The story of Jeanne d Arc. Who is Jeanne d'Arc: what did she do and why did they burn the famous Maiden of Orleans

Jeanne's childhood

Jeanne d'Arc was born in the village of Domremy on the border of Champagne and Lorraine in the family of impoverished nobles (or wealthy peasants) Jacques d'Arc and Isabella de Vuton, nicknamed Roma (Roman) because of her pilgrimage to Rome.

The year of Jeanne's birth is not known with certainty. The date of January 6, 1412 is purely conjectural, and has been established ever since the pope mentioned it in his bull. There was nothing surprising in this - accurate information about the day and month of birth in those days was not always preserved even for children of royal blood. As for Jeanne, as it turned out, in Domremy there was not even a church book where records of baptism would be made.

Jeanne was called one of the most common female names for that time - it was worn by a third to half of the girls of her generation. Three days after her birth, as was customary, Jeanne was baptized by the village priest. Jeanne's font is still preserved - it can still be seen in the parish church of the village.

The girl was not supposed to go to school, from a young age she was prepared for the future role of wife and mother. Jeanette learned to spin linen and wool, to sew clothes - "not even so much out of necessity, but in order to drive out laziness - the mother of all vices." In addition, she grazed the village herd when it was her turn, worked in the garden and in the field, weeded, loosened the earth, walked behind the plow, and turned the hay. The only thing that, perhaps, distinguished her at that time from her friends and girlfriends was her passion for drawing. According to the testimony of a later time, the entire facade of the house where she lived "was covered with drawings made by her hand, but time did not spare them."

House of Jeanne d'Arc in Domremy. Now - a museum. Photo source: parisgid.ru

There were five children in the family, of which Zhanna was apparently the penultimate or even the youngest. Apparently, the family was close-knit and friendly. The brothers Pierre and Jean, from beginning to end, accompanied Jeanne in her campaigns, and Pierre was even captured with her, and with great difficulty was freed, after paying a ransom, remaining almost a beggar.

The family was quite pious, in the sense that "religion" was understood at that time. D'Arcs always kept a fast, regularly attended church, celebrated major holidays, and paid tithes. Jeanne received her first lessons in religion from her mother. According to the testimony of the parish priest Greu, Jeanne was very religious (friends sometimes even teased her for it). She was constantly seen during the performance of Sunday and festive masses, also when the bells rang for matins, she immediately interrupted plowing or gardening to kneel down and read the prescribed prayers. Often she was seen on her knees before the priest, repenting of her sins.

The figure of Joan of Arc is of exceptional importance for French history and culture. So exceptional that there is a statue of her in almost every church in France. Jeanne not only saved this country from the English invaders. What the French rulers could not do for almost a hundred years, she was able to do in just a few days, moreover, accompanied by a very small detachment. At the same time, she was a very young girl, almost a teenager: she was burned at the stake at the age of nineteen. Saving an entire country at such a young age is an incredible feat, which seems to be impossible in our time, when many people remain children until thirty or even fifty years old. "Children" - in a bad sense: they do not have an occupation that would please them and bring a stable income, they do not have their own apartment, moreover, they do not have independent and confident judgments about the world around them, they are simple and naive; not to defend the country - many of them are often unable to defend themselves in a street fight.

The Confident Joan and the Uncertain King

According to the legendary biography of the girl, at an early age she heard the voices that belonged to the saints (the Archangel Michael, Catherine of Alexandria and Margaret of Antioch) and urged her to perform a feat in the name of France. She went to the court of the king - and then it was Charles VII. Further history is a collaboration of a strong, strong-willed and warlike Jeanne and a cautious, insecure and doubting king. When the girl urged the monarch to immediately go on the offensive, he hesitated for a long time. Because of this, the French army almost missed the attack several times. However, the determination of Jeanne and the soldiers entrusted to her, their zeal and excellent command of weapons compensated for the uncertainty of the king, and France won victories over and over again. Joan of Arc was the first commander in the history of the Hundred Years' War who brought confusion to the ranks of the British: until now they considered themselves almost invincible. The war, of course, went on with varying success, but it was clear that the French forces were gradually drying up. This would have continued further, but suddenly Jeanne appeared out of nowhere.

Who condemned Jeanne to be burned?

Jeanne was captured by the British as a result of betrayal. Since that day, she has been in custody. In view of the high religiosity of the then population, the British decided to hold the trial of their winner "in the spirit of the church." At a special trial, Jeanne was condemned as a heretic, attributing to her intercourse with the devil, violation of Christian norms and other sins. The process was led by Bishop Pierre Cauchon, one of the traitors: he was well bribed by the invaders, went over to their side and showed inexcusable liberty in his actions, ignoring both civil law and the decrees of the Pope.

It is noteworthy that Jeanne herself was confident and fearless in court. She did not admit her guilt and predicted an imminent defeat to the British. Even having climbed the fire, she continued to talk about the fair outcome of the war in the future and that God's judgment awaits the English invaders.

Consequences of Jeanne's activities

The invaders executed the brave military leader, but this did not help them regain the initiative. The prophecy of the young warrior came true: after twenty-odd years (by the standards of that time, this is a very short period), the British suffered a final defeat; The Hundred Years War is over.

King Charles VII and Pope Calixtus III had to rake up the heap "heaped" by the British for some time: as a result of a long investigation, they found that Jeanne was not guilty of any of the sins that she was charged with. The good name of the "Maid of Orleans" was restored.

Finally, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Joan of Arc was canonized.

Joan of Arc

The only lifetime image of Joan of Arc

Brief description of life:

Joan of Arc is one of the most famous figures of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). By the time the king came to the throne Charles VII(1422) France was in a critical situation - all of northern France was occupied by the British, the army was extremely weakened, the question arose about the independence of the French state. The key moment was the British siege of Orleans (1428).

The capture of this fortress opened to them an almost unhindered advance to the south. At that moment, the peasant girl Joan of Arc appeared, claiming that she heard the voices of the saints, who urged her to a military feat and promised her their help.

Jeanne managed to convince the military of her liberation mission, she received a military detachment and, supported by experienced military leaders and popular faith, inflicted several defeats on the British. The siege of Orléans was lifted.

The fame and influence of Jeanne grew tremendously. At her insistence, Charles was solemnly crowned in Reims. However, Jeanne's attempt to storm Paris ended unsuccessfully.

Joan of Arc was captured in 1430 and brought to the church court. At the insistence of the British, she was accused of witchcraft, found guilty and burned in Rouen on May 30, 1431. After 25 years, her case was reviewed, she was found innocently convicted , and in 1920 canonized as a saint.

