Chapter XV: Part II: The Rehabilitation (6)

We found her in the Castle, in a certain turret, in shackles, with a great piece of wood chained to her feet, and having many English guards. And Manuel said to her, in my presence, jokingly, that she would never have come there if she had not been brought: and he asked her if she knew, before she was captured, that she would be taken; to which she replied that she had feared it. When he asked her, afterwards, why, if she feared to be taken prisoner, she did not guard herself on the day that she was captured, she replied that she did not know either the day or hour when she was to be taken.

I saw her once again during the Trial, when she was being brought from the prison to the great hall of the Castle.

I heard from several, during the Trial, that Jeanne was quite wonderful in her answers, and that she had a remarkable memory; for, on one occasion, when questioned as to a point on which she had answered eight days before, she replied: “I was asked about this eight days ago, and thus replied.” Boisguillaume, the other notary, said she had not answered; and, when some of those present declared that what Jeanne said was true, the answers of that day were read: and it was found that Jeanne had spoken right. At this she rejoiced, saying to Boisguillaume that, if he made mistakes again, she would pull his ears!

I was present at the sermon at the Old Market on the day that Jeanne died. Among other things, I heard her say: “Ah! Rouen, Rouen, wilt thou be my last dwelling?” She inspired in all the greatest pity, and many were moved to tears; many, too, were much displeased that Jeanne had been executed in the town of Rouen. At the close of her life, she continually cried “Jesus!” Her ashes and remains were afterwards collected and thrown into the Seine.

BROTHER SÉGUIN DE SÉGUIN, _Dominican, Professor of Theology, Dean of the Faculty of Theology of Poitiers_.

I saw Jeanne for the first time at Poitiers. The King’s Council was assembled in the house of the Lady La Macée, the Archbishop of Rheims, then Chancellor of France, being of their number. I was summoned, as also were Jean Lombart, Professor of Theology of the University of Paris; Maître Guillaume le Maire, Canon of Poitiers and Bachelor in Theology; Maître Guillaume Aymerie, Professor of Theology, of the Order of Saint Dominic; Brother Pierre Turrelure; Maître Jacques Maledon; and many others whose names I do not remember. The Members of the Council told us that we were summoned, in the King’s name, to question Jeanne and to give our opinion upon her. We were sent to question her at the house of Maître Jean Rabateau, where she was lodging. We repaired thither and interrogated her.

Among other questions, Maître Jean Lombart asked her why she had come; that the King wished to know what had induced her to come to him. She answered, in a grand manner, that “there had come to her, while she was minding the cattle, a Voice, which told her that God had great compassion for the people of France, and that she must go into France.” On hearing this, she began to weep; the Voice then told her to go to Vaucouleurs, where she would find a Captain who would conduct her safely into France and to the King, and that she must not be afraid. She had done what the Voice had ordered, and had come to the King without meeting any obstacle.

Thereupon, Guillaume Aymerie put to her this question: “You assert that a Voice told you, God willed to deliver the people of France from the calamity in which they now are; but, if God wills to deliver them, it is not necessary to have soldiers.” “In God’s Name!” Jeanne replied, “the soldiers will fight, and God will give the victory.” With which answer Maître Guillaume was pleased.

JEANNE D’ARC.

From a Miniature of the XVth Century.
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I, in my turn, asked Jeanne what dialect the Voice spoke? “A better one than yours,” she replied. I speak the Limousin dialect. “Do you believe in God?” I asked her. “In truth, more than yourself!” she answered. “But God wills that you should not be believed unless there appear some sign to prove that you ought to be believed; and we shall not advise the King to trust in you, and to risk an army on your simple statement.” “In God’s Name!” she replied, “I am not come to Poitiers to shew signs: but send me to Orleans, where I shall shew you the signs by which I am sent:” and she added: “Send me men in such numbers as may seem good, and I will go to Orleans.”

And then she foretold to us—to me and to all the others who were with me—these four things which should happen, and which did afterwards come to pass: first, that the English would be destroyed, the siege of Orleans raised, and the town delivered from the English; secondly, that the King would be crowned at Rheims; thirdly, that Paris would be restored to his dominion; and fourthly, that the Duke d’Orléans should be brought back from England. And I who speak, I have in truth seen these four things accomplished.

We reported all this to the Council of the King; and we were of opinion that, considering the extreme necessity and the great peril of the town, the King might make use of her help and send her to Orleans.

Besides this, we enquired into her life and morals; and found that she was a good Christian, living as a Catholic, never idle. In order that her manner of living might be better known, women were placed with her who were commissioned to report to the Council her actions and ways.

As for me, I believed she was sent from God, because, at the time when she appeared, the King and all the French people with him had lost hope: no one thought of aught but to save himself.

I remember that Jeanne was asked why she always marched with a banner in her hand? “Because,” she answered, “I do not wish to use my sword, nor to kill any one.”

When she heard any one taking in vain the Name of God, she was very angry; she held such blasphemies in horror: and Jeanne told La Hire, who used many oaths and swore by God, that he must swear no more, and that, when he wanted to swear by God, he should swear _by his staff_. And afterwards, indeed, when he was with her, La Hire never swore but by his staff.

TESTIMONY OF D’AULON:[209] 1456.

