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On the 8th of May 1429,
the town of Orleans in France
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erupted in celebration.
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For seven long months,
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it had been under siege by the English,
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but now, after just four days of fighting,
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the town had been liberated.
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And the people of Orleans knew
they had witnessed a miracle.
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The speed of their liberation
was astonishing enough.
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But what confirmed it as a miracle
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was the identity of their liberator.
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She was a peasant girl,
and she was just 17
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Her name was Joan.
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She was a truly extraordinary figure,
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a female warrior in an age
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that believed women couldn’t
fight, let alone lead an army.
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Take care what you do for in truth,
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I am sent by God and you
put yourself in great danger.
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These are Joan’s own words,
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recorded in a contemporary manuscript.
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Six centuries after her death,
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her words transport us
back into her life and times.
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To understand Joan’s story,
we need to explore a world
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where God and the devil are real.
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Today, we’re more
aware than we’ve been,
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perhaps for centuries,
of the power of faith
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to drive people to do
extraordinary things for good or ill.
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And in a world where
God’s will is at work,
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anything is possible.
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Over the centuries Joan
has become an icon
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to almost everyone,
to the left and the right,
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to Catholics and Protestants,
traditionalists and feminists.
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She’s captured the
imagination of novelists,
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playwrights, artists and musicians,
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and her fame has
spread all over the world,
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taking her from France to Hollywood.
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I’ve been studying the medieval
world for almost 30 years,
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and I feel pretty confident in saying
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she’s had more pop
songs written about her
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than anyone else from the Middle Ages.
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But for all the images of
Joan that have been created
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since her death,
only one picture of her survives
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which was made in her own lifetime.
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And it’s here, a drawing,
almost a doodle,
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in the margin of the records
of the Paris parlement.
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It shows what a remarkable
and troubling figure Joan was.
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The clerk knew that the army at Orleans
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had a young woman with them
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who was carrying a
banner and a sword.
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But he’d never seen her.
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Either he didn’t yet know,
or couldn’t quite believe,
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that Joan actually,
shockingly, had short hair
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and wore male armour.
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Instead, he’s made her
look as a woman should,
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with long hair,
modestly wearing a dress.
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But while there’s only this
one faint image of Joan,
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unusually for anyone in the Middle Ages
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let alone a lowborn woman,
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a great deal was written about
her by her contemporaries.
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Even more importantly, her own words
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have reached us through the centuries
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with an astonishing strength and clarity.
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And one of the most remarkable
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and revealing documents of all
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is the transcript of Joan’s
trial for heresy in 1431.
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This is the most detailed
record that survives
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from any medieval trial.
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And through it,
we can hear Joan’s own voice.
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Here, she describes the first time
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she heard a message from God
when she was just 13 years old.
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At first, I was very afraid.
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The voice came at
midday in the summer time
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in my father’s garden.
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The voice on my right
side towards the church
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and I seldom hear it without a light.
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The light comes from the
same side as the voice,
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but all around, there is a great light.
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It seemed to me to be a worthy voice,
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and I believe that the
voice was sent from God.
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Once I heard the voice three times,
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I knew that it was the voice of an angel.
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We might ask, was Joan mad or ill?
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But for the people of the Middle Ages,
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the issues were entirely different.
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They knew that angels and
demons did communicate
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with people of completely sound mind.
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The problem wasn’t how to
explain Joan hearing voices
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that weren’t there,
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the problem was how to tell
whether the voices came to her
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from God or the devil.
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Joan received her first vision
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when she was living with
her family in Domremy,
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a small village in the east of France.
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But the France that Joan was born into
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wasn’t nearly as
peaceful as it looks now.
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It was a country torn apart by war.
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For generations, England and France
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had been fighting in what we
call the Hundred Years’ War.
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Land including the
countryside where Joan lived
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was fought over by the two sides.
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And the English even
claimed the crown of France.
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During Joan’s childhood,
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France was very much on the back foot.
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In 1415, when she was three,
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the French suffered a dreadful defeat
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at the hands of Henry V on
the battlefield of Agincourt.
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The French army vastly
outnumbered the English,
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but as the flower of the
French nobility advanced
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they were mown down by a
barrage of English arrows.
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History has attributed the
English victory at Agincourt
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to the supremacy of their archers
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but at the time,
the French saw it differently.
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For the people who were there,
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the explanation for
this astounding victory
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was the will of God.
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Henry claimed that God
was on the English side,
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but the French knew
that couldn’t be right.
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So how were they to
explain this bloody defeat?
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Perhaps it was God’s
punishment for their sins
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because France was
convulsed in civil war.
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The old king, Charles VI,
was mad and incapable of ruling.
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Two factions known as the
Burgundians and the Armagnacs
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were fighting for control
of his government.
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In the medieval world,
everything came down to God.
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Whose side was he on?
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Just five years after Agincourt,
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France was so bitterly divided
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that the Burgundians
were prepared to believe
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that God did back the English
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and made an alliance with them.
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But Joan and her family
supported the Armagnacs,
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led by the French
King’s son, the dauphin,
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and believed God was with them.
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And so the civil war went on.
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For eight years, defeat
followed defeat, until the dauphin
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and his Armagnac
supporters were pushed back,
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south of the great
curve of the river Loire.
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For Joan, as for the rest
of the people of France,
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the war was a frightening reality.
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Her home, Domremy,
was an Armagnac village
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surrounded by English
and Burgundian territory.
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At one point the village was
attacked by enemy soldiers
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and Joan, her family and
friends had to take refuge
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for a few days in a nearby town.
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So perhaps it’s no surprise
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that when Joan began to hear voices,
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they talked about the war.
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They said, she must go to the dauphin.
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He would give her an army
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and then she must drive
the English out of France
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and lead the dauphin to his coronation.
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Joan wasn’t unique in claiming
to hear heavenly voices.
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She wasn’t the only person
in 15th century France
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who came forward with
a message from God.
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What was remarkable
was what Joan’s voice
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was telling her to do.
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To fight and to lead.
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This was an impossible proposition.
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Joan was young,
she was poor, and she was female
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and to put her mission into action,
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she had to reach the dauphin
across more than 250 miles
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of enemy territory.
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Surely, it couldn’t be done.
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At some point during 1428,
Joan managed to reach here,
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the town of Vaucouleurs,
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a little more than 10
miles north of Domremy,
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which housed the nearest
garrison loyal to the dauphin.
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But its captain sent her
away with a flea in her ear.
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The girl was clearly a fantasist,
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her family, he said,
should take her home
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and give her a few slaps.
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But Joan wouldn’t give up.
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Word of her mission began to spread.
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And when she came back to
Vaucouleurs in February 1429,
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the captain agreed to send
her to the dauphin’s court.
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What had happened
to change his mind?
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The evidence isn’t at all clear.
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When Joan eventually
set off from Vaucouleurs,
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the people here gave her a horse
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and an outfit of men’s clothes
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to keep her safe on
her dangerous journey.
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Clearly, they believed in her.
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But that wouldn’t be
enough to secure access
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to the dauphin himself.
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We can’t be sure exactly what happened
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but there is one more clue.
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One of the six men who were
given the job of escorting Joan
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was a messenger from
the dauphin’s court.
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It seemed that someone there
had heard of Joan’s claims
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and now the dauphin
wanted to hear more.
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Like all medieval leaders,
the dauphin knew
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that his authority was
bestowed on him by God.
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He went to mass twice a
day and looked for signs
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of God’s will in the world around him
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wherever they came from.
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The truth is the dauphin
was also desperate
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and it had to be said that, by now,
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anything, even the
ravings of a peasant girl
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was worth a try.
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As Joan set out on her perilous journey
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to the dauphin’s court in Chinon,
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the situation for the
Armagnacs was getting worse.
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For five months, the English
had been besieging Orleans,
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a key Armagnac
stronghold on the river Loire.
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If Orleans fell,
the dauphin’s lands in the south
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of the kingdom would lie
open to English attack.
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On the 12th of February 1429,
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a skirmish between the two
sides ended in a massacre.
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More than 400 of the
dauphin’s soldiers died that day.
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The English casualties
numbered just four.
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The dauphin was here
in his fortress at Chinon
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when he heard the terrible news.
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He redoubled his prayers
but the siege went on.
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And then, just 11 days
after the massacre,
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a little band of six armed men,
dusty from the road,
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arrived here at his
great castle of Chinon.
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With them rode a girl, dressed as a boy,
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her dark hair cut short.
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She had come, she said,
with a message from God.
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Amid the luxury and
ceremony of the Armagnac court,
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this village girl dressed as a boy
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was an extraordinary sight.
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And her message was as
startling as the girl herself.
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If the dauphin would give her an army,
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she would save his kingdom
and bring him his crown.
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But the dauphin had a problem.
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Her words were intoxicating
and terrifying at the same time.
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If the dauphin put his
faith in a false prophet
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sent by the devil,
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his kingdom of France
would be lost forever.
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But if he rejected a true prophet,
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the result would be equally disastrous.
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Could Joan really
have been sent by God?
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How to tell whether visions
came from God or the devil
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was a hot topic of theological debate.
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00:13:58,157 --> 00:14:00,820
The greatest contemporary
French theologian,
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00:14:00,820 --> 00:14:02,640
a man named Jean Gerson,
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had even written a book on the subject.
