Chapter XII: Part II: The Rehabilitation (3)

Jeanne was older than I. I knew her and remember her for the three or four years before her departure from home. She was a well-brought-up girl, and well-behaved; and she often attended Church. Sometimes, when the village bell rang for service, I saw her kneel down and pray with great devotion.

BEATRIX, _widow of Estellin, labourer, of Domremy_.

Jeannette was born, at Domremy, of Jacques d’Arc and Isabelle, his wife, labourers, good and true Catholics, honest folk and worthy, according to their ability, but not rich. She was baptised at the Church of Saint Remy. She had as god-fathers, Jean Morel, Jean de Laxart, and the late Jean Raiguesson; and as god-mothers, Jeannette, widow Thiesselin, Jeannette Thévenin, and myself. Jeanne was suitably instructed in the Catholic Faith, like other young girls of her age. Up to her departure, she was properly brought up; she was a chaste maiden, and of modest habits. She frequented with great devotion, churches and holy places; and, after the village of Domremy was burned, she went on Feast Days to attend Mass at Greux. She confessed willingly at festivals, principally at the Feast of the most Holy Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. I do not think there was any one better than she in our two villages. She employed herself at home with many duties in the house, spinning hemp or wool, following the plough, or going to harvest, according to the season. When it was her father’s turn, she sometimes kept the cattle and the flocks of the village for him. When Jeannette went to Neufchâteau, all the village had fled. I saw her there, always with her father and mother. Up to her going into France, Jeannette had never obeyed any one or worked for any one but her father.

JEANNETTE, _wife of Thévenin, cartwright_ [_gave evidence similar to the preceding, as did_] JEAN MOEN, _of Domremy, cartwright, living at Coussey, near Neufchâteau_, [_and_] JACQUIER _of Saint Amance, near Nancy_.

MESSIRE ETIENNE OF SIONNE, _Curé of the Parish Church of Roncessey-sous-Neufchâteau_.

Many times I heard Messire Guillaume Fronte, in his lifetime Curé of Domremy, say that Jeanne the Maid was a simple and good girl, pious, well-brought-up, and God-fearing, and without her like in the whole village. Often did she confess her sins; and, if she had had money, she would have given it to him, he told me, to say Masses. Every day, when he celebrated Mass, she was there. I heard it said by a great number of persons that Jeannette, when she went to Neufchâteau, lived with a worthy woman named La Rousse; and that she always remained in the company of her father and the other inhabitants of Domremy, who had fled there.

JEANNETTE, _widow of Thiesselin of Viteaux, formerly clerk at Neufchâteau_.

I often saw her confess to Messire Guillaume Fronte, the Curé of the parish. She never swore, and, to affirm strongly, contented herself with saying, “Without fail!” She was no dancer; and, sometimes, when the others were singing and dancing, she went to prayer. Jeannette was fond of work, spinning, looking after the house, and, when necessary, taking her turn at minding her father’s cattle. There is a tree by us called the Ladies’ Tree, because, in ancient days, the Sieur Pierre Granier, Seigneur de Bourlement, and a lady called Fée met under this tree and conversed together: I have heard it read in a romance. The Seigneurs of Domremy and their ladies—at least, the Lady Beatrix, wife of Pierre de Bourlement, and the said Pierre—accompanied by their daughters, came sometimes to walk round this tree. In the same way, every year the young girls and youths of Domremy came to walk there, on the Laetare Sunday—called ‘the Sunday of the Wells’: they ate and danced there, and went to drink at the Well of the Thorn. But I do not remember if Jeanne were ever under this tree. I never heard anything evil said about her on account of this tree.

LOUIS DE MARTIGNY, _Squire, living at Martigny-les-Gerbonveaux, near Neufchâteau_.

I heard that Jeanne, when she wanted to go into France, went first to the Bailly of Chaumont, and afterwards to the Lord Duke de Lorraine, who gave her a horse and some money. Bertrand de Poulengey, Jean de Metz, Jean Dieu-le-Ward, and Colet de Vienne afterwards conducted her to the King.

THÉVENIN LE ROYER, _Cartwright, a native of Chermisey, near Neufchâteau, residing at Domremy, husband of one of Jeanne’s God-mothers_ [_evidence similar to the preceding_].

BERTRAND LACLOPPE, _thatcher, of Domremy_.

One day, a man[120] of Burey-le-Petit came to seek Jeanne at Domremy, and took her to speak with the Bailly of Vaucouleurs: I heard say that it was this Bailly who sent her to the King. The soldiers having come to Domremy, all the people of the village went to take refuge at Neufchâteau. Jeannette and her parents did as the others did: she stayed there about four days, always in their company.

PERRIN LE DRAPIER, _of Domremy, Churchwarden of the Parish Church and Bell-ringer_.

From her earliest years till her departure, Jeannette the Maid was a good girl, chaste, simple, modest, never blaspheming God nor the Saints, fearing God. She loved to go to Church and confessed often. I can attest what I say, for I was then attached to the Church of Saint Remy, and often I saw Jeanne come there to Mass and other Offices. When I forgot to ring for Service, Jeanne scolded me, saying I had done wrong; and she promised to give me some of the wool of her flock if I would ring more diligently. Often she went with her sister and others to the Church and Hermitage of Bermont. She was very charitable, and very industrious, employed herself in spinning and divers other works in her father’s house; sometimes she went to the plough, or took care of the flock when it was her turn. When Jeanne left her father’s house, she went with her uncle Durand Laxart to Vaucouleurs, to seek Robert de Baudricourt, who was then captain there.