And first, Deponent saith that, twenty years ago or thereabouts, the King being in the town of Poitiers, he [d’Aulon] was told that the said Maid, who was from the country of Lorraine, had been brought to the said Lord by two gentlemen, the same being of the company of Messire Robert de Baudricourt, Knight—the one named Bertrand; the other Jean de Metz—and presented [to the King]; to see whom (the said Maid) the Deponent visited the said town of Poitiers;

That, after the presentation, the Maid spoke privately to our Lord the King, and told him several secret things—what, he [the Deponent] knew not: saving that, shortly after, the King sent to fetch some of the people of his Council, among whom was the Deponent. He [the King] then informed them that the Maid had told him she was sent from God to help him to recover his kingdom, which at that time was for the most part occupied by his ancient enemies, the English;

THE BATTLE OF PATAY.
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LA HIRE AND XANTRAILLES.
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That, after these words had been declared to the people of his Council by the King, it was agreed to interrogate the Maid—who, at that time, was of the age of sixteen years or thereabouts—upon sundry points touching the Faith;

That, to do this, the King sent for certain Masters in Theology, Jurists, and other expert people, who should well and diligently examine her on these points;

That he was present at the said Council when the Masters made their report on what they had found in the Maid; at which it was publicly said by one of them, that they did not see, know, or recognize in the Maid anything, excepting only whatever should be in a good Christian and true Catholic: and for such they held her, and it was their opinion that she was very worthy;

Also that, the report being made to the said King by the Masters, the Maid was then handed over to the Queen of Sicily, the mother of our Sovereign Lady the Queen, and to certain ladies with her, by whom the Maid was seen, visited, and privately looked at and examined; and after examination made by these matrons, the lady stated to the King that she and the other ladies found most surely that this was indeed a true Maid ...;

That he was present when the lady made her report;

That, these things being heard, and considering the great goodness in the Maid, and that God had sent her to him, as she had said, it was by the King concluded in his Council that henceforward he would make use of her help in his wars, inasmuch as for this she had been sent;

That, it was then decided she should be sent to the city of Orleans, at that time besieged by the enemy;

That, for this end people were given for her own service, and others to conduct her;

That, the guard and conduct of the same was appointed by our Lord the King;

Also that, for the safety of her body the King caused to be made armour fit for the Maid’s body, and, this done, appointed a certain number of men-at-arms for the same [Maid] and for those of her company, to lead and conduct them safely to the City of Orleans;

That, immediately afterwards, he [the Deponent] took the road with them, following in this direction;

That, as soon as it came to the knowledge of my Lord Dunois—then called the Bastard of Orleans, who was in the city of Orleans in order to keep and guard it from the enemy—that the Maid was coming that way, he assembled together a certain number of men of war to meet her, such as La Hire and others. And to do this, and more safely to lead and conduct her to the city, this Lord and his followers placed themselves in a boat, and went to meet her by the river Loire, about a quarter of a league distant, and there found her;

That, the Maid and the Deponent immediately entered the boat, while the remainder of her soldiers turned back toward Blois. And, with the Lord Dunois and his followers, they entered the city sure and safe; in which [city] the Lord Dunois lodged her well and comfortably in the house of one of the principal burghers of the city, who had married one of the principal women thereof;

That, after the said Lord Dunois, La Hire, and certain other captains of the party of our Lord the King, had conferred with the Maid as to what was expedient to do for the guardianship, keeping, and defence of the city, and also by what means the enemy could be best harassed, it was between them agreed and concluded to be necessary that a certain number of men-at-arms of their party, then near Blois, should be sent for and brought. To put this into execution, and to fetch them to the city, were appointed the Lord Dunois and the Deponent, and certain other captains, with their followers, who sent to the country of Blois to bring the same;

That, as soon as they were ready to depart and bring those who were in the country of Blois, and that this came to the notice of the Maid, immediately she mounted her horse, and, together with La Hire and a certain number of her followers, she went out into the fields to keep the enemy from doing them injury. And, in order to do this, the Maid placed herself with her followers between the army of the enemy and the city of Orleans; and so wrought, that,—thanks to God!—notwithstanding the great power and number of the soldiers in the army of the enemy, the Lord Dunois and the Deponent, with all their followers, passed through, and safely went their way: and in the same way returned the Maid and her followers to the city;

That, as soon as she knew of the coming of the aforesaid, and that they brought with them those whom they had gone to fetch for the reinforcement of the city, immediately the Maid mounted her horse and, with a party of her followers, went to meet them, to support and succour them, if there were need of it;

That, in the sight and knowledge of the enemies, the Maid, Dunois, Maréchal La Hire, and the Deponent, with their followers, entered the city without any opposition whatsoever;

Moreover, that, the same day, after dinner, came the said Lord Dunois to the lodging of the Maid, where she and the Deponent had dined together. And, in speaking to her, Dunois told her that he knew, of a truth, from people of worth, that one named Fastolf, captain of the enemy, would shortly join the enemy at the siege, not only to give them help and reinforce them, but also to victual them, and that he was then at Vinville. At which words the Maid much rejoiced—so it seemed to the Deponent—and said to my Lord Dunois these or such-like words: “Bastard, Bastard, in the Name of God I command thee that, so soon as thou knowest of the coming of the said Fastolf, thou dost let me know; for, if he pass without my knowing, I promise thee I will have thy head.” To which replied the Lord Dunois, that of this he had no fear, for he would certainly let her know;