Netre Dame de Senlis - Cathedral of Our Lady of Senlis Memorial plaque in honor of the 500th anniversary of Joan of Arc's stay here: "August 15, 1429, she defeated the English army of the Duke of Bedford in the Sanli Plain, where she spent from April 23 to 25. She returned as early as April 1430."

Siege of Orleans by the British

March 6, 1429 Jeanne arrived at the castle Chinon to King Charles VII of France

Marxist look:

Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) (c. 1412, Domremy, Lorraine, - 30. 5. 1431, Rouen), the national heroine of France, who led the liberation, the struggle of the French people against the British during the Hundred Years War 1337-1453. The fanatically religious J. d "A., seeing the disasters that befell her homeland, gradually became convinced that she could lead the movement against foreign invaders. Her desire to fight met the aspirations of the French people. Having hardly made her way from the territory occupied by the British and by their allies - the Burgundians, in Chinon to the Dauphin Charles, she convinced him to start decisive military actions. Placed at the head of the army of J. d "A. showed courage and inspired the troops to fight the enemy. She broke through with the troops into Orleans, besieged by the British, and on May 8, 1429 forced them to lift the siege of the city, for which the people began to call her the Maid of Orleans. A series of victories won by J. d "A. allowed Dauphin Charles (Charles VII) to be crowned in Reims on July 17, 1429. However, the king and the aristocratic elite, frightened by the wide scope of the people's war and the growing popularity of J. d" A., actually removed her from the command of the army. On May 23, 1430, during a sortie from the besieged Compiègne, J. d "A., as a result of betrayal, was captured by the Burgundians and was sold to the British. The church court in Rouen, where the judges were the French - accomplices of the invaders, accused J. d" A. in heresy and witchcraft and sentenced her to be burned at the stake. 25 years after the execution at the new church trial in the case of J. d "A., which took place in France in 1456, she was solemnly rehabilitated, and almost five centuries later, in 1920, the Catholic Church canonized her as a saint. In the memory of the French people and all mankind J. d "A. remains a vivid example of a lack of cherished love for the motherland. Today in France, the second Sunday of May is annually celebrated as a holiday in honor of J. d "A.

Used materials from the Soviet military encyclopedia in 8 volumes, volume 3: The American Civil War, 1861-65 - Yokota. 672 p., 1977.

Jeanne d'Arc leads the French into battle

Passionary sample

Jeanne D "Arc, Maid of Orleans (1412-1431) - the national heroine of France. During the Hundred Years War, she led the fight of the French against the British, in 1429 she freed the city of Orleans from the siege. In 1430 she was captured by the Burgundians, who extradited her for a lot of money to the British, who declared Jeannuu a witch and brought her to the church court. Gumilyov as a model of passion.

Quoted from: Lev Gumilyov. Encyclopedia. / Ch. ed. E.B. Sadykov, comp. T.K. Shanbai, - M., 2013, p. 252.

The image of Jeanne in literature

"We know more about Joan of Arc than about any other of her contemporaries, and at the same time it is difficult to find another person among the people of the 15th century whose image would seem so mysterious to posterity." (*2) p.5

"... She was born in the village of Domremy in Lorraine in 1412. It is known that she was born of honest and just parents. On the night of Christmas, when nations tend to honor the works of Christ in great bliss, she entered the mortal world. And roosters, like Heralds of a new joy, then shouted with an unusual, hitherto unheard cry. We saw how they flapped their wings for more than two hours, predicting what was destined for this little one. (*1) p.146

This fact is reported by Perceval de Boulainvilliers, adviser and chamberlain of the king, in a letter to the Duke of Milon, which can be called her first biography. But most likely this description is a legend, since not a single chronicle mentions this, and the birth of Jeanne did not leave the slightest trace in the memory of fellow villagers - residents of Domremi, who acted as witnesses in the rehabilitation process.

She lived in Domremy with her father, mother and two brothers, Jean and Pierre. Jacques d'Arc and Isabella were, according to local concepts, "not very rich." (For a more detailed description of the family, see (*2) pp. 41-43)

“Not far from the village where Jeanne grew up, a very beautiful tree grew, “beautiful like a lily,” as one witness noted; village boys and girls gathered near the tree on Sundays, they danced around it and washed themselves with water from a nearby source. The tree was called a tree fairies, they said that in ancient times wonderful creatures, fairies, danced around it. Jeanne also often went there, but she never saw a single fairy. " (*5) P.417, see (*2) P.43-45

"When she was 12 years old, the first revelation came to her. Suddenly, a radiant cloud arose before her eyes, from which a voice was heard:" Jeanne, it is fitting for you to go the other way and perform miraculous deeds, for you are the one chosen by the King of Heaven for protection King Charles.." (*1) p.146

"At first I was very frightened. I heard a voice during the day, it was in the summer in my father's garden. The day before that I was fasting. The voice came to me from the right side, from where the church was, and from the same side there was great holiness. This the voice always guided me." Later, the voice began to appear to Jeanne every day and insisted that you need to "go and lift the siege of the city of Orleans." The voices called her "Jeanne de Pucelle, daughter of God" - in addition to the first voice, which, as I think, belonged to Jeanne, the Archangel Michael, the voices of St. Margaret and St. Catherine soon joined. To all those who tried to block her path, Jeanne reminded an ancient prophecy that said that "France will be destroyed by a woman, and a virgin will save." (The first part of the prophecy came true when Isabella of Bavaria forced her husband, King Charles VI of France, to declare her son Charles VII illegitimate, as a result of which, by the time of Joanna, Charles VII was not a king, but only a dauphin) "(*5) p.417

"I came here to the royal chamber, in order to speak with Robert de Baudricourt, so that he would take me to the king or order his people to take me; but he paid no attention to me or to my words; nevertheless, I need to appear before the King in the first half of the Lent, even if I wipe my feet to the knees for this; know that no one - neither the king, nor the duke, nor the daughter of the Scottish king, nor anyone else - can restore the French kingdom; salvation can only come from me, and although I would rather stay with my poor mother and spin, that is not my destiny: I must go, and I will do it, for it is my Lord's will that I act in this way. (*3) page 27

Three times she had to turn to Robert de Baudricourt. After the first time, she was sent home, and her parents decided to marry her off. But Jeanne herself terminated the engagement through the court.

"Time for her dragged on slowly," as for a woman expecting a child, "she said, and so slowly that she could not stand it, and one fine morning, accompanied by her uncle, the devoted Durand Laxar, a resident of Vaucouleurs named Jacques Alain, set off ; her companions bought a horse for her, which cost them twelve francs. But they did not go far: arriving at Saint-Nicolas-de-Saint-Fonds, which was on the road to Sauvroy, Jeanne declared: "It is not so befitting for us to retire," and the travelers returned to Vaucouleurs (*3) page 25

One day a messenger arrived from Nancy from the Duke of Lorraine.