GERARD GUILLEMETTE, _labourer, of Greux_.

When Jeanne left her father’s house, I saw her pass before my father’s house, with her uncle Durand Laxart. “Adieu,” she said to my father, “I am going to Vaucouleurs.” I heard afterwards that she had gone to France. I was at Neufchâteau with Jeanne and her parents. I saw her always with them, excepting that, for three or four days, she did, under their eyes, help the hostess at whose house they were lodging,—an honest woman named La Rousse. I know well that they only remained at Neufchâteau four or five days. When the soldiers had gone, Jeanne returned to Domremy with her parents.

HAUVIETTE, _wife of Gerard of Syonne, near Neufchâteau_.

She was a good girl, simple and gentle; she went willingly and often to Church, and Holy places. Often she was bashful when others reproached her with going too devotedly to Church. There was a tree in the neighbourhood that, from ancient days, had been called the Ladies’ Tree. It was said formerly that ladies, called Fairies, came under this tree; but I never heard any one say they had been seen there. The young people of the village were accustomed to go to this tree, taking food with them, and to the Well of the Thorn[121]

[_Ad fontem Rannorum_, or, “_ad Rannos_”] on the Sunday of ‘Laetare Jerusalem,’[122] called the Sunday of the Wells. I often went there with Jeanne, who was my friend, and with other young girls on the said Sunday of the Wells. We ate there, ran about, and played. Also, we took nuts to this tree and well. I did not know of Jeanne’s departure: I wept much; I loved her dearly for her goodness and because she was my friend. Jeanne was always with her father and mother at Neufchâteau. I also was at Neufchâteau, and saw her there all the time.

JEAN WATERIN, _labourer, of Greux_.

I saw Jeannette very often. In our childhood, we often followed together her father’s plough, and we went together with the other children of the village to the meadows or pastures. Often, when we were all at play, Jeannette would retire alone to “talk with God.” I and the others laughed at her for this. She was simple and good, frequenting the Church and Holy places. Often, when she was in the fields and heard the bells ring, she would drop on her knees.

GERARDIN, _labourer, of Epinal_.

Of her departure for Vaucouleurs I know nothing. But, at the time when she was thinking of leaving the village, she said to me, one day: “Gossip, if you were not a Burgundian, I would tell you something.” I thought it was on the subject of some marriage which she might have in her head. After her departure, I saw her at Chalons,—I and four other inhabitants of this place. She told us she feared nothing but treason.

SIMONIN MUSNIER, _labourer, of Domremy_.

I was brought up with Jeannette, close to her house. I know that she was good, simple and pious, and that she feared God and the Saints. She loved Church and Holy places; she was very charitable, and liked to take care of the sick. I know this of a surety, for, in my childhood, I fell ill, and it was she who nursed me. When the Church bells rang, I have seen her kneel down and make the sign of the Cross.

ISABELLETTE, _wife of Gerardin, labourer, of Epinal_.

From my childhood I knew the parents of Jeannette; as to Jeannette, herself, I knew her in my youth and as long as she remained with her parents. She was very hospitable to the poor, and would even sleep on the hearth in order that the poor might lie in her bed. She was not fond of playing, at which we, her companions, complained. She liked work; and would spin, labour with her father, look after the house, and sometimes mind the sheep. She was never seen idling in the roads; she was more often in Church at prayer.

I often saw her at confession, for she was my gossip, and god-mother to my son Nicolas. I was often with her, and saw her go to confession to Messire Guillaume, who was then our Curé. When all was well at the château, the Seigneurs and their ladies often came to walk beneath the Ladies’ Tree, on the Sunday of Laetare, which we call ‘the Sunday of the Wells’; and on certain other days, in fine weather, they brought with them the village boys and girls. The Seigneur Pierre de Bourlement and his lady, who was from France, took me there on the said Sunday of the Wells many times in my childhood, with other children. It was the custom to go every year, on this Sunday, to play and walk round this tree. Jeannette went with us, we each brought provisions, and, the meal ended, went to refresh ourselves at the Well. The same thing takes place now, with our children.

MENGETTE, _wife of Jean Joyart, labourer_.

My father’s house joined the house of Jacques d’Arc: so I knew her well. We often spun together, and together worked at the ordinary house-duties, whether by day or night. She was a good Christian, of good manners and well brought up. She loved the Church, and went there often, and gave alms from the goods of her father. She was a good girl, simple and pious—so much so that I and her companions told her she was too pious.

MESSIRE JEAN COLIN, _Curé of the Parish Church at Domremy and Canon of the Collegiate Church of Saint-Nicolas de Brixey, near Vaucouleurs_.

While Jeanne was at Vaucouleurs, she confessed to me two or three times. It seemed to me, to my knowledge, that she was an excellent girl, with all the signs of a perfect Christian and of a true Catholic; she was fond of going to Church. I saw her at Vaucouleurs, when she wanted to go into France, and saw her mount on horseback; with her were Bertrand de Poulengey, Jean de Metz, Colet de Vienne, horse-soldiers and servants of Robert de Baudricourt.

COLIN, _son of Jean Colin, labourer_.

I heard Durand Laxart say, that she told him he must conduct her to Vaucouleurs, that she wished to go into France, and that she would tell her father she was going to the house of the said Durand to nurse his wife. And this, Durand told me, was done; and then, with the consent of her father, she went to Vaucouleurs to seek Robert de Baudricourt.

