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123-520: The village, originally named Domrémy , is the birthplace of Joan of Arc . It has since been renamed Domrémy-la-Pucelle after Joan's nickname, la Pucelle d' Orléans ("the Maid of Orléans"). Domrémy is positioned along the Upper Meuse Valley, 4 km (2.5 mi) north of the town of Coussey . The village land includes a small wooded hill to the west of the houses, which rises to

246-542: A bolt , which was fired by a crossbowman. The Armagnacs resumed their offensive on 6 May, capturing Saint-Jean-le-Blanc , which the English had deserted. The Armagnac commanders wanted to stop, but Joan encouraged them to launch an assault on les Augustins , an English fortress built around a monastery. After its capture, the Armagnac commanders wanted to consolidate their gains, but Joan again argued for continuing

369-406: A mandrake (a figurine for invoking demons), to which she replied: "I have no mandrake, and never had one." And finally she was asked again about the sign which was given to her King whereby he recognized her and her mission and again she refused to answer any questions on this subject, saying, "Go and ask him." After taking the oath in the same form as before, the questioning turned once again to

492-493: A brief investigation, Bouillé interviewed seven witnesses of Joan's trial and concluded that the judgment of Joan as a heretic was arbitrary. She had been a prisoner of war treated as a political prisoner, and was put to death without basis. Bouillé's report could not overturn the verdict but it opened the way for the later retrial. In 1452, a second inquest into Joan's trial was opened by Cardinal Guillaume d'Estouteville , papal legate and relative of Charles, and Jean Bréhal ,

615-418: A deceased woman, Joan, commonly known as the Maid", the trial transcript announces the start, on January 9, 1431, of the judicial inquiry into the case of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc as her name appears at the head of said records). The first order of business was a preliminary inquiry into Joan's character and habits. An examination as to Joan's virginity was conducted some time prior to January 13, overseen by

738-448: A decent prison, she would be obedient. When Cauchon asked about her visions, Joan stated that the voices had blamed her for abjuring out of fear, and that she would not deny them again. As Joan's abjuration had required her to deny her visions, this was sufficient to convict her of relapsing into heresy and to condemn her to death. The next day, forty-two assessors were summoned to decide Joan's fate. Two recommended that she be abandoned to

861-591: A defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War . Claiming to be acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France. Joan was born to a propertied peasant family at Domrémy in northeast France. In 1428, she requested to be taken to Charles VII, later testifying that she

984-652: A good deed for her success in fighting the English during the Hundred Years' War . Taxes were imposed upon Domrémy and Greux again during the French Revolution ; the residents have paid taxes since. Until 1766, Domrémy was part of the Duchy of Bar (within a section of the duchy which owed fealty to the Crown of France although the other half of the duchy was part of the Holy Roman Empire ). In that year,

1107-486: A height of 407 metres (1335'), known as the Domrémy Wood. This overlooks the small adjacent settlement of Les Roises . Domrémy and Greux were exempted from taxes "forever" by Charles VII in 1429. It was the sole request made of the king by Joan of Arc when Charles asked her how he could show her his appreciation for seeing him crowned ; Joan felt that taxes burdened the villagers. Moreover, he wished to do

1230-400: A letter dated 20 February 1431 sent to the assessors and others summoning them to appear the morning of the following day for the first public interrogation session of Joan, Pierre Cauchon cited the grant of jurisdiction within the city of Rouen by the chapter of the cathedral of Rouen for the purpose of conducting the trial against Joan. Without such a grant, he would have been unable to conduct

1353-586: A limited form of the oath and again Beaupere took the principal lead in the questioning, first turning to the subject of her voices. Joan stated that she had heard the voices many times since the previous session and that they were St. Catherine and St. Margaret, whose voices had guided her for seven years, but that the first time she heard voices (when she was about 13), it was that of St. Michael. She said St. Catherine and St. Margaret appeared to her with "beautiful crowns" on their heads. She refused to answer some of

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1476-413: A national symbol of France. In 1920, Joan of Arc was canonized by Pope Benedict XV and, two years later, was declared one of the patron saints of France. She is portrayed in numerous cultural works , including literature, music, paintings, sculptures, and theater. Joan of Arc's name was written in a variety of ways. There is no standard spelling of her name before the sixteenth century; her last name

1599-580: A patron saint of the Domrémy area who was seen as a defender of France. She stated that she had these visions frequently and that she often had them when the church bells were rung. Her visions also included St. Margaret and St. Catherine; although Joan never specified, they were probably Margaret of Antioch and Catherine of Alexandria —those most known in the area. Both were known as virgin saints who strove against powerful enemies, were tortured and martyred for their beliefs, and preserved their virtue to

1722-433: A preliminary investigation into the life of the suspect. This investigation consisted of the collection of any evidence about the character of the subject, including witness testimony. This could then be followed by an interrogation of the accused, in which they were compelled to provide testimony which could then be used against them in a subsequent trial. With the words "Here begin the proceedings in matters of faith against

1845-444: A prostitute accompanying an army.) The questioning then turned again to her adoption of male attire. She answered that the decision to adopt same was "of her own accord, and not at the request of any man alive." She added that "Everything I have done I have done at the instruction of my voices", this latter comment in response to a question as to whether or not her voices ordered her to wear a soldier's outfit. The bulk of this session

1968-506: A religious war. Before beginning the journey to Orléans, Joan dictated a letter to the Duke of Bedford warning him that she was sent by God to drive him out of France. In the last week of April 1429, Joan set out from Blois as part of an army carrying supplies for the relief of Orléans. She arrived there on 29 April and met the commander Jean de Dunois , the Bastard of Orléans. Orléans