“Duke Charles II of Lorraine gave Jeanne a gracious welcome. He invited her to Nancy. Charles of Lorraine was not at all an ally of Charles of Valois; on the contrary, he took a position of hostile neutrality towards France, gravitating towards England.

She told the Duke (Charles of Lorraine) to give her his son and the people who are taking her to France, and she will pray to God for his health. "The son of the Duke, Jeanne called his son-in-law, Rene of Anjou. "Good King Rene" (famous later as a poet and patron of the arts), was married to the eldest daughter of the duke and his heiress Isabella ... This meeting strengthened Jeanne's position in public opinion ... Baudricourt (commandant of Vaucouleurs) changed his attitude towards Jeanne and agreed to send her to the Dauphin. (*2) p.79

There is a version that Rene d'Anjou was the master of the secret Order of the Priory of Sion and helped Jeanne fulfill her mission. (See the chapter "Rene d" Anjou)

Already in Vaucouleurs, she puts on a man's suit and goes across the country to the Dauphin Charles. Testing continues. In Chinon, under the name of Dauphin, another is introduced to her, but Jeanne unmistakably finds Charles from 300 knights and greets him. During this meeting, Jeanne tells the Dauphin something or shows some kind of sign, after which Karl begins to believe her.

"The story of Jeanne herself to Jean Pasquerel, her confessor:" When the king saw her, he asked Jeanne her name, and she replied: "Dear Dauphin, I am called Jeanne the Virgin, and through my lips the King of Heaven speaks to you and says that you will accept Chrismation and you will be crowned at Reims and become the vicar of the King of Heaven, the true King of France." After other questions asked by the king, Jeanne said to him again: “I tell you on behalf of the Almighty that you are the true heir of France and the son of the king, and He sent me to you in order to lead you to Reims so that you could be crowned and anointed there. if you want it." Hearing this, the king informed those present that Jeanne had initiated him into a certain secret, which no one except God knew and could not know; that's why he trusts her completely. All this,” Brother Pasquerel concludes, “I heard from the lips of Jeanne, since I myself was not present at the time.” (*3) p. 33

But, nevertheless, an investigation begins, detailed information is collected about Jeanne, who at that time is in Poitiers, where the board of learned theologians of the bishopric of Poitiers must make their decision.

“Believing that precautions are never superfluous, the king decided to increase the number of those who were entrusted with interrogating the girl, and choose the most worthy of them; and they were supposed to gather in Poitiers. two years earlier, several women were assigned to secretly monitor her behavior.

François Garivel, adviser to the king, specifies that Jeanne was interrogated repeatedly and the investigation took about three weeks." (*3) p. 43

"A certain lawyer of Parliament, Jean Barbon: "From the learned theologians, who studied her with passion and asked her many questions, I heard that she answered very carefully, as if she were a good scientist, so that her answers plunged them into amazement. They believed that there was something divine in her very life and her behavior; in the end, after all the interrogations and interrogations carried out by scholars, they came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong in it, nothing contrary to the Catholic faith, and that, considering the plight of the king and the kingdom - after all, the king and the inhabitants of the kingdom loyal to him were in this time in despair and did not know what help to hope for, if not the help of God - the king can accept her help. "(*3) p. 46

During this period, she acquires a sword and a banner. (See chapter "Sword Banner.")

“In all likelihood, giving Jeanne the right to have a personal banner, the Dauphin equated her with the so-called“ banner knights ”, who commanded detachments of their people.

Jeanne had a small detachment under her command, which consisted of a retinue, several soldiers and servants. The retinue included a squire, a confessor, two pages, two heralds, as well as Jean of Metz and Bertrand de Poulangy and Jeanne's brothers, Jacques and Pierre, who joined her at Tours. Even in Poitiers, the Dauphin entrusted the protection of the Virgin to an experienced warrior Jean d "Olon, who became her squire. Jeanne found a mentor and friend in this brave and noble man. He taught her military affairs, she spent all her campaigns with him, he was next to her in all battles, assaults and sorties. Together they were captured by the Burgundians, but she was sold to the British, and he ransomed to freedom and a quarter of a century later, already a knight, a royal adviser and, holding a prominent position as seneschal of one of the southern French provinces, wrote very interesting memoirs at the request of the rehabilitation commission, in which he spoke about many important episodes in the history of Joan of Arc. The testimony of one of Jeanne's pages, Louis de Coote, has also come down to us; about the second - Raymond - we know nothing. Jeanne's confessor was the Augustinian monk Jean Pasquerel; he owns very detailed testimonies, but, obviously, not everything is reliable in them. (*2) p.130

"In Tours, a military retinue was assembled for Jeanne, as was due to the commander; they appointed the quartermaster Jean d" Olon, who testifies: "For her protection and escort, I was placed at her disposal by the king, our lord"; she also has two pages, Louis de Cotes and Raymond. In her submission were also two heralds - Ambleville and Guillenne; heralds are messengers dressed in livery, allowing them to be identified. Heralds were inviolable.

Since Jeanne was given two messengers, it means that the king began to treat her like any other high-ranking warrior, vested with authority and bearing personal responsibility for his actions.

The royal troops were to gather in Blois ... It was in Blois, while the army was there, that Jeanne ordered a banner ... Jeanne's confessor was touched by the almost religious appearance of the advancing army: "When Jeanne set out from Blois to go to Orleans, she asked to gather all the priests around this banner and the priests went ahead of the army... and sang antiphons... so it was the next day. And on the third day they came to Orleans." (*3) page 58

Carl hesitates. Jeanne hurries him. The liberation of France begins with the lifting of the siege of Orleans. This is the first military victory of the troops loyal to Charles under the leadership of Joan, which is at the same time a sign of her divine mission. "See R. Pernu, M.-V. Clan, Jeanne d" Arc / p. 63-69/

It took Jeanne 9 days to liberate Orleans.

“The sun was already leaning towards the west, and the French were still unsuccessfully fighting for the ditch of the advanced fortification. Jeanne jumped on her horse and went to the fields. Far from her eyes ... Jeanne plunged into prayer between the vines. moment to distract from her own tension, from the despondency and exhaustion that gripped everyone, now she has found inner and outer silence - when only inspiration can arise ... "

"... But then the unseen happened: the arrows fell out of their hands, people looked into the sky in confusion. St. Michael, surrounded by the whole host of angels, beaming, appeared in the shimmering Orleans sky. The archangel fought on the side of the French." (*1) p. 86

"... the British, seven months after the start of the siege and nine days after the Virgin occupied the city, retreated without a fight to the last, and this happened on May 8 (1429), the day when many centuries ago St. Michael appeared in distant Italy on Monte Gargano and on the island of Ischia ...