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This is a late 15th century
copy of Gerson’s work,
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De Probatione Spiritum,
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00:14:13,510 --> 00:14:15,720
On the Proving of Spirits.
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00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,250
It’s a sort of manual
to guide investigators
242
00:14:18,250 --> 00:14:20,040
through the process of establishing
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00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,653
whether visions might
truly have come from God.
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00:14:23,540 --> 00:14:25,770
It offers a helpful Latin checklist
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00:14:25,770 --> 00:14:29,010
which sets out the
basics of the examination.
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00:14:29,010 --> 00:14:34,010
Ask who, what, why,
to whom, what kind, whence?
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In other words, ask what the
nature of the vision shows
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about where it might come from
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00:14:39,110 --> 00:14:40,480
and what the nature of the person
250
00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:42,210
having the visions suggests
251
00:14:42,210 --> 00:14:44,223
about how authentic they might be.
252
00:14:50,460 --> 00:14:53,500
So 17-year-old Joan was
questioned for three weeks
253
00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:56,443
by the best theologians
Armagnac France could muster.
254
00:14:59,580 --> 00:15:02,613
From the outset Joan
deeply troubled these men.
255
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:05,770
Her message was shocking enough.
256
00:15:05,770 --> 00:15:08,730
She dared to say that
she’d been sent to make war
257
00:15:08,730 --> 00:15:10,680
on the English despite the fact
258
00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:13,023
that God hadn’t made
women to be soldiers.
259
00:15:14,830 --> 00:15:17,690
But what’s more,
she wore men’s clothes,
260
00:15:17,690 --> 00:15:19,400
and the Old Testament
said that a woman
261
00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:23,013
in men’s clothing was an
abomination unto the Lord.
262
00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:26,560
But one person who doesn’t seem
263
00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,840
to have been anxious remarkably
enough was Joan herself.
264
00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:33,820
Here she was,
an uneducated village girl,
265
00:15:33,820 --> 00:15:36,450
on her own,
hundreds of miles from home,
266
00:15:36,450 --> 00:15:39,740
being questioned for weeks
by courtiers and clerics.
267
00:15:39,740 --> 00:15:43,710
It should have been a
profoundly intimidating situation.
268
00:15:43,710 --> 00:15:46,410
But in all the contemporary
accounts of what Joan did
269
00:15:46,410 --> 00:15:50,470
and said, there’s no
sign of fear or doubt.
270
00:15:50,470 --> 00:15:52,280
The essence of her message was,
271
00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:53,640
God has sent me.
272
00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,420
I know what I need to do.
273
00:15:55,420 --> 00:15:56,703
Let me go and do it.
274
00:15:59,410 --> 00:16:00,990
And it was Joan’s certainty
275
00:16:00,990 --> 00:16:03,473
that offered a way out of
the problem she posed.
276
00:16:04,550 --> 00:16:07,770
The theologians could find
no fault with her conduct,
277
00:16:07,770 --> 00:16:09,840
but they needed a sign, they said,
278
00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:12,873
to prove that her voices
truly came from heaven.
279
00:16:14,220 --> 00:16:16,250
They asked how she
would carry out her promise
280
00:16:16,250 --> 00:16:17,660
to take the dauphin to be crowned
281
00:16:17,660 --> 00:16:19,960
at the ancient cathedral of Reims,
282
00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:21,640
given that the besieged town of Orleans
283
00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:23,133
lay directly in the way.
284
00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:26,320
Joan’s answer was simple.
285
00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:28,123
She would raise the siege herself.
286
00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:38,970
Suddenly, for the dauphin and his court
287
00:16:38,970 --> 00:16:42,900
at the great fortress of Chinon,
everything was clear.
288
00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:45,223
Orleans would be a
test of Joan’s mission.
289
00:16:47,610 --> 00:16:50,220
If she succeeded,
it would be a sign from God
290
00:16:50,220 --> 00:16:52,343
that everything she claimed was true.
291
00:16:53,750 --> 00:16:56,840
If she failed, Orleans
would still be under siege,
292
00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,030
just as it was now, and the
dauphin would know for sure
293
00:17:00,030 --> 00:17:02,433
that her promises were
nothing but a delusion.
294
00:17:04,180 --> 00:17:07,510
And so the theologians
reached their verdict.
295
00:17:07,510 --> 00:17:09,900
The dauphin, they said,
should not prevent her
296
00:17:09,900 --> 00:17:12,329
from going to Orleans with his soldiers
297
00:17:12,329 --> 00:17:14,990
but should have her
escorted there honourably
298
00:17:14,990 --> 00:17:16,733
placing his faith in God.
299
00:17:19,099 --> 00:17:21,300
And now that the
decision had been made,
300
00:17:21,300 --> 00:17:24,623
preparations for the task
ahead began in earnest.
301
00:17:26,589 --> 00:17:29,740
There were soldiers to
muster and supplies to collect.
302
00:17:29,740 --> 00:17:32,350
Clerks scoured the
archives for prophecies
303
00:17:32,350 --> 00:17:34,760
that might foretell Joan’s coming.
304
00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,010
And Joan herself asked
the dauphin to send
305
00:17:37,010 --> 00:17:39,770
to the nearby town of
Fierbois for a sword
306
00:17:39,770 --> 00:17:41,030
that she said lay hidden there
307
00:17:41,030 --> 00:17:42,580
in the Church of St. Catherine.
308
00:17:43,450 --> 00:17:46,250
Sure enough,
and to everyone’s amazement,
309
00:17:46,250 --> 00:17:48,393
the sword was found
where she’d predicted.
310
00:17:51,770 --> 00:17:54,640
The symbolism was lost on no one.
311
00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,740
Christian warriors,
from King Arthur to Charlemagne,
312
00:17:57,740 --> 00:17:59,870
carried holy swords.
313
00:17:59,870 --> 00:18:03,730
And this one appropriately
came to Joan from St. Catherine,
314
00:18:03,730 --> 00:18:05,863
the patron saint of young virgins.
315
00:18:07,890 --> 00:18:10,810
How did Joan know
where the sword was?
316
00:18:10,810 --> 00:18:12,850
She said her voices had told her.
317
00:18:12,850 --> 00:18:15,063
So was this her first miracle?
318
00:18:16,100 --> 00:18:18,360
Well, that’s one way of
reading of the evidence.
319
00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:20,560
On the other hand,
she had stopped in Fierbois
320
00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:23,370
on her way here and St.
Catherine’s Church
321
00:18:23,370 --> 00:18:24,910
was a place where over the years,
322
00:18:24,910 --> 00:18:28,780
soldiers had left many offerings,
including their swords.
323
00:18:28,780 --> 00:18:30,490
But, however Joan had come to know
324
00:18:30,490 --> 00:18:32,600
about this sword in particular,
325
00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:36,560
the point was that Joan herself
and her supporters believed
326
00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,083
it was a miraculous proof of her mission.
327
00:18:50,270 --> 00:18:52,370
The dauphin ordered a fine suit of armour
328
00:18:52,370 --> 00:18:55,270
to be specially made
for her slender frame,
329
00:18:55,270 --> 00:18:57,570
and a banner for her to carry into battle,
330
00:18:57,570 --> 00:18:59,430
made of shining white silk
331
00:18:59,430 --> 00:19:03,023
with a painted Christ flanked
on either side by angels.
332
00:19:05,690 --> 00:19:07,840
During these weeks of preparation,
333
00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,510
Joan had a chance to practice
riding a horse among soldiers,
334
00:19:11,510 --> 00:19:14,330
to get used to her armour
and to find out more
335
00:19:14,330 --> 00:19:16,373
about the war she had come to fight.
336
00:19:17,900 --> 00:19:19,470
But she was no less impatient
337
00:19:19,470 --> 00:19:22,310
than when she had
first arrived at Chinon.
338
00:19:22,310 --> 00:19:25,483
And now, she sent her first
challenge to the English.
339
00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,500
The challenge came
in the form of a letter.
340
00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:35,290
Joan couldn’t write,
so she dictated it to a clerk
341
00:19:35,290 --> 00:19:37,080
and its text survives here,
342
00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:39,620
in the transcript of her trial.
343
00:19:39,620 --> 00:19:42,680
Joan’s fearlessness is unmistakable.
344
00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:45,490
The village girl from
Domremy speaks for God,
345
00:19:45,490 --> 00:19:49,290
so she has no hesitation in
addressing the king of England.
346
00:19:53,150 --> 00:19:55,560
Restore to the maid,
who is sent here by God,
347
00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,040
the king of heaven,
the keys to the fine towns
348
00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,220
that you have taken
and violated in France.
349
00:20:01,220 --> 00:20:03,480
King of England, if you do not do this,
350
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:04,780
I am the military leader
351
00:20:04,780 --> 00:20:06,740
and wherever I find your men in France,
352
00:20:06,740 --> 00:20:09,680
I will make them leave,
whether they want to or not
353
00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:13,683
and if they will not obey,
I will have them killed.
354
00:20:23,540 --> 00:20:26,860
With her challenge dispatched,
Joan and her military convoy
355
00:20:26,860 --> 00:20:29,693
set off along the river
Lorie towards Orleans.
356
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:36,570
On the 26th of April,
Joan approached the town itself
357
00:20:36,570 --> 00:20:39,160
and for the first time,
the English army at Orleans
358
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,273
set eyes on the teenage girl in armour.