2091-528: A reward for her services to him and the kingdom. Before the September attack on Paris, Charles had negotiated a four-month truce with the Burgundians, which was extended until Easter 1430. During this truce, the French court had no need for Joan. The Duke of Burgundy began to reclaim towns which had been ceded to him by treaty but had not submitted. Compiègne was one such town of many in areas which

2214-476: A slow advance. As the Armagnac army approached Paris, many of the towns along the way surrendered without a fight. On 15 August, the English forces under the Duke of Bedford confronted the Armagnacs near Montépilloy in a fortified position that the Armagnac commanders thought was too strong to assault. Joan rode out in front of the English positions to try to provoke them to attack. They refused, resulting in

2337-414: A standoff. The English retreated the following day. The Armagnacs continued their advance and launched an assault on Paris on 8 September. During the fighting, Joan was wounded in the leg by a crossbow bolt. She remained in a trench beneath the city walls until she was rescued after nightfall. The Armagnacs had suffered 1,500 casualties. The following morning, Charles ordered an end to the assault. Joan

2460-486: A supporter of the English, in efforts to illegitimize King Charles's crowning. During the trial in 1431, three notaries headed by Guillaume Manchon independently recorded the proceedings and collated them each day following the trial session. These records were originally written in Middle French but were translated into Latin by Manchon and University of Paris master Thomas de Courcelles about four years after

2583-475: A sword brought to her from under the altar in the church at Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois . Around this time she began calling herself "Joan the Maiden", emphasizing her virginity as a sign of her mission. Before Joan's arrival at Chinon, the Armagnac strategic situation was bad but not hopeless. The Armagnac forces were prepared to endure a prolonged siege at Orléans, the Burgundians had recently withdrawn from

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2706-540: A theological nature followed, including this one: The question was a deliberate attempt to entrap her, since the Church's doctrine held that no one could be certain of being in God's grace; and yet answering 'no' could also be used against her because the judge could claim she had admitted to being in a state of sin. According to the eyewitnesses, this question elicited a protest from one of the assessors, Jean Lefèvre, who said it

2829-421: A virgin carrying a banner would put an end to France's suffering. Joan implied she was this promised maiden, reminding the people around her that there was a saying that France would be destroyed by a woman but would be restored by a virgin. In May 1428, she asked her uncle to take her to the nearby town of Vaucouleurs , where she petitioned the garrison commander, Robert de Baudricourt , for an armed escort to

2952-459: A window of a tower and landing in a dry moat; she was injured but survived. In November, she was moved to the Burgundian town of Arras . The English and Burgundians rejoiced that Joan had been removed as a military threat. The English negotiated with their Burgundian allies to pay Joan's ransom and transfer her to their custody. Bishop Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais , a partisan supporter of

3075-503: A woman's dress and allowed her head to be shaved. She was returned to her cell and kept in chains instead of being transferred to an ecclesiastical prison. Witnesses at the rehabilitation trial stated that Joan was subjected to mistreatment and rape attempts, including one by an English noble, and that guards placed men's clothes in her cell, forcing her to wear them. Cauchon was notified that Joan had resumed wearing male clothing. He sent clerics to admonish her to remain in submission, but

3198-415: Is evidence that the trial records were falsified. During the trial, Joan showed great control. She induced her interrogators to ask questions sequentially rather than simultaneously, refer back to their records when appropriate, and end the sessions when she requested. Witnesses at the trial were impressed by her prudence when answering questions. For example, in one exchange she was asked if she knew she

3321-472: Is true that I wished and still wish to escape, as is lawful for any captive or prisoner." At this session Jean Lemaitre the Vice-Inquisitor was finally present, after having tried to avoid attendance. He was not present at the following sessions until March 13, and he subsequently spent virtually no time on the case throughout the course of the trial. After some further sparring over the oath, Joan

3444-547: The Duchess of Bedford (the wife of John, Duke of Bedford , regent in France of the boy-king Henry II of France, VI of England ). The Duchess announced that Joan had been found to be a virgin. At the same time, representatives of the judge were sent to Joan's home village of Domrémy and vicinity to inquire further into Joan's life, her habits, and virtue, with several witnesses being interviewed. The result of these inquiries

3567-600: The "Maid of Orleans". Joan of Arc was born c.  1412 in Domrémy , a small village in the Meuse valley now in the Vosges department in the north-east of France. Her date of birth is unknown and her statements about her age were vague. Her parents were Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée . Joan had three brothers and a sister. Her father was a peasant farmer with about 50 acres (20 ha) of land, and he supplemented

3690-512: The Armagnac court at Chinon . Baudricourt harshly refused and sent her home. In July, Domrémy was raided by Burgundian forces which set fire to the town, destroyed the crops, and forced Joan, her family and the other townspeople to flee. She returned to Vaucouleurs in January 1429. Her petition was refused again, but by this time she had gained the support of two of Baudricourt's soldiers, Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy . Meanwhile, she

3813-450: The Armagnac faction] held that there was nothing but good in my mission". Questions followed concerning her sword and her standard, which the assessors asked her to describe in particular detail. The session concluded with questioning about the siege at Orleans and the assault against the town of Jargeau . Regarding the former, she stated that "she did indeed" know beforehand that she would be wounded, and that she "had told her king so". She

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3936-557: The Armagnac vanguard detected and scattered them. A rout ensued that decimated the English army. Fastolf escaped with a small band of soldiers, but many of the English leaders were captured. Joan arrived at the battlefield too late to participate in the decisive action, but her encouragement to pursue the English had made the victory possible. After the destruction of the English army at Patay, some Armagnac leaders argued for an invasion of English-held Normandy, but Joan remained insistent that Charles must be crowned. The Dauphin agreed, and