The magistrate wrote in the city book that the liberation of Orleans was the greatest miracle of the Christian era. Since then, throughout the centuries, the valiant city has solemnly dedicated this day to the Virgin, the day of May 8, designated in the calendar as the feast of the Appearance of the Archangel Michael.

Many modern critics argue that the victory at Orleans can only be attributed to chance or the inexplicable refusal of the British to fight. And yet Napoleon, who thoroughly studied Joan's campaigns, declared that she was a genius in military affairs, and no one would dare say that he did not understand strategy.

The English biographer of Joan of Arc, V. Sanquill West, writes today that the whole mode of action of her fellow countrymen who participated in those events seems to her so strange and slow that this can only be explained by supernatural reasons: "The reasons for which are we in the light of our twentieth century science - or perhaps in the darkness of our twentieth century science? - we don't know anything". (*1) pp. 92-94

“To meet with the king after the lifting of the siege, Jeanne and the Orleans Bastard went to Loches: “She rode out to meet the king, holding her banner in her hand, and she met,” says the German chronicle of that time, which brought us a lot of information. When the girl bowed her head before the king as low as she could, the king immediately ordered her to rise, and it was thought that he almost kissed her from the joy that seized him. "It was May 11, 1429.

The rumor about Jeanne's feat spread throughout Europe, which showed extraordinary interest in what happened. The author of the chronicle we have cited is a certain Eberhard Vindeken, the treasurer of Emperor Sigismund; obviously, the emperor showed great interest in the deeds of Jeanne and ordered to find out about her. (*3) p.82

We can judge the reaction outside France from a very interesting source. This is the "Chronicle of Antonio Morosini" ... partly a collection of letters and reports. Pancrazzo Giustiniani's letter to his father, from Bruges to Venice, May 10, 1429: "A certain Englishman named Lawrence Trent, a respectable man and not a talker, writes, seeing that this is said in the reports of so many worthy and trustworthy people:" It drives me crazy." He reports that many barons treat her with respect, as do the commoners, and those who laughed at her died a bad death. Nothing is, however, as clear as her undeniable victory in dispute with the masters of theology, so that it seems as if she is the second Saint Catherine who descended to earth, and many knights who heard what amazing speeches she made every day consider this a great miracle ... They further report that this maiden must perform two great deeds, and then die. May God help her ... "How does she appear before the Venetian of the Quartocento era, before the merchant, diplomat and intelligence officer, that is, before a person of a completely different culture, a different psychological warehouse than she herself and her entourage? ... Giustiniani is confused. "(*2) p.146

"... The girl has an attractive appearance and a masculine posture, she speaks little and shows a wonderful mind; she speaks in a pleasant high voice, as befits a woman. She is moderate in food, even more moderate in drinking wine. She finds pleasure in beautiful horses and weapons. Many meetings and conversations are unpleasant for the Virgin. Often her eyes are filled with tears, she also loves fun. Undergoes unheard of hard work, and when she carries weapons, she shows such perseverance that day and night for six days she can continuously remain in full armor. She says that the English have no right to own France, and for this, she says, the Lord sent her to drive them out and overcome them ... "

"Guy de Laval, a young nobleman who joined the royal army, describes her with admiration: "I saw her, in armor and in full combat equipment, with a small ax in her hand, mounted her huge black war horse at the exit of the house who was in great impatience and did not allow himself to be saddled; then she said, "Take him to the cross," which was in front of the church on the road. Then she jumped into the saddle, and he did not move, as if he was tied. And then she turned to the church gates, which were very close to her: "And you, priests, arrange a procession and pray to God." And then she set off on her way, saying: "Hurry forward, hurry forward." A pretty page carried her unfurled banner, and she held an ax in her hand. "(*3) p. 89

Gilles de Re: "She is a child. She has never harmed an enemy, no one has ever seen her hit anyone with a sword. After each battle, she mourns the fallen, before each battle she partakes of the Body of the Lord - most warriors do this with her, - and at the same time she does not say anything. Not a single rash word comes out of her mouth - in this she is as mature as many men. Around her, no one ever swears, and people like it, although all of them the wives stayed at home. Needless to say, she never takes off her armor if she sleeps next to us, and then, despite all her good looks, not a single man feels carnal desire for her. (*1) p.109

"Jean Alencon, who in those days was the commander-in-chief, many years later recalled:" She understood everything that had to do with the war: she could thrust a pike and conduct a review of the troops, line up the army in battle order and place guns. Everyone was surprised that she was so circumspect in her affairs, as a military commander with twenty or thirty years of experience. "(*1) p.118

"Jeanne was a beautiful and charming girl, and all the men who met her felt it. But this feeling was the most genuine, that is, the highest, transfigured, virginal, returned to that state of "God's love" that Nuyonpon noted in himself." (*4) p.306

"- This is very strange, and we can all testify to this: when she rides with us, birds from the forest flock and sit on her shoulders. In battle, it happens that doves begin to flutter around her." (*1) p.108

“I recall that in the protocol drawn up by my colleagues about her life, it was written that in her homeland in Domremy, birds of prey flocked to her when she was tending cows in the meadow, and, sitting on her knees, pecked the crumbs that she plucked off bread. Her flock was never attacked by a wolf, and on the night when she was born - on Epiphany - various unusual things were noticed with animals ... And why not? Animals are also God's creatures ... (* 1) page 108

"It seems that in the presence of Jeanne, the air became transparent for those people to whom the cruel night had not yet clouded their minds, and in those years there were more such people than is commonly believed now." (*1) p.66

Her ecstasies flowed, as it were, outside of time, in ordinary activity, but without disconnecting from the latter. She heard her Voices in the midst of the fighting, but continued to command the troops; heard during interrogations, but continued to answer the theologians. This can also be evidenced by her tin, when, under the Turelles, she pulled out an arrow from the wound, ceasing to feel physical pain during ecstasy. And I must add that she was perfectly able to determine her Voices in time: at such and such an hour when the bells were ringing. "(*4) p.307

"Rupertus Geyer, that "anonymous" cleric," understood Jeanne's personality correctly: if any historical analogy can be found for her, it is best to compare Jeanne with the sibyls, these prophetesses of the pagan era, whose mouths the gods spoke. But there was a huge difference between them and Jeanne. The sibyls were affected by the forces of nature: sulfuric fumes, intoxicating smells, murmuring streams. In a state of ecstasy, they said things that they immediately forgot about as soon as they came to their senses. In everyday life, they did not have any high insights, they were blank sheets on which they wrote forces that could not be controlled. "For the prophetic gift inherent in them is like a board on which nothing is written, it is unreasonable and indefinite," wrote Plutarch.