359
00:20:45,750 --> 00:20:48,300
To the English, a girl in men’s clothes
360
00:20:48,300 --> 00:20:51,350
riding among soldiers
could only be a whore
361
00:20:51,350 --> 00:20:53,623
and a sign of the dauphin’s desperation.
362
00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,790
But to the people of besieged Orleans,
363
00:20:56,790 --> 00:20:59,293
she was a saviour, come to rescue them.
364
00:21:02,900 --> 00:21:04,780
The English had too few troops
365
00:21:04,780 --> 00:21:07,260
to enforce a total
blockade round Orleans
366
00:21:07,260 --> 00:21:10,463
and Joan was able to slip into
the town on the eastern side.
367
00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:14,760
She was welcomed
like an angel from God,
368
00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:17,820
one of the townsmen said,
and delirious crowds
369
00:21:17,820 --> 00:21:20,683
reached out to touch her as
she rode through the streets.
370
00:21:22,050 --> 00:21:24,940
But while Joan smiled
at the hopeful crowds,
371
00:21:24,940 --> 00:21:28,343
privately, she was
incandescent with fury.
372
00:21:30,810 --> 00:21:33,430
She wanted to attack the English.
373
00:21:33,430 --> 00:21:35,370
But the dauphin was still so unsure
374
00:21:35,370 --> 00:21:37,650
of what form her miracle might take
375
00:21:37,650 --> 00:21:40,690
that he’d ordered her
soldiers back to their base.
376
00:21:40,690 --> 00:21:43,820
So she found herself
inside the besieged town,
377
00:21:43,820 --> 00:21:46,563
with no army to break the
siege as she’d promised.
378
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,370
Joan was left kicking her heels,
379
00:21:52,370 --> 00:21:54,800
climbing the town walls
to shout to the English
380
00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:57,470
that they should surrender to God.
381
00:21:57,470 --> 00:22:00,230
All she got in return was abuse.
382
00:22:00,230 --> 00:22:02,180
Did she really think, they jeered,
383
00:22:02,180 --> 00:22:04,200
that they should give
themselves up to a woman
384
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:05,273
and her pimps?
385
00:22:06,850 --> 00:22:08,903
The dauphin’s captain was in a fix.
386
00:22:09,850 --> 00:22:12,890
The people of the town
expected Joan to save them
387
00:22:12,890 --> 00:22:15,510
but without an army,
she could do nothing.
388
00:22:15,510 --> 00:22:18,530
So he slipped out of the
town and rode to the dauphin
389
00:22:18,530 --> 00:22:20,733
to beg him to send the soldiers back.
390
00:22:22,590 --> 00:22:26,770
It took him four days but his
argument was irrefutable.
391
00:22:26,770 --> 00:22:28,670
How could God send a sign,
392
00:22:28,670 --> 00:22:31,693
if Joan had no way of
putting her mission to the test?
393
00:22:34,330 --> 00:22:38,300
By the 4th of May,
Joan had her soldiers, and at last,
394
00:22:38,300 --> 00:22:40,563
the battle for Orleans could begin.
395
00:22:53,282 --> 00:22:55,200
Joan led her men from the front,
396
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:57,453
carrying her banner and urging them on.
397
00:22:58,350 --> 00:23:01,080
Medieval warfare was brutal and bloody
398
00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:02,300
and for the first time,
399
00:23:02,300 --> 00:23:04,863
she saw death in battle at first hand.
400
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,020
That night her mood was
sombre and the next day,
401
00:23:12,020 --> 00:23:14,140
she wrote again to the English enemy
402
00:23:14,140 --> 00:23:15,743
demanding their surrender.
403
00:23:17,030 --> 00:23:18,730
She attached the letter to an arrow
404
00:23:18,730 --> 00:23:21,630
and had it fired into the English camp.
405
00:23:21,630 --> 00:23:22,750
When it dropped to the ground,
406
00:23:22,750 --> 00:23:25,290
the shouts could be
heard in the distance.
407
00:23:25,290 --> 00:23:27,233
News from the Armagnac whore.
408
00:23:32,210 --> 00:23:34,870
But for all the abuse
they hurled her way,
409
00:23:34,870 --> 00:23:38,280
after two more days of fighting,
the English were rattled.
410
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:40,710
And finally, on the 7th of May,
411
00:23:40,710 --> 00:23:42,503
their day of reckoning had come.
412
00:23:43,350 --> 00:23:46,200
The decisive Battle of
Orleans was fought here,
413
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,280
where the English held a fortified tower
414
00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:49,430
known as the Tourelles.
415
00:23:56,140 --> 00:23:57,900
If Joan could take the Tourelles,
416
00:23:57,900 --> 00:24:00,100
the English hold on
Orleans would be broken.
417
00:24:02,210 --> 00:24:04,890
Once again Joan was up at dawn.
418
00:24:04,890 --> 00:24:08,013
She said her prayers and
then led her men into battle.
419
00:24:10,340 --> 00:24:13,040
English missiles rained
down from the ramparts
420
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:16,123
as the Armagnac soldiers
hurled themselves into the fight.
421
00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:23,950
Hours passed,
but still Joan urged them on
422
00:24:23,950 --> 00:24:27,280
until an arrow caught her
between her neck and shoulder.
423
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,130
As they saw her
staggering and bloodied,
424
00:24:29,130 --> 00:24:30,810
the Armagnacs faltered.
425
00:24:30,810 --> 00:24:32,180
Was this the moment when God
426
00:24:32,180 --> 00:24:34,180
would disown the Maid?
427
00:24:34,180 --> 00:24:36,690
But a flesh wound
couldn’t stop Joan’s mission.
428
00:24:36,690 --> 00:24:38,080
She brandished her banner
429
00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,080
and pressed forward into the
ditch at the foot of the tower.
430
00:24:44,730 --> 00:24:46,950
As her soldiers followed
her into the attack,
431
00:24:46,950 --> 00:24:49,410
sudden fear gripped the English.
432
00:24:49,410 --> 00:24:51,830
Their captain lost his
footing and toppled,
433
00:24:51,830 --> 00:24:53,473
fully armed, into the river.
434
00:24:55,660 --> 00:24:58,710
As he drowned,
panic spread among his men.
435
00:24:58,710 --> 00:25:02,653
And by sundown,
Joan had won a famous victory.
436
00:25:05,290 --> 00:25:07,410
After seven months of siege,
437
00:25:07,410 --> 00:25:10,763
the Maid had freed
Orleans in just four days.
438
00:25:11,670 --> 00:25:13,500
Who could doubt Joan now?
439
00:25:13,500 --> 00:25:17,023
This was proof that God
intended her to pursue her mission.
440
00:25:17,870 --> 00:25:19,840
And as she and the
dauphin’s other captains
441
00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:23,200
prepared to drive the English
from the valley of the Loire,
442
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,753
news of her miracle began to spread.
443
00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,030
Just three days after the battle,
444
00:25:36,030 --> 00:25:37,800
an Italian merchant in Bruges
445
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:39,540
wrote to tell his father in Venice
446
00:25:39,540 --> 00:25:42,627
what this maiden
shepherdess had done.
447
00:25:42,627 --> 00:25:43,987
“It seems,”, he said,
448
00:25:43,987 --> 00:25:47,607
“that she may be another St.
Catherine come down to Earth.”
449
00:25:53,150 --> 00:25:56,880
Meanwhile Joan herself was
growing into her new stature.
450
00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,950
In February, she had
been a simple village girl.
451
00:25:59,950 --> 00:26:02,490
Now, it was June and
a young nobleman
452
00:26:02,490 --> 00:26:05,140
who met her was
dazzled by her charisma,
453
00:26:05,140 --> 00:26:08,327
by the presence of one sent by God.
454
00:26:08,327 --> 00:26:11,150
“It seemed to me a gift from
heaven that she was there,”
455
00:26:11,150 --> 00:26:14,087
he said, “and that I was
seeing and hearing her.”
456
00:26:17,330 --> 00:26:19,580
And Joan’s determination
to pursue her mission
457
00:26:19,580 --> 00:26:20,963
was stronger than ever.
458
00:26:21,940 --> 00:26:25,870
Orleans had been her test,
and victory her sign.
459
00:26:25,870 --> 00:26:28,040
Now came her true purpose.
460
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,710
To crown the dauphin
and to drive the English
461
00:26:30,710 --> 00:26:32,153
out of France forever.
462
00:26:36,450 --> 00:26:38,770
For centuries, French
kings had been crowned
463
00:26:38,770 --> 00:26:40,810
in the great cathedral at Reims
464
00:26:40,810 --> 00:26:42,800
and Joan was determined
to see her dauphin
465
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:43,853
crowned there too.
466
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,170
But Reims lay more
than a hundred miles
467
00:26:49,170 --> 00:26:50,580
northeast of Orleans,
468
00:26:50,580 --> 00:26:53,650
in the heart of English
and Burgundian France.
469
00:26:53,650 --> 00:26:55,350
It had been years since the dauphin
470
00:26:55,350 --> 00:26:58,570
had even thought of
riding to war in person.
471
00:26:58,570 --> 00:27:00,980
Now, the Maid was
going to take him deep
472
00:27:00,980 --> 00:27:02,423
into enemy territory.
473
00:27:08,210 --> 00:27:10,960
Joan and the dauphin rode at
the head of the biggest army
474
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:12,700
he could muster.
