion was published as Joan of Arc: or, The Maid of Orleans (1858). Michelet wrote that Jeanne was the daughter of laborer Jacques Darc and Isabella Romèe. The meeting with the future Charles VII was described by Michelet as follows:
“Gentle dauphin,” she addressed him, “my name is Jehanne la Pucelle. The King of heaven sends you word by me that you shall be consecrated and crowned in the city of Rheims, and shall be lieutenant of the King of heaven, who is king of France.” The king then took her aside, and, after a moment’s consideration, both changed countenance. She told him, as she subsequently acknowledged to her confessors: — “I am commissioned by my Lord to tell you, that you are the true heir to the French throne, and the king’s son.”*
*According to a somewhat later, but still very probable account, she reminded him of a circumstance known to himself alone; namely, that one morning in his oratory he had prayed to restore his kingdom to him if he were the lawful heir, but that if he were not, that He would grant him the mercy not to be killed or thrown into prison but to be able to take refuge in Spain or in Scotland.— Sala, Exemples de Hardiesse, MS. Français, de la Bibl. Royale, No. 180.
Although detailed documentation of the life of Joan of Arc has been preserved, the records leave many unanswered questions and cannot be considered to provide verbatim accounts of Joan's commentary, as Donald Spoto suggested in Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint (2007):
During Joan's trial hundreds of questions were put to her by the Church court. The interrogations of ecclesiastical judges and theological inquisitors, along with her replies, were recorded each day in French by the chief notary, Guillaume Manchon, and by his two assistants, Guillaume Colles (also called Boisguillaume) and Nicholas Taquel. Every evening the three men compared, collated, and corrected their notes. The original of this document is lost to us, but notarized copies have been preserved at the Bibliothèque Municipale in Orléans.
The final and official register of the trial, prepared at the order of the chief judge, Bishop Pierre Cauchon, was based on Manchon's minutes but included much more: in fact, Cauchon ordered the record deliberately falsified at crucial points in order to secure Joan's condemnation and execution. The trial document was completed in Latin by Thomas Courcelles, who was himself one of Joan's judges.
Spoto also revealed that what had long been presumed to be the abjuration of Joan of Arc was "a complete fabrication composed later by Thomas de Courcelles under orders from Pierre Cauchon."
"What she signed," according to Massieu, who was at her side and whose testimony was supported by the others, "was a paper of no more than eight lines, saying that she would not again bear arms, wear men's clothing, or cut her hair. That was what I read to her. But another document, not this one, was put into the trial record. She had no idea what was on it, nor what were the consequences of signing."
I found an interesting military anecdote about the June 18, 1429 Battle of Patay in Joan of Arc: Her Story (1999) by Régine Pernoud and Marie-Véronique Clin (translated and revised by Jeremy duQuesnay Adams). "One participant, Jean de Wavrin, described that extraordinary feat."
A series of accidents shattered the English array. The vanguard gave warning of the French approach and then assumed its position among the support wagons and artillery "all along the hedges that were near Patay." Talbot then posted himself where he thought the French would pass, "guessing that he would be able to hold that passage until the arrival of troop reinforcements." But he was wrong, as Wavin remarked: "The French held tight formation and pursued their enemies, whom they could not yet see, nor did they know their positions, until by luck the scouts in front saw a stag leap from the woods and take the road toward Patay. It jumped into the English formation, whereupon it uttered a great cry. The French had not known that their enemies were so close to them."
The scouts ran to inform their companies. The engagement began before the major units of the English force could come together, even in a disorderly fashion.... continues
Copyright©Mark Russell Bell
Reproduced courtesy of Mark Russell Bell
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