The lips of Joan also spoke spheres whose boundaries no one knew; she could fall into ecstasy at prayer, at the ringing of bells, in a quiet field or in a forest, but it was such an ecstasy, such an exit beyond ordinary feelings, which she controlled and from which she could come out with a sober mind and awareness of her own "I", then to translate what he saw and heard into the language of earthly words and earthly deeds. What was available to pagan priestesses in an eclipse of feelings detached from the world, Jeanne perceived in a clear consciousness and reasonable moderation. She rode and fought with men, she slept with women and children, and like all of them, Jeanne could laugh. Simply and clearly, without omissions and secrets, she told about what was to happen: "Wait, three more days, then we will take the city"; "Be patient, in an hour you will be victorious." Virgo deliberately removed the veil of mystery from her life and actions; only she remained a mystery. Since the coming disaster was foretold to her, she closed her mouth, and no one knew about the gloomy news. Always, even before her death at the stake, Zhanna was aware of what she could say and what she could not.

From the days of the Apostle Paul, women "speaking in tongues" in Christian communities had to be silent, for "the spirit that gives inspiration is responsible for speaking in tongues, and the speaking person is responsible for the intelligent prophetic word." The spiritual language must be translated into the language of people, so that a person can accompany the speech of the spirit with his mind; and only that which a man can understand and assimilate with his own understanding, he must express in words.

Joan of Arc proved more clearly than ever in those weeks that she was responsible for her sensible words of prophecy and that she spoke them - or kept silent - while she was of sound mind. (*1) page 192

After the lifting of the siege from Orleans, disputes begin in the Royal Council about the direction of the campaign. At the same time, Jeanne was of the opinion that you need to go to Reims in order to crown the king. "She argued that as soon as the king is crowned and anointed, the strength of the enemies will decrease all the time and in the end they will no longer be able to harm either the king or the kingdom" page 167.

The coronation of the Dauphin in Reims became under these conditions an act of declaring the state independence of France. This was the main political goal of the campaign.

But the courtiers did not advise Charles to undertake a campaign against Reims, saying that on the way from Gien to Reims there were many fortified cities, castles and fortresses with garrisons of the British and Burgundians. The decisive role was played by the enormous authority of Jeanne in the army, and on June 27, the Virgin led the vanguard of the army to Reimstr. A new stage of the liberation struggle began. At the same time, the liberation of Troyes decided the outcome of the entire campaign. The success of the campaign exceeded the wildest expectations: in less than three weeks, the army traveled almost three hundred kilometers and reached the final point without firing a single shot, leaving not a single burned village or a single plundered city on its way. The undertaking, which at first seemed so difficult and dangerous, turned into a triumphal march.

On Sunday, July 17, Charles was crowned in Reims Cathedral. Jeanne stood in the cathedral, holding a banner in her hand. Then at the trial they will ask her: "Why was your banner brought into the cathedral during the coronation in preference to the banners of other captains?" And she will answer: "It was in labor and rightfully should have been honored"

But further events unfold less triumphantly. Instead of a decisive offensive, Karl concludes a strange truce with the Burgundians. On January 21, the army returned to the banks of the Laura and was immediately disbanded. But Jeanne continues to fight, but at the same time she suffers one defeat after another. Upon learning that the Burgundians besieged Compiègne, she rushes to the rescue. The virgin enters the city on May 23, and in the evening, during a sortie, she is captured ... ..

“For the last time in her life, on the evening of May 23, 1430, Jeanne stormed the enemy camp, for the last time she took off her armor, they took away her standard with the image of Christ and the face of an angel. The struggle on the battlefield ended. What began now at her 18 years , was a struggle with other weapons and with another enemy, but, as before, it was a struggle not for life, but for death. At that moment, the history of mankind was accomplished through Joan of Arc. Saint Margaret's covenant was fulfilled; the hour of the fulfillment of the covenant of St. Catherine has struck. Earthly knowledge was preparing to fight with wisdom, in the morning rays of which the Virgin Jeanne lived, struggled and suffered. Centuries were already approaching in a stream of change, when the forces of God-denying learning launched a bloodless but inevitable offensive against the dawning memory of man's divine origin, when human minds and hearts became the arena in which fallen angels fought with the archangel named Michael, the herald of the will of Christ. . Everything that Jeanne did served France, England, the new Europe; it was a challenge, a shining riddle for all peoples of subsequent epochs." (*1) page 201

Jeanne spent six months in Burgundy captivity. She waited for help but in vain. The French government did nothing to bail her out of her trouble. At the end of 1430, the Burgundians sold Joan to the British, who immediately brought her to the court of the Inquisition.

A year has passed since the day when Jeanne was captured ... A year and one day ..

Behind was the Burgundian captivity. There were two escape attempts behind. The second almost ended tragically: Jeanne jumped out of the window on the top floor. This gave the judges a reason to accuse her of the mortal sin of attempting suicide. Her explanation was simple: "I did this not out of hopelessness, but in the hope of saving my body and going to the aid of many nice people who need it."

Behind was the iron cage in which she was kept for the first time in Rouen, in the basement of the royal castle of Bouvray. Then interrogations began, she was transferred to a cell. Five English soldiers guarded it around the clock, and at night they chained it to the wall with an iron chain.

Behind were grueling interrogations. Every time she was bombarded with dozens of questions. Traps lay in wait for her at every turn. One hundred and thirty-two members of the tribunal: cardinal, bishops, professors of theology, learned abbots, monks and priests .... And a young girl who, in her own words, "knows neither a nor b."

…. Behind were those two days at the end of March, when she was acquainted with the indictment. In seventy articles, the prosecutor listed the criminal acts, speeches and thoughts of the defendant. But Jeanne deflected one charge after another. The two-day reading of the indictment ended in the defeat of the prosecutor. The judges were convinced that the document they had drawn up was no good, and replaced it with another one.

The second version of the indictment contained only 12 articles. The secondary was sifted out, the most important thing remained: "voices and knowledge", men's costume, "tree of fairies", seduction of the king and refusal to submit to the militant church.

They decided to refuse torture, "so as not to give grounds for slandering the exemplary process."