That, after these words, the Deponent being tired and overdone, placed himself on a couch in the chamber of the Maid, to rest himself a little, and also the Maid placed herself with her hostess on another bed in the same way, to sleep and rest; but, as the Deponent was beginning to take his rest, suddenly the Maid, though asleep, arose from her bed and, making a great noise, awoke him. And then the Deponent asked of her what she wanted; to which she answered: “En Nom Dè! my Counsel hath told me that I should attack the English; but I know not if I should attack their bastilles or go against Fastolf, who would victual them”; on which the Deponent immediately rose, and, as soon as he could, armed the Maid;

That, as soon as he had armed her, they heard a great noise and cry made by those of the city, saying that the enemy were doing much harm to the French. Then the Deponent armed himself, and, while he was so doing, without his knowledge, the Maid left the room, and went forth into the street. Here she found a page, on horseback, who at once dismounted from the horse; and immediately she mounted thereon, and, as straight and as speedily as she could, she took her way direct to the Burgundy Gate, where was the greatest noise;

That, the Deponent immediately followed the Maid; but, go as quickly as he might, she was already at the gate;

That, as they were coming to the gate, they saw being carried away one of the people of the city, who was terribly wounded; and then the Maid asked of those carrying him who this man was. They replied that he was a Frenchman. Then she said she had never seen French blood without feeling her hair stand on end;

That, at the same time, the Maid, the Deponent, and many other men of war of their company, went out from the city to help the French, and to harass the enemy to the best of their power; but, as soon as they were outside the city, the Deponent was told that never had there been seen so many men-at-arms of their side as were now there;

That, after this passage, they took their road towards a very strong fort of the enemy, called the Fort of Saint Loup, which was at once attacked by the French, and, with very little loss to them, was taken by assault; and all the enemy within were killed or taken: and the fort remained in the hands of the French;

That, this being done, the Maid and those of her company returned into the city of Orleans, where they refreshed themselves and rested that day;

That, next day, the Maid and her people, considering the great victory obtained by them the day before over their enemies, sallied from the town in good order, to attack another fort in front of the city, called the Fort of Saint-Jean-le-Blanc: for which purpose, seeing that they could not get there by land—because their enemies had made another very strong fort, at the foot of the bridge of the city, so that it was impossible for them to cross [the bridge]—it was decided among them to pass over to a certain island in the river Loire, and there to assemble their entire army: and, in order to take the Fort of Saint-Jean-le-Blanc and to cross to the other arm of the river Loire, two boats were brought, of which a bridge was made, for the attack of the fort;

That, this done, they went to the fort, which they found quite deserted; for the English who were therein, so soon as they perceived the coming of the French, went away, retreating to another stronger and greater fort, called the Fort of the Augustins;

That, seeing the French were not powerful enough to take the fort, it was decided they should return without doing anything further;

That, in order to return and cross more safely, the most notable and valiant of the party of the French were ordered to remain behind, in order to keep the enemy from troubling them on their return; and for this were appointed Messires de Gaucourt, de Villars, then Seneschal of Beaucaire, and the Deponent;

That, while the French were returning from the Fort of Saint-Jean-le-Blanc to the island, the Maid and La Hire both crossed over, each with a horse, in a boat from the other side of the island; and on these horses they mounted as soon as they had crossed, each with lance in hand. As soon as they saw that the enemy was making a sally from the fort to rush upon their people, immediately the Maid and La Hire, who were always in the front to protect them, couched their lances and were the first to attack the enemy; others then followed and began to attack the English, in such wise that they forcibly constrained them to retreat and enter the Fort of the Augustins;

And, while this was going on, the Deponent, being in guard of a passage with others appointed and ordered thereto—among whom was a very valiant man-at-arms of the country of Spain, named Alphonse de Partada—saw passing before them another man-at-arms of their company, a tall man, big and well armed, to whom, because he was about to pass on, the Deponent remarked that he ought to remain there for a time, with the others, and make resistance to the enemy, should need arise; and he immediately replied that he would do nothing [of the kind]. Then Alphonse said he also would remain with the others, and that there were many as valiant men as he who would remain willingly; who answered Alphonse, that it would not be he. Upon which there were between them certain proud words, so much that they decided to go, both of them, the one and the other, against the enemy; and then it would be seen which was the more valiant, and which of the two would best do his duty. And, taking one another by the hand, at the greatest pace they could, they went towards the fort of the enemy, and so to the foot of the palisade;

That, as they reached the palisade of the fort, the Deponent saw within the palisade a tall, strong and powerful Englishman, armed at all points, who so resisted them that they could not enter. Then the Deponent shewed the Englishman to a man named Maître Jean the Cannoneer, telling him to shoot at the Englishman; for he was doing much harm and injury to those who wished to approach the fort. This Maître Jean did; for, as soon as he saw him, he aimed a shot at him, so that he fell dead to the ground; then the two men-at-arms won the passage, by which all the others of their company crossed, and entered the fort, which most fiercely and with great persistence they assailed on all sides, so that within a short time they won it and took it by assault. There were killed or taken the greater part of the enemy; and those who were able to save themselves retreated into the Fort of Tourelles, at the foot of the bridge. Thus, the Maid and those who were with her obtained victory over the enemy that day. And the great battle was won; and the Lords and their people with the Maid remained before the same [fort] all that night;

