Joan of Arc ring stays in France

Joan of Arc ring stays in France after appeal to Queen | World news | The Guardian

A ring believed to have belonged to Joan of Arc has gone on display in France after its new owners made an appeal to the Queen to keep it out of the hands of its historic rival across the Channel.

French historical theme park Le Puy du Fou bought the 15th-century gold-plated silver ring at auction in London in February for £300,000 but was told after it had arrived in France that it had not obtained the necessary export licence for a historical artefact.

Arts Council England, which oversees the export regulations, said the ring should be returned to Britain.

Puy du Fou president Nicolas de Villiers, whose father Philippe, a French politician, founded the theme park, said there had never been any question of returning the ring.

Continue reading rest of article here ->> Australian Edition of The Guardian

Ring 'belonging to Joan of Arc' is set to go under the hammer at auction

Ring 'belonging to Joan of Arc' is set to go under the hammer at auction | Daily Mail Online

A 15th century ring believed to have been owned by Joan of Arc will go under the hammer in London.

The ring, thought to have been worn by the patron saint before her death and handed down through King Henry VII, is set to be auctioned in February.

The piece is said to have been given to the French heroine by her parents before she was burned at the stake by the British when she was just 19 years old in 1431.

The ring matches a description, revealed in transcripts, given by Joan of Arc herself during the trial which resulted in her death.

She said it has the inscription 'Jhesus Maria' as well as three crosses, and was made from either gold or brass. She claimed it was on her hand when she touched St Catherine, who appeared before her in a vision.

The Maid: New Joan of Arc Novel

New book on Joan of Arc - The Maid by  Kimberly Cutter:

It is the early part of the fifteenth century and the tumultuous Hundred Years War rages on. The French city of Orleans is under siege, English soldiers tear through the countryside wreaking destruction on all who cross their path, and Charles VII, the uncrowned king, has neither the strength nor the will to rally his army. And in the quiet of her parents’ garden in Domremy, a twelve-year-old peasant girl, Jehanne, hears a voice that will change her life – and the course of European history.

Closure: Joan of Arc Museum

From Mail Online:

A museum detailing the life and death of the French heroine Joan of Arc could close if nobody offers to buy it.

Opened when patriotism was at its highest in 1955 and regularly visited by the French, eager to learn more about their past.

But now, nearly 40 years later it is thought a lack of interest in history and Joan of Arc has meant the French have turned their back on one of their most famous heroines whose death became a defining moment in history.

Burned at the stake by the English in 1431 in Rouen, a Normandy town, the museum sits in the same square where she perished.

Alain Preaux, the owner of the Musee Jeanne D'Arc is now being forced to shut up shop after being at the helm since 1977 and says that he has more British visitors than French.

Joan of Arc - Another Theory

I have shamelessly poached this topic from a history forum, which posed the question back in 2006 - was Joan of Arc really a man.  Now, the thinking behind this was related to a medical condition known as "testicular feminization syndrome" or "complete androgen insensitivity syndrome".

From the website: "The complete androgen insensitivity syndrome is usually detected at puberty when a girl should but does not begin to menstruate. Many of the girls with the syndrome have no pubic or axillary (armpit) hair. They have luxuriant scalp hair without temporal (male-pattern) balding. They are sterile and cannot bear children."

What do we know of Joan that might fall into the above catergory.

1. There was no obvious signs of menstration.

2. She bore no children - child bearing would have been common for a girl of her age - and engaged in no known sexual activity.

3. Despite the saintly modern day depictions, Joan was, by nature of her ancestry, considered to have been short, dark complexioned and swarthy - almost masculine in appearance.

4. Yes she did undergo an "inspection" to ascertain that she was still "virgo intacta" - but would those women who examined her have been at all familiar with a medical condition in which a male took upon, to all intents and purposes, female form.  And quite frankly, no man would have undertaken such an intimate examination of a woman.

5. The Duke of Alencon, in his later reflections on Joan, was said to have remarked "... it was if she had known how to be a man-at-armss following the wars since her youth.."  And the Burgundian Chronicler Georges Chastellain also commented on her manly skills.

So, just as there is the mystery of Pope Joan - could we have the mystery of John of Arc??

Pope: Joan of Arc a Role Model for Public Officials

From Google News:

Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday that public officials would do well to model themselves on Joan of Arc, the French saint who was tried for heresy and burned at the stake for her convictions.

Benedict highlighted the life of the 15th century mystic in his weekly general audience. For several months he has used his Wednesday catechisms to promote an important woman in the church's history.

Joan of Arc led the French to several victories over the English during the Hundred Years War. She had said she heard voices from a trio of saints telling her to deliver France from the English.

She was tried for heresy and witchcraft and burned at the stake in 1431, though her conviction was later annulled. She was canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

"Hers is a beautiful example of holiness for lay people working in public life, particularly during the most difficult situations," Benedict XVI said.

Benedict expressed bitterness at how Joan of Arc had been treated by the church, saying her heresy trial was a "upsetting page" in church history and was due to French churchmen "who had made different political choices" than she.

But he noted that the illiterate farm girl nevertheless went to her death professing a love for the church and Christ.

Relics of Joan of Arc

From Discovery News:

The so-called "relics of Joan of Arc," overseen by the Archbishop of Tours in Chinon, France, do not contain the charred remains of the Catholic saint.

Rather, the artifacts consist of a mummified cat leg bone and human rib, both dating to the 6th-3rd century B.C., according to a new study.

The "relics," which have fooled onlookers for decades, did resemble burnt bones, in keeping with historical accounts of the death of Joan of Arc (ca. 1412-1431), who was convicted of heresy and executed by burning.

Medical examiners, pathologists, geneticists, biochemists, a radiologist, zoologist and archaeologist all participated in the extensive study, which was accepted for publication in the journal Forensic Science International.