All this is over, and now Jeanne was brought to the cemetery, surrounded by guards, raised above the crowd, showed the executioner and began to read the sentence. All this carefully thought-out procedure was calculated to cause her mental shock and fear of death. At some point, Jeanne breaks down and agrees to submit to the will of the church. “Then,” the protocol says, “in full view of a great multitude of clerics and laity, she uttered the formula of renunciation, following the text of a charter drawn up in French, which she signed with her own hand.” Most likely, the formula of the official protocol is a forgery, the purpose of which is to retroactively extend Jeanne's abdication to all her previous activities. Perhaps in the cemetery of Saint-Ouen, Jeanne did not renounce her past. She only agreed to submit henceforth to the orders of the church court.

However, the political goal of the process was achieved. The English government could notify the entire Christian world that the heretic publicly repented of her crimes.

But, having wrested from the girl the words of repentance, the organizers of the process did not at all consider the matter finished. It was only half done, for Jeanne's abdication was to be followed by her execution.

The Inquisition had simple means for this. It was only necessary to prove that after the abdication she committed a "relapse of heresy": a person who relapsed into heresy was subject to immediate execution. Before the abdication, Jeanne was promised that if she repented, she would be transferred to the women's section of the archbishop's prison and the shackles would be removed. But instead, on the orders of Cauchon, she was again taken to the old cell. There she changed into women's clothes and had her head shaved. The shackles were not removed and the English guard was not removed.

Two days have passed. On Sunday, May 27, rumors spread around the city that the convict had again put on a man's suit. She was asked who forced her to do this. "No one," Jeanne replied. I did it of my own free will and without any coercion. On the evening of that day, the protocol of the last interrogation of Jeanne appeared - a tragic document in which Jeanne herself tells about everything that she experienced after the renunciation: about the despair that seized her when she realized that she had been deceived, about contempt for herself because of that she was afraid of death, about how she cursed herself for betrayal, she herself uttered this word - and about the victory she won - about the most, perhaps, the most difficult of all her victories, because this is a victory over the fear of death .

There is a version according to which Jeanne was forcibly forced to wear a men's suit (See p. 188 Raitses V. I. Joan of Arc. Facts, legends, hypotheses. "

Jeanne learned that she was being executed at dawn on Wednesday, May 30, 1431. She was taken out of prison, put on a wagon and taken to the place of execution. She was wearing a long dress and a hat….

The execution of Joan of Arc: Medieval image

Only a few hours later the fire was allowed to go out.

And when it was all over, according to Ladvenyu, "about four o'clock in the afternoon," the executioner came to the Dominican monastery, "to me," says Izambar, "and to Brother Ladvenyu, in extreme and terrible repentance, as if despairing of receiving forgiveness from God for what he did to such a holy woman as he said." And he also told them both that, having climbed the scaffold to remove everything, he found her heart and other entrails unburnt; he was required to burn everything, but although he several times put burning brushwood and coals around Joan's heart, he could not turn it into ashes "(Mussel, for his part, reports the same story of the executioner from the words of the deputy of the Rouen balli). Finally, amazed , "as by a clear miracle," he stopped tormenting this Heart, put the Burning Bush in a sack along with everything that was left of the Virgin's flesh, and threw the sack, as it was supposed to, into the hay. The imperishable heart left forever from human eyes and hands. (*one)

.... Twenty-five years passed, and finally - after a process in which one hundred and fifteen witnesses were heard, her mother was also), - in the presence of the papal legate, Jeanne was rehabilitated and recognized as the most beloved daughter of the Church and France. (*1) p. 336

Throughout her short life, Jeanne d'Arc, "an earthly angel and a heavenly girl," again and with unprecedented force announced the reality of the Living God and the Heavenly Church.

In 1920 after the Nativity of Christ, four hundred and ninety years after the Bonfire, the Roman Church canonized her as a saint and recognized her mission as true, by fulfilling which she saved France. (*one)

Five and a half centuries have passed since the day when Joan of Arc was burned on the Old Market Square in Rouen. She was then nineteen years old.

Almost all her life - seventeen years - she was an unknown Jeannette from Domremy. Her neighbors will then say: "like everyone else." "like others".

One year - just one year - she was the famous Jeanne-Virgin, the savior of France. Her associates will then say: "as if she were a captain who spent twenty or thirty years in the war."

And another year - a whole year - she was a prisoner of war and defendant of the inquisition tribunal. Her judges will then say: "a great scientist - and he would have difficulty answering the questions that she was asked."

Of course, she wasn't like everyone else. Of course, she was not a captain. And, of course, she was not a scientist. And yet she had it all.

Centuries pass. But every generation again and again turns to such a simple and such an endlessly complex story of a girl from Domremy. Turns to understand. Appeals to join the enduring moral values. For if history is a teacher of life, then the epic of Joan of Arc is one of its great lessons. (*2) p.194

Used material from the site http://www.newacropol.ru

Monument to Joan of Arc.
Photo from the site http://www.newacropol.ru

Read further:

Protocols of the accusatory trial of Joan of Arc (document)

Charles VII (biographical note)

Chronicle of Joan of Arc (chronological table)

Literature:

Maria Josef, Crook von Potutzin Joan of Arc. Moscow "Enigma" 1994.

Raitses V. I. Jeanne d Arc. Facts, legends, hypotheses. Leningrad "Science" 1982.

R. Pernu, M. V. Klen. Joan of Arc. M., 1992.

Ascetics. Selected biographies and works. Samara, AGNI, 1994.

Bauer V., Dumotz I., Golovin STR. Encyclopedia of symbols, M., KRON-PRESS, 1995

Marx K. Chronological extracts, 2.- Archive of Marx and Engels. T. 6;

Chernyak E. B. The verdict of the centuries (From the history of political processes in the West). M., 1971,

LevandovskyA. P. Jeanne d "Arc. M., 1962;

Rosenthal H. H. Jeanne d "Arc People's heroine of France. M., 1958,

Dragomirov M. I. Jeanne d "Arc. Essay. St. Petersburg, 1838.

JOAN OF ARC(Jeanne d "Arc) (c. 1412–1431), a saint, a national heroine of France, nicknamed the Maid of Orleans, was born, possibly on January 6, 1412, in the village of Domremy on the Meuse River, in northeastern France. Jeanne was the daughter of a wealthy peasant Jacques d "Ark and his wife Isabella. She was endowed with a sharp mind and the ability to persuade, she had common sense, but she did not receive a book education. Jeanne was proud of the domestic skills she had received from her mother, who had taught her to spin, sew, and pray. From childhood, she was accustomed to fights and fights, since the English and Burgundian troops, acting in concert, now and then ravaged the area around Domremy, which remained loyal to the royal house of Valois. The Burgundians responded to the treacherous murder of their leader, the Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless, by the Armagnacs on September 10, 1419 (the Dauphin Charles was suspected of involvement in this crime), by arranging a peace treaty in Troyes in 1420, which was concluded between the mentally ill French king Charles VI and the king of England Henry V. Two years later, both kings died, and, in accordance with the treaty, the infant Henry VI, son of Henry V, became king of both states. A skilled warrior and politician, the Duke of Bedford, uncle of the king and regent, led the advance of the English and Burgundian troops to the Loire. In 1428 they reached Orleans and began their siege. Dauphin Charles, who was under the influence of Armagnacs, was recognized as king in the south and south-west of the country, but he did nothing either to assert his royal powers or to support the emerging national movement against the British.

