Chapter XVIII: Appendix: Note on Original Documents of the Process of Condemnation (2)

“It is in Our Lord’s power to give revelations to whom He pleases; that which I said of the sword of Fierbois and of things to come, I knew by revelation.”[262]

ARTICLE XXXIV. Obstinate in her temerity and presumption, Jeanne hath said, proclaimed, and published, that she recognized and discerned the voices of Archangels, Angels, and Saints; she hath affirmed and doth still affirm that she knoweth how to distinguish their Voices from human voices.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I hold by what I have already said: of my pretended temerity, and, of that which has been concluded against me, I refer to Our Lord, my Judge.”[263]

ARTICLE XXXV. Jeanne hath boasted and affirmed that she did know how to discern those whom God loveth and those whom He hateth.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I hold by what I have already said elsewhere of the King and the Duke d’Orléans; of the others I know not; I know well that God, for their well-being,[264] (_pro ediis corporum suorum_), loves my King and the Duke d’Orléans better than me. I know it by revelation.”[265]

ARTICLE XXXVI. Jeanne hath said, affirmed, and boasted, she doth say, affirm, and every day boast, that she hath known, and could know exactly—and that not only herself, but also others through her means recognized and surely knew—the Voice which came to her, although from its nature a voice must be invisible to every human being.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“I hold by what I have said elsewhere.”[266]

ARTICLE XXXVII. Jeanne doth confess to having frequently done the contrary to what hath been commanded her by the revelations she doth boast to have had from God; for example, when she retired from St. Denis, after the assault on Paris, and when she leaped from the top of the tower of Beaurevoir. By this, it is manifest, either that she hath had no revelations from God, or that, if she hath had them, she hath despised them. And she it is, who, after this, doth dare to affirm that she is in all things guided and governed by commands from on high and by revelation! Besides, she hath said that, when she had had the order not to leap from the top of the tower, she was compelled to act contrary to this order, without being able to resist the constraint put upon her will; in the which she appears to think wrongly on the matters of Free-will and to fall into the error of those who believe that man is led by Fate or by some other irresistible power.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“I hold by what I have said elsewhere. I state in addition that when I left St. Denis I had permission from my Voices.”

“In acting against your Voices, do you think you committed mortal sin?”

“I have answered elsewhere to that; I refer to that answer. On the concluding part of this Article, I refer me to God.”[267]

ARTICLE XXXVIII. Jeanne, from the time of her childhood, hath said, done, and committed a great number of crimes, sins and evil deeds—shameful, cruel, scandalous, dishonouring, unworthy of her sex; now she doth say and affirm that all that she hath done hath been with the approbation and by the will of God; that she hath done nothing and now doeth nothing which proceedeth not from God, by means of the revelations transmitted to her by the Holy Angels and the Holy Virgins, Catherine and Margaret.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I refer to what I have said elsewhere.”[268]

ARTICLE XXXIX. Although the Just sin seven times a day, Jeanne hath said and published that she hath never committed, or, at least, that she doth believe never to have committed, mortal sin. Nevertheless, as many Articles of the present accusation prove, she hath indeed practised, and on a vast scale, acts customary to nations who are at war, and others yet more grave.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I have answered it; I refer to what I have said elsewhere.”[269]

ARTICLE XL. Forgetful of her salvation, impelled by the devil, she is not and hath not been ashamed several times and in many and divers places to receive the Body of Christ, having upon her a man’s dress of unseemly form, a dress which the laws of God and man do forbid her to wear.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I have answered elsewhere. I rely upon what I have said before. I rely upon Our Lord.”[270]

ARTICLE XLI. Jeanne, as one desperate, for hate and contempt of the English, and foreseeing the destruction of Compiègne, which she believed to be imminent, did attempt to kill herself by throwing herself down from the top of a tower; at the instigation of the devil, she took it into her head to commit this action; she applied herself to commit it; she did commit it in so far as she was able; on the other hand, in so throwing herself down, she was so well impelled and guided by a diabolic instinct that she had in view rather the safety of her body than that of her soul and of many others. Often indeed, hath she boasted that she would kill herself rather than that she should be delivered to the English.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I rely upon what I have said before.”[271]

ARTICLE XLII. Jeanne hath said and published that Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret and Saint Michael have bodies—that is to say, head, eyes, face, hair, etc.; that she hath touched them with her hands; that she hath kissed them and embraced them.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I have already answered it, and I rely upon what I have said.”[272]

ARTICLE XLIII. Jeanne hath said and published that the Saints, the Angels, and the Archangels speak the French language and not the English language, because the Saints, the Angels, and the Archangels are not on the side of the English, but of the French; she hath outraged the Saints in glory, in implying to them a mortal hatred against a Catholic realm and a nation devoted, according to the will of the Church, to the veneration of all the Saints.