475
00:27:12,700 --> 00:27:15,410
And the combination of
thousands of soldiers
476
00:27:15,410 --> 00:27:18,610
with Joan’s implacable
will driving them on,
477
00:27:18,610 --> 00:27:20,013
proved irresistible.
478
00:27:25,300 --> 00:27:28,420
Joan’s momentum was unstoppable.
479
00:27:28,420 --> 00:27:30,910
Some towns held out for a few days,
480
00:27:30,910 --> 00:27:33,143
others opened their gates straight away.
481
00:27:36,140 --> 00:27:40,510
On the 16th of July 1429,
just two and a half weeks
482
00:27:40,510 --> 00:27:42,370
after leaving the Loire valley,
483
00:27:42,370 --> 00:27:45,723
Joan, the dauphin and the
Armagnac army arrived in Reims.
484
00:27:48,090 --> 00:27:50,150
At last, the dauphin could be crowned
485
00:27:50,150 --> 00:27:52,573
as the most Christian king of France.
486
00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:57,340
Here in the cathedral in Reims
was kept a flask of holy oil,
487
00:27:57,340 --> 00:27:58,740
that had been sent from heaven
488
00:27:58,740 --> 00:28:00,780
to France’s first Christian king
489
00:28:00,780 --> 00:28:02,903
almost a thousand years before.
490
00:28:04,300 --> 00:28:06,760
Every French king since
then had been anointed with it
491
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:09,880
during the sacred ritual of his coronation
492
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,553
and now, the dauphin
would be no exception.
493
00:28:26,711 --> 00:28:30,000
A coronation would usually
take weeks of preparation,
494
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:31,663
but there was no time to lose.
495
00:28:32,930 --> 00:28:35,500
The dauphin’s servants
worked through the night
496
00:28:35,500 --> 00:28:37,630
and at nine the very next morning,
497
00:28:37,630 --> 00:28:41,443
he entered this sacred space
to receive his crown from God.
498
00:29:05,030 --> 00:29:06,400
Just four months earlier,
499
00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:09,530
the Armagnac cause had
been at its lowest ebb.
500
00:29:09,530 --> 00:29:11,894
Now, the dauphin was
anointed and crowned
501
00:29:11,894 --> 00:29:14,920
as King Charles VII of France.
502
00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,290
And beside him stood Joan
the Maid in her shining armour
503
00:29:18,290 --> 00:29:20,530
with her banner in her hand.
504
00:29:20,530 --> 00:29:23,327
When the ceremony was over,
she knelt at his feet.
505
00:29:23,327 --> 00:29:26,997
“Noble king,” she said,
“God’s will is done.”
506
00:29:36,430 --> 00:29:38,400
It was a triumph.
507
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,913
But Joan’s mission was far from finished.
508
00:29:42,780 --> 00:29:46,480
Joan wanted to drive the
English out of France forever.
509
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,160
To do this she needed
to unite the country
510
00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,210
under the newly crowned king
511
00:29:51,210 --> 00:29:54,023
and France was still divided by civil war.
512
00:29:55,670 --> 00:29:58,030
The Burgundians under
the Duke of Burgundy
513
00:29:58,030 --> 00:30:00,483
looked to the King of
England as their sovereign.
514
00:30:01,750 --> 00:30:05,610
So Joan wrote to the Duke to
ask him to acknowledge her king
515
00:30:05,610 --> 00:30:08,370
as the rightful King of France.
516
00:30:08,370 --> 00:30:10,810
I bring you words
from the king of heaven,
517
00:30:10,810 --> 00:30:14,010
that you will win no battle
against loyal Frenchmen,
518
00:30:14,010 --> 00:30:15,370
and all those who wage war
519
00:30:15,370 --> 00:30:17,620
against the holy kingdom
of France wage war
520
00:30:17,620 --> 00:30:19,380
against King Jesus, the king of heaven
521
00:30:19,380 --> 00:30:20,930
and of the whole world.
522
00:30:20,930 --> 00:30:23,700
Know surely that however
many men you bring against us,
523
00:30:23,700 --> 00:30:25,770
they will win nothing at all,
524
00:30:25,770 --> 00:30:28,903
and great sorrow will be
the result of the great battle.
525
00:30:30,790 --> 00:30:32,460
The Duke of Burgundy didn’t deign
526
00:30:32,460 --> 00:30:34,793
to respond to this presumptuous letter.
527
00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,830
Any change in his position
would be on his own terms,
528
00:30:38,830 --> 00:30:40,333
not those of a peasant girl.
529
00:30:42,660 --> 00:30:45,560
As for Joan’s king,
he was in a stronger position
530
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,570
than he could have
dreamed of just a year earlier
531
00:30:48,570 --> 00:30:51,350
and behind the scenes,
courtiers from both sides
532
00:30:51,350 --> 00:30:53,623
were beginning to make
diplomatic overtures.
533
00:30:55,260 --> 00:30:58,550
But Joan had no interest in compromise.
534
00:30:58,550 --> 00:31:00,640
She was doing God’s work
535
00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,623
and the mission he had given
her was not yet complete.
536
00:31:08,550 --> 00:31:11,660
With all the certainty of faith and youth,
537
00:31:11,660 --> 00:31:13,390
she was still only 17.
538
00:31:13,390 --> 00:31:16,260
She saw the world in black and white.
539
00:31:16,260 --> 00:31:19,230
If the duke of Burgundy
would not submit to her king,
540
00:31:19,230 --> 00:31:21,580
he would find her ready to fight.
541
00:31:21,580 --> 00:31:24,580
The kingdom’s capital
remained in Burgundian hands.
542
00:31:24,580 --> 00:31:26,840
It was time for another miracle.
543
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,663
Just as Joan had taken Orleans,
now she would take Paris.
544
00:31:36,100 --> 00:31:39,860
Reluctantly, Joan’s king
agreed to give her the chance.
545
00:31:39,860 --> 00:31:43,090
But Paris was a very different
challenge from Orleans.
546
00:31:43,090 --> 00:31:45,200
It was the most heavily fortified city
547
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:46,803
west of Constantinople.
548
00:31:52,210 --> 00:31:54,270
This is one of the few
remaining sections
549
00:31:54,270 --> 00:31:57,540
of the massive walls
that surrounded Paris.
550
00:31:57,540 --> 00:31:59,970
There were fortified
towers and gun placements
551
00:31:59,970 --> 00:32:03,070
on top of the walls,
which lay behind an immense ditch
552
00:32:03,070 --> 00:32:04,653
that encircled the whole city.
553
00:32:07,132 --> 00:32:10,770
And it was defended by English
soldiers and native Parisians
554
00:32:10,770 --> 00:32:12,960
who hated the Armagnac whore
555
00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:14,990
every bit as much as
the people of Orleans
556
00:32:14,990 --> 00:32:17,213
had welcomed her
as a delivering angel.
557
00:32:21,900 --> 00:32:23,760
But Joan didn’t hesitate.
558
00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,240
As always, her strategy was simple.
559
00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:28,770
Attack in the name of God.
560
00:32:28,770 --> 00:32:31,970
And the day of the assault
could only be a good omen.
561
00:32:31,970 --> 00:32:34,720
The 8th of September, the holy feast day
562
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:36,253
of the Nativity of the Virgin.
563
00:32:41,490 --> 00:32:44,700
As at Orleans, she led the
way into the great ditch,
564
00:32:44,700 --> 00:32:47,990
brandishing her banner while
a storm of arrows and stones
565
00:32:47,990 --> 00:32:49,453
rained down from above.
566
00:32:54,950 --> 00:32:57,180
After hours of brutal fighting,
567
00:32:57,180 --> 00:32:59,690
Joan called urgently
to the enemy soldiers
568
00:32:59,690 --> 00:33:00,873
on the walls above.
569
00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,290
Surrender quickly
in the name of Jesus.
570
00:33:05,290 --> 00:33:07,220
For if you do not
surrender before nightfall,
571
00:33:07,220 --> 00:33:10,310
we will come in there by
force whether you like it or not
572
00:33:10,310 --> 00:33:12,660
and you will all be put
to death without mercy.
573
00:33:15,007 --> 00:33:18,400
“Shall we, you bloody tart?”
came the response,
574
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:20,853
and a crossbow bolt
ripped through her thigh.
575
00:33:26,100 --> 00:33:28,260
Joan staggered and fell.
576
00:33:28,260 --> 00:33:30,390
Her standard-bearer
took an arrow in the face
577
00:33:30,390 --> 00:33:32,410
and died beside her.
578
00:33:32,410 --> 00:33:34,250
She didn’t stop shouting to her soldiers
579
00:33:34,250 --> 00:33:35,840
to continue the attack
580
00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:38,270
even when the trumpets
sounded the retreat
581
00:33:38,270 --> 00:33:41,173
and she was carried,
bleeding from the field of battle.
582
00:33:42,260 --> 00:33:45,740
Joan wanted to continue the
fight, to attack the next day,
583
00:33:45,740 --> 00:33:47,810
but her King wouldn’t allow it.
584
00:33:47,810 --> 00:33:49,660
He’d only given her just one day
585
00:33:49,660 --> 00:33:52,230
to take the great city of Paris.
586
00:33:52,230 --> 00:33:56,160
It was an impossible task
but this had been her chance
587
00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:57,740
and she had failed.
588
00:33:57,740 --> 00:33:59,710
She was distraught.