4059-471: The Armagnacs had recaptured over the previous few months. Joan set out with a company of volunteers at the end of March 1430 to relieve the town, which was under siege. This expedition did not have the explicit permission of Charles, who was still observing the truce. Some writers suggest that Joan's expedition to Compiègne without documented permission from the court was a desperate and treasonable action, but others have argued that she could not have launched

4182-533: The Armagnacs needed to recapture the bridge towns along the Loire: Jargeau , Meung-sur-Loire , and Beaugency . This would clear the way for Charles and his entourage, who would have to cross the Loire near Orléans to get from Chinon to Reims. The campaign to clear the Loire towns began on 11 June when the Armagnac forces led by Alençon and Joan arrived at Jargeau and forced the English to withdraw inside

4305-442: The Burgundian camp at Margny , northeast of the town. The attack failed, and Joan was captured; she agreed to surrender to a pro-Burgundian nobleman named Lyonnel de Wandomme, a member of Jean de Luxembourg 's contingent. who quickly moved her to his castle at Beaulieu-les-Fontaines near Noyes . After her first attempt to escape, she was transferred to Beaurevoir Castle. She made another escape attempt while there, jumping from

4428-517: The Burgundians and English. The army besieged Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier , which fell after Joan encouraged a direct assault on 4 November. The army then tried unsuccessfully to take La-Charité-sur-Loire in November and December and had to abandon their artillery during the retreat. This defeat further diminished Joan's reputation. Joan returned to court at the end of December, where she learned that she and her family had been ennobled by Charles as

4551-479: The Dauphin that he was Charles VI's son and the legitimate king. Charles and his council needed more assurance, sending Joan to Poitiers to be examined by a council of theologians, who declared that she was a good person and a good Catholic. They did not render a decision on the source of Joan's inspiration, but agreed that sending her to Orléans could be useful to the king and would test whether her inspiration

4674-512: The Duchy, part of which had become a fief of the Kingdom of France in 1301, escheated to the crown fully upon the death of its last duke, Stanisław Leszczyński . Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( French : Jeanne d'Arc [ʒan daʁk] ; Middle French : Jehanne Darc [ʒəˈãnə ˈdark] ; c.  1412  – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as

4797-414: The Duke of Burgundy and the English crown, played a prominent part in these negotiations, which were completed in November. The final agreement called for the English to pay 10,000 livres tournois to obtain her from Luxembourg. After the English paid the ransom, they moved Joan to Rouen , their main headquarters in France. There is no evidence that Charles tried to save Joan once she was transferred to

4920-419: The Duke of Burgundy became known as " Burgundians ". The future French king Charles VII had assumed the title of Dauphin (heir to the throne) after the deaths of his four older brothers and was associated with the Armagnacs. Henry V of England exploited France's internal divisions when he invaded in 1415. The Burgundians took Paris in 1418. In 1419, the Dauphin offered a truce to negotiate peace with

5043-600: The Duke of Burgundy, but the duke was assassinated by Charles's Armagnac partisans during the negotiations. The new duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good , allied with the English. Charles VI accused the Dauphin of murdering the Duke of Burgundy and declared him unfit to inherit the French throne. During a period of illness, Charles's wife Isabeau of Bavaria stood in for him and signed the Treaty of Troyes , which gave their daughter Catherine of Valois in marriage to Henry V, granted

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5166-515: The English abandoned the siege. Joan encouraged the French to aggressively pursue the English during the Loire Campaign , which culminated in another decisive victory at Patay , opening the way for the French army to advance on Reims unopposed, where Charles was crowned as the King of France with Joan at his side. These victories boosted French morale, paving the way for their final triumph in

5289-423: The English conquest of France. Most of northern France, Paris, and parts of southwestern France were under Anglo-Burgundian control. The Burgundians controlled Reims , the traditional site for the coronation of French kings; Charles had not yet been crowned , and doing so at Reims would help legitimize his claim to the throne. In July 1428, the English had started to surround Orléans and had nearly isolated it from

5412-470: The English prevented them from visiting her. On 28 May, Cauchon went to Joan's cell, along with several other clerics. According to the trial record, Joan said that she had gone back to wearing men's clothes because it was more fitting that she dress like a man while being held with male guards, and that the judges had broken their promise to let her go to mass and to release her from her chains. She stated that if they fulfilled their promises and placed her in

5535-438: The English saw the ability of this peasant girl to defeat their armies as proof she was possessed by the devil. After the success at Orléans, Joan insisted that the Armagnac forces should advance promptly toward Reims to crown the Dauphin. Charles allowed her to accompany the army under the command of John II, Duke of Alençon , who collaboratively worked with Joan and regularly heeded her advice. Before advancing toward Reims,

5658-468: The English were expelled from all of France except Calais . Joan's execution created a political liability for Charles, implying that his consecration as the king of France had been achieved through the actions of a heretic. On 15 February 1450, a few months after he regained Rouen, Charles ordered Guillaume Bouillé, a theologian and former rector of the University of Paris , to open an inquest. In

5781-514: The English were not able to regain momentum. Charles remained king of France, despite a rival coronation held for the ten-year-old Henry VI of England at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris in 1431. In 1435, the Burgundians signed the Treaty of Arras , abandoning their alliance with England. Twenty-two years after Joan's death, the war ended with a French victory at the Battle of Castillon in 1453, and

5904-606: The English". Questioning resumed, this time in her prison cell, with only a handful of assessors present. Joan described the action outside Compiègne when she was taken prisoner by the Burgundians. Asked about the role of her saints in this action, Joan reported that "Easter week last, when I was in the trenches at Melun , I was told by my voices ... that I would be captured before St. John's Day," adding that "it had to be so" and that "I should not be distressed, but take it in good part, and God would aid me." However, although she had known that she would be captured, she did not know