This Article having been set forth to Jeanne word for word, she only answered thus:

“I rely on Our Lord, and upon what I have replied before.”[273]

ARTICLE XLIV. Jeanne hath boasted and doth yet boast, she hath published and doth publish, that Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret have promised to lead her to Paradise, and have assured her that she will obtain heavenly joy if she preserve her virginity; she affirms she is certain of this.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I rely on Our Lord and on what I answered elsewhere.”[274]

ARTICLE XLV. Although the judgments of God are impenetrable to us, nevertheless Jeanne hath said, uttered, declared, and promulgated that she hath known and can know those who are Saints, Archangels, Angels, or the elect of God; she knoweth how to discern them.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I refer to what I have already said.”[275]

ARTICLE XLVI. She hath said that, before leaping from the tower of Beaurevoir, she did most lovingly entreat Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret for the people of Compiègne, saying to these Saints in a reproachful manner, “And how can God allow these people of Compiègne, who are so loyal, to die thus miserably?” In the which did appear her impatience and her irreverence towards God and the Saints.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I refer to what I have already said.”[276]

ARTICLE XLVII. Provoked with her wound, Jeanne, after the leap from the tower of Beaurevoir, seeing she had not attained her end, began to blaspheme God and the Saints, abjuring them with horrible taunts, insulting them terribly, to the great confusion of all those present. In the same way, when she was in the Castle of Rouen, many times, and on different days, did she blaspheme and deny God, the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints, in impatience and resentment at being brought for judgment before an ecclesiastical tribunal and forced to appear there.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I hold by Our Lord and by what I have already said.”[277]

ARTICLE XLVIII. Jeanne hath said that she did and doth still believe that the spirits which appear to her are Angels and Archangels and the Saints of God, as firmly as she believes in the Christian Faith, and in the Articles of that Faith, although she can report no sign which can be of a nature to prove that she hath in reality had this communication; she hath consulted neither Bishop, Priest, nor Prelate, nor any ecclesiastical person whatsoever, to know whether she ought to have faith in such spirits; yet more, she saith that her Voices have forbidden her to reveal anything to any one whosoever it may be, save first to a captain of soldiers, then to Charles her King, and afterwards to other persons purely laic. By this, she admits that her belief on this point is audacious, her faith erroneous, her revelations doubtful, having always kept them from the knowledge of the clergy and never having been willing to reveal them save to seculars.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“I have answered it already. I refer to what is written. And as to the signs, if those who asked for them were not worthy, I could not help it. Many a time did I pray that it might please God to reveal it to some of this party. It is true, that to believe in my revelations I asked neither Bishop, Priest, nor any one else. I believe it was Saint Michael, from the good teaching he shewed me.”

“Did Saint Michael say to you: ‘I am Saint Michael’?”

“I have answered before.”

As to the concluding part of the Article, she answered: “I refer me to Our Lord.... As firmly as I believe Our Saviour Jesus Christ suffered death to redeem us from the pains of hell, so firmly do I believe that it was Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel, Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret whom Our Saviour sent to comfort and to counsel me.”[278]

ARTICLE XLIX. On the foundation of this fancy alone Jeanne hath venerated spirits of this kind, kissing the ground on the which she said they had walked, bending the knee before them, embracing them, kissing them, paying all sorts of adoration to them, giving them thanks with clasped hands, taking the greatest familiarities with them; when she did not know if they were good or evil spirits, and when, by reason of all the circumstances revealed above, these spirits should have been rather considered by her as evil. This worship, this veneration, is idolatry: it is a compact with demons.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I have already answered; for the conclusion, I refer me to Our Lord.”[279]

ARTICLE L. Every day and many times daily Jeanne doth invoke these evil spirits and consult them on what she should do,—notably on the manner in which she should answer in court. This seems to constitute, and doth in effect constitute, an invocation of demons.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I have already answered it; I shall call them to my help as long as I live.”

“In what way shall you call them?”

“I beseech Our Lord and Our Lady that they will send me counsel and comfort, and then They send it to me.”

“In what words do you beseech this?”

“I say ‘Most sweet Lord, in honour of Thy Holy Passion I beseech Thee, if Thou lovest me, that Thou wilt reveal to me how I should answer these Clergy. I know well, as regards this dress, the command by which I have taken it; but I do not know in what way I should leave it off: for this, may it please Thee to teach me.’ And soon they come to me. I often by my Voices have news of my Lord of Beauvais.”