589
00:33:59,710 --> 00:34:00,543
How could she?
590
00:34:00,543 --> 00:34:03,423
How could anyone
understand what had happened?
591
00:34:15,090 --> 00:34:19,370
Was this a sign that God had
abandoned the Armagnac cause?
592
00:34:19,370 --> 00:34:22,260
For Joan’s king, that was unthinkable.
593
00:34:22,260 --> 00:34:25,172
It was far more likely that
God had abandoned Joan.
594
00:34:26,760 --> 00:34:30,469
Heaven’s help had brought
triumph at Orleans and Reims.
595
00:34:30,469 --> 00:34:34,090
Perhaps now, God expected
the king to help himself.
596
00:34:34,090 --> 00:34:36,370
And if diplomacy was the way forward
597
00:34:36,370 --> 00:34:38,530
then Joan’s determination to fight
598
00:34:38,530 --> 00:34:40,623
was fast becoming a liability.
599
00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:45,630
By the end of September,
a six-month truce was agreed,
600
00:34:45,630 --> 00:34:46,840
a breathing-space for the Armagnacs
601
00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:50,429
and the Burgundians
and their English allies.
602
00:34:50,429 --> 00:34:52,840
And Joan had little
choice but to limp back
603
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,023
to the safety of the Armagnac
lands south of the Loire.
604
00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:02,470
After the failure of her attack on Paris,
605
00:35:02,470 --> 00:35:06,680
it suddenly becomes hard
to trace Joan’s movements.
606
00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,920
We do know that she was
sent on some minor skirmishes
607
00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:11,680
but it seems as though
the king didn’t quite know
608
00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:13,230
what to do with her.
609
00:35:13,230 --> 00:35:15,930
If Joan were no longer
performing miracles,
610
00:35:15,930 --> 00:35:18,283
then what place did a
woman have in an army?
611
00:35:19,130 --> 00:35:21,650
Perhaps they hoped that the
Maid might choose this moment
612
00:35:21,650 --> 00:35:24,593
to retire gracefully from the public stage.
613
00:35:25,542 --> 00:35:27,830
But Joan herself had no doubts,
614
00:35:27,830 --> 00:35:30,140
whatever anyone else might think.
615
00:35:30,140 --> 00:35:31,923
Her mission still stood.
616
00:35:35,060 --> 00:35:38,330
And when the truce
expired in the spring of 1430,
617
00:35:38,330 --> 00:35:41,343
she was ready to fight
wherever she had the chance.
618
00:35:42,540 --> 00:35:45,490
In May, news reached Joan
that the duke of Burgundy
619
00:35:45,490 --> 00:35:48,210
had attacked the Armagnac
town of Compiegne,
620
00:35:48,210 --> 00:35:49,260
north of the capital.
621
00:35:50,700 --> 00:35:52,750
Undeterred by the
fact that she no longer
622
00:35:52,750 --> 00:35:54,820
had the clear support of her king
623
00:35:54,820 --> 00:35:56,860
or a royal army of thousands,
624
00:35:56,860 --> 00:35:59,020
Joan believed that God still wanted her
625
00:35:59,020 --> 00:36:01,060
to complete her mission.
626
00:36:01,060 --> 00:36:03,320
So she rode here to Compiegne
627
00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:05,123
with a group of loyal followers.
628
00:36:06,660 --> 00:36:09,030
Joan arrived under cover of darkness
629
00:36:09,030 --> 00:36:11,143
on the night of the 22nd of May.
630
00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:16,630
The next morning she
called for her banner,
631
00:36:16,630 --> 00:36:18,570
and gathered her little band of soldiers
632
00:36:18,570 --> 00:36:21,087
to attack the enemy outside the gates.
633
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:26,570
Joan rode out across the bridge
634
00:36:26,570 --> 00:36:28,473
and charged at the Burgundians.
635
00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:33,290
She drove her men on and on,
636
00:36:33,290 --> 00:36:35,470
calling out that God was with them.
637
00:36:39,054 --> 00:36:40,890
But another detachment
of enemy soldiers
638
00:36:40,890 --> 00:36:44,343
closed in behind her and
cut her off from the bridge.
639
00:36:45,700 --> 00:36:49,173
Surrounded by the enemy,
Joan was pulled from her saddle.
640
00:36:53,630 --> 00:36:55,393
Now, she was a prisoner.
641
00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:00,770
This was not how Joan’s
mission was supposed to end.
642
00:37:00,770 --> 00:37:03,170
And for the Armagnacs,
the fault could only lie
643
00:37:03,170 --> 00:37:05,040
with Joan herself.
644
00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:08,670
Charles was still the true
king, anointed by God.
645
00:37:08,670 --> 00:37:12,390
But Joan, they said,
had become too proud and wilful
646
00:37:12,390 --> 00:37:15,290
and so God had
allowed her to be taken.
647
00:37:15,290 --> 00:37:17,330
Keeping the Armagnac faith
648
00:37:17,330 --> 00:37:20,370
meant abandoning Joan to her fate.
649
00:37:20,370 --> 00:37:22,173
But what would that fate be?
650
00:37:30,620 --> 00:37:32,010
The Burgundians and the English
651
00:37:32,010 --> 00:37:35,230
wanted Joan to be
discredited for all to see.
652
00:37:35,230 --> 00:37:38,060
But deciding what to do
with her, who should try her
653
00:37:38,060 --> 00:37:41,360
and on what charges
was no simple matter.
654
00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:44,290
It took months and for all that time,
655
00:37:44,290 --> 00:37:47,357
Joan was kept in
captivity and ignorance.
656
00:37:52,140 --> 00:37:54,510
These were Joan’s darkest days.
657
00:37:54,510 --> 00:37:56,640
She knew that God had
sent her to save France
658
00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:59,633
from the English and the false
French who supported them.
659
00:38:00,720 --> 00:38:02,060
But now, God had delivered her
660
00:38:02,060 --> 00:38:04,350
into the hands of those same enemies.
661
00:38:04,350 --> 00:38:06,370
What did it mean?
662
00:38:06,370 --> 00:38:09,080
Perhaps God meant her to help herself.
663
00:38:09,080 --> 00:38:11,000
During the long months of her captivity,
664
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,680
Joan tried and failed to escape
665
00:38:13,680 --> 00:38:15,770
and then, seeing no other way out,
666
00:38:15,770 --> 00:38:17,550
she jumped from the
window of the tower
667
00:38:17,550 --> 00:38:19,200
in which she was locked.
668
00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:20,610
She survived the fall
669
00:38:20,610 --> 00:38:23,190
but her injuries took some time to hill
670
00:38:23,190 --> 00:38:25,033
and she was still a prisoner.
671
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:32,690
In December 1430, Joan was
taken to Rouen in Normandy,
672
00:38:32,690 --> 00:38:35,080
the capital of English France.
673
00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:37,340
It would be here that she would be tried
674
00:38:37,340 --> 00:38:38,953
and her fate decided.
675
00:38:41,100 --> 00:38:44,230
What happened next
was carefully written down
676
00:38:44,230 --> 00:38:46,820
and we can follow it all, word for word,
677
00:38:46,820 --> 00:38:48,713
through the transcript of her trial.
678
00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:55,190
Joan’s fame was so great
that the eyes of the world
679
00:38:55,190 --> 00:38:56,503
were on this case.
680
00:38:58,210 --> 00:39:00,120
Joan was put on trial by her enemies
681
00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:02,780
but she wasn’t accused of war crimes.
682
00:39:02,780 --> 00:39:05,090
This was a show trial about faith,
683
00:39:05,090 --> 00:39:06,980
a process designed to get at the truth
684
00:39:06,980 --> 00:39:08,820
as her enemies saw it,
685
00:39:08,820 --> 00:39:11,713
to demonstrate that God
was not on Joan’s side.
686
00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:15,590
And for us, it’s an astonishing source.
687
00:39:15,590 --> 00:39:18,370
Through this unique text, we can trace,
688
00:39:18,370 --> 00:39:21,090
question by question
and answer by answer,
689
00:39:21,090 --> 00:39:24,060
the interrogations to
which Joan was subjected.
690
00:39:24,060 --> 00:39:26,143
It takes us right into the courtroom.
691
00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:32,183
Her main interrogator was a
man named Pierre Cauchon.
692
00:39:34,010 --> 00:39:35,850
He had supported
the Burgundian cause
693
00:39:35,850 --> 00:39:37,940
since the beginning of the civil war
694
00:39:37,940 --> 00:39:40,953
but he was a loyal counsellor
of the English King of France.
695
00:39:45,930 --> 00:39:48,170
But Cauchon was also a bishop.
696
00:39:48,170 --> 00:39:52,060
For him, this wasn’t
just a matter of politics,
697
00:39:52,060 --> 00:39:53,803
it was a matter of faith.
698
00:39:57,240 --> 00:39:59,940
Cauchon’s faith was as strong as Joan’s.
699
00:39:59,940 --> 00:40:02,910
He wanted to prove
that Joan was a heretic,
700
00:40:02,910 --> 00:40:06,163
that she deviated dangerously
from Church doctrine.
701
00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:09,560
And if he could get her to admit her guilt,
702
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:12,663
he might even save her
soul from eternal damnation.
703
00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:19,913
On the 21st of February 1431,
Cauchon was ready.