CHÂTEAU DE VAUCOULEURS,
Porte de France.
]

JEAN DE NOVELEMPORT, _Knight, called Jean de Metz_.

When Jeannette was at Vaucouleurs, I saw her dressed in a red dress, poor and worn; she lived at the house of one named Henri Leroyer. “What are you doing here, my friend?” I said to her. “Must the King be driven from the kingdom; and are we to be English?” “I am come here,” she answered me, “to this royal town,[123] to speak to Robert de Baudricourt, to the end that he may conduct me or have me conducted to the King: but Robert cares neither for me nor for my words. Nevertheless, before the middle of Lent, I must be with the King—even if I have to wear down my feet to the knees! No one in the world—neither kings, nor dukes, nor the daughter of the King of Scotland,[124] nor any others—can recover the kingdom of France; there is no succour to be expected save from me; but, nevertheless, I would rather spin with my poor mother—for this is not my proper estate: it is, however, necessary that I should go, and do this, because my Lord wills that I should do it.” And when I asked her who this Lord was, she told me it was God. Then I pledged my faith to her, touching her hand, and promised that, with God’s guidance, I would conduct her to the King. I asked her when she wished to start. “Sooner at once than to-morrow, and sooner to-morrow than later,” she said. I asked her if she could make this journey, dressed as she was. She replied that she would willingly take a man’s dress. Then I gave her the dress and equipment of one of my men. Afterwards, the inhabitants of Vaucouleurs had a man’s dress made for her, with all the necessary requisites; I also procured for her a horse at the price of about sixteen francs. Thus dressed and mounted, and furnished with a safe-conduct from the Sieur Charles, Duke de Lorraine, she went to visit the said Lord Duke. I accompanied her as far as Toul. On the return to Vaucouleurs, the first Sunday in Lent,[125] which is called ‘Dimanche des Bures’—and it will be, if I mistake not, twenty-seven years from that day to the coming Lent[126]—I and Bertrand de Poulengey, with two of my men, Colet de Vienne, the King’s Messenger, and the Archer Richard, conducted the Maid to the King, who was then at Chinon. The journey was made at the expense of Bertrand de Poulengey and myself. We travelled for the most part at night, for fear of the Burgundians and the English, who were masters of the roads. We journeyed eleven days, always riding towards the said town of Chinon. On the way, I asked her many times if she would really do all she said. “Have no fear,” she answered us, “what I am commanded to do, I will do; my brothers in Paradise have told me how to act: it is four or five years since my brothers in Paradise and my Lord—that is, God—told me that I must go and fight in order to regain the kingdom of France.” On the way, Bertrand and I slept every night by her—Jeanne being at my side, fully dressed. She inspired me with such respect that for nothing in the world would I have dared to molest her; also, never did I feel towards her—I say it on oath—any carnal desire. On the way she always wished to hear Mass. She said to us: “If we can, we shall do well to hear Mass.” But, for fear of being recognized, we were only able to hear it twice. I had absolute faith in her. Her words and her ardent faith in God inflamed me. I believe she was sent from God; she never swore, she loved to attend Mass, she confessed often, and was zealous in giving alms. Many times was I obliged to hand out to her the money she gave for the love of God. While we were with her, we found her always good, simple, pious, an excellent Christian, well-behaved, and God-fearing. When we arrived at Chinon,[127] we presented ourselves to the King’s Court and Council. I know she had there to submit to long enquiries.

MICHAEL LEBUIN, _labourer, of Domremy_.

I knew Jeannette from my earliest youth. Of Jeanne’s departure for Vaucouleurs I knew nothing. But, one day—the Eve of Saint John the Baptist[128]—she said to me: “Between Coussy and Vaucouleurs there is a young girl, who, before the year is gone, will have the King of France consecrated.” And, in truth, the following year the King was crowned at Rheims.[129] When Jeanne was a prisoner I saw Nicolas Bailly, Notary of Andelot, coming to Domremy, one day, with several other persons. At the request of Jean de Torcenay, Bailly of Chaumont for the pretended King of France and England, he proceeded to make enquiries into the conduct and life of Jeanne. But he could not induce the inhabitants of Vaucouleurs to depose. I believe that they questioned Jean Begot, at whose house they were staying. Their enquiry revealed nothing against Jeanne.

GEOFFROY DE FAY.

I saw Jeanne the Maid when she came to Maxey-sur-Vays.[130] When Jeanne came to Maxey, she came sometimes to my house. I always thought her a good girl, simple and pious. Many times I heard her speak; she said that she wished to go into France.

DURAND LAXART, _of Burey-le-Petit_.

Jeanne was of the family of Jeanne, my wife. I knew Jacques d’Arc and Isabelle, his wife, the parents of Jeanne the Maid: they were good and faithful Catholics, and of good repute. She was a girl of good disposition, devout, patient, loving the Church, going often to confession, and giving to the poor all that she could. I can attest this, having been witness thereof, both at Domremy and at my own house at Burey, where she passed six weeks.[131] I went to fetch her from her father’s and brought her to my house; she told me she wished to go into France, to the Dauphin, to have him crowned. “Was it not foretold formerly,” she said to me, “that France should be desolated[132] by a woman, and should be restored by a maid?” She told me she wished to go, herself, and seek Robert de Baudricourt, in order that he might have her conducted to the place where the Dauphin was. But many times Robert told me to take her back to her father and to box her ears. When she saw that Robert would not do as she asked, she took some of my garments and said she would start. She departed, and I took her to Vaucouleurs [_i.e._ Saint-Nicolas[133]].—Thence she returned, and went with a safe-conduct to the Sieur Charles de Lorraine. The Duke saw her, spoke to her, and gave her four francs,[134] which Jeanne showed to me. She came back to Vaucouleurs; and the inhabitants bought for her a man’s garments and a complete warlike equipment. Alain de Vaucouleurs and I bought her a horse for the price of twelve francs, which we paid, and which was repaid to us later by the Sieur Robert de Baudricourt. This done, Jean de Metz, Bertrand de Poulengey, Colet de Vienne, together with Richard the Archer and two men of the suite of Jean de Metz and Bertrand, conducted Jeanne to the place where the Dauphin was.