The village of Domremy and the whole area of ​​Champagne remained loyal to Charles due to the fact that a detachment of royal troops was stationed nearby in Vaucouleurs. From the age of 13, Jeanne heard "voices" and had visions in which her beloved saints and many angels appeared to her, prompting her to save France. She said that with the beginning of the siege of Orleans, the voices became louder and ordered her to go to Orleans and lift the siege, and then take the Dauphin to Reims to be crowned there in accordance with the tradition of French kings. In February 1429, Jeanne appeared to Robert de Baudricourt, captain of the royal detachment in Vaucouleurs. Finally believing in Jeanne's sacred mission (this was already her third visit, the first two were in May 1428 and January 1429), Baudricourt gave her several people to accompany her, and Jeanne in men's clothes, borrowed from one of them, Jean Nouyonpont (Jean from Metz), went to the headquarters of Charles, to the castle of Chinon, located about 150 km south-west of Orleans. On March 6, Jeanne's first meeting with the king took place, whom she recognized despite the fact that he deliberately got mixed up in a large crowd of courtiers. At first, she was treated with suspicion, but then Karl and many of the people close to him believed that she was sent to help him by God. First, in Chinon, and then in Poitiers Jeanne, trials and interrogations were arranged. After that, she waited almost the whole of April in Tours, until at last sufficient numbers of troops were gathered. At the head of this detachment, Jeanne, now dressed in white armor made especially for her, went to Orleans. She knew nothing of strategy and tactics, but she showed common sense by attacking the besiegers from the north, where they had no fortifications. The French fought furiously, and the English gave in, believing that Joan was in league with the devil. The siege of Orleans was lifted on May 8, 1429, after which the French won a number of victories, and at the end of June, meeting weak resistance, they moved north. Accompanied by Jeanne and troops, Charles entered Reims on July 16, 1429. The next day, Jeanne stood nearby during his anointing to the kingdom.

After this, Charles made little effort to help the Virgin in driving the enemies out of northern France. September 8, 1429, leading an unsuccessful attack on Paris, Jeanne was wounded, and then the king led his army back to the Loire. Joan's prestige began to decline, but her desire to continue fighting for France continued unabated. After the main French forces abandoned their attempt to come to the aid of Compiègne, Jeanne entered the city with a small detachment loyal to her. On May 23, 1430, the Burgundians took her prisoner during a daring sortie outside the city walls. Charles VII offered no ransom, and the Burgundians sold Joan to the British for 10,000 livres. Negotiations about this were led by Bishop Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais, expelled from his diocese by the troops of Charles. It was he who stood in the spring of 1431 at the head of a special court of the French clergy in Rouen, who judged Joan as a witch and a heretic. The result of the proceedings was a foregone conclusion, Jeanne's courageous and skillful defense did not help her. In May, mainly because of Joan's refusal to submit to the church because she claimed to be responsible only to God, she was found guilty of heresy and excommunicated. Having signed a guilty plea under pressure, Jeanne returned to the church, but was sentenced to life imprisonment. Later, Jeanne withdrew her confession, put on a man's dress again and insisted that the voices guiding her came from God. Then the church court condemned her as having fallen into heresy for the second time and handed her over to the secular authorities for execution. May 30, 1431 Joan of Arc was burned alive at the stake in the Old Market Square in Rouen.

Charles VII managed to persuade the Burgundians to conclude a separate peace with him in Arras in 1435, and the death of the Duke of Bedford the following year deprived England of a wise ruler. Charles concluded a series of truces with the British, reorganized the army and public finances, and then resumed the war. With the fall of Bordeaux in 1453, the British lost all their possessions in France, with the exception of Calais. Now Karl tried to clean up his tarnished reputation by rehabilitating Jeanne. The case was again considered in the ecclesiastical court, held in Rouen in 1455, and the sentence was canceled. In 1909, the Virgin was declared blessed, and on May 16, 1920, she was canonized by Pope Benedict XV.

The era of the Middle Ages was the time of men. Kings fought wars, changing the borders of states, the holy fathers prayed for souls and caught witches, poets sang the valor of knights and the beauty of ladies, artisans and peasants worked and paid taxes. And women had to do “everything else” - keep the hearth, run the household, give birth and raise children, inspire feats and keep their virtue. Of course, ladies of a high family had more freedom and more opportunities to influence the course of history, and many of them brilliantly played not only chess, but also politics. However, it is surprising that the most striking and mysterious female character of medieval history was a simple French girl - Joan of Arc.

Her appearance will forever remain a mystery - not a single "lifetime" image of the Virgin of Lorraine has been preserved - but this does not seem to matter to posterity: for several centuries she has been drawn as a young and beautiful warrior in shining armor, armed only with a banner and faith in her divine destiny . Where did she draw the strength to inspire and win? Why were her speeches equally convincing for the king and for ordinary soldiers? Why did the church first recognize her and then condemn her to death? Is the "canonical" version of Jeanne's story true? The answers to these questions were lost in the medieval archives, leaving people with a beautiful legend and faith in a miracle.

On January 6, 1412, in the champagne village of Domremy, a daughter was born in the family of a peasant Jacques Darc, and at baptism the girl was called the simple name Jeanne. These were difficult times - it was the 75th year of the Hundred Years War, in which France was losing its positions and lands day by day. The queen mother, Isabella of Bavaria, began to play in diplomatic intrigues, as a result of which her son Charles VII risked not ascending the French throne at all. The once large and proud country was about to turn into an English province.

Yes, only a miracle could save France. But it took time for it to happen. For the time being, Zhanna was no different from other village children - she played, helped her parents, learned to spin and manage the household. But when she was twelve, she heard "voices" for the first time. Later, she willingly told the representatives of the Holy Church that St. Catherine and St. Margaret spoke to her, as well as the Archangel Michael, the leader of the Heavenly Host. Of course, they did not immediately urge her to go save perishing France - Jeanne was still too small for this. But then she turned eighteen, and she suddenly insistently got ready for the road.

