Joan of Arc
Dignity - The warrior
By Clément de Fauquembergue, 1429. France National Archives.
Joan of Arc is considered as a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years' War. Joan convinced the embattled crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orléans, where it achieved a momentous victory over the English and their French allies, the Burgundians. After seeing the prince crowned King Charles VII, Joan was captured by Anglo-Burgundian forces, tried for witchcraft and heresy and burned at the stake in 1431, at the age of 19.
Do you know that Joan of Arc in reality, was not the calm, well-behaved young woman she is portrayed as in Christian literature? Accounts note that once placed in control of the French army, the teenage peasant didn’t hesitate to chew out prestigious knights for swearing, behaving indecently, skipping Mass or dismissing her battle plans; she even accused her noble patrons of spinelessness in their dealings with the English. "The Maid’s" short fuse is evident in transcripts of her court hearings; when a clergyman with a thick regional accent asked what language her voices spoke, for instance, she retorted that they spoke French far better than he did. (**Nina's notes)
Filmmaker: Nicole Witte Solomon
Visual Artist: Nina Schiarizzi
Music: Catherine Capozzi, Christine Zufferey
Do you know that Joan of Arc in reality, was not the calm, well-behaved young woman she is portrayed as in Christian literature? Accounts note that once placed in control of the French army, the teenage peasant didn’t hesitate to chew out prestigious knights for swearing, behaving indecently, skipping Mass or dismissing her battle plans; she even accused her noble patrons of spinelessness in their dealings with the English. "The Maid’s" short fuse is evident in transcripts of her court hearings; when a clergyman with a thick regional accent asked what language her voices spoke, for instance, she retorted that they spoke French far better than he did. (**Nina's notes)
Filmmaker: Nicole Witte Solomon
Visual Artist: Nina Schiarizzi
Music: Catherine Capozzi, Christine Zufferey