704
00:40:21,370 --> 00:40:23,330
At eight that morning,
705
00:40:23,330 --> 00:40:27,010
Joan was brought from her
cell to face a panel of judges.
706
00:40:27,010 --> 00:40:29,853
The might of the church
was ranged against her.
707
00:40:31,150 --> 00:40:34,020
Silence fell,
and suddenly she was there,
708
00:40:34,020 --> 00:40:37,860
a girl, dressed as a boy,
with her hair cut short.
709
00:40:37,860 --> 00:40:40,970
42 men of the church were
gathered with Cauchon
710
00:40:40,970 --> 00:40:42,770
to hear her speak.
711
00:40:42,770 --> 00:40:44,350
She was the only woman in the room,
712
00:40:44,350 --> 00:40:48,480
by far the least educated
and the youngest by years.
713
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,490
But she’d got used to that
since leaving Domremy.
714
00:40:51,490 --> 00:40:54,693
Joan’s judges might be
ready but so was she.
715
00:41:00,526 --> 00:41:02,730
And the words they
spoke were all recorded
716
00:41:02,730 --> 00:41:04,273
in the trial transcript.
717
00:41:08,121 --> 00:41:09,280
Will you swear an oath,
718
00:41:09,280 --> 00:41:10,470
touching the holy gospels,
719
00:41:10,470 --> 00:41:12,720
to tell the truth about
the things we ask you
720
00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:16,634
that concern the faith and all
other things that you know?
721
00:41:16,634 --> 00:41:18,920
I don’t know what you
want to question me about.
722
00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:21,403
Perhaps you might ask
me things I will not tell you.
723
00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:25,420
For both sides,
her revelations from God
724
00:41:25,420 --> 00:41:27,520
were the heart of the matter.
725
00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:30,830
Those, she said,
she had only ever told her king.
726
00:41:30,830 --> 00:41:32,580
And she wouldn’t speak of them now.
727
00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:37,253
Cauchon’s first day of
questions yielded very little.
728
00:41:38,150 --> 00:41:40,513
And the second day
started the same way.
729
00:41:41,350 --> 00:41:44,960
I took an oath for you yesterday,
that should be enough.
730
00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:48,240
I advise you to swear,
for no one who is questioned
731
00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:50,170
in a matter of faith, not even a prince,
732
00:41:50,170 --> 00:41:52,380
can refuse to take an oath.
733
00:41:52,380 --> 00:41:53,823
You burden me too much.
734
00:41:56,360 --> 00:41:59,090
In the end, she swore a limited oath
735
00:41:59,090 --> 00:42:02,210
and the questions started
slowly and carefully,
736
00:42:02,210 --> 00:42:04,693
moving backwards and
forwards through her story.
737
00:42:05,850 --> 00:42:08,290
Often she answered, but sometimes,
738
00:42:08,290 --> 00:42:11,623
from one question to the next,
she blankly refused.
739
00:42:13,390 --> 00:42:15,860
Was it well done to
attack the city of Paris
740
00:42:15,860 --> 00:42:17,470
on a holy feast day?
741
00:42:17,470 --> 00:42:18,303
Move on.
742
00:42:20,276 --> 00:42:23,550
But as the judges wove their
web of questions around her,
743
00:42:23,550 --> 00:42:27,830
gradually, little by little,
something began to shift.
744
00:42:27,830 --> 00:42:30,830
They wanted to prove that
her revelations were false.
745
00:42:30,830 --> 00:42:33,220
But Joan who was
back on the battlefield,
746
00:42:33,220 --> 00:42:35,440
even if this was a different kind of war
747
00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:37,960
wanted to prove that they were true.
748
00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:40,490
So now, despite her protests,
749
00:42:40,490 --> 00:42:43,213
she began to talk about
her messages from God.
750
00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:47,180
The voice came at midday,
in the summer time
751
00:42:47,180 --> 00:42:48,453
in my father’s garden.
752
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:52,130
The voice came from my right
hand side towards the church
753
00:42:52,130 --> 00:42:53,980
and I seldom hear it without a light.
754
00:42:55,230 --> 00:42:57,090
The light comes from the
same side as the voice
755
00:42:57,090 --> 00:42:59,213
moved around where
there’s a great light.
756
00:43:00,220 --> 00:43:03,180
It seems to me that it’d be a worthy voice
757
00:43:03,180 --> 00:43:06,520
and I believe it to be
a voice sent by God.
758
00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:10,800
And once she had begun,
the thread was there to be pulled.
759
00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:13,700
Bit by bit, as they
asked and asked again,
760
00:43:13,700 --> 00:43:17,652
she began to offer up more
details of the voice she heard.
761
00:43:17,652 --> 00:43:19,370
And on the fourth day of the trial,
762
00:43:19,370 --> 00:43:21,313
what she said was extraordinary.
763
00:43:22,700 --> 00:43:25,120
Is the voice that speaks
to you the voice of an angel
764
00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:28,823
or the voice of a saint or does
it come directly from God?
765
00:43:30,371 --> 00:43:32,620
It is the voice of St.
Margaret and St. Catherine.
766
00:43:32,620 --> 00:43:35,410
And their forms are
crowned in beautiful crowns,
767
00:43:35,410 --> 00:43:37,500
very rich and very precious.
768
00:43:37,500 --> 00:43:39,400
Which was the first
voice that came to you
769
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:40,863
when you were 13 or so?
770
00:43:42,356 --> 00:43:45,260
It was St. Michael that came
before me and he wasn’t alone
771
00:43:45,260 --> 00:43:47,770
but well attended by
the angels from heaven.
772
00:43:47,770 --> 00:43:51,273
Did you see St. Michael and
the angels bodily and really?
773
00:43:52,150 --> 00:43:55,376
I saw them with my bodily eyes,
just as well as I see you
774
00:43:55,376 --> 00:43:56,209
and when they left me,
775
00:43:56,209 --> 00:43:58,773
I wept and truly wished they
had taken me with them.
776
00:44:00,750 --> 00:44:04,170
This was exactly what
Cauchon wanted to hear.
777
00:44:04,170 --> 00:44:06,720
The church accepted
that angels and demons
778
00:44:06,720 --> 00:44:08,920
could be seen by humans.
779
00:44:08,920 --> 00:44:12,090
But it was a tricky thing to
know which was which.
780
00:44:12,090 --> 00:44:13,880
After centuries of debate,
781
00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:16,600
the theological principle
accepted by the church
782
00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:19,070
was that an angel was
not a physical being
783
00:44:19,070 --> 00:44:20,830
but a spiritual one
784
00:44:20,830 --> 00:44:24,760
so the more real,
physical details Joan described,
785
00:44:24,760 --> 00:44:27,910
the more like a demon
her vision sounded.
786
00:44:27,910 --> 00:44:30,400
But Joan stood no
chance of understanding
787
00:44:30,400 --> 00:44:32,500
this scholarly argument.
788
00:44:32,500 --> 00:44:35,060
And as she tried to
demonstrate the truth of her visions
789
00:44:35,060 --> 00:44:37,260
by adding more and more detail,
790
00:44:37,260 --> 00:44:40,063
she damned herself in
the eyes of her judges.
791
00:44:47,808 --> 00:44:50,060
Cauchon was inching closer to proving
792
00:44:50,060 --> 00:44:53,630
that Joan’s messages came
from the devil, not from God.
793
00:44:53,630 --> 00:44:54,713
But he wanted more.
794
00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:59,040
It was time for a change of tactics.
795
00:44:59,040 --> 00:45:02,140
For a week, Joan was
left to wait in her cell,
796
00:45:02,140 --> 00:45:04,180
alone with her English guards,
797
00:45:04,180 --> 00:45:06,663
her feet chained even when she slept.
798
00:45:08,270 --> 00:45:10,500
Then, there was a knock at the door.
799
00:45:10,500 --> 00:45:12,670
The interrogations would continue
800
00:45:12,670 --> 00:45:14,823
but now the court had come to her.
801
00:45:18,351 --> 00:45:22,460
Cauchon had decided that he
would deny her a public stage.
802
00:45:22,460 --> 00:45:25,450
Now, he and a handful of
colleagues would crowd her
803
00:45:25,450 --> 00:45:27,860
in the confines of her own prison.
804
00:45:27,860 --> 00:45:30,693
Here, surely, they would
make the pressure tell.
805
00:45:32,190 --> 00:45:35,570
Cauchon believed that,
when Joan first went to her king,
806
00:45:35,570 --> 00:45:38,993
she must have given him proof
of her heaven sent mission.
807
00:45:41,570 --> 00:45:43,230
What sign did you give your king
808
00:45:43,230 --> 00:45:44,393
when you came to him?
809
00:45:45,670 --> 00:45:48,010
One that is fair and honourable
810
00:45:48,010 --> 00:45:50,280
and most believable and good
811
00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:52,720
and the richest that there is in the world.
812
00:45:52,720 --> 00:45:54,440
Does the sign still exist?
813
00:45:54,440 --> 00:45:57,120
It will last for a
thousand years and more.
814
00:45:57,120 --> 00:45:59,383
The sign is in my king’s treasury.
815
00:46:00,850 --> 00:46:03,072
Is it gold or silver?
816
00:46:03,072 --> 00:46:04,620
A precious stone or a crown?
817
00:46:04,620 --> 00:46:07,240
I will not tell you
anything more about it.
818
00:46:07,240 --> 00:46:09,890
No one could describe a
thing as rich as the sign is.