6027-474: The English. Joan was put on trial for heresy in Rouen on 9 January 1431. She was accused of having blasphemed by wearing men's clothes, of acting upon visions that were demonic , and of refusing to submit her words and deeds to the church because she claimed she would be judged by God alone. Joan's captors downplayed the secular aspects of her trial by submitting her judgment to an ecclesiastical court, but

6150-476: The French side be summoned equal in number to those of the English party (as required by the Church's rules), and she asked that she should be allowed to hear Mass . In response, promoter (prosecutor) Jean d'Estivet forbade Joan to attend, citing "especially the impropriety of the garments to which she clung" according to the Trial transcript (Barrett translation). Her soldier's clothing increasingly became an issue as

6273-537: The Hundred Years' War several decades later. After Charles's coronation, Joan participated in the unsuccessful siege of Paris in September 1429 and the failed siege of La Charité in November. Her role in these defeats reduced the court's faith in her. In early 1430, Joan organized a company of volunteers to relieve Compiègne , which had been besieged by the Burgundians —French allies of the English. She

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6396-466: The Pope at Rome" and that she "had never written nor caused to be written anything concerning the three sovereign Pontiffs". Other letters which she had dictated were then brought up. In the course of this exchange, she stated that "before seven years are past the English will lose a greater stake than they did at Orléans , for they will lose everything in France" and that she knew this by revelation. Joan

6519-471: The University of Paris, but most were pro-Burgundian and pro-English. Cauchon attempted to follow correct inquisitorial procedure, but the trial had many irregularities. Joan should have been in the hands of the church during the trial and guarded by women, but instead was imprisoned by the English and guarded by male soldiers under the command of the Duke of Bedford. Contrary to canon law , Cauchon had not established Joan's infamy before proceeding with

6642-418: The accusation of heresy. The university approved the charges. On 23 May, Joan was formally admonished by the court. The next day, she was taken out to the churchyard of the abbey of Saint-Ouen for public condemnation. As Cauchon began to read Joan's sentence, she agreed to submit. She was presented with an abjuration document, which included an agreement that she would not bear arms or wear men's clothing. It

6765-478: The appearance of the Saints whom she claimed to see. She stated: "I saw them with my two eyes, and I believe it was they I saw as firmly as I believe in the existence of God," and that God had created them in the form and fashion that she saw. Addressing the question of a future escape, she said that the saints in her visions "told me that I shall be delivered, but I do not know the day or the hour." Turning again to

6888-416: The army left Gien on 29 June to march on Reims . The advance was nearly unopposed. The Burgundian-held town of Auxerre surrendered on 3 July after three days of negotiations, and other towns in the army's path returned to Armagnac allegiance without resistance. Troyes , which had a small garrison of English and Burgundian troops, was the only one to resist. After four days of negotiation, Joan ordered

7011-418: The attack, she rode out with her banner to the site of the battle, a mile east of Orléans. She arrived as the Armagnac soldiers were retreating after a failed assault. Her appearance rallied the soldiers, who attacked again and took the fortress. On 5 May, no combat occurred since it was Ascension Thursday , a feast day . She dictated another letter to the English warning them to leave France and had it tied to

7134-469: The capturing force, but Joan allowed the townspeople to execute him after a trial. Joan reached Compiègne on 14 May. After defensive forays against the Burgundian besiegers, she was forced to disband the majority of the army because it had become too difficult for the surrounding countryside to support. Joan and about 400 of her remaining soldiers entered the town. On 23 May 1430, Joan accompanied an Armagnac force which sortied from Compiègne to attack

7257-489: The consecration, the royal court negotiated a truce of fifteen days with the Duke of Burgundy, who promised he would try to arrange the transfer of Paris to the Armagnacs while continuing negotiations for a definitive peace. At the end of the truce, Burgundy reneged on his promise. Joan and the Duke of Alençon favored a quick march on Paris, but divisions in Charles's court and continued peace negotiations with Burgundy led to

7380-440: The court notaries at her trial later testified that the interrogators were stunned by her answer. To convince her to submit, Joan was shown the instruments of torture. When she refused to be intimidated, Cauchon met with about a dozen assessors (clerical jurors) to vote on whether she should be tortured. The majority decided against it. In early May, Cauchon asked the University of Paris to deliberate on twelve articles summarizing

7503-749: The date and time. She was then asked about her banner and the meaning of the designs painted thereon. Finally, the session closed with questions about the sign she gave to Charles as proof of her mission. Joan was questioned concerning the first meeting with her King when he was shown a sign. Then attention turned to whether or not her voices/saints had ever failed her in any respect. She further stated that they (her saints) "often come without my calling, but sometimes if they did not come, I would pray God to send them", adding "I have never needed them without having them." Later, when commenting on when she first heard her voices, Joan said that she "vowed to keep her virginity as long as it should please God" adding that she

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7626-526: The death. Joan testified that she swore a vow of virginity to these voices. When a young man from her village alleged that she had broken a promise of marriage, Joan stated that she had made him no promises, and his case was dismissed by an ecclesiastical court. During Joan's youth, a prophecy circulating in the French countryside, based on the visions of Marie Robine of Avignon  [ fr ] , promised an armed virgin would come forth to save France. Another prophecy, attributed to Merlin , stated that

7749-480: The defeat at Paris reduced the court's faith in her. Scholars at the University of Paris argued that she failed to take Paris because her inspiration was not divine. In September, Charles disbanded the army, and Joan was not allowed to work with the Duke of Alençon again. In October, Joan was sent as part of a force to attack the territory of Perrinet Gressart  [ fr ] , a mercenary who had served