_The Bishop_: “What do your Voices say of Us?”

“I will tell you apart.... To-day they came to me three times.”

“In your chamber?”

“I have answered you; I hear them well. Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret have told me what I should say on the subject of my dress.”[280]

ARTICLE LI. Jeanne hath not feared to proclaim that Saint Michael, the Archangel of God, did come to her with a great multitude of Angels in the house of a woman where she had stopped at Chinon; that he walked with her, holding her by the hand; that they together mounted the stairs of the Castle and together gained the Chamber of the King; that the Angel did reverence to the King, bowing before him, surrounded by this multitude of Angels, of which some had crowns on their heads and others had wings. To say such things of Archangels and the Holy Angels is presumption, audacity, lying, as in the holy books we do not read that they did a like reverence, a like demonstration, to any saint—not even to the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God. Jeanne hath said that the Archangel Saint Gabriel hath often come to her with the blessed Michael, and sometimes even with thousands of Angels. She hath also proclaimed that the same Angel, at her prayer, did bring in this company of Angels a crown, the most precious possible, to place upon the head of her King—a crown which is to-day deposited in the treasury of the King; that the King would have been crowned at Rheims with this crown, if he had deferred his consecration some days: it was only because of the extreme haste of his coronation that he received another. All these are lies imagined by Jeanne at the instigation of the devil, or suggested by demons in deceitful apparitions, to make sport of her curiosity,—she who would search secrets beyond her capacity and condition.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“On the subject of the Angel who brought the sign I have already answered. As to what the Promoter suggests on the subject of the thousands of Angels, I do not recollect having said it—that is to say, the number; I did certainly say that I had never been wounded without receiving great comfort and help from God and from the Saints Catherine and Margaret. As to the crown, on this also I have replied. Of the conclusion which the Promoter makes against my deeds, I refer me to God, Our Lord; and where the crown was made and forged, I leave to Our Lord.”[281]

ARTICLE LII. By all these inventions, Jeanne hath so seduced Christian people that many have in her presence adored her as a Saint, and in her absence do adore her still, composing in her honour masses and collects; yet more, going so far as to call her the greatest of all the Saints after the Virgin Mary, raising statues and images to her in the Churches of the Saints, and bearing about them medals in lead or other metal representing her—exactly as the Church does to honour the memory and the recollection of the canonized Saints—publicly proclaiming that she is sent from God, and more Angel than woman. Such things are pernicious to the Christian religion, scandalous, and prejudicial to the salvation of souls.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“As to the commencement of the Article, I have already answered; as to the conclusion, I refer to Our Lord.”[282]

ARTICLE LIII. In contempt of the orders of God and the Saints, Jeanne, in her presumption and pride, hath gone so far as to take command over men; she hath made herself commander-in-chief and hath had under her orders nearly 16,000 men, among whom were Princes, Barons, and a number of Gentlemen: she hath made them all fight, being their principal captain.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“As to the fact of being commander-in-chief, I have answered before; if I have been commander-in-chief, it was to fight the English. As to the conclusion of the Article I refer me to God.”[283]

ARTICLE LIV. Jeanne doth behave in an unseemly manner with men, refuses the society of women, wishes to live with men only, to be waited upon by them, even in her own room and in the most private details: a like thing hath never been seen nor heard of a chaste and pious woman.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“It is true that my command was over men; but as to my quarters and lodging, most often I had a woman with me. And when I was engaged in the war I slept fully dressed and armed, not being able always to find a woman. As to the conclusion of the Article, I refer me to God.”

ARTICLE LV. Jeanne hath abused the revelations and prophecies that she saith she hath had from God, to procure for herself lucre and temporal profit; by means of these pretended revelations, she hath acquired great riches, a great show and great estate in officers, horses, and attire; she hath obtained great revenues for her brothers and relations, imitating in this the false prophets, who, to acquire temporal gain or to obtain the favour of kings, were accustomed to pretend that they had had revelations from God on things which they knew would be to the taste of their princes; abusing the divine oracles, she hath thus attributed her lies to God.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“I have answered elsewhere. As to the gifts made to my brothers, that which the King gave to them was of his grace, without my asking. As to the charge made by the Promoter and the conclusion of the Article, I refer me to Our Lord.”[284]

ARTICLE LVI. Jeanne hath many times proclaimed that she hath two counsellors whom she calls ‘Counsellors of the Well,’ and who have come to her since she hath been taken captive, as appears from the declaration made by Catherine de la Rochelle before the Officials in Paris.[285] This Catherine hath said that Jeanne, if she be not well guarded, will get out of prison, by the help of the Devil.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I hold by what I have already said; and as to the ‘Counsellors of the Well,’ I do not know what it means. I certainly believe that I overheard Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret there. The conclusion of the Article I deny.”