Moreover, that, the next day, in the morning, the Maid sent to fetch all the lords and captains before the captured fort, to consult as to what more should be done; by the advice of whom it was concluded and resolved to attack this day a great Boulevard, which the English had made, before the Fort of Tourelles, and that it was expedient to gain it before doing anything else. To do and put this into execution, the Maid, the captain, and their people, on this day, very early in the morning, went from one place to the other, before the Boulevard, and on this they made the assault from all sides, making every effort to take it, in such manner that they were before the Boulevard from morning till sunset without being able to take it or gain it. And the lords and captains who were with her, seeing that they could not well gain it this day, considering the hour, which was late, and that all were very tired and worn out, it was agreed amongst them to sound the retreat for the army; which was done; and, at sound of the trumpet-call, each one retreated for that day. In making this retreat, because the Deponent, who was carrying the standard of the Maid, and holding it upright before the Boulevard, became fatigued and worn-out, he gave the standard to one named La Basque, who was of the following of De Villars; and because the Deponent knew La Basque to be a valiant man, and feared that, by reason of the retreat, evil would ensue, and that the fort and Boulevard would remain in the hands of the enemy, he had an idea that, if the standard were pushed to the front,—from the great affection which he knew the soldiers had for it—they might for this reason gain the Boulevard. Then the Deponent asked La Basque, if he were to enter and go to the foot of the Boulevard, would he follow him; who said and promised that he would; then the Deponent entered the trench, and went up to the foot of the sides of the Boulevard, covering himself with his shield for fear of the stones, and left his companion on the other side, believing he would follow him step by step. But when the Maid saw her standard in the hand of La Basque, and because she believed she had lost it, as he who bore it had gone into the trench, the Maid came and took the standard by the end in such wise that he could not hold it, crying, “Ha! my standard! my standard!” and shook the standard in such wise that the Deponent thought that, in so doing, the others might imagine she was making some sign to them; then the Deponent cried: “La Basque, is this what thou didst promise me?” Then La Basque so pulled at the standard that he dragged it from the hand of the Maid; and, this being done, he went to the Deponent and brought the standard. On this account all the army of the Maid assembled together and rallied again, and, with great fierceness, assailed the Boulevard, so that, shortly after, the Boulevard and the fort were taken by them, and abandoned by the enemy, the French [on their return] entering the city of Orleans by the bridge;

And the Deponent saith that, on this very day, he had heard it spoken by the Maid: “In God’s Name, we shall enter the town this night by the bridge.” This done, the Maid and her followers returned into the town of Orleans, in which the Deponent had her [wound] dressed, for she had been wounded by an arrow in the assault;

Also that, next day, all the English still remaining before the town on the other side of the Fort of Tourelles, raised the siege and retreated, being discomfited and in confusion. Thus, by the help of God and the Maid, was the city delivered from the hands of the enemy;

Moreover, that, some time after the return from the consecration of the King, he [the King] was advised by his Council—then at Meung-sur-Yèvre—that it was most necessary to recover the town of La Charité, which was held by the enemy; but that first must be taken the town of Saint Pierre le Moustier, which likewise was held by the enemy;

That, to do this and to collect men, the Maid went to the town of Bourges, in which she assembled her forces; and from thence, with a certain number of men-at-arms, of whom Lord d’Elbret was the head, she went to besiege the town of Saint Pierre le Moustier;

That, after the Maid and her followers had made siege against the town for some time, an assault was ordered to be made against the town; and so it was done, and those who were there did their best to take it; but, on account of the great number of people in the town, the great strength thereof and also the great resistance made by those within, the French were compelled and forced to retreat, for the reasons aforesaid; and at that time, the Deponent was wounded by a shot in the heel, so that without crutches he could neither keep up nor walk: he noticed that the Maid was left accompanied by very few of her own people and others; and the Deponent, fearing that trouble would follow therefrom, mounted a horse, and went immediately to her aid, asking her what she was doing there alone and why she did not retreat like the others. She, after taking her helmet [“_salade_”] from her head, replied that she was not alone, and that she had yet in her company fifty thousand of her people, and that she would not leave until she had taken the town;

And the Deponent saith that, at that time—whatever she might say—she had not with her more than four or five men, and this he knows most certainly, and many others also, who in like manner saw her; for which cause he told her again that she must leave that place, and retire as the others did. And then she told him to have faggots and hurdles brought to make a bridge over the trenches of the town, in order that they might approach it the better. And as she said these words to him, she cried in a loud voice: “Every one to the faggots and hurdles, to make the bridge!” which was immediately after done and prepared, at which the Deponent did much marvel, for immediately the town was taken by assault, without very great resistance;

That, all the deeds of the Maid seemed to him to be more divine and miraculous than otherwise, and that it was not possible for so young a Maid to do such things without the Will and Guidance of Our Lord;

Also that, for the space of a whole year, by command of our Lord the King, he remained in the company of the Maid, during which time he neither saw nor knew of anything in her which should not be in a good Christian; and he has always seen and known her to be of very good life and modest conversation in all and every one of her acts;

Also that, he knew the Maid to be most devout; that she shewed herself very reverent in hearing the Divine Service of our Lord, which she would constantly hear, that is to say, High Mass, on solemn days, wherever she was, with the Hours following; and on other days Low Mass; and that she was accustomed to hear Mass daily if it were possible;

That, many times he saw and knew that she confessed herself and received Our Lord, and did all that belongs to a good Christian to do, and that, never when he was conversing with her, did he hear her swear, blaspheme, or perjure the Name of Our Lord, nor the Saints, for whatever cause or occasion it might be;