All this, as I now say it, I told to the King. I know no more, except that I saw her at Rheims at the King’s crowning.

CATHERINE, _wife of Leroyer_.

Jeanne, when she had left her parents, was brought to our house at Vaucouleurs by Durand Laxart, her uncle; she wished to go to the place where the Dauphin was. I had occasion to know her well; she was an excellent girl, simple, gentle, respectful, well-conducted, loving to go to Church.

She lived with us at Vaucouleurs, at different times about three weeks. She spoke to the Sieur Robert de Baudricourt, that he might have her conducted to the Dauphin, but Sieur Robert would not listen to her. One day, I saw Robert de Baudricourt—then captain of Vaucouleurs—and Messire Jean Fournier, our Curé, come in to our house to visit her. After they were gone, she told me that the Priest had his stole, and that, in presence of the said captain, he adjured her, saying: “If you are an evil spirit, avaunt! If you are a good spirit, approach!” Then Jeanne drew near the Priest and threw herself at his knees: she said he was wrong to act so, for he had heard her in confession. When she saw that Robert refused to conduct her to the King, she said to me that, nevertheless, she would go and seek the Dauphin. “Do you not know,” she said, “the prophecy which says that France, lost by a woman, shall be saved by a maiden from the Marches of Lorraine?” I did indeed remember the prophecy, and remained stupefied. Jacques Alain and Durand Laxart took her to Saint-Nicolas,[135] then came back with her to Vaucouleurs.

HENRI LEROYER, _cartwright, formerly of Vaucouleurs_.

Jeanne, when she came to Vaucouleurs, lodged in our house. She said to us, “It is necessary that I should go to the noble Dauphin; my Lord the King of Heaven wills that I should go; I go in the name of the King of Heaven; even if I have to drag myself thither on my knees, I shall go!” When she arrived at our house, she was wearing a woman’s dress, of a red colour. At Vaucouleurs she received the gift of a man’s dress and a complete equipment; then, mounted on a horse, she was conducted to the place where the Dauphin was, by Jean de Metz, Bertrand de Poulengey, and two of their servants—Colet de Vienne, and Richard the Archer. I saw them depart, all six, and Jeanne with them. When she spoke of leaving, she was asked how she thought she could effect such a journey and escape the enemy. “I fear them not,” she answered, “I have a sure road: if the enemy are on my road, I have God with me, Who knows how to prepare the way to the Lord Dauphin. I was born to do this.”

ALBERT D’OURCHES, _Seigneur of Ourches, near Commerey_.

I saw Jeanne at Vaucouleurs when she arrived to be taken to the King. Many times I heard her then say that she wished to go to the King, and that some one would conduct her to him, for it would be to the great benefit of the Dauphin.

This maiden always seemed to me very well behaved. I should have been well pleased to have had a daughter as good as she.

NICOLAS BAILLY, _Tabellion (Notary) and Deputy Royal at Andelot_.

As Tabellion I was appointed by the Sieur Jean de Torcenay, Knight, then Bailly of Chaumont, by the authority of the pretended King of France and England, and, with me, the late Gerard Petit—then Provost of the said Andelot[136]—to proceed to an enquiry on the subject of Jeanne, at that time detained in prison at Rouen. Many times, in her youth, I saw Jeanne before she left her father’s house: she was a good girl, of pure life and good manners, a good Catholic who loved the Church and went often on pilgrimage to the Church of Bermont, and confessed nearly every month—as I learned from a number of the inhabitants of Domremy, whom I had to question on the subject at the time of the enquiry that I made with the Provost of Andelot. When I and the late Gerard made this enquiry, we examined twelve or fifteen witnesses. Afterwards, we certified the information before Simon de Thermes, Squire, Lieutenant of the Captain of Montclair.

GUILLOT JACQUIER, _of Andelot, King’s Sergeant_; [_evidence similar to the preceding_.]

BERTRAND DE POULENGEY, _Squire_.

