The History of the Church through 100 Masterpieces

Joan at the Stake

The History of the Church 134 Joan at the Stake The story of Joan of Arc is not only a national epic of France, but also an extraordinary religious adventure. It all began with supernatural visions. The archangel Saint Michael, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and Saint Margaret of Antioch appeared to Joan, a young shepherdess of 18, instructing her to “expel the English from all of France.” Thefirstmiracle was the attitude displayed by Robert of Baudricourt, captain of Vaucouleurs, who provided Joan with an escort to take her to Charles VII at Chinon. The second miracle was that she readily recognized the king among his courtiers, and, by a secret sign that has never been revealed, convinced him of her mission. So strange was the adventure that Joan was submitted to a double examination —matrons were engaged to verify her virginity, and theologians, her orthodoxy. In the course of a few days in May 1429, she freed Orleans from a seven-month siege sustained by the English, and then, by seizing Troyes, Auxerre, and Châlons, opened the way to Rheims for the king. On July 17, displaying her standard stamped with an image of Christ, she stood at the side of Charles VII as he received the ancient rite of consecration of French kings in the city of Saint Remigius. After this triumph, there followed a long series of setbacks, leading to the stake in Rouen, on May 30, 1431. Her trajectory after death was likewise strange. In 1456, a new trial nullified the original verdict of condemnation. Joan became a popular heroine, but not a saint. It was the very secular Republic of France that, in 1912, established a national holiday in honor of “Saint Joan of Arc,” while the church had not yet canonized her. Thisdid not happen until 1920, after some reticence on the part of Benedict XV. Paul Delaroche (1797–1856) Cardinal Henri Beaufort Interrogating Joan of Arc Musée des BeauxArts , Rouen ...