7872-407: The expedition without the financial support of the court. In April, Joan arrived at Melun , which had expelled its Burgundian garrison. As Joan advanced, her force grew as other commanders joined her. Joan's troops advanced to Lagny-sur-Marne and defeated an Anglo-Burgundian force commanded by the mercenary Franquet d'Arras who was captured. Typically, he would have been ransomed or exchanged by

7995-491: The family income as a village official, collecting taxes and heading the local watch . She was born during the Hundred Years' War between England and France, which had begun in 1337 over the status of English territories in France and English claims to the French throne . Nearly all the fighting had taken place in France, devastating its economy. At the time of Joan's birth, France was divided politically. The French king Charles VI had recurring bouts of mental illness and

8118-399: The front ranks, and she gave them a sense she was fighting for their salvation. Armagnac commanders would sometimes accept the advice she gave them, such as deciding what position to attack, when to continue an assault, and how to place artillery. On 4 May, the Armagnacs went on the offensive, attacking the outlying bastille de Saint-Loup (fortress of Saint Loup ). Once Joan learned of

8241-469: The garrison in Meung and traveled along the north bank of the Loire to relieve Beaugency. Unaware of this, the English garrison at Beaugency surrendered on 18 June. The main English army retreated toward Paris; Joan urged the Armagnacs to pursue them, and the two armies clashed at the Battle of Patay later that day. The English had prepared their forces to ambush an Armagnac attack with hidden archers , but

8364-407: The hearings as he was not in his native diocese. He also stated that Joan was "vehemently suspected of heresy" and that "rumors of her acts and sayings wounding our faith had notoriously spread." This was the basis for the diffamatio, a necessary requirement for bringing charges against a suspect. He also alluded to the expected absence of the Vice-Inquisitor for Rouen, Jean Le Maistre, whose presence

8487-417: The offensive. On the morning of 7 May, the Armagnacs attacked the main English stronghold, les Tourelles . Joan was wounded by an arrow between the neck and shoulder while holding her banner in the trench on the south bank of the river but later returned to encourage the final assault that took the fortress. The English retreated from Orléans on 8 May, ending the siege. At Chinon, Joan had declared that she

8610-808: The question of her adoption of soldier's attire, she was asked if she had worn it "by revelation." She referred to the record of Poitiers, but did add that she had begun wearing soldier's clothing at Vaucouleurs, when she set out across enemy-held territory to travel to Chinon. Many other questions about this matter were put to her which she refused to answer. However, it transpired that, on several occasions, she had been offered women's clothing and asked to put off her male attire but she replied that she "would not put it off without God's leave." Many other questions about her standard and pennons and those of her followers ensued. She replied that they were made of "white satin, and on some there were fleur-de-lis ." After briefly describing her meeting with Friar Richard at Troyes ,

8733-550: The questioning turned to the issue of paintings of Joan ("At Arras , I saw a painting of myself done by the hands of a Scot") and the response of the common people to her—the kissing of her rings, hands, garments, and the like." ("Many women touched my hands and my rings; but I do not know with what thought or intention.") Joan was then asked about her meeting with Catherine de La Rochelle, a French mystic who likewise claimed to have revelations from God. Joan said her saints had described Catherine as "folly and nothing more". Finally,

8856-595: The questions, and referred others to the record of the Poitiers investigation. There was further questioning about her assumption of soldier's attire to which she responded: "Everything I have done is at God's command." As to her first meeting with Charles VII, she referred the most substantive questions to the records of the Poitiers investigation but did state that the "King had a sign touching on my mission before he believed in me" and that "the clergy of my party [i.e.,

8979-488: The recently appointed Inquisitor of France, who interviewed about 20 witnesses. The inquest was guided by 27 articles describing how Joan's trial had been biased. Immediately after the inquest, d'Estouteville went to Orléans on 9 June and granted an indulgence to those who participated in the ceremonies in Joan's honor on 8 May commemorating the lifting of the siege. Trial of Joan of Arc The Trial of Joan of Arc

9102-564: The remainder of her life. Charles VII met Joan for the first time at the Royal Court in Chinon in late February or early March 1429, when she was seventeen and he was twenty-six. She told him that she had come to raise the siege of Orléans and to lead him to Reims for his coronation. They had a private exchange that made a strong impression on Charles; Jean Pasquerel , Joan's confessor, later testified that Joan told him she had reassured

9225-602: The rest of Charles's territory by capturing many of the smaller bridge towns on the Loire River. Orléans was strategically important as the last obstacle to an assault on the remainder of Charles's territory. According to Joan's later testimony, it was around this period that her visions told her to leave Domrémy to help the Dauphin Charles. Baudricourt agreed to a third meeting with Joan in February 1429, around

9348-448: The secular courts immediately; the rest recommended that the abjuration be read to her again and explained. In the end, they voted unanimously that Joan was a relapsed heretic and should be abandoned to the secular power, the English, for punishment. At about the age of nineteen, Joan was executed on 30 May 1431. In the morning, she was allowed to receive the sacraments despite the court process requiring they be denied to heretics. She

9471-403: The session closed with some questions about Joan's escape attempt from the castle at Beaurevoir, where she was held for a number of months by her Burgundian captors. She stated that although her visions forbade it, "from fear of the English, I leaped and commended myself to God" and "in leaping was wounded", further stating that she would "rather surrender her soul to God than fall into the hands of