And that, in his opinion, she was a good Christian, and must have been inspired; for she loved everything that a good Christian ought to love, and especially she loved a good honest man [“_bon prudhomme_”] whom she knew to be of chaste life; ... Also that, when the Maid had anything to do for the conduct of war, she told the Deponent that her Counsel had advised her what she ought to do;

That, he asked her who was the Counsel, and that she replied there were three Counsellors, of whom one always remained with her; another went away, but came often, to visit her; and the third was he with whom the two others consulted. And it happened that, one time, among others, the Deponent prayed and besought her that she would shew him the Counsel; to whom she replied that he was not worthy, nor of sufficient virtue to see them: and upon this the Deponent desisted from speaking or asking her further about them;

And the Deponent firmly believes as aforesaid, that, considering the deeds, actions and great leadership of the Maid, she was full of all the virtue which might or should be in a good Christian;

And thus he hath deposed, as is above written, without love, favour, hate, or suborning, but for the truth, and as he knew it to be in the Maid.

SENTENCE OF REHABILITATION.

In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Amen!

The Providence of the Eternal Majesty, the Saviour Christ, Lord God and Man, hath instituted, for the rule of His Church Militant, the Blessed Peter, and his Apostolic Successors; He hath made them His principal representatives, and charged them, by the light of truth, which He hath manifested to them, to teach men how to walk in the paths of justice, protecting the good, relieving the oppressed in the whole universe, and, by a reasonable judgment, bringing back into the right road those who have turned therefrom:

Invested with this Apostolic authority for the matter in question, we Jean of Rheims, Guillaume of Paris, and Richard of Coutances, by the Grace of God Archbishop and Bishops, and Jean Bréhal, of the Order of Saint Dominic, Professor of Sacred Theology, one of the two Inquisitors of the Heretical Evil for the Realm of France, all four Judges specially delegated by our most Holy Lord the Pope actually reigning:

Having seen the solemn Process brought before us, by virtue of the Apostolic Mandate addressed to us, and by us respectfully accepted:

In the Case concerning the honest woman, Widow Isabelle d’Arc, mother, Pierre and Jean d’Arc, brothers german, natural and legal, of the deceased Jeanne d’Arc, of good memory, commonly called the Maid:

The said Case brought in their name,

Against the Sub-Inquisitor of the Heretical Evil for the Diocese of Beauvais, the Promoter of the Officiality of the said Diocese of Beauvais, and also the Reverend Father in Christ and Lord Guillaume de Hellande, Bishop of Beauvais, and against all others and each in particular who might be thought to be therein interested, all together respectively Defendants, as well conjointly as separately:

Having seen, in the first place, the peremptory citation and the execution of this citation made against the said Defendants, at the request not only of the said Plaintiffs but of the Promoter of our Office appointed by us, sworn and created, to the end that the said Defendants might see the carrying out of the said Rescript, hear the conclusions against them, and answer themselves; and to proceed, in one word, according to right:

Having seen the request of the said Plaintiffs, their deeds, reasons, and conclusion set down in writing under the form of Articles, putting forward a declaration of nullity, of iniquity, and of cozenage against a certain Process in a pretended Trial for the Faith, formerly done and executed in this city against the above-named woman, now deceased, by the late Lord Pierre Cauchon, then Bishop of Beauvais, Jean Lemaître, then Vice-Inquisitor of the said Diocese of Beauvais, and Jean d’Estivet, Promoter, or having at least acted in this capacity; the said request putting forward and inferring further the breaking down and annulling of the Process in question and of all which followed it, to the justification of the said Deceased, and to all the other ends therein enumerated:

Having seen, read, re-read and examined the original books, instruments, means, acts, notes and protocols of the said Process, shewn and sent to us, in virtue of the compulsory letters, by the Registrars and others whose signatures and writings have been, as a preliminary, acknowledged in our presence:

After having studied at length all these documents, not only with the said Registrars and other officials appointed in the said Process, but also with those of the Counsellors who were called to the same Process, those, at least, whom we have been able to bring before us:

And after having ourselves collated and compared the final text, with the Minute itself of the said Process:

Having considered also the Preparatory Enquiries,—first, those which were conducted by the Most Reverend Father in Christ the Lord Guillaume, Cardinal Priest under the title of Saint-Martin-les-Monts,[210] then Legate of the Holy Apostolic See in the Kingdom of France, assisted by the Inquisitor, after the examination which had been made by the said Cardinal-Legate of the books and instruments then presented:

Having afterwards considered the Preparatory Enquiry conducted at the beginning of the actual Process by us or our Commissaries:

Having considered also divers treatises[211] which had come from the Prelates, Doctors, and men of learning, the most celebrated and the most authorized, who, after having studied at length the books and instruments of the said Process, have separated from these books and instruments the doubtful points which they would have to elucidate in their said treatises composed afterwards and brought to light, whether by the order of the most Reverend Father aforesaid or of us:

Having considered the Articles and Interrogations to be submitted to the witnesses, presented to us in the name of the Plaintiffs and of our Promoter, and after many citations admitted in proof by us:

Having considered the depositions and attestations of the witnesses heard on the subject of the said Articles and Interrogations on the life of the said Deceased in the place of her birth;—on her departure; on her examination before several Prelates, Doctors, and others having knowledge thereof, in presence notably of the Most Reverend Father Reginald, then Archbishop of Rheims and Metropolitan of the said Bishop of Beauvais: an examination made at Poitiers and elsewhere, on several occasions; on the marvellous deliverance of the city of Orleans; on the journey to the city of Rheims and the coronation of the King; and the divers circumstances of the Trial, the qualifications, the judges, and the manner of proceeding:

Having considered also letters, instruments, and measures, besides the letters, depositions and attestations just mentioned, sent to us and produced in the course of law:

Having afterwards heard our Promoter, who, considering these productions and these sayings, declares himself fully joined with the Plaintiffs:

Having heard the other requests and reserves made by our Promoter, in his own name as well as in that of the Plaintiffs, the said requests and reserves admitted by us and received at the same time as certain reasons of law briefly formulated, of a nature also to impress our minds:

After the Case had been concluded, in the Name of Christ, and this day had been assigned by us to give sentence:

After having, with great matureness, weighed, examined, all and each one of the aforesaid things, as well as certain Articles beginning with these words “A certain Woman, &c.,”[212] which the Judges in the first Process did pretend to have extracted from the confessions of the said Deceased, and which have been submitted by us to a great number of staid persons for their opinion; Articles which our Promoter, as well as the Plaintiffs aforesaid, attacked as iniquitous, false, prepared without reference to the confessions of Jeanne, and in a lying manner:

That our present Judgment may come as from the Face of God Himself, Who weigheth the spirits, Who alone infallibly knoweth His revelations, and doth hold them always at their true value, Who bloweth where He listeth, and doth often choose the weak to confound the strong, never forsaking those who trust in Him, but being their Support in their sorrows and their tribulations:

After having had ripe deliberation, as much on the subject of the Preparatory Enquiries as on the decision itself, with persons at the same time expert, authorized, and prudent:

Having considered their solemn decisions, formulated in the treatises written out in a compendious manner, and in numerous consultations:

Having considered their opinion, written or verbal, furnished and given, not only on the form but also on the basis of the Process, and according to which the actions of the said Deceased, being worthy of admiration rather than of condemnation, the judgment given against her should, in form as well as in basis, be reprehended and detested:

And because on the question of revelations it is most difficult to furnish a certain judgment, the Blessed Paul having, on the subject of his own revelations, said that he knew not if they came to him in body or in spirit, and having on this point referred himself to God:

In the first place, we say, and, because Justice requires it, we declare, that the Articles beginning with the words “A woman,” which are found inserted in the pretended Process and Instrument of the pretended sentences, lodged against the said Deceased, ought to have been, have been, and are, extracted from the said pretended Process and the said pretended confessions of the said Deceased, with corruption, cozenage, calumny, fraud and malice:

We declare, that on certain points the truth of her confessions has been passed over in silence; that on other points her confessions have been falsely translated—a double unfaithfulness, by which, had it been prevented, the mind of the Doctors consulted and the Judges might have been led to a different opinion:

We declare, that in these Articles there have been added without right many aggravating circumstances, which are not in the aforesaid Confessions, and many circumstances both relevant and justifying have been passed over in silence:

We declare, that even the form of certain words has been altered, in such manner as to change the substance:

For the which, these same Articles, as falsely, calumniously, and deceitfully extracted, and as contrary even to the Confessions of the Accused, we break, annihilate, and annul; and, after they shall have been detached from the Process we ordain, by this present judgment, that they be torn up:

In the second place, after having examined with great care the other parts of the same said Process—particularly the two sentences which the Process contained, designated by the Judges as “Lapse” and “Relapse”—and after having also for a long time weighed the qualifications of the Judges and of all those under whom and in whose keeping the said Jeanne was detained:

We say, pronounce, decree, and declare, the said Processes and Sentences full of cozenage, iniquity, inconsequences, and manifest errors, in fact as well as in law; We say that they have been, are, and shall be—as well as the aforesaid Abjuration, their execution, and all that followed—null, non-existent, without value or effect.

Nevertheless, in so far as is necessary, and as reason doth command us, we break them, annihilate them, annul them, and declare them void of effect; and we declare that the said Jeanne and her relatives, Plaintiffs in the actual Process, have not, on account of the said Trial, contracted nor incurred any mark or stigma of infamy; we declare them quit and purged of all the consequences of these same Processes; we declare them, in so far as is necessary, entirely purged thereof by this present:

We ordain that the execution and solemn publication of our present Sentence shall take place immediately in this city, in two different places, to wit,

To-day in the Square of Saint Ouen, after a General Procession and a public Sermon:

To-morrow, at the Old Market-Place, in the same place where the said Jeanne was suffocated by a cruel and horrible fire, also with a General Preaching and with the placing of a handsome cross for the perpetual memory of the Deceased and for her salvation and that of other deceased persons:

We declare that we reserve to ourselves [the power] later on to execute, publish, and for the honour of her memory to signify with acclaim, our said sentence in the cities and other well-known places of the kingdom wherever we shall find it well [so to do], under the reserves, finally, of all other formalities which may yet remain to be done.

* * * * *

This present Sentence hath been brought out, read and promulgated by the Lords Judges, in presence of the Reverend Father in Christ the Lord Bishop of Démétriade, of Hector de Coquerel, Nicolas du Boys, Alain Olivier, Jean du Bec, Jean de Gouys, Guillaume Roussel, Laurent Surreau, Canons; of Martin Ladvenu, Jean Roussel, and Thomas de Fanouillères.

Maître Simon Chapitault, Promoter; Jean d’Arc and Prevosteau for the other Plaintiffs.

Done at Rouen in the Archiepiscopal Palace, in the year of our Lord 1456, the 7th day of the month of June.