819
00:46:11,460 --> 00:46:15,200
In any case,
the sign you need is that God
820
00:46:15,200 --> 00:46:16,750
will deliver me from your hands
821
00:46:17,980 --> 00:46:20,330
and it is the most certain
one he can send you.
822
00:46:23,500 --> 00:46:26,160
Joan’s words make it
heartbreakingly clear
823
00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:29,310
that she still believed
that help was coming,
824
00:46:29,310 --> 00:46:32,423
that God would perform
another miracle and save her.
825
00:46:33,890 --> 00:46:36,550
But Cauchon knew
he was getting closer.
826
00:46:36,550 --> 00:46:39,240
He pushed again on
his next visit to her cell
827
00:46:39,240 --> 00:46:41,480
and then again the next day.
828
00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:44,133
And finally, she offered up her story.
829
00:46:46,220 --> 00:46:48,510
She said that when
she’d first been at Chinon,
830
00:46:48,510 --> 00:46:50,990
after Easter in 1429,
831
00:46:50,990 --> 00:46:55,910
an angel had come to bring
her king a crown of pure gold.
832
00:46:55,910 --> 00:46:58,950
The angel have walked up the
stairs into the king’s chamber,
833
00:46:58,950 --> 00:47:02,530
with a company of other
angels that only Joan could see.
834
00:47:02,530 --> 00:47:03,937
Joan had said to the king,
835
00:47:03,937 --> 00:47:07,537
“Sire, here is your sign, take it.”
836
00:47:08,530 --> 00:47:10,960
And this crown from God meant
that the kingdom of France
837
00:47:10,960 --> 00:47:12,680
would be restored to him
838
00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:15,743
if he would give Joan
soldiers and put her to work.
839
00:47:17,890 --> 00:47:20,820
For Cauchon, this was a breakthrough.
840
00:47:20,820 --> 00:47:23,790
An angel who could
physically walk upstairs,
841
00:47:23,790 --> 00:47:27,280
speak to the king’s court
and hand over a crown?
842
00:47:27,280 --> 00:47:29,673
This must be the conjuring of the devil.
843
00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:33,180
This, like her descriptions of her saints
844
00:47:33,180 --> 00:47:36,520
was a story Joan had never told before.
845
00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:38,153
Why was she telling it now?
846
00:47:39,170 --> 00:47:41,080
Alone under interrogation,
847
00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:43,490
she needed to vindicate her mission,
848
00:47:43,490 --> 00:47:47,910
to give detailed proof of the
truth of what she claimed.
849
00:47:47,910 --> 00:47:51,790
But for Cauchon, the devil
was literally in these details
850
00:47:51,790 --> 00:47:53,500
and it was the details, in the end,
851
00:47:53,500 --> 00:47:56,300
that proved what the
bishop already knew,
852
00:47:56,300 --> 00:47:58,073
that Joan was guilty of heresy.
853
00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:07,580
The punishment for heresy was clear.
854
00:48:07,580 --> 00:48:10,500
She would be burned at the stake.
855
00:48:10,500 --> 00:48:13,483
But there was a chance
that Joan might still live.
856
00:48:14,400 --> 00:48:17,230
Cauchon’s hardest task lay ahead.
857
00:48:17,230 --> 00:48:20,160
If he could persuade
Joan to admit her guilt,
858
00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:23,733
he would save both her
life and her immortal soul.
859
00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:29,080
For two weeks, Cauchon tried
everything to win Joan round.
860
00:48:29,080 --> 00:48:32,310
Kind persuasion, reason and argument,
861
00:48:32,310 --> 00:48:35,550
and eventually,
even the threat of torture.
862
00:48:35,550 --> 00:48:37,430
Joan was led to a room in the castle
863
00:48:37,430 --> 00:48:41,430
where terrible implements
were laid out, ready for use.
864
00:48:41,430 --> 00:48:43,283
But Joan was unmoved.
865
00:48:44,430 --> 00:48:47,330
In truth, if you were to
have me torn limb from limb
866
00:48:47,330 --> 00:48:48,770
and my soul separated from my body,
867
00:48:48,770 --> 00:48:50,770
I wouldn’t tell you anything more.
868
00:48:50,770 --> 00:48:52,230
And if I did tell you
anything else about it,
869
00:48:52,230 --> 00:48:53,420
afterwards, I would always say
870
00:48:53,420 --> 00:48:55,070
that you made me say it by force.
871
00:48:58,590 --> 00:49:01,710
Cauchon knew that
Joan meant what she said.
872
00:49:01,710 --> 00:49:03,830
He sent her back to her cell.
873
00:49:03,830 --> 00:49:05,423
Time was running out.
874
00:49:06,570 --> 00:49:10,550
The church had done its
work but it couldn’t take a life.
875
00:49:10,550 --> 00:49:13,250
The sentence would be
carried out by the English
876
00:49:13,250 --> 00:49:15,463
and they were impatient to get on with it.
877
00:49:17,480 --> 00:49:20,850
On the morning of the 24th of May 1431,
878
00:49:20,850 --> 00:49:23,340
Joan was brought from
her prison in Rouen Castle
879
00:49:23,340 --> 00:49:27,050
to this square in front of
the abbey of Saint-Ouen.
880
00:49:27,050 --> 00:49:30,220
Here, in public, she would be sentenced
881
00:49:30,220 --> 00:49:32,260
and then handed over
to the English authorities
882
00:49:32,260 --> 00:49:33,920
to be burned.
883
00:49:33,920 --> 00:49:36,523
Everyone would see
the fate of a heretic.
884
00:49:41,670 --> 00:49:44,170
The whole of Rouen
had turned out to watch
885
00:49:44,170 --> 00:49:46,840
as Joan was bound on a tall platform,
886
00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:49,513
with the executioner’s cart standing by.
887
00:49:50,440 --> 00:49:52,170
A sermon was preached,
888
00:49:52,170 --> 00:49:53,730
and once again, Joan was asked
889
00:49:53,730 --> 00:49:56,323
if she would submit to
Holy Mother Church.
890
00:49:57,740 --> 00:50:01,190
Joan had been so sure
that God would rescue her
891
00:50:01,190 --> 00:50:03,370
but still help hadn’t come.
892
00:50:03,370 --> 00:50:04,933
She needed to buy time.
893
00:50:06,350 --> 00:50:08,800
But there was no more time.
894
00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:11,540
Cauchon began to
read the final sentence
895
00:50:11,540 --> 00:50:14,730
and suddenly, Joan raised her voice.
896
00:50:14,730 --> 00:50:16,830
I wish to obey the
church and my judges.
897
00:50:18,140 --> 00:50:20,050
The church says that my
visions should not be believed,
898
00:50:20,050 --> 00:50:21,350
so I will not uphold them.
899
00:50:23,750 --> 00:50:25,400
I submit to Holy Mother Church.
900
00:50:25,400 --> 00:50:26,283
I submit.
901
00:50:33,308 --> 00:50:34,890
There was uproar.
902
00:50:34,890 --> 00:50:37,290
The Maid was recanting.
903
00:50:37,290 --> 00:50:40,260
Cauchon asked if she was
ready to confess her sins.
904
00:50:40,260 --> 00:50:42,270
And an official of the
court stepped forward
905
00:50:42,270 --> 00:50:44,490
with a document
acknowledging her heresy
906
00:50:44,490 --> 00:50:46,700
and a pen for her to sign it.
907
00:50:46,700 --> 00:50:48,903
She made her mark on the paper.
908
00:50:49,870 --> 00:50:50,703
It was done.
909
00:50:53,550 --> 00:50:56,560
Now, Cauchon delivered
a different sentence.
910
00:50:56,560 --> 00:50:59,400
Joan would live but she
would be kept in prison
911
00:50:59,400 --> 00:51:01,030
for the rest of her life,
912
00:51:01,030 --> 00:51:03,523
doing penance for the
sins she had committed.
913
00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:07,500
Joan was bundled back to her cell.
914
00:51:07,500 --> 00:51:10,010
Her submission was complete.
915
00:51:10,010 --> 00:51:12,780
After more than two years
of dressing as a man,
916
00:51:12,780 --> 00:51:15,830
she took off her male
clothes and put on a dress
917
00:51:15,830 --> 00:51:18,250
and she bowed her
head so that her short hair
918
00:51:18,250 --> 00:51:19,513
could be shaved off.
919
00:51:20,600 --> 00:51:24,273
There could be no clearer
sign that her mission was over.
920
00:51:26,450 --> 00:51:28,380
Cauchon’s work was done.
921
00:51:28,380 --> 00:51:30,430
The Maid’s soul was saved
922
00:51:30,430 --> 00:51:33,693
and now her misguided
claims could be safely forgotten.
923
00:51:35,580 --> 00:51:36,830
That should have been it.
924
00:51:37,670 --> 00:51:39,873
But there are more pages still to turn.
925
00:51:41,160 --> 00:51:43,150
Here, on the 28th of May,
926
00:51:43,150 --> 00:51:46,250
four days after the dramatic
events at Saint-Ouen,
927
00:51:46,250 --> 00:51:48,483
Cauchon was called back to the castle.
928
00:51:49,390 --> 00:51:52,560
It said that he found Joan habitu virile
929
00:51:52,560 --> 00:51:54,600
dressed once again as a man
930
00:51:54,600 --> 00:51:58,020
and her state of mind
was profoundly disturbed.