After her departure from her father’s roof, I often saw Jeanne at Vaucouleurs and during the war. I remember often to have heard this Ladies’ Tree spoken of. I have even sat beneath it, but that was a dozen years before I saw Jeanne. Jeanne came to Vaucouleurs, I think, about Ascension Day.[137] I saw her speaking to the Captain, Robert de Baudricourt. She told him that “she came to him in the name of her Lord; that the Dauphin must be compelled to persevere and to give battle to his enemies, that the Lord would give him succour before the middle of Lent; that the kingdom belonged not to him, the Dauphin, but to her Lord; that her Lord would have the Dauphin King and hold the kingdom in trust; that she would make him King, in spite of his enemies, and would conduct him to his coronation.” “But who is this Lord of whom you speak?” asked Robert of her. “The King of Heaven,” she replied. That time she went back to her father’s house, accompanied by one of her uncles, named Durand Laxart. Later, towards the commencement of Lent, she came back to Vaucouleurs to seek companions, so as to go to the Dauphin. Then Jean de Metz and I offered to conduct her to the King—at that time Dauphin. After a pilgrimage to Saint-Nicolas, she went to seek the Lord Duke de Lorraine, who had sent her a safe-conduct and asked to see her. She then returned to Vaucouleurs and lodged in the house of Henry Leroyer. Then Jean de Metz and I, aided by many others of Vaucouleurs, so wrought that she put off her woman’s dress, which was of a red colour;[138] we procured for her a tunic and man’s dress—spurs, leggings, sword, and such-like—and a horse. Then we started with her to seek the Dauphin, together with Julian, my servant, Jean de Honecourt, servant of Jean de Metz, Colet de Vienne, and Richard the Archer. On starting, the first day, fearing to be taken by the Burgundians and the English, we travelled all night. Jeanne said to me and to Jean de Metz, while we were journeying, that it would be well for us to hear Mass; but while we were in the enemy’s country, we could not, for fear of being recognized. At night, Jeanne slept beside John de Metz and myself, fully dressed and armed. I was young then; nevertheless I never felt towards her any desire: I should never have dared to molest her, because of the great goodness which I saw in her. We were eleven days on the road, during which we had many anxieties. But Jeanne told us always that we had nothing to fear, and that, once arrived at Chinon, the noble Dauphin would show us good countenance. She entirely abstained from swearing. I felt myself inspired by her words, for I saw she was indeed a messenger of God; never did I see in her any evil, but always she was as good as if she had been a saint. We took our road thus, and, without many obstacles, gained Chinon, where the King—then Dauphin—was staying. There the said maid was presented to the nobles in the King’s suite, to whom I refer for the actions of the said Jeanne.

MESSIRE HENRI ARNOLIN, _of Gontrecourt-le-Château, near Commercy, Priest_; [_testimony of no importance_].

MESSIRE JEAN LEFUMEUX, _of Vaucouleurs, Canon of the Chapel of Saint Mary at Vaucouleurs, and Curé of the Parish Church of Ugny_.

I know that Jeanne came to Vaucouleurs, and said that she wished to go to the Dauphin. I was then young, and attached to the Chapel of the Blessed Mary at Vaucouleurs. I often saw Jeanne in this Chapel; she behaved with great piety, attended Mass in the morning, and remained a long time in prayer. I have also seen her[139] in the crypt of the Chapel on her knees before the Blessed Mary, her face sometimes bent to the ground, sometimes raised to heaven. She was a good and holy maiden.

JEAN JACQUARD, _labourer, of Greux; son of Jean, called_ GUILLEMETTE; [_evidence similar to the preceding_].

DEPOSITIONS AT ORLEANS: 1455.

JEAN,[140] _Bastard of Orleans, Count de Dunois_.

I think that Jeanne was sent by God, and that her behaviour in war was a fact divine rather than human. Many reasons make me think so.

I was at Orleans, then besieged by the English, when the report spread that a young girl, commonly called the Maid, had just passed through Gien, going to the noble Dauphin, with the avowed intention of raising the siege of Orleans and conducting the Dauphin to Rheims for his anointing. I was then entrusted with the care of the town of Orleans and was Lieutenant-General of the King in affairs of war. In order to be better informed on the subject of this young girl, I sent to the King the Sieur de Villars, Seneschal of Beaucaire, and Janet de Tilly,[141] who was afterwards Bailly of Vermandois.

COUNT DE DUNOIS,
Bastard of Orleans.
]

They returned from the King, and reported to me publicly, in presence of all the people of Orleans [assembled] to know the truth, that they had seen the Maid arrive at Chinon. They said that the King at first had no wish to listen to her: she even remained two days, waiting, until she was permitted to present herself before him, although she persisted in saying that she was come to raise the siege of Orleans, and to conduct the Dauphin to Rheims, in order that he might be consecrated; she at once asked for men, arms and horses.

Three weeks or a month elapsed, during which the King had her examined by Clergy, Prelates, and Doctors in Theology, as to her words and deeds, in order to know if he might receive her with safety. Then the King assembled an army to conduct to Orleans a convoy of supplies.

Hearing the opinion of the Clergy and Prelates that there was no evil in this Maid, the King sent her with the Lord Archbishop of Rheims,[142] then Chancellor of France, and the Sieur de Gaucourt, then Grand Steward, to Blois, where those were who had the charge of escorting the convoy—that is, the Sieurs de Rais[143] and de Boussac, Marshals of France; de Coulent, Admiral of France; La Hire; and Ambroise de Loré, who was afterwards Governor of Paris. All, at the head of the army transporting the convoy, came, with Jeanne, in good order, by way of the Sologne, to the Loire, facing the Church of Saint Loup. But the English were there in great number: and the army escorting the convoy did not appear to me, nor to the other captains, in sufficient force to resist them and to ensure the entrance of the convoy on that side. It was necessary to load the convoy on boats, which were procured with difficulty. But to reach Orleans it was necessary to sail against the stream, and the wind was altogether contrary.