9594-432: The siege due to disagreements about territory, and the English were debating whether to continue. Nonetheless, after almost a century of war, the Armagnacs were demoralized. Once Joan joined the Dauphin's cause, her personality began to raise their spirits, inspiring devotion and the hope of divine assistance. Her belief in the divine origin of her mission turned the longstanding Anglo-French conflict over inheritance into

9717-404: The soldiers to fill the city's moat with wood and directed the placement of artillery. Fearing an assault, Troyes negotiated a surrender. Reims opened its gates on 16 July 1429. Charles, Joan, and the army entered in the evening, and Charles's consecration took place the following morning. Joan was given a place of honor at the ceremony, and announced that God's will had been fulfilled. After

9840-493: The stake on 30 May 1431, aged about nineteen. In 1456, an inquisitorial court reinvestigated Joan's trial and overturned the verdict, declaring that it was tainted by deceit and procedural errors. Joan has been described as an obedient daughter of the Roman Catholic Church , an early feminist, and a symbol of freedom and independence. She is popularly revered as a martyr. After the French Revolution , she became

9963-792: The standard Catholic prayers—the Pater Noster ("Our Father" or "Lord's Prayer"), Ave Maria ("Hail Mary"), and the Credo ("Apostles' Creed")—Cauchon asked her to recite the Pater Noster. She replied that she would do so only if she were allowed to be heard in Confession . Finally, reminding her of her previous escape attempts, Joan was admonished against escaping, being told that if she were to do so, she would automatically be convicted of heresy. She rejected this, saying that she had given no oath regarding this matter to anyone and adding, "It

10086-492: The succession of the French throne to their heirs, and effectively disinherited the Dauphin. This caused rumors that the Dauphin was not King Charles VI's son, but the offspring of an adulterous affair between Isabeau and the murdered duke of Orléans. In 1422, Henry V and Charles VI died within two months of each other; the 9-month-old Henry VI of England was the nominal heir of the Anglo-French dual monarchy as agreed in

10209-571: The time the English captured an Armagnac relief convoy at the Battle of the Herrings during the Siege of Orléans . Their conversations, along with Metz and Poulengy's support, convinced Baudricourt to allow her to go to Chinon for an audience with the Dauphin. Joan traveled with an escort of six soldiers. Before leaving, Joan put on men's clothes, which were provided by her escorts and the people of Vaucouleurs. She continued to wear men's clothes for

10332-430: The town's walls. Joan sent a message to the English to surrender; they refused and she advocated for a direct assault on the walls the next day. By the end of the day, the town was taken. The Armagnac took few prisoners and many of the English who surrendered were killed. During this campaign, Joan continued to serve in the thick of battle. She began scaling a siege ladder with her banner in hand but before she could climb

10455-411: The treaty, but the Dauphin also claimed the French throne. In her youth, Joan did household chores, spun wool, helped her father in the fields and looked after their animals. Her mother provided Joan's religious education. Much of Domrémy lay in the Duchy of Bar , whose precise feudal status was unclear; though surrounded by pro-Burgundian lands, its people were loyal to the Armagnac cause. By 1419,

10578-558: The trial progressed and the tribunal failed to find other grounds for a conviction. After being brought before the court, the proceedings were explained to Joan and an exhortation was delivered to her by Bishop Cauchon, following which she was required to take an oath concerning her testimony. The court returned to the matter of the oath in subsequent sessions. She was then asked concerning matters such as her name, her birth, her parents and godparents, her baptism, and her religious upbringing. When she reported that her mother had taught her

10701-583: The trial transcript, and described how the English government had manipulated the affair. Jules Quicherat published the first unabridged version of the trial record in the first volume of his five-volume series Procès de condamnation et de réhabilitation de Jeanne d'Arc in Paris in the 1840s. But it was not until 1932 that the first unabridged English translation became available when W.P. Barrett published his Trial of Joan of Arc in New York City . The procedures of an Inquisitorial trial called for

10824-409: The trial was politically motivated. Joan testified that her visions had instructed her to defeat the English and crown Charles, and her success was argued to be evidence she was acting on behalf of God. If unchallenged, her testimony would invalidate the English claim to the rule of France and undermine the University of Paris, which supported the dual monarchy ruled by an English king. The verdict

10947-412: The trial. Joan was not read the charges against her until well after her interrogations began. The procedures were below inquisitorial standards, subjecting Joan to lengthy interrogations without legal counsel. One of the trial clerics stepped down because he felt the testimony was coerced and its intention was to entrap Joan; another challenged Cauchon's right to judge the trial and was jailed. There

11070-446: The trial. Five copies were produced, three of which are still in existence. The lengthy investigations and appellate trial during the 1450s produced additional information about the details and behind-the-scenes activity during the process, since the 115 witnesses questioned during these investigations included many of the clergymen who had served during the trial in 1431. They gave vivid memories of many incidents that are not recorded in

11193-546: The voice was "seldom heard without a light" and that she "often heard the voice" when she came to France. She then related details of her journey from Domrémy, to Chinon, first applying to Robert de Baudricourt in Vaucouleurs for an escort and leaving that city wearing soldier's attire and equipped with a sword supplied by Baudricourt. Again the session began with skirmishing over the oath, after which Jean Beaupere began with extensive questioning concerning Joan's voices. She

11316-440: The wall, she was struck by a stone which split her helmet. Alençon and Joan's army advanced on Meung-sur-Loire . On 15 June, they took control of the town's bridge, and the English garrison withdrew to a castle on the Loire's north bank. Most of the army continued on the south bank of the Loire to besiege the castle at Beaugency . Meanwhile, the English army from Paris under the command of Sir John Fastolf had linked up with

11439-542: The war had affected the area, and in 1425, Domrémy was attacked and cattle were stolen. This led to a sentiment among villagers that the English must be expelled from France to achieve peace. Joan had her first vision after this raid. Joan later testified that when she was thirteen, c.  1425 , a figure she identified as Saint Michael surrounded by angels appeared to her in the garden. After this vision, she said she wept because she wanted them to take her with them. Throughout her life, she had visions of St. Michael,

11562-495: Was burned at the stake . The verdict was later nullified at Joan's rehabilitation trial, which was overseen by the Inquisitor-General , Jean Bréhal , in 1456. Considered a French national heroine, she was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920. The trial is one of the most famous in history, becoming the subject of many books and films. In the spring of 1429, acting in obedience to what she said

11685-401: Was a 15th century legal proceeding against Joan of Arc , a French military leader under Charles VII during the Hundred Years' War . During the siege of Compiègne in 1430, she was captured by Burgundian forces and subsequently sold to their English allies. She was prosecuted by a pro-English church court at Rouen , Normandy , in 1431. The court found her guilty of heresy and she

11808-452: Was a "grave question" that Joan wasn't required to answer. Cauchon retorted: "It would have been better for you if you had kept your mouth shut!" Joan's response, neatly avoiding the theological trap, left the court "stupefied" according to one of the notaries, Boisguillaume. She added that if she were in a state of sin, she didn't think these saints would come to her; and she wished everyone could hear them as well as she did. She thought she

11931-515: Was a foregone conclusion. Joan's guilt could be used to compromise Charles's claims to legitimacy by showing that he had been consecrated by the act of a heretic. Cauchon served as the ordinary judge of the trial. The English subsidized the trial, including payments to Cauchon and Jean Le Maître, who represented the Inquisitor of France. All but 8 of the 131 clergy who participated in the trial were French and two thirds were associated with

12054-547: Was about thirteen years old when they came to her for the first time. From there, the questioning turned again to Joan's childhood in Domremy, with questions about the "Ladies Tree" and the customs surrounding it. The session ended with Joan being asked whether she would wear women's clothing if such were supplied her. She replied: "Give me [a dress] and I will take it and go; otherwise, I am content with this [her male clothes], since it pleases God that I wear it." Again Joan took

12177-401: Was allied with the English. The Burgundians delivered her to the English in exchange for 10,000 francs. King Charles did not attempt to retrieve her. In December of that same year, she was transferred to Rouen, the military headquarters and administrative capital in France of King Henry VI of England , and placed on trial for heresy before a Church court headed by Bishop Pierre Cauchon ,

12300-526: Was asked by the newly crowned king to continue fighting for France, and she agreed. What was a string of victories before became a series of military setbacks that eventually led to her capture. First, there was a reversal before the gates of Paris in September of that same year. Then, she was captured in May 1430 in the siege of Compiègne by the Burgundian faction led by Philip III , Duke of Burgundy , who

12423-498: Was asked concerning a dream which her father had prior to her leaving Domrémy. She replied that she was "often told by my mother that my father spoke of having dreamed that I would go off with men-at-arms" and that she had heard her mother tell how "my father said to my brothers 'in truth, if I thought this thing would happen which I have dreamed about my daughter, I would want you to drown her; and if you would not, I would drown her myself." (He evidently mistakenly assumed she would become

12546-483: Was asked, among other things, what she was doing when the voice came to her, where the voice was, if there was any tactile interaction, what it said, etc. Joan reported that she asked the voice for counsel regarding the questioning and was told to "answer boldly and God would comfort [her]". She further stated that she "never found [the voice] to utter two contrary opinions" and she affirmed her belief that "this voice comes from God, and by His command". Several questions of

12669-409: Was captured by Burgundian troops on 23 May. After trying unsuccessfully to escape, she was handed to the English in November. She was put on trial by Bishop Pierre Cauchon on accusations of heresy , which included blaspheming by wearing men's clothes, acting upon visions that were demonic, and refusing to submit her words and deeds to the judgment of the church. She was declared guilty and burned at

12792-445: Was displeased and argued that the attack should be continued. She and Alençon had made fresh plans to attack Paris, but Charles dismantled a bridge approaching Paris that was necessary for the attack and the Armagnac army had to retreat. After the defeat at Paris, Joan's role in the French court diminished. Her aggressive independence did not agree with the court's emphasis on finding a diplomatic solution with Burgundy, and her role in

12915-505: Was given one by an English soldier made from a stick, which she kissed and placed next to her chest. A processional crucifix was fetched from the church of Saint-Saveur. She embraced it before her hands were bound, and it was held before her eyes during her execution. After her death, her remains were thrown into the Seine River. The military situation was not changed by Joan's execution. Her triumphs had raised Armagnac morale, and

13038-472: Was guided by visions from the archangel Michael , Saint Margaret , and Saint Catherine to help him save France from English domination. Convinced of her devotion and purity, Charles sent Joan, who was about seventeen years old, to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief army. She arrived at the city in April 1429, wielding her banner and bringing hope to the demoralized French army. Nine days after her arrival,

13161-443: Was in God's grace. The question was meant as a scholarly trap, as church doctrine held that nobody could be certain of being in God's grace. If she answered positively, she would have been charged with heresy; if negatively, she would have confessed her own guilt. Joan avoided the trap by stating that if she was not in God's grace, she hoped God would put her there, and if she was in God's grace then she hoped she would remain so. One of

13284-456: Was in fact wounded by an arrow between the neck and left shoulder as she was helping to raise a ladder against the fortress of Les Tourelles. Following the usual disagreements over the oath, the session then turned to certain letters exchanged between herself and the Count of Armagnac concerning which of the three Papal claimants was the true Pope. Joan stated that she "believed in our Holy Father