931
00:51:58,020 --> 00:52:00,350
Here, the bishop questions her again
932
00:52:00,350 --> 00:52:04,010
but all Joan’s calmness
and confidence are gone.
933
00:52:04,010 --> 00:52:07,413
Now, her answers are tangled
and much harder to follow.
934
00:52:08,770 --> 00:52:12,280
Something had
happened in those few days.
935
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:13,910
Later, witnesses suggested
936
00:52:13,910 --> 00:52:16,370
that once she was
dressed in women’s clothes,
937
00:52:16,370 --> 00:52:19,073
she’d been assaulted
or raped in her cell.
938
00:52:19,950 --> 00:52:21,450
But what is clear above all
939
00:52:21,450 --> 00:52:24,210
is the overwhelming distress she felt
940
00:52:24,210 --> 00:52:27,883
at having given up on her
truth and denied her voices.
941
00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:32,500
And what the cleric noted in
margin that we she said next
942
00:52:32,500 --> 00:52:33,667
was the .
943
00:52:35,330 --> 00:52:36,823
Her fatal reply.
944
00:52:39,940 --> 00:52:42,703
God sent me word of the
great pity of my betrayal.
945
00:52:43,630 --> 00:52:46,053
I have damned my soul to save my life.
946
00:52:47,650 --> 00:52:50,870
If I said that God hadn’t sent me,
then I would be damned
947
00:52:50,870 --> 00:52:52,953
for I was truly sent by God.
948
00:52:54,460 --> 00:52:56,750
My voices tell me I have done harm
949
00:52:56,750 --> 00:52:58,483
by saying what I did was wrong.
950
00:53:01,290 --> 00:53:02,980
Whatever I said and recanted,
951
00:53:02,980 --> 00:53:05,063
I did it only through the fear of fire.
952
00:53:08,193 --> 00:53:11,840
This time, Cauchon knew
there could be no going back.
953
00:53:11,840 --> 00:53:14,240
Joan was a relapsed heretic.
954
00:53:14,240 --> 00:53:17,123
She would be handed over
to the English to be burned.
955
00:53:18,380 --> 00:53:20,800
Early in the morning of the 30th of May,
956
00:53:20,800 --> 00:53:22,650
Cauchon and some of his fellow cleric
957
00:53:22,650 --> 00:53:25,283
visited Joan for the last time.
958
00:53:26,450 --> 00:53:28,630
Her life was now beyond hope,
959
00:53:28,630 --> 00:53:30,180
but perhaps there was still a chance
960
00:53:30,180 --> 00:53:31,770
that her soul could be saved
961
00:53:31,770 --> 00:53:34,013
if she would finally tell the truth.
962
00:53:35,050 --> 00:53:37,070
And this record of what Joan said
963
00:53:37,070 --> 00:53:40,973
in the last hours of her life
is extraordinarily moving.
964
00:53:41,810 --> 00:53:43,970
All her certainties have gone.
965
00:53:43,970 --> 00:53:45,860
Rescue hasn’t come.
966
00:53:45,860 --> 00:53:47,970
She knows she will die.
967
00:53:47,970 --> 00:53:49,370
And yet telling the truth
968
00:53:49,370 --> 00:53:52,573
means she can’t let go
of her voices and visions.
969
00:54:01,390 --> 00:54:05,803
Is it true that you heard voices
and received apparitions?
970
00:54:07,200 --> 00:54:08,033
Yes.
971
00:54:10,430 --> 00:54:13,380
Whether they are good or evil
spirits, they appeared to me.
972
00:54:15,920 --> 00:54:17,240
I heard the voices most of all
973
00:54:17,240 --> 00:54:20,140
when the church bells rang in
the morning and the evening.
974
00:54:21,340 --> 00:54:23,963
And the apparitions, the angels?
975
00:54:25,550 --> 00:54:28,300
They came in a great
multitude as the tiniest things.
976
00:54:29,989 --> 00:54:31,530
What of the angel who gave
977
00:54:31,530 --> 00:54:33,733
the one you call your king a crown?
978
00:54:35,810 --> 00:54:36,803
I was the angel.
979
00:54:40,840 --> 00:54:42,630
I promised my king that if
he would put me to work,
980
00:54:42,630 --> 00:54:44,303
I would see him crowned.
981
00:54:55,210 --> 00:54:56,110
Over the centuries,
982
00:54:56,110 --> 00:54:58,700
there have been as many
ways of reading Joan’s trial
983
00:54:58,700 --> 00:55:01,140
as there are people to read it.
984
00:55:01,140 --> 00:55:03,700
It’s even been suggested
that this last conversation
985
00:55:03,700 --> 00:55:06,570
on the morning of Joan’s
death is fabrication,
986
00:55:06,570 --> 00:55:09,383
made up by Cauchon to
undermine her message.
987
00:55:10,610 --> 00:55:13,720
But to me, there’s a truthfulness to it.
988
00:55:13,720 --> 00:55:15,960
Joan’s story of an
angel bringing her king
989
00:55:15,960 --> 00:55:19,280
a golden crown doesn’t
seem plausible to us
990
00:55:19,280 --> 00:55:21,740
and it didn’t to her judges either.
991
00:55:21,740 --> 00:55:23,580
But if Joan was the angel,
992
00:55:23,580 --> 00:55:25,870
and the crown her
promise of a coronation,
993
00:55:25,870 --> 00:55:29,120
it makes much more
sense as a way for Joan,
994
00:55:29,120 --> 00:55:30,740
alone among her enemies,
995
00:55:30,740 --> 00:55:33,083
to make her mission real in the world.
996
00:55:34,140 --> 00:55:38,090
But Joan’s truth and
Cauchon’s were incompatible.
997
00:55:38,090 --> 00:55:40,113
And that’s why Joan had to die.
998
00:55:48,930 --> 00:55:52,130
Joan was brought here to
the marketplace in Rouen,
999
00:55:52,130 --> 00:55:54,003
where a pyre had been prepared.
1000
00:55:55,470 --> 00:55:57,630
A cap was placed on her head
1001
00:55:57,630 --> 00:56:02,017
bearing the words relapsed
heretic, apostate, idolater.
1002
00:56:16,080 --> 00:56:18,600
Joan was tied to a
stake on a high scaffold
1003
00:56:18,600 --> 00:56:21,043
so that everyone could see her burn.
1004
00:56:25,540 --> 00:56:27,000
As the flames took hold,
1005
00:56:27,000 --> 00:56:30,113
she called the name of Jesus,
over and over again.
1006
00:56:31,740 --> 00:56:34,420
Once she was dead,
and her clothes had burned away,
1007
00:56:34,420 --> 00:56:36,590
the executioner raked back the fire
1008
00:56:36,590 --> 00:56:38,883
to show the crowd that
she was just a woman.
1009
00:56:40,120 --> 00:56:41,720
And then he stoked the flames,
1010
00:56:41,720 --> 00:56:44,370
so there’d be nothing would
be left of her but ashes.
1011
00:56:55,120 --> 00:56:59,620
Joan’s body was gone
but her story wouldn’t die.
1012
00:56:59,620 --> 00:57:02,970
Her belief in her visions and
her extraordinary courage
1013
00:57:02,970 --> 00:57:04,683
remained an inspiration.
1014
00:57:06,910 --> 00:57:10,880
By 1456, just 25 years after her death,
1015
00:57:10,880 --> 00:57:13,340
the political tide had turned.
1016
00:57:13,340 --> 00:57:16,820
France was reunited
under Joan’s Armagnac king
1017
00:57:16,820 --> 00:57:20,550
and Joan’s case was
heard in court once again.
1018
00:57:20,550 --> 00:57:24,023
This time, Joan was
found not guilty of heresy.
1019
00:57:26,250 --> 00:57:30,620
Since then, Joan has
become a legend and an icon.
1020
00:57:30,620 --> 00:57:33,433
In 1920, she was even made a saint.
1021
00:57:35,320 --> 00:57:37,800
Now, she’s almost an empty vessel
1022
00:57:37,800 --> 00:57:40,740
into which we pour our
own preoccupations,
1023
00:57:40,740 --> 00:57:41,873
whatever they may be.
1024
00:57:44,760 --> 00:57:47,640
But if she becomes
all things to all people,
1025
00:57:47,640 --> 00:57:50,140
we risk losing the human being.
1026
00:57:50,140 --> 00:57:51,890
The girl who burned in this place
1027
00:57:51,890 --> 00:57:56,063
was a ferocious champion of
one side in a bloody civil war.
1028
00:57:57,060 --> 00:57:59,010
She was able to do what she did
1029
00:57:59,010 --> 00:58:00,800
to achieve what should
have been impossible
1030
00:58:00,800 --> 00:58:03,430
for someone of her class and sex
1031
00:58:03,430 --> 00:58:05,550
because she and all those around her
1032
00:58:05,550 --> 00:58:07,130
believed they were fighting a war
1033
00:58:07,130 --> 00:58:09,163
in which God’s will was at work.
1034
00:58:10,400 --> 00:58:12,070
And perhaps it’s there
1035
00:58:12,070 --> 00:58:14,910
in the possibilities that faith can create
1036
00:58:14,910 --> 00:58:17,330
and the violence it can bring,
1037
00:58:17,330 --> 00:58:21,483
that Joan’s world and ours,
don’t seem so very far apart.
78781
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