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As a child she was taught domestic skills as well as her religion by her mother. Joan would later say, "As for spinning and sewing, I fear no woman in Rouen." And again, "It was my mother alone who taught me the 'Our Father' and 'Hail Mary' and the 'Creed;' and from none other was I taught my faith."
From her earliest of years Joan was known for her obedience to her parents, religious fervor, goodness, unselfish generosity and kindness toward her neighbors. Simonin Munier, one of Joan's childhood friends, tells how Joan had nursed him back to health when he was sick. Some of her playmates teased her for being 'too pious.' Others remembered how she would give up her bed to the homeless stranger who came to her father's door asking for shelter.
Joan was 'like all the others' in her village until her thirteenth year. "When I was about thirteen, I received revelation from Our Lord by a voice which told me to be good and attend church often and that God would help me." She stated that her 'Voices' were Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret. At first her 'Voices' came to her two or three times a week but as the time for her mission drew near (five years later), they visited her daily telling her to 'Go into France' to raise the siege of Orleans, conduct the Dauphin Charles to Reims for his crowning and to drive the English from the land.
Joan went to the neighboring town of Vaucouleurs, which means Valley of many colors. There she spoke to the loyal French governor by the name of Sir Robert de Baudricourt. After many rejections he finally agreed to send her to the Dauphin who at the time was living at the castle of Chinon.
On the evening of February 23, 1429, she began her mission for God. In the company of six men, she rode through the Gate of France on her way to Chinon. Joan reached this town on March 6th, but was not received by the Dauphin, Charles, until the evening of March 9th.
After being accepted and approved by a Church council headed by the Archbishop of Reims, Joan was allowed to lead the Dauphin's army. This part of her career was meteoric. She entered Orleans on the evening of April 29th and by May 8th the city had been freed. The Loire campaign started on June 9th and by June 19th the English were driven out of the Loire valley. The march to Reims started on June 29th and by July 17th Charles was crowned King of France in the cathedral of Reims.
From this time on, for reasons know only to King Charles, the king no longer valued Joan's advice and guidance. She had always told him that God had given her 'a year and a little longer' to accomplish His will but the king seemed to take no notice of it. For almost a year he wasted what time remained to Joan, until in frustration, she left the court. Her last campaign lasted from the middle of March until her capture at the town of Compiegne on May 23rd, 1430. Her 'year and a little longer' was over.
Abandoned by her king and friends, she started her year of captivity. As a prisoner of the Burgundians she was treated fairly but that all changed when on November 21st, 1430, she was handed over the English. How she survived their harsh treatment of her is a miracle in itself.
The English not only wanted to kill Joan but they also wanted to discredit King Charles as a false king by having Joan condemned by the Church as a witch and a heretic. To obtain this goal the English used those Church authorities whom they knew to be favorable to them and the staunchest of these was Bishop Cauchon.
Joan's trial of condemnation lasted from February 21st until May 23rd. She was finally burnt at the stake in Rouen's market square on May 30th, 1431.
Twenty-five years later the findings of Joan's first trial were overturned and declared 'null and void' by another Church court, who this time was favorable to King Charles. It was not until 1920 that the Church of Rome officially declared Joan to be a saint. Her feast day is celebrated on May 30th.
I remember toddling over to the 'Chinese chest' where my parents placed all their magazines and newspapers and there I saw a woman wearing a helmet. I was intrigued by this and began to leaf through the magazine's pages until I came to a series of photos connected with the play. I could not read at the time and so I concentrated on the pictures. I was amazed and fascinated by one picture in particular, which showed the actress running in armor as she carried a sword high over her head. Day after day, for as long as my parents kept this magazine, I found myself going back to look at and study these pictures. It was as if I were trying to burn an imprint of them into my mind.
Only a few months later was my seventh birthday and I asked my father to buy me a suit of toy armor that I saw in a neighborhood toy store. Because my father had a great interest in the Knights of the Round Table and told me stories about Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad, he was happy to buy the armor for me. It consisted of a helmet, breastplate, shield and sword. How proud I was to wear my 'armor.'
I was playing with it outside my Bronx apartment building when a man came by and asked, "Are you a boy or a girl?" "I'M A GIRL!" I proudly answered. In reply the man said to me, "Girls don't play like that." I learned that I had to keep this a secret and so from that time on I did not play with my armor outside of my bedroom.
As a child I was frequently sick. When I was well enough I would spent many a day on the couch watching TV. At the time channel 11 of New York City had a program entitled The Million Dollar Movie. During the day this station would play the same movie at least three times in a row. Not only that but the movie was repeated for a full seven days! When I liked a particular movie I would watch EVERY showing of it. I drove my mother crazy and she would say, "Are you watching that again! I would think by now you would know every word by heart. Don't you ever get tired of watching the same old thing?" From all this movie watching three movies stand out in my mind, THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII, HOLD THAT GHOST, and Otto Premiger's SAINT JOAN.
For the most part my interest in Saint Joan lay dormant in my heart. So when I turned twelve, the time of 'hero worship,' I rediscovered Saint Joan. "WOW! A woman, a knight and a leader of men! She's my kind of girl!" I renewed my friendship with Saint Joan with a passion. I read everything that I could get my hands on, so long as it was about Saint Joan. My mother would say to me, " Are you reading about HER again! Don't you ever get tired of reading the same old thing?" I explained that it was not 'the same old thing' because each author had a different twist or interpretation to her story. Not only that but I never tired in rejoicing at my friend's victories nor in sharing in her passion.
When I first started to develop a friendship with Saint Joan I was very formal and would address her as 'Dear Saint Joan of Arc.' I soon shortened it to 'Dear Saint Joan' until finally it became 'Hey Jo!' or just 'Jo!' I loved to talk to her and tell her everything that was happening to me, the good as well as the bad. She was and is my very best friend, a person in whom I can, without shame, confide everything. I loved to imagine myself (and still do) as her comrade-in-arms riding along side her through thick and thin. I would imagine myself giving King Charles a swift 'boot to the head' for his betrayal of her. As for Bishop Cauchon I would have no difficulty slapping him around. THE BUMS!
In my thirty-four years of studying Joan I have read at least thirty histories, (there is no question in my mind that the very best are written by Regine Pernoud, who died in Arpil of 1998) most of the plays, novels and children's books. All told I have read a total of 80 books about Saint Joan. I have gone to Saint Joan's France in 1984 and 1994. Since 1984 I have been a member of the Association Des Amis Du Centre Jeanne D' Arc established in 1978 (I believe) by Regine Pernoud. The center is located in Orleans, France. So now I can truly say that 'I am a card carrying Saint Joan NUT.'
If you would like to join this Centre in Orleans, France, it will cost you 100 FF or about $30.00 US dollars per year. I recommend that you join because the center is preserving the original documents as well as the movies, books and other documents connected with Saint Joan's memory. You can send your donation to:
CENTRE JEANNE D' ARC
There are three movies versions of Joan's life that are readily available on VHS tape. (Disclaimer: Just because I (Virginia) didn't like a movie doesn't mean God can't touch someone through that movie. I have received emails from people who very much liked some of these movies.)
This Joan of Arc Webring Site is owned by The Saint Joan of Arc Center.
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