THE HÔTEL DE VILLE: COMPIÈGNE.
]

-----

Footnote 105:

‘Old style’ is adopted throughout: thus 1449 is given instead of
1449/1450.

Footnote 106:

The word is given in English in the text. Cauchon prided himself on
his knowledge of this language.

Footnote 107:

Jean de Saint Avit, formerly Abbot of Saint-Denis, and, about 1390,
Bishop of Avranches. In 1432, he was imprisoned at Rouen, on suspicion
of complicity with the French, who wished to get possession of the
town.

Footnote 108:

“_Doyen de la Rote_”—Court of Appeals at Rome.

Footnote 109:

On the _Minute_ of Manchon, which was in the hands of the Judges of
the Rehabilitation in 1455.

Footnote 110:

This was the Examination called the _Acta Posterius_, which, though
included by Cauchon in the Process, is not signed by the Official
Registrars, Manchon, Boisguillaume, and Taquel.

Footnote 111:

Jeanne was burnt in the Market Place at Rouen, where an inscribed
stone marks the site. It is stated that the execution took place in
front of the Church of St. Sauveur, and facing the principal street
which leads to the Market Place, thus accommodating a larger number of
spectators than was possible in any other part of the Place.

There is still some dispute as to the actual spot; but as the Cemetery
was religious ground and the execution was, nominally at least, a
secular one, the ground chosen must have been on land belonging to the
municipality of Rouen. Probably this was in the Marché aux Veaux, as
we find an order for the burning of a heretic there in 1522, “_lieu
accoutumé faire telles exécutions_.”

Footnote 112:

Cognomen given to the Promoter, d’Estivet.

Footnote 113:

At the beginning of the Trial, Jeanne had asked for Counsel, and it
had been refused.

Footnote 114:

There were three keys to the prison, one being in the possession of
the Promoter, one of the Inquisitor, and one belonging to the
Cardinal.

Footnote 115:

May 28th.

Footnote 116:

To the Schismatic Council, then being held at Basle.

Footnote 117:

Articles for Examination of Witnesses in the Second Enquiry of 1452
were prepared under the direction of Cardinal d’Estouteville and
Brother Jean Bréhal, Inquisitor. The witnesses were examined on twelve
questions. Articles were also prepared under the direction of Philippe
de Rose, Delegate for Cardinal d’Estouteville, the witnesses being
examined on twenty-seven questions.

Footnote 118:

_Note by Quicherat_: This is an error of the witness. [The Promoter
was d’Estivet.]

Footnote 119:

Jeanne’s father went also to Rheims for the coronation. There still
exists in the old accounts of the town an item for his expenses at the
inn; and, in the Compte of the Treasurer Raguier there is also an
entry of 60 livres tournois, paid Jeanne to give to her father. On the
day after the coronation, Jeanne obtained from the King an exemption
from taxes for the village of Domremy and Greux: this document, dated
July 31st, 1429, still exists in the Archives of France. This
exemption from taxes has now lapsed.

Footnote 120:

Durand Laxart, her uncle.

Footnote 121:

This is also called the “Fontaine aux Groseilliers”; the Latin name is
probably intended for Rhamnus, the Buckthorn.

Footnote 122:

Mid-Lent Sunday, the 4th Sunday in Lent; so-called, because the
introit for the day begins, “_Laetare Jerusalem_,” &c.

Footnote 123:

“_Ad cameram regis._”

Footnote 124:

Margaret, daughter of James I. of Scotland, who was betrothed to
Louis, afterwards Louis XI.

Footnote 125:

February 13th, 1428.

Footnote 126:

1455.

Footnote 127:

March 6th, 1428.

Footnote 128:

June 23rd, 1428.

Footnote 129:

July 17th, 1429.

Footnote 130:

Near Vaucouleurs.

Footnote 131:

This covers the period of several visits, made between May 1428, and
February 1429.

Footnote 132:

The mother of Charles VII., who denied the legitimacy of her own son,
being Burgundian at heart, and ratified the iniquitous Treaty of
Troyes, so disastrous for France.

Footnote 133:

In the text Vaucouleurs is an obvious misprint for Saint-Nicolas.

Footnote 134:

He also gave her a horse; _cf._ previous depositions.

Footnote 135:

Saint-Nicolas-du-Port—then a celebrated centre of pilgrimage—near
Nancy. As both Poulengey and Laxart connect this pilgrimage with her
visit to the Duke de Lorraine, whose residence was at Nancy, it is
clear that Saint-Nicolas-du-Port is meant, and not the Chapel of St.
Nicolas near Vaucouleurs.

Footnote 136:

The village of Domremy, although in the territory of Lorraine,
belonged to France, not to Lorraine; for administrative purposes it
was a dependance of Champagne.

Footnote 137:

May 13th, 1428.

Footnote 138:

See Deposition of Jean Morel.

Footnote 139:

This Chapel in the crypt may still be seen at Vaucouleurs.

Footnote 140:

Jean, a natural son of Louis, Duke d’Orléans, was brought up with the
family of Orleans, and acknowledged by Valentine, the widowed Duchess,
after the murder of his father in 1407. At 25 years of age, in company
with de Gaucourt, he defeated the English under Warwick at Montargis
in 1427, and afterwards defended Orleans till its relief in 1429. He
was created Count de Dunois, in 1439.

Footnote 141:

Then Captain of Blois.

Footnote 142:

Regnault de Chartres.

