Various Resources

Just a brief round-up of some websites I want to have on record:

Le Proces de Jeanne d'Arc
"Ou sont les neiges d'Antan?"
Meditation sur la politique de Jeanne d'Arc -- Charles Maurras

Second Reading of J'ai Nom Jeanne la Pucelle

The picture is from a recent trip to Paris, where I was delighted to discover the statue of Jeanne (it does bear a striking resemblance to the one Jeff discovered).

My reading continues. I’ve come to the part where Jeanne was captured and sold to the English. What I find most hard to believe is Charles VII’s behavior; there are no records of any attempts to ransom Jeanne’s life or to help her escape prison and judgment. After she helped Charles VII attain the throne, how did he justify complete passivity in the face of her capture, trial, and execution? Was it laziness? Cowardice? Malice? I find his behavior completely unconscionable.

Here are some notes from my reading in J’ai nom Jeanne la Pucelle to follow the last entry:

1429:
~31 July: Christine de Pisan composes a poem
~November -- Jeanne learns how to read and perhaps to write, and at the very least how to sign her own name
~King Charles VII ennobles Jeanne
~Jeanne performs the miracle of temporarily raising a child to life

1430:
~Jeanne captured, held prisoner by the Duc de Bougogne
~25 May -- The capture of Jeanne cried in the city of Paris
~26 May -- transferred to Chateau de Beaulieu-les-Fontaines
~June -- transferred to Beaurevoir. Here Jeanne tried to escape by the bedsheets out the window trick, but she fell
~November -- Sold to the English and transferred to various locations, finally to Rouen

Beginnings: J'ai Nom Jeanne La Pucelle

Today I started Regine Pernoud's J'ai nom Jeanne la Pucelle, a short overview/biography and took a few notes on the timeline for orientation's sake. I will transcribe them here:

1412:
~born [est. date], 4th of 5 children, to Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romee -- called Jeannette
1425:
~[est.] Began to hear the voice of St. Michel
1428:
~travelled to find Baudricourt
~12 Oct: siege begun at Orleans
1429:
~travelled from Vaucouleurs to Chinon (to visit the dauphin, Charles) with Baudricourt and an entourage. The voyage took 11 days; she was then 17 years old.
~meet with the Dauphin
~travelled to Tours to have her amour and standard made
~8 May: delivered Orleans from the siege
~17 July: crowning of Charles, now King Charles VII in Reims

[to be continued!]

Welcome!

As the sidebar notice reads, I am commencing a semester-long study on a long-time heroine of mine, Jeanne d'Arc (St. Joan of Arc). The study will culminate in an academic paper on an aspect of her life and work, as yet to be determined.

My reading list is indicated in GoodReads widget box. Still, I would love to hear suggestions on great biographies or critical works, in French or English.