Her original destination was the nearest town to the village of Vaucouleurs, from where she intended to travel further to the king's court. For the Middle Ages, this was almost impossible, but Jeanne was not embarrassed. But her parents were worried, who “out of harm's way” decided to marry their daughter as soon as possible, but they did not succeed. Referring to the will of the "higher powers", Jeanne was adamant in her decision to leave the house. The viceroy of Vaucouleurs, Robert de Baudricourt, at first did not believe the obsessed peasant girl. But unexpectedly, the inhabitants of the town believed Jeanne's speeches, they believed so much that, without waiting for the decision of their master, they began to equip her for a campaign - a horse, travel clothes and armor were bought with the people's money. Perhaps the old prophecy that "France will be destroyed by an evil foreign woman, and an innocent young maiden will save" played a role. The queen mother, with her intrigues, was quite suitable for the first role, and Jeanne for the second. And the governor of the city surrendered: a detachment was assembled, which was supposed to send the Lorraine maiden to the king. The village girl got her way and began her crusade for the Hundred Years War.

royal games

At this time, the young and unfortunate King Charles VII was despondent and almost ready to sign a surrender. Of course, the coronation in Reims could have saved him, but the way there was closed: first it was necessary to lift the siege from another city - Orleans, which miraculously held out under the onslaught of the invaders and was the last stronghold of the French army.

The situation seemed almost hopeless. And then the king was informed that a strange girl wanted to see him in order to tell him something important. Charles had nothing to lose, and he agreed to give an audience. But, wanting to check the "messenger of higher powers", he put one of his nobles on the throne instead of himself. However, the joke failed - the legend claims that Jeanne miraculously recognized Charles in the crowd of courtiers and, in addition, in a private conversation told the king something that made him immediately believe in her divine mission. However, being careful, he nevertheless appointed a “trial in Poitiers”, where the church fathers long and meticulously questioned Jeanne about her communion with the saints. The girl honestly admitted that she “does not distinguish “a” from “b”, but at the same time she managed to convince the clergy that her revelations come from God.

It was not easy and even dangerous, but then the Church did not find anything heretical in it. Jeanne was recognized as honest and pious and received a blessing to go to Orleans. And the time of miracles and victories came - a long and hopeless siege of the city was lifted in almost a week, the morale of the army rose to unprecedented heights, and Charles VII was crowned in Reims, as required by tradition. There was a turning point in the war. Jeanne led her army holding only a banner that was made especially for her, and the French army won one victory after another.

It remained to conquer Paris. But suddenly the king seemed to change his mind about fighting and took up diplomacy. And Jeanne suddenly remained out of work. She attended the royal feasts, received the hereditary title of du Lys, but this was not at all her goal - the most august honors only upset her. She never tired of telling Karl that it was necessary to go to Paris as soon as possible. Perhaps she felt that the king would betray her.

Road to the fire

The unsuccessful siege of Paris was the beginning of the end for Joan of Arc. King Charles, by this time already too keen on the “paper war”, seemed to reluctantly agreed to storm the capital and did not give a large army for this. In fact, he deliberately doomed his wonderful commander to defeat. And after the failure, he seemed to be completely disappointed in Jeanne.

Tired of court idleness, the Maid of Orleans almost arbitrarily poisoned herself in the city of Compiegne, besieged by the British, with a small detachment of people loyal to her. Here, military successes awaited her again, but, alas, this did not last long - during one of the sorties, Jeanne was captured.

In those days, the exchange of prisoners of war was quite common, and if Charles wanted, he could easily rescue the Maid of Orleans, to whom he owed the crown and the resurrected country. But the king pretended that it did not concern him. Joan spent the last year of her life in an English dungeon, supported only by the voices of her beloved saints. They encouraged her, promised that everything would be over soon, and saved her from despair.

In January 1431, a trial began that lasted almost six months. Almost all the materials of this investigation have survived to this day, and thanks to carefully recorded protocols, we know almost everything about Jeanne's life from her own words, as well as from the testimony of witnesses. Now it may seem ridiculous, but one of the main charges was that the girl wore men's clothes. It would seem that the explanation for this is very simple: it is more convenient on the road and in a military camp, the armor, so necessary in battle, cannot be worn on a dress. But the Church Fathers did not seem to want to hear about this and looked for a diabolical intent in a practical act. Eighteen times the investigation returned to her "voices" and prophetic visions, they, of course, were the main reason for the investigation. Jeanne was asked many questions, and, just as at the test in Poitiers, the girl answered them simply and honestly. All attempts by the investigators to force the accused to contradict herself failed.

But this trial could not end with an acquittal. On May 24, 1431, Joan of Arc was first read the indictment and offered three times to renounce her heresy. She refused to do this three times. But during the reading of the death sentence, she suddenly changed her mind and uttered the abdication formula. The execution was replaced by life imprisonment.

We all know that the story of the Maid of Orleans ended differently. Two days later, Jeanne announced that she had recanted out of fear of death, that she "greatly regrets what she has done and curses herself." The case of "a certain woman Joan, commonly called the Virgin" was turned over to the secular authorities. In practice, this meant a death sentence and execution. According to legend, Joan of Arc was burned in Rouen, on the Old Market Square, on May 30, 1431. According to historical documents, after 25 years a new trial was scheduled, as a result of which all charges against the amazing girl from Domremy were dropped. Almost five centuries later , in 1920, the Vatican officially recognized Joan of Arc as a saint.

And the princess lived happily ever after

And yet this amazing story, more like a fairy tale, seems not so unambiguous. For more than one century, many scientists have been trying to refute the canonical version of Jeanne's biography. It seems too implausible that a village girl so easily stood at the head of the French army and led her to so many glorious victories. One of the most popular alternative versions of the biography of Joan of Arc claims that she was an illegitimate royal and that Isabella of Bavaria herself could have been her “real” mother. It was the royal blood that allowed the Virgin to cope so easily with the role of commander and become her own yard.

There is also a version (it also relies on special “family ties”) that Jeanne was not burned at the stake, but miraculously escaped. And it seems that after a few years she "returned to the world", married a nobleman by the name of des Armois and lived with him happily ever after. And her former combat comrades-in-arms and even the king himself repeatedly visited Jeanne and talked with her. And someone is completely sure that “Joan the Maiden” is just a pseudonym taken “for a while” by Marguerite de Chandiver, who, by the way, was also an illegitimate royal daughter. So the years go by, and the controversy does not subside, and some researchers do not recognize the arguments of others. The era of the Middle Ages is too far from us, even the most authentic parchments are too unreliable - they are still powerless before the charm of the legend. And the white horse still carries Joan of Arc towards immortality, and her banner beats with an angelic wing in the wind.