Then Jeanne said to me: “Are you the Bastard of Orleans?” “Yes,” I answered; “and I am very glad of your coming!” “Is it you who said I was to come on this side [of the river], and that I should not go direct to the side where Talbot and the English are?” “Yes, and those more wise than I are of the same opinion, for our greater success and safety.” “In God’s Name,” she then said, “the counsel of My Lord is safer and wiser than yours. You thought to deceive me, and it is yourselves who are deceived, for I bring you better succour than has ever come to any general or town whatsoever—the succour of the King of Heaven. This succour does not come from me, but from God Himself, Who, at the prayers of Saint Louis and Saint Charlemagne, has had compassion on the town of Orleans, and will not suffer the enemy to hold at the same time the Duke[144] and his town!”

At that moment, the wind, being contrary, and thereby preventing the boats going up the river and reaching Orleans, turned all at once and became favourable. They stretched the sails; and I ordered the boats to the town, which I entered with Brother Nicolas de Geresme, then Grand Prior in France of the Order of Rhodes. We passed before the Church of Saint Loup in spite of the English. From that time I put good hope in her, even more than before. I had begged her to cross the river and to enter the town, where many were longing for her. She had made a difficulty about it, not wishing, she said, to abandon her army or her followers who were duly confessed, penitent, and of good will; and on their account she refused to come. Thereupon, I went in search of the captains who had charge of the convoy and the army, and besought them, for the welfare of the King, to allow Jeanne to enter Orleans at once, and that they should go up the river—they and the army—to Blois, where they should cross the Loire so as to return to Orleans, for there was no nearer place of crossing. They consented; and Jeanne then came with me. She had in her hand a banner, white in colour, on which was an image of Our Lord holding in His Hand a lily. La Hire crossed the Loire at the same time as she, and entered the city with her and ourselves. All this was much more the work of God than of man: the sudden change of wind immediately Jeanne had announced it; the bringing in of the convoy of supplies in spite of the English, who were in much greater force than all the King’s army; and the statement of Jeanne that she had seen Saint Louis and Saint Charles the Great praying God for the safety of the King and of the City.

Another circumstance made me think these deeds were the work of God. I wished to go towards the army which had turned back on Blois and which was marching to the relief of Orleans; Jeanne would not wait for them nor consent that I should go to meet them: she wished to summon the English to raise the siege at once on pain of being themselves attacked. She did, in fact, summon them by a letter which she wrote to them in French, in which she told them, in very simple terms, that they were to retire from the siege and return to England, or else she would bring against them a great attack, which would force them to retreat. Her letter was sent to Lord Talbot. From that hour, the English—who, up to that time, could, I affirm, with two hundred of their men, have put to rout 800 or 1,000 of ours—were unable, with all their power, to resist 400 or 500 French; they had to be driven into their forts, where they took refuge, and from whence they dared not come forth.

There is another fact which made me believe she was from God. The 27th of May,[145] very early in the morning, we began the attack on the Boulevard[146] of the bridge. Jeanne was there wounded by an arrow which penetrated half-a-foot between the neck and the shoulder; but she continued none the less to fight, taking no remedy for her wound. The attack lasted throughout, from the morning until 8 o’clock in the evening, without hope of success for us: for which reason I was anxious that the army should retire into the town. The Maid then came to me, praying me to wait yet a little longer. Thereupon she mounted her horse, retired to a vineyard, all alone by herself, remained in prayer about half an hour, then, returning and seizing her banner by both hands, she placed herself on the edge of the trench. At sight of her the English trembled, and were seized with sudden fear; our people, on the contrary, took courage and began to mount and assail the Boulevard, not meeting any resistance. Thus was the Boulevard taken and the English therein put to flight: all were killed, among them Classidas[147] and the other principal English captains of the Bastille, who, thinking to gain the Bridge Tower, fell into the river, where they were drowned. This Classidas was he who had spoken of the Maid with the greatest contempt and insult.

The Bastille taken, we re-entered the town of Orleans—the Maid and all the army—where we were received with enthusiasm. Jeanne was taken to her house, to receive the care which her wound required. When the surgeon had dressed it, she began to eat, contenting herself with four or five slices of bread dipped in wine and water, without, on that day, having eaten or drunk anything else.

The next day, early in the morning, the English came out of their camp and placed themselves in order of battle. At this sight, Jeanne got up and put on a light coat of mail; she forbade the English to be attacked or in any way molested but [gave orders] that they should be allowed to depart, which they did, without any pursuit. From that moment the town was delivered.

After the deliverance of Orleans, the Maid, with myself and the other captains, went to seek the King at the Castle of Loches, praying him to attack immediately the towns and the camps on the Loire, Mehun, Beaugency, Jargeau, in order to make his consecration at Rheims more free and sure. This she besought the King often, in the most urgent manner, to hasten, without longer delay. The King used the greatest haste possible, and sent, for this purpose, the Duke d’Alençon, myself and other captains, as well as Jeanne, to reduce these towns and camps. All were reduced in a few days—thanks alone, as I believe, to the intervention of the Maid.

After the deliverance of Orleans, the English assembled together a numerous army, to defend the aforesaid towns, which they occupied. When we had invested the camp and bridge of Beaugency, the English army arrived at the camp of Meung-sur-Loire, which was still under their control. But this army could not come to the help of the English besieged in the camp of Beaugency. At the news of the taking of this camp, all the English divisions joined together into one complete army; and we thought they would offer us battle: we made our dispositions accordingly. In presence of the Constable, myself, and the other captains, the Duke d’Alençon asked Jeanne what was to be done. She answered thus, in a loud voice: “Have all of you good spurs?” “What do you mean?” asked those present of her; “are we, then, to turn our backs?” “Nay,” she replied, “it is the English who will not defend themselves, and will be beaten; and you must have good spurs to pursue them.” And it fell out thus, as she had predicted: the English took to flight, and of killed and prisoners there were more than 4,000.