The bottle containing the bones first surfaced at a pharmacy in 1867. Its label read: "Remains found under the pyre of Joan of Arc, maiden of Orleans."

Different techniques, including DNA analysis, several forms of microscopy, chemical analysis and carbon dating, were used to examine the bottle's contents.

A few years ago, Philippe Charlier, a forensic scientist at Raymond Poincare Hospital in Garches, France, and his team first determined that the bottle contained an approximately 4-inch-long human rib covered with a black coating. It also housed part of a cat femur covered with the same coating, three fragments of "charcoal" and "a brownish textile scrap" about the same length as the rib.

From National Geographic 4th April 2007:

The charred bones that were long believed to be remains of St. Joan of Arc don't belong to the French heroine but are instead the remains of an Egyptian mummy, a new study has shown.

Philippe Charlier, a forensic scientist at the Raymond Poincaré Hospital in Paris, France, obtained permission last year to study the relics from the church in Normandy where they are housed.

Books: History & England

Some upcoming and recently publications on the various aspects of and events in English history and medieval history:

• Reassessing Anglo-Saxon England by Eric John
• Joan of Arc: la Pucelle by Craig Taylor
• Medieval Maidens: Young Women & Gender in England: 1270 - 1540 by Kim Phillips
• Women of the English Nobility & Gentry: 1066 - 1500 by Jennifer Ward
• Chronicles of the Revolution 1397-1400: The Reign of Richard II by Chris Given-Wilson
• Late Merovingian France: History and Hagiography by Paul Fouracre and Richard A. Gerberding
• Court and Civic Society in the Burgundian Low Countries c. 1420-1520 by Andrew Brown and Graeme Small

Happy Reading!

Review - The King's Women

The blurb on the back of Deryn Lake's book reads as thus: "... a meaty dish of lust and medieval intrigue..."

The main focus of this book centers around the women who played a pivotal role in the life of King Charles VII of France. The setting is in the latter part of the period in history known today as the Hundred Years' War - a war of succession involving both English and French claimants to the French throne following the deaths of King Philip IV and his sons.

The book is in four parts, focusing on Charles' life and those women who helped shape him. Part I focuses on Charles' mother, the grotesque Isabaeu of Bavaria, Queen of France, and his future mother-in-law, the intelligent Yolande d'Aragon, Queen of Sicily and Duchess d'Anjou.

Part II deals with Charles' relationship with his first "important" lover, one Madame de Giac (Bonne), and Charles' wife, Marie d'Anjou, Yolande's daughter. Part III deals specifically with Jehanne Darc (La Pucelle - Joan of Arc) whilst Part IV deals with Charles' last great love, Agnes Sorel.

Okay - this is not a straight re-telling of Charles' life - but more of a narrative focusing on the interaction of these women and Charles; how they influenced him; and how they shaped the man he was to become.

I found, however, Part II to be rather labourious - is is the longest; and Part III dealing with Jehanne (or Joan) was rather brief, as was Part IV (Agnes).

There is a twist in this book, and one you will have to follow quite closely from start to finish - an interesting twist - this will give pause for further thought.

A background into the Hundred Years' War isn't necessary - but it does help where characters are concerned. An enjoyable read nonetheless.

The Question of Joan

This subject, Joan of Arc, has been nagging away inside my head for the past week, as a debate rages over whether this famous medieval woman was rather too overrated or not.

Just how did a supposedly illiterate and uneducated peasant girl who spent her days herding sheep, manage to lead the French army to its victory at Orleans?

Bearing in mind that Joan first appeared before the French Dauphin at Chinon c.6th March 1429 and then found herself at the siege of Orleans - April 1429. So, in barely one month, this mere slip of a girl managed to acquire such a font of military tactical knowledge and fighting experience which enabled her to embark on one of the most remarkable military careers of the medieval period.

Quite frankly it beggars belief. The phrase " ..... and here is one we prepared earlier" springs to mind.

Am I the only one who feels that Joan's whole "career", including her "military service" (April 1429 to her capture in May 1430), was cleverly carefully stage-managed from beginning to end??

Joan of Arc

St. Joan of Arc (c.1412 - 1431)

"Maid of Orleans"

Joan was the daughter of prosperous peasants. From a young age (13yo), Joan claimed to hear the voices of Sts. Michael, Catherine and Margaret, who insisted she help French forces besieging English at Orleans (1429).

Upon convincing the local military commander, Robert Baudricourt, Joan was received at the French Court. Here, Joan gained the support of the most powerful woman at court - Yolande de Aragon, Countess of Anjou - and mother-in-law of King Charles VI of France. It was through the patronage of Yolande that Joan met with the Charles at Chinon (March 1429).

For Charles, Joan held the key to his need - that was to be crowned King of France at Rheims. Being a superstitious man, Joan provided the impetus - and she would prove to be an apt figurehead for the French army. Bouyed by her initial success, Joan led the French to a victory at Orleans - and Charles received his much wanted coronation at Rheims.

Joan continued to fight in later battles, however, the intial enthusiasm for her began to wane. She was wounded and defeated in Paris. Captured by Burgundians (1430) and sold to English. It is interesting to note that Charles could have ransomed Joan but did not.

Joan was tried as witch and heretic. The trial was engineered by the English under Bedford in an attempt to retain what little control they held in France at the time - and in order to justify the crowning of 10yo Henry VI as King of France (1431). The trial was purely for political show. Joan was burnt at the stake at Rouen (May 1431).

An ecclesiastical court reversed guilty verdict (1455) and she was canonized (1920).

There is an interesting article by Norman Boutin regarding Joan's ultimate fate at the stake.

Further Reading:

• St. Joan - Catholic Encyclopedia
• International Joan of Arc Society
• Joan of Arc Archive