[And then she did swear by her oath[286] that she did not wish that the Devil should get her out of prison.[287]]

ARTICLE LVII. The day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, Jeanne did assemble the whole army of Charles, to make an attack on the city of Paris; she did lead the army against the city, affirming that she would enter it on that day—that she knew it by revelation: she directed all the arrangements possible for the entry. And, nevertheless, she is not afraid to deny it before us here in court. And at other places also, at La Charité-sur-Loire, for example, at Pont L’Evêque, at Compiègne, when she attacked the army of the Duke of Burgundy, she affirmed and foretold that which, according to her, would take place, saying that she knew it by revelation: now, not only did the things predicted by her not come to pass, but the very contrary happened. Before you she hath denied having made these predictions, because they were not realized, as she had said; but many people worthy of trust report[288] to have heard her utter them. At the time of the assault on Paris, she said that thousands of angels were around her, ready to bear her to Paradise if she should be killed: now, when she was asked why, after the promises made to her, not only did she not enter Paris but that many of her men and she herself had been wounded in a horrible manner and some even killed, she answered “It was Jesus, who broke His word to me.”

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“As to the beginning, I have answered it already. If I think of more later, I will willingly answer then. I never said that Jesus had failed me.”[289]

ARTICLE LVIII. Jeanne did cause to be painted a standard whereon are two Angels, one on each side of God holding the world in His hand, with the words “_Jhésus Maria_” and other designs. She said that she caused this standard to be done by the order of God, who had revealed it to her by the agency of His Angels and Saints. This standard she did place at Rheims near the Altar, during the consecration of Charles, wishing, in her pride and vain glory, that it should be peculiarly honoured. Also did she cause to be painted arms, in the which she placed two golden lilies on a field azure; between the lilies a sword argent, with a hilt and guard gilded, the point of the sword pointing upwards and surmounted with a crown, gilded. All this is display and vanity, it is not religion nor piety; to attribute such vanities to God and to the Angels, is to be wanting in respect to God and the Saints.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I have already answered it; for the conclusions drawn by the Promoter, I refer to Our Lord.”[290]

ARTICLE LIX. At St. Denis in France Jeanne did offer and cause to be placed in the Church, in the most prominent place, the armour she wore when she was wounded while attacking the town of Paris; she desired that this armour should be honoured as relics. In this same town, she did cause to be lighted candles, for the melted wax to fall on the heads of little children, saying that this would bring them happiness, and making by such witchcrafts many divinations.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“As to my armour, I have answered; as to the candles lighted and melted, I deny it.”[291]

ARTICLE LX. In contempt of the laws and sanction of the Church, Jeanne hath several times before this tribunal refused to speak the truth: by this, she doth render suspect all she hath said or done in matters of faith and revelation, because she dares not reveal them to ecclesiastical judges; she dreads the just punishment she hath merited and of which she appears herself to be conscious, when, on this question, she did in court urge this proverb, that “for speaking the truth, one was often hanged.” Also she hath often said: “You will not know all,” and again, “I would rather have my head cut off than tell you all.”

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I never sought delay, except to answer more surely on what was asked me. When I am doubtful if I ought to answer, I ask delay to know if I ought to speak. As to the counsel of my King, because it does not touch on this case, I would not reveal it. Of the sign given to the King, I have told it, because the clergy did constrain me to do so.”[292]

ARTICLE LXI. Admonished of having to submit all her words and actions to the Church Militant, after that the distinction between the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant had been shewn to her, Jeanne declared that she submitted herself to the Church Triumphant and refused to submit to the Church Militant, confessing by this that she doth not rightly understand the Article of the Faith ‘I believe in the Church, One, Holy, Catholic,’ and that she is in error on this point. She hath said she would reveal them only to God, and that she referred her acts to God and to His Saints and not to the judgment of the Church.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I wish with all my power to give honour and reverence to the Church Militant. For referring my acts to the Church Militant, I must refer to Our Lord Who caused me to do them.”

“Will you refer to the Church Militant as to what you have done?”

“Send me the clerk on Saturday next, and I will answer.”[293]

ARTICLE LXII. Jeanne hath laboured to scandalize the people, to induce them to believe in her talk, taking to herself the authority of God and His Angels, presumptuously seeking to seduce men from ecclesiastical authority, as do the false prophets who establish sects of error and perdition and separate themselves from the unity of the Church; a thing pernicious in the Christian religion, which, if the Bishops did not provide against it, might destroy ecclesiastical authority; on all sides, in fact, raising up men and women who, pretending to have revelations from God and the Angels, will sow untruth and error—as hath already happened to many since this woman hath arisen and hath begun to scandalize Christian people and to publish her knaveries.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“I will answer next Saturday.”