At Loches, after the raising of the siege of Orleans, I remember that, one day, the King, being in his private room with the Sieur Christopher d’Harcourt, the Bishop of Castres,[148] his Confessor, and the Sieur de Trèves, who was formerly Chancellor of France,[149] Jeanne and I went to seek him. Before entering, she knocked at the door; as soon as she had entered, she knelt before the King, and, embracing his knees, said these words: “Noble Dauphin! hold no longer these many and long councils, but come quickly to Rheims to take the crown for which you are worthy!” “Is it your Counsel who told you this?” said Christopher d’Harcourt. “Yes,” she answered, “and my Counsel urges me to this most of all.” “Will you not say, here, in presence of the King,” added the Bishop, “what manner of Counsel it is which thus speaks to you?” “I think I understand,” she said, colouring, “what you want to know; and I will tell you willingly.” Then said the King: “Jeanne, will it please you to say, in presence of the persons who are listening to us, what has been asked you?” “Yes, Sire,” she answered. And then she said this, or something approaching it: “When I am vexed that faith is not readily placed in what I wish to say in God’s Name, I retire alone, and pray to God. I complain to Him that those whom I address do not believe me more readily; and, my prayer ended, I hear a Voice which says to me: ‘Daughter of God! go on! go on! go on! I will be thy Help: go on!’ And when I hear this Voice, I have great joy. I would I could always hear it thus.” And, in repeating to us this language of her Voice, she was—strange to say!—in a marvellous rapture, raising her eyes to Heaven.

After the victories of which I have just spoken, the nobles of the Blood Royal and the captains wished the King to go into Normandy, and not to Rheims. But the Maid was always of opinion that it was necessary to go to Rheims, that the King should be consecrated, giving as a reason that, if once the King were consecrated and crowned, the power of his adversaries would decline, and that in the end they would be past the power of doing any injury, either to him or to his kingdom. And all consented to her opinion. The place where the King first halted, with his army, was under the town of Troyes; he there took counsel with the nobles of the Blood, and the other captains, to decide whether they should remain before this town, in order to lay siege to it, or whether it would not better avail to pass on and march straight to Rheims, leaving Troyes alone. The Council were divided in opinion, and no one knew which course to pursue, when Jeanne suddenly arrived, and appeared in the Council. “Noble Dauphin,” she said, “order your people to come and besiege the town of Troyes, and lose no more time in such long councils. In God’s Name, before three days are gone, I will bring you into this town by favour or force, and greatly will the false Burgundy be astounded.” Then Jeanne, putting herself at the head of the army, had the tents placed right against the trenches of the town, and executed many marvellous manœuvres which had not been thought of by two or three accomplished generals working together. And so well did she work during the night, that, the next day, the Bishop[150] and citizens came all trembling and quaking to place their submission in the King’s hands. Afterwards, it was known that, at the moment when she had told the King’s Council not to pass by the town, the inhabitants had suddenly lost heart, and had occupied themselves only in seeking refuge in the Churches. The town of Troyes once reduced, the King went to Rheims, where he found complete submission, and where he was consecrated and crowned.

Jeanne was accustomed to repair daily to Church at the time of Vespers, or towards evening; she had the bells rung for half-an-hour, and collected together all the Mendicant Friars who were following the army. Then she began to pray, and had an anthem in honour of the Blessed Mary, Mother of God, sung by the Mendicant Friars.

When the King came to La Ferté and to Crespy-en-Valois, the people ran about him, crying “Noel!” The Maid was then riding between the Archbishop of Rheims and myself: “This is a good people,” she said to us; “I have seen none elsewhere who rejoiced as much at the coming of so noble a King. How happy should I be if, when my days are done, I might be buried here!” “Jeanne,” then said the Archbishop to her, “in what place do you hope to die?” “Where it shall please God,” she answered; “for I am not certain of either the time or the place, any more than you are yourself. Would it might please God, my Creator, that I might retire now, abandon arms and return to serve my father and mother and to take care of their sheep with my sister and my brothers, who would be so happy to see me again!”

RHEIMS CATHEDRAL.
]

There was never any one more sober. I often heard it said by the Sieur Jean d’Aulon, Knight, now Seneschal of Beaucaire, who had been appointed by the King to watch over her, as being the wisest and most worthy in the army, that he did not think there had ever been a more chaste woman. Neither I nor others, when we were with her, had ever an evil thought: there was in her something divine.

Fifteen days after the Earl of Suffolk[151] had been made prisoner at the taking of Jargeau, a writing was sent to him containing four lines, in which it was said that a Maid should come from the Oak-wood who would ride on the backs of the archers and against them.[152]

Although Jeanne sometimes spoke in jest of the affairs of war, and although, to encourage the soldiers, she may have foretold events which were not realized, nevertheless, when she spoke seriously of the war, and of her deeds and her mission, she only affirmed earnestly that she was sent to raise the siege of Orleans, and to succour the oppressed people of that town and the neighbouring places, and to conduct the King to Rheims that he might be consecrated.

SIEUR DE GAUCOURT.[153]

I was at the Castle of the town of Chinon when Jeanne arrived there, and I saw her when she presented herself before the King’s Majesty with great lowliness and simplicity; a poor little shepherdess! I heard her say these words: “Most noble Lord Dauphin, I am come and am sent to you from God to give succour to the kingdom and to you.”