Footnote 143:

Gilles de Laval, Seigneur de Rais, notorious for the horrible excesses
which brought him to the scaffold in 1440.

Footnote 144:

The Duke was then a prisoner in England.

Footnote 145:

7th of May.

Footnote 146:

Antiquarians state that the Café le Bœuf at Orleans covers the ancient
“Boulevard” captured by Jeanne d’Arc. This redoubt adjoined the
“Tourelles” and was close to the bridge of Orleans. Many steps below
ground, and entered from the Café le Bœuf, is a room of carefully
constructed masonry, being the interior of a tower, with embrasures
for cannon, and iron rings to which cannons were attached.

Footnote 147:

_i.e._, William Glasdale, Bailly of Alençon. He was Captain of the
Fort of the Tourelles, called here the Bridge Tower.

Footnote 148:

Gerard Machet, according to the _Chronique de la Pucelle_; he was not
Bishop until after the death of Jeanne.

Footnote 149:

Robert le Maçon, Chancellor, in 1418, was harassed by the opposition
of the Burgundian faction and the favourites of the Dauphin. He
retired in 1421, and acted henceforward as a simple Councillor.

Footnote 150:

Jean Leguise, ennobled by Charles VII. for his share in the surrender
of the town.

Footnote 151:

William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, Grand Steward of the King of
England.

Footnote 152:

The prophecy of Merlin, as it appears in MS. 7301 of the Bibliothèque
Nationale, runs: “_Descendit virgo dorsum sagittari et flores
virgineos obscultabit_.”

Footnote 153:

Raoul, _not_ Jean, de Gaucourt, Grand Steward, born 1370. Fought, in
1394, under the banner of Jean de Nevers, afterwards Duke of Burgundy,
for Sigismund, King of Hungary, against Bajazet; and was knighted on
the field of Nicopolis, from which only himself, his leader, and
twenty-two other French nobles escaped. He defended Harfleur against
Henry V., in 1415, and was a prisoner for ten years, being one of
those specially named by Henry in his dying commands to Bedford as
prisoners “to be kept.” In 1425, he was ransomed for the sum of 20,000
gold crowns; in 1427, he aided Dunois at the victory of Montargis, and
afterwards in the defence of Orleans.

Footnote 154:

Quicherat thinks there is an error of copy here; that Bellier could
not have been Bailly of Troyes when that town was in the hands of the
English, nor could he at any time have combined so high an office with
the lieutenancy of Chinon.

Footnote 155:

Master of the Horse, Counsellor and Steward to the Court. He was made
prisoner in 1437, but ransomed from the English for 500 crowns. In
1459, he was sent by Charles VII. to Bordeaux, in order to settle a
dispute between the municipal authority and some English ships. He was
living in 1472, and in receipt of a pension from Louis XI.

Footnote 156:

In December, 1429.

Footnote 157:

7th May.

Footnote 158:

Seigneur de Bignon, whose father was distinguished at the siege of
Orleans. He was great-grandfather of Christopher de Thou, first
President of the Parliament of Paris.

Footnote 159:

Head of one of the principal families of Orleans. Amian de
Saint-Mesmin was ennobled in 1460, on account of his services. He died
at the ripe age of 118 years.

Footnote 160:

Brother-in-law to Louis de Contes, Jeanne’s page, and owner of the
lordships of la Chaussée and Miramion. From his younger brother,
Guillaume, descended the Beauharnais who was husband to Josephine and
father of Eugène.

Footnote 161:

Daughter of Jacques Bourchier, Treasurer of Orleans, at whose house
Jeanne lodged.

Footnote 162:

See decrees of Henry VI. against fugitives, “_terrificatos
incautionibus puellae_.”

Footnote 163:

Nevertheless, his name appears as having agreed with the Abbot of
Fécamp in his opinion of the Condemnation.

Footnote 164:

Not mentioned elsewhere.

Footnote 165:

Secretary to the King of England.

Footnote 166:

It is, however, stated that, on being consulted, he did advise the
extreme measure of putting Jeanne to the torture.

Footnote 167:

Louis de Contes was brother-in-law of Beauharnais, the Bourgeois of
Orleans. He was a son of Jean de Contes, Captain of Châteaudun, and
Chamberlain to the Duke d’Orléans.

Footnote 168:

Jacques Bouchier.

Footnote 169:

[“_Ha! sanglant garçon, vous ne me dyriez pas que le sanc de France
feust repandu!_”]

Footnote 170:

_Cœlestinorum_, in the text.

Footnote 171:

John de la Pole, Captain of Avranches, brother of the Earl of Suffolk.

Footnote 172:

Jeanne’s hatred of swearing is noticed by many of her followers, and
in her hearing they endeavoured to abstain from it. La Hire, whose
language was apparently the most violent, was permitted by her to
employ the mild expletive ‘Par mon martin,’ ‘By my baton,’ an
expression she herself is constantly reported to have used.

Footnote 173:

A nickname of Poulengey.

Footnote 174:

These three forts were on the left bank of the Loire; the fort of the
Tourelles, of the Augustins, and of Saint-Privé were further west.

Footnote 175:

A woman called “la gasque d’Avignon,” whose predictions made much stir
at the beginning of the fifteenth century.

Footnote 176:

The devoted Margaret of Bavaria, who was separated from him on account
of his evil life.

Footnote 177:

Jean, Duke d’Alençon, son of the Duke killed at Agincourt. He was of
the Blood Royal, descended from Philip II.

Footnote 178: