God, she said, âYes, better than you.â 8
It is a sign of the temper of the times that one of the decisive factors in the clericsâ decision to approve Joan was their sense that she was the fulfillment of the prophecy that a virgin would come to save France. Fifteenth-century Church doctors had no trouble placing prophecy alongside testimony garnered through legal investigation, and weighing both.
Armed by the King
After she had passed the examination by the learned clerks at Poitiers, Joan went to Tours, where she was given a retinue and had a suit of armor made for her. This delighted her; she was always excited by the accoutrements of knighthood, or of war. At Tours, she was offered a sword, but insisted that the one she needed could be found at St. Catherineâs Church at Fierbois. She said, should the messengers dig behind the altar, they would find a sword concealed there. The priests who were sent on this errand did what they were told and found the sword. When they rubbed it, the rust that had encrusted it immediately fell off, and it was discovered that the sword had five crosses on the hilt and was imprinted with fleurs-de-lis.
Joan claimed that she had never seen the sword and that she was told of its existence by her voices. She had, however, spent a lot of time in the church while she was waiting for a response to her letter to the king at Chinon. Although it is possible that she didnât know of the swordâs existence on a conscious level, it is certainly possible that at least unconsciously she had known about it from stories she had heard and forgotten. What is important is Joanâs comprehension of the symbolic power of the sword and its method of discovery. She was understood to have prophetic gifts, and the sword was a symbol of her approval by God. Later, it would be understood by the English as a sign of her demonic power.
At Tours, the king also provided payment for the standard she had ordered. This standard became the most famous of her props; the design for the banner was given to her by her voices. The background was white; there was an image of the Trinity, flanked by two angels. It was made of thin linen, and the fabric was embossed with lilies. On the reverse of the banner was an azure shield, supported by two angels, bearing a white dove. The dove held a scroll in its beak, and on the scroll were the words âde par le Roi de Cielâ (of the party of the King of Heaven). These words referred to her divine mandate.
She was preparing for her display, and the preparation called up the part of her genius that brilliantly understood the use of symbols. A few weeks earlier she had appeared before Baudricourt in the traditional red dress of a peasant girl; that dress had been replaced by menâs clothing and would not be seen again. But now she would have armor made for her, and she was given a retinue worthy of a prince. She was in command of men whom, for most of her life, she would not have thought of speaking to. Jean dâAulon was appointed master of her household. Did it seem remarkable to her that she would have a household, to say nothing of one with a master? He would accompany Joan until her capture. She chose a confessor who would also be with her until she was imprisoned, a mendicant friar named Jean Pasquerel, who had met Joanâs mother on a pilgrimage.
She set off from Chinon with a long train of horsemen, men-at-arms, wagons, four hundred head of cattle, and priests in front intoning the Veni Creator Spiritus. Her whole retinue consisted of four thousand men. They encamped at the town of Blois, near Orléans. Joan was much concerned with the spiritual state of her soldiers. She insisted that they confess and receive communion. She lectured them, not only on the state of their souls, but on the quality of their language. She forbade them camp followers. They slept in the field the first night, and Joan awoke bruised and weary, unused to the
It is a sign of the temper of the times that one of the decisive factors in the clericsâ decision to approve Joan was their sense that she was the fulfillment of the prophecy that a virgin would come to save France. Fifteenth-century Church doctors had no trouble placing prophecy alongside testimony garnered through legal investigation, and weighing both.
Armed by the King
After she had passed the examination by the learned clerks at Poitiers, Joan went to Tours, where she was given a retinue and had a suit of armor made for her. This delighted her; she was always excited by the accoutrements of knighthood, or of war. At Tours, she was offered a sword, but insisted that the one she needed could be found at St. Catherineâs Church at Fierbois. She said, should the messengers dig behind the altar, they would find a sword concealed there. The priests who were sent on this errand did what they were told and found the sword. When they rubbed it, the rust that had encrusted it immediately fell off, and it was discovered that the sword had five crosses on the hilt and was imprinted with fleurs-de-lis.
Joan claimed that she had never seen the sword and that she was told of its existence by her voices. She had, however, spent a lot of time in the church while she was waiting for a response to her letter to the king at Chinon. Although it is possible that she didnât know of the swordâs existence on a conscious level, it is certainly possible that at least unconsciously she had known about it from stories she had heard and forgotten. What is important is Joanâs comprehension of the symbolic power of the sword and its method of discovery. She was understood to have prophetic gifts, and the sword was a symbol of her approval by God. Later, it would be understood by the English as a sign of her demonic power.
At Tours, the king also provided payment for the standard she had ordered. This standard became the most famous of her props; the design for the banner was given to her by her voices. The background was white; there was an image of the Trinity, flanked by two angels. It was made of thin linen, and the fabric was embossed with lilies. On the reverse of the banner was an azure shield, supported by two angels, bearing a white dove. The dove held a scroll in its beak, and on the scroll were the words âde par le Roi de Cielâ (of the party of the King of Heaven). These words referred to her divine mandate.
She was preparing for her display, and the preparation called up the part of her genius that brilliantly understood the use of symbols. A few weeks earlier she had appeared before Baudricourt in the traditional red dress of a peasant girl; that dress had been replaced by menâs clothing and would not be seen again. But now she would have armor made for her, and she was given a retinue worthy of a prince. She was in command of men whom, for most of her life, she would not have thought of speaking to. Jean dâAulon was appointed master of her household. Did it seem remarkable to her that she would have a household, to say nothing of one with a master? He would accompany Joan until her capture. She chose a confessor who would also be with her until she was imprisoned, a mendicant friar named Jean Pasquerel, who had met Joanâs mother on a pilgrimage.
She set off from Chinon with a long train of horsemen, men-at-arms, wagons, four hundred head of cattle, and priests in front intoning the Veni Creator Spiritus. Her whole retinue consisted of four thousand men. They encamped at the town of Blois, near Orléans. Joan was much concerned with the spiritual state of her soldiers. She insisted that they confess and receive communion. She lectured them, not only on the state of their souls, but on the quality of their language. She forbade them camp followers. They slept in the field the first night, and Joan awoke bruised and weary, unused to the
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