Difference between revisions of "Joan of Arc"

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Painting, c. 1485. The only known portrait for which she sat has not survived, so all depictions of her represent artistic license. (Centre Historique des Archives Nationales, Paris, AE II 2490)

Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) (Domremy in Champagne, France 1412 - Rouen, France 1431) was a girl who, at the age of seventeen, believed she had been called by God to lead the French army which went on to defeat the English at the siege at Orleans in 1429. She was later captured by the English, burned at stake as a heretic in 1431, and was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920 and is accordingly known today as St. Joan.

Joan of Arc is the English translation of the French name Jeanne d'Arc. Her name was spelled in a variety of ways; she herself signed her first name as "Jehanne" on some letters.^[1] She is also known as "the Maid of Orleans" and "La Pucelle" (French for "the maid").

Relics thought to be those of Joan of Arc were recently proved to be a nineteenth century forgery involving the remains of an Egyptian mummy. ^[2] The survival of her organs was thought to be a miracle, since contemporary historical records describe how she was burned three times to ensure nothing remained.

Her story has inspired numerous works of art, notably George Bernard Shaw's 1923 play Saint Joan (considered one of his greatest plays) and Mark Twain's novel Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (largely forgotten but believed by Twain to be his best work). Both are sympathetic and admiring depictions. In contrast, in Shakespeare's play Henry VI, Part 1, the character "Joan La Pucelle" is depicted as she was generally viewed by the English at the time: as a witch and sorceress who was justly executed.

Trial

As regards the official record of the trial, which, so far as the Latin version goes, seems to be preserved entire, we may probably trust its accuracy in all that relates to the questions asked and the answers returned by the prisoner. These answers are in every way favourable to Joan. Her simplicity, piety, and good sense appear at every turn, despite the attempts of the judges to confuse her. ^[3]

Trial of condemnation lasted from February 21st until May 23rd, 1431. She was burnt at the stake in Rouen's market square, having been sold to the English by the French. She has since become a French national icon and representative of French steadfastness in times of war.

Quotations

• "I place trust in God, my creator, in all things; I love Him with all my heart."
• "Gentle Dauphin, I am called Joan the Maid (Jehanne la Pucelle)"
• "In God's name, the soldiers will fight and He will grant victory."
• "I trust in my Judge, who is the King of Heaven and Earth".

External links

• St. Joan of Arc Catholic Encyclopedia
• Saint Joan of Arc Center Albuquerque, N. M.
• MaidOfHeaven.com Dedicated to telling the true story about Saint Joan of Arc
• biography

References

1. ↑ Contemporary accounts of Joan of Arc, Bryn Mawr college library
2. ↑ Joan of Arc holy relics are fake
3. ↑ Joan of Arc

Literature

• Gies, Frances, Joan of Arc: the Legend and the Relaity, Harper and Row, New York (1981) ISBN 0-690-01942-4
• DeVries, Kelly, Joan of Arc: a Military Leader, Sutton Publishing, Gloucestershire, England (1999) ISBN 0-7509-1805-5
• Spotto, Donald, Joan: the Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Necame a Saint, HarperSanFrancisco, (2007), ISBN 978-0-06-081517-2
• The Trial of Joan of Arc, translated and introduced by Daniel Hobbins, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2005) ISBN 0-674-02405-2
• Pernoud, Regine and Clin, Marie-Veronique, Joan of Arc: Her Story (revised and translated by Jeremy Duquesnay Adams and edited by Bonnie Wheeler), St. Martin's Press, New York (1998) ISBN 0-312-21442-1