After having seen and heard her, the King, so as to be better instructed about her, put her under the protection of Guillaume Bellier, his Major-Domo, my Lieutenant at Chinon, afterwards Bailly of Troyes,[154] whose wife was most devout and of the best reputation. Then he had her visited by the Clergy, by Doctors, and by Prelates, to know if he could lawfully put faith in her. Her deeds and words were examined during three weeks, not only at Chinon, but at Poitiers. The Examinations finished, the Clergy decided that there was nothing evil in her deeds nor in her words. After numerous interrogations, they ended by asking her what sign she could furnish, that her words might be believed? “The sign I have to shew,” she replied, “is to raise the siege of Orleans!” Afterwards, she took leave of the King, and came to Blois, where she armed herself for the first time, to conduct a convoy of supplies to Orleans and to succour the inhabitants.

[On the subject of the sudden change of wind and of the way in which the convoy of supplies was brought into Orleans, the witness deposed as the Sieur de Dunois. He added only this: Jeanne had expressly predicted that, before long, the weather and the wind would change; and it happened as she had foretold. She had, in like manner, stated that the convoy would enter freely into the town.

The declaration of the witness agrees equally with that of the Sieur de Dunois as to the taking of the Bastille, the raising of the siege, and the expulsion of the English.

On all the other points the Sieur de Gaucourt is also in perfect agreement, in matter and form, with the said Sieur de Dunois, as to all that concerns the setting free of Orleans, the taking of the camps and the towns on the borders of the Loire.

He agrees equally on all points with what concerns the journey of the King for the ceremony of his consecration at Rheims.

Jeanne, he adds, was abstemious in food and drink; nothing came from her lips but excellent words, which could serve only for edification and good example. No one could be more chaste, ... she had always at night a woman in her room. She confessed herself frequently, being often in prayer, hearing Mass every day, and constantly receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist; she would not suffer any to use in her presence shameful or blasphemous words, and by her speech and actions she shewed how much she held such things in horror.]

MAÎTRE FRANÇOIS GARIVEL, _Councillor-General to the King_.

I remember that, at the time of the coming of Jeanne the Maid, the King sent her to Poitiers, where she lodged with Maître Jean Rabateau, then King’s Advocate in Parliament. In this town of Poitiers were deputed [to examine Jeanne], by the King’s Order, certain venerable Doctors and Masters,—to wit, Pierre de Versailles, then Abbot of Talmont, afterwards Bishop of Meaux; Jean Lambert; Guillaume Aimery, of the Order of Saint Dominic; Pierre Séguin, of the Carmelite Order, Doctors in Theology; Mathieu Message, and Guillaume Le Marie, Bachelors in Theology, with many others of the King’s Councillors, licentiates in Canon and Civil Laws. Many times and often, during the space of three weeks, they examined Jeanne, studying and considering her deeds and words; and finally, taking into consideration her condition and her answers, they said that she was a simple girl, who, when interrogated, persisted in her answer, that she was sent from the God of Heaven in favour of the noble Dauphin, to replace him in his kingdom, to raise the siege of Orleans, and to conduct the King to Rheims for his consecration; and that first she must write to the English and command them to retire, for such was the Will of God.

When I asked Jeanne why she called the King _Dauphin_, and not _King_, she replied that she should not call him King till he had been crowned and anointed at Rheims, to which city she meant to conduct him.

Afterwards, the Clergy told Jeanne she ought to shew them a sign by which it might be believed that she was sent from God; but she replied: “The sign given to me from God is to raise the siege of Orleans; I have no fear that it will be done, if the King will give me soldiers, as few as he may like.”

She was a simple shepherd-maiden, who confessed often; she was entirely devoted to God, and frequently received the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

At last, after long examinations made at great length by clerics of various faculties, all decided and concluded that the King might lawfully receive her, and might send a body of soldiers to the siege of Orleans, for that there was nothing found in her which was not Catholic and reasonable.

GUILLAUME DE RICARVILLE,[155] _Seigneur de Ricarville, Steward to the King._

I was in Orleans—then besieged by the English—with the Count de Dunois and many other captains, when news came that there had passed through the town of Gien a shepherdess, called the Maid, conducted by two or three gentlemen of Lorraine, from which country she came; that this Maid said she was come to raise the siege of Orleans, and that afterwards she would lead the King to his anointing; for thus had she been commanded by God.

Notwithstanding this, she was not readily received by the King, who desired that she should first be examined, and that he should know something of her life and estate, and if it were lawful for him to receive her. Therefore, the Maid, by the King’s order, was examined by many Prelates, Doctors, and Clergy, who found evidence in her of good life, honest estate, and praiseworthy repute; nor was there aught in her which should cause her to be repelled.

She lived honourably, most soberly as to food and drink, was chaste and devout, hearing Mass daily, and confessing often, communicating with fervent devotion every week. She reproved the soldiers when they blasphemed or took God’s Name in vain; also when they did any evil or violence. I never observed in her aught deserving reproof, and from her manner of life and actions I believe she was inspired by God.

MAÎTRE REGINALD THIERRY, _Dean of the Church of Meung-sur-Yèvre; Surgeon to the King_.

I saw Jeanne with the King at Chinon, and heard what she said; to wit, that she was sent from God to the noble Dauphin, to raise the Siege of Orleans, and to conduct the King to his anointing and coronation.