ARTICLE LXIII. Jeanne is not afraid to lie in court, and to violate her own oath when on the subject of her revelations; she doth affirm a number of contradictory things, and which imply contradiction among themselves: she doth not fear to hurl malediction against a whole nation, the rulers of that nation and its greatest people; she doth speak of them without respect, allowing herself a tone of mockery and derision such as no woman in a state of holiness would allow; which sheweth well that she is ruled and guided by evil spirits and not, as she hath boasted, by God and the Angels. Christ said of false prophets, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“I refer to what I have said, and, for the conclusion, to God Our Lord.”[294]

ARTICLE LXIV. Jeanne doth pretend to know that she hath obtained pardon of the sin committed when, in despair, driven by the evil spirits, she threw herself from the tower of the Castle at Beaurevoir: yet the Scriptures say that no one knoweth if he is worthy of love or hate, nor, in consequence, if he is purged of sin and justified.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I have answered you, and to that I refer. Of the charge and the conclusion, I refer me to Our Lord.”

ARTICLE LXV. Many times Jeanne hath said that she asked of God to send her special revelations by the Angels and by the Saints Catherine and Margaret upon what she ought to do: for example, in the matter of learning if she ought to make known the truth in court on certain points and certain facts which are personal to herself. It is to tempt God, to ask Him that which ought not to be asked of Him, because there is no need, and man may himself suffice for it by his own research. Thus, by the leap from the tower of Beaurevoir she doth seem manifestly to have tempted God.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I have answered it, and will not, without the leave of Our Lord, reveal what has been revealed to me. It is not without need that I beseech God. I would He might send me yet more, so that it might be discerned that I am come from God and that it is He Who hath sent me.”

ARTICLE LXVI. Of many of the deeds and words that have just been noticed some are opposed to the Divine Law, to Gospel Law, to Canon Law, to Civil Law, and to the rules of General Councils; others are witchcrafts, divinations, or superstitions; others breathe heresy and errors in faith; others are attempts against peace and tend to the effusion of human blood; others constitute blasphemies against God and the Saints and are wounding to pious ears. In all this, the Accused, by her audacious temerity, at the instigation of the Devil, hath offended God and sinned against Holy Church; she hath been a cause of scandal; she is on all these points notoriously defamed: she should be punished and corrected by you.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“I am a good Christian; for all with which you charge me I refer to Our Lord.”

ARTICLE LXVII. All and each of these transgressions the Accused hath committed, perpetrated, said, uttered, recited, dogmatized, promulgated, put in action, as much in your jurisdiction as elsewhere, in many and divers places of this realm, not once only but many times, in divers times, days and hours. She hath fallen again and again into all these errors; she hath furnished counsel, help, and favour to those who have committed them with her.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“I deny it.”

ARTICLE LXVIII. Because a persistent clamour hath struck your ears not once only, but many times; because public rumour and an information based on what hath gone before hath made you recognize that the Accused is vehemently suspect and defamed; you have decreed that there is reason to bring an action against her, and to proceed therein, by you or one of you, by causing the said woman to be cited, and by setting her to answer—as hath been done.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“This Article concerns the Judges.”

ARTICLE LXIX. By all which precedes, the Accused is vehemently suspect, scandalized and as far as possible defamed by all honest and serious people. But by all that hath gone before she is neither corrected nor amended; she hath postponed and doth still postpone; she hath refused and doth still refuse to correct or amend herself; she hath continued and persevered, doth continue and persevere, in her errors, although by you the Judges, and by a great number of notable clergy, and other honest persons, she hath been charitably and otherwise duly and sufficiently warned, summoned and required.

“What have you to say to this Article?”

“The misdeeds brought forward against me by the Promoter, I have not done. For the rest, I refer me to God. Of all the misdeeds brought forward against me, I do not think I have committed any against the Christian faith.”

“If you have done anything against the Christian faith, will you submit to the Church and to those to whom correction belongs?”

“On Saturday, after dinner, I will answer you.”

ARTICLE LXX. All and each of these propositions contained in these Articles are true, notorious and manifest; the public voice and rumour hath occupied and doth occupy itself therewith; the Accused hath recognized and acknowledged these things as true, many times and sufficiently, before witnesses proved and worthy of belief, in and out of court.

“What have you to say on this Article?”

“I deny all that I have not recognized and confessed.”