13407-425: Was not completely cut off, and Dunois got her into the city, where she was greeted enthusiastically. Joan was initially treated as a figurehead to raise morale, flying her banner on the battlefield. She was not given any formal command or included in military councils but quickly gained the support of the Armagnac troops. She always seemed to be present where the fighting was most intense, she frequently stayed with

13530-424: Was not taught to read and write in her childhood, and so dictated her letters. She may later have learned to sign her name, as some of her letters are signed, and she may even have learned to read. Joan referred to herself in the letters as Jeanne la Pucelle ("Joan the Maiden") or as la Pucelle ("the Maiden"), emphasizing her virginity, and she signed "Jehanne". In the sixteenth century, she became known as

13653-527: Was of divine origin. Joan was then sent to Tours to be physically examined by women directed by Charles's mother-in-law Yolande of Aragon , who verified her virginity. This was to establish if she could indeed be the prophesied virgin savior of France, to show the purity of her devotion, and to ensure she had not consorted with the Devil. The Dauphin, reassured by the results of these tests, commissioned plate armor for her. She designed her own banner and had

13776-579: Was often unable to rule; his brother Louis , Duke of Orléans , and his cousin John the Fearless , Duke of Burgundy , quarreled over the regency of France. In 1407, the Duke of Burgundy ordered the assassination of the Duke of Orléans , precipitating a civil war. Charles of Orléans succeeded his father as duke at the age of thirteen and was placed in the custody of Bernard, Count of Armagnac ; his supporters became known as " Armagnacs ", while supporters of

13899-546: Was questioned about her youth and activities in Domrémy . She replied that she had learned to "spin [wool] and to sew", that she "confessed her sins once a year", sometimes more often, and "received the sacrament of the Eucharist at Easter". The questioning then took a more serious turn as the issue of her visions was taken up. She stated that at the age of twelve or thirteen, she "had a voice from God to help and guide me", but that at first she "was much afraid". She added that

14022-457: Was read aloud to her, and she signed it. Public heresy was a capital crime , in which an unrepentant or relapsed heretic could be given over to the judgment of the secular courts and punished by death. Having signed the abjuration, Joan was no longer an unrepentant heretic but could be executed if convicted of relapsing into heresy. As part of her abjuration, Joan was required to renounce wearing men's clothes. She exchanged her clothes for

14145-523: Was required by canon law in order to validate the proceedings. One witness in the rehabilitation trial , which was held over 20 years later, stated that Lemaitre had to be threatened to ensure his attendance at the trial. The inquisitor at the rehabilitation trial later declared these points to be violations of the Church's rules. In response to the summons of Bishop Cauchon on this same date, priest and bailiff Jean Massieu reported that Joan had agreed to appear in court, but she requested that ecclesiastics of

14268-422: Was sent by God. At Poitiers, when she was asked to show a sign demonstrating this claim, she replied that it would be given if she were brought to Orléans. The lifting of the siege was interpreted by many people to be that sign. Prominent clergy such as Jacques Gélu  [ fr ] , Archbishop of Embrun , and the theologian Jean Gerson wrote treatises in support of Joan after this victory. In contrast,

14391-406: Was summoned to Nancy under safe conduct by Charles II, Duke of Lorraine , who had heard about Joan during her stay at Vaucouleurs. The duke was ill and thought she might have supernatural powers that could cure him. She offered no cures, but reprimanded him for living with his mistress. Henry V's brothers, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford , and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester , had continued

14514-436: Was that nothing could be found against Joan to support any charges against her. The man who was commissioned to collect testimony, Nicolas Bailly, said that he "had found nothing concerning Joan that he would not have liked to find about his own sister". This angered Cauchon, who was hoping for something he could use against her. He accused Bailly of being "a traitor and a bad man" and refused to pay him his promised salary. In

14637-514: Was the command of God , Joan inspired the Dauphin 's armies in a series of stunning military victories which lifted the Siege of Orléans and destroyed a large percentage of the remaining English forces at the Battle of Patay , reversing the course of the Hundred Years' War . The Dauphin— Charles VII of France —was crowned a few months later at Reims . Joan, having completed her mission, prepared to return home to Domremy. Before she could go, she

14760-442: Was then "thirteen years old, or thereabouts". She said that she had not told anyone of her visions (neither her parents, nor her priest, nor any churchman), except Robert de Baudricourt . Asked whether she thought it was right to leave her parents without permission, she responded that she did so at the command of God and therefore "it was right to do so," further stating that "afterwards, I wrote to them, and they forgave me." Joan

14883-560: Was then asked many detailed questions concerning the saints (called "apparitions" by the questioner, Pierre Cauchon) who she believed visited her. She was asked whether they were male or female, did they have hair, what language they spoke, etc. Asked whether St. Margaret spoke English, she replied: "Why should she speak English when she is not on the English side?" She was then asked about her rings and whether she attempted to effect cures thereby, to which she replied: "I never cured anyone with any of my rings." They also asked her whether she had

15006-399: Was then taken to Rouen's Vieux-Marché (Old Marketplace), where she was publicly read her sentence of condemnation. At this point, she should have been turned over to the appropriate authority, the bailiff of Rouen, for secular sentencing, but instead was delivered directly to the English and tied to a tall plastered pillar for execution by burning . She asked to view a cross as she died, and

15129-482: Was usually written as "Darc" without an apostrophe, but there are variants such as "Tarc", "Dart" or "Day". Her father's name was written as "Tart" at her trial. She was called "Jeanne d'Ay de Domrémy" in Charles VII's 1429 letter granting her a coat of arms. Joan may never have heard herself called "Jeanne d'Arc". The first written record of her being called by this name is in 1455, 24 years after her death. She

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