Jeanne d’Arc: Religious Lunatic, or the Great Heroine?

Jeanne d’Arc – the name does not find itself solely in the history book and papers, but also in modern pop cultures: TV series, movies, anime, and games. These derivative works unavoidably portray Jeanne d’Arc in myriads of facades, whether they are true or false. In this article, I will be discussing Jeanne d’Arc’s story in credible historical records, her story after death, and her status in modern France. - Lynetta Wang, Author

Today, we understand snippets of Jeanne’s childhood through the confessions and information gathered when she was arrested and trialed. She was born in Domremy around 1400, eastern France, and was raised by her father Jacques and had 4 other siblings. According to the family’s neighbor, Jeanne was like every other farm girl when she was young. Other than that, almost all the neighbors mentioned this one specific thing: she was incredibly religious. This is believed the reason why the villagers mocked her as being a religious fanatic when she claimed to have heard “the voice”, and this “voice” continued to accompany her for her entire life.

Ever since the “voice” appeared to her for the first time when she was 13, she swore to be pious by the order of Archangel Michael, Saint Catherine of Siena, and Saint Margaret, to liberate France from her invaders, the English of the Hundred Year’s War, and to lead to Dauphin to the throne, thus reverse the current unfavorable situation for France. With seigneur Baudricourt as a stepping stone, she approached the Dauphin Charles, who sent her, a seventeen-year-old girl at that time, to the siege of Orleans being part of the relief army. After that, Jeanne led the French army to many victories, and had successfully seen the coronation of Dauphin. The morale of French armies was at its highest, people believed that Jeanne d’Arc had brought divine existence upon them, and their victory was unstoppable.

But the belief was temporary. The failure in the siege of Paris and the siege of Compiegne resulted in Jeanne being handed to the English in November 1430. As a symbol of the French Army, Jeanne was imprisoned discordantly in Rouen, in Normandy. In February 1431, she was put on trial by Bishop Pierre Cauchon, in a court where all the 120 English men who attended were carefully selected and repeatedly tested for compliance-it was a court designed to stamp her guilty, because, to the English, Jeanne d’Arc was the spirit of France. This court, from its organization and execution, was illegal. Essencially, it was in fact a political court with a thin veneer of religion. Througout couple of months, the court has issued Jeanne d’Arc around 70 accusation, one that was the most crucial was: revelationum et apparitionum divinorum mendosa confictrix-falsely inventing God’s revelation. If it was the “voice” that bestowed so much power on the French army, then the mission of the court was to prove that “voice” was non-existent.

All the French attempt to rescue had failed, and on 30 May 1431, Jeanne d’Arc was burned at stake, 19 years old. Her trial was overturned in 1456, declaring that the court was tainted by deceit and procedural error. It was a justice delayed.

Has the spirit of Jeanne d’Arc been inherited by the French since then? Has herself been worshiped as the Holy Maiden of Salvation. No. After the Hundred Years’ War, Jeanne d’Arc was not exalted by the French government. Instead, her great deeds were suppressed, because the historians serving the French royal family did not want people to think that the French King relied on a “witch” or a “saint” to be triumphant. It was not until the end of 18th century and the beginning of 19th century that there were large number of literary works of praise. After the French Revolution, when the people of France urgently needed a national image that could unite France, interest in and research on Jeanne d’Arc spread wildly. In the following hundreds of years, the major political forces in France scrambled to snatch Jeanne d’Arc’s legacy. The left saw that she was born as a commoner, while the right always emphasized that she supported the king, and Napoleon felt that she was suitable to be regarded as a patriotic image.

During World War II, both Vichy France and Free France also used Jeanne d’Arc against each other. The former said that she was a great anti-British hero, while Free France claimed that Jeanne d’Arc fought back against foreign aggression. Even the title of “saint" has political calculations behind it. Just as the Pope wanted to please the French king behind the canonization of Saint Louis, the famous saint of France, it was not until the twentieth century that the Holy See began the process of canonizing Jeanne d’Arc. She was canonized in 1920 and was soon elevated to the level of Saint Louis. The two are jointly listed as the patron saints of France, and they are loved and worshiped by the French.

In France in the 21st century, with the spread of the "new trend of thought", the voice of liquidating nationalism has gradually become the mainstream. As a symbol of French patriotism and a Catholic saint, Jeanne d’Arc was also regarded as a remnant of the old era. Not only did the official greatly reduce commemorative activities, but she was also gradually removed from the textbooks.

Nearly 600 years have passed since the 19-year-old Jeanne d’Arc died for the country. During these 600 years, different people and different forces either hid her, exalted her, or degraded her for political purposes. But maybe she doesn't care about these noises behind her. After all, putting aside all the comments of later generations, what she cares about all her life is only the motherland, the king and the people.

Author Lynetta Wang

Editor Suhh Yeon Kim