Joan of Arc – Insane Heretic or Faithful Servant

Introduction

Few figures in Christian history have caught the attention and imagination of so many as that of Joan of Arc. Some might recall from their memory the stories of a young girl leading the armies of France to victory over the English occupying forces. Others, upon hearing her name may respond by comments such as, “Wasn’t she insane, didn’t she hear voices?” And there are some who recognize her devotion to God as the source of her drive, passion and success in what she attempted. No matter what your point of view, just the mention of the name Joan of Arc will bring to your mind the vivid image of what you think the name Joan of Arc means. To better understand who Joan was and the true significance of her endeavors I will examine the context of the time period in which she was born, lived and fulfilled her mission.

Her early life, and perhaps most importantly the significant events in her life and death, solidify the name of Joan of Arc as a significant figure in church history as well as world history. Joan would say her actions, words, passions and leadership were directed by and for the Glory of God. Her faith and adherence to this simple focus provides clarity for the modern Christian as we attempt to live our lives through the lens of what it is God would have us do. For Joan, living according to the will and direction of God was as natural as breathing, and no other choice would even be considered. Her examples of faith in action under incredible pressures provide inspiration for our lives as we attempt to go and do like-wise. Her actions, words and deeds clearly demonstrate to the modern historian that she was a faithful servant and the charges of heresy proved false.

Historical, Political and Church Context

The historical period that encompassed Joan’s life is commonly referred to as the Hundred Years War. This “war”was a series of battles, tepid treaties and short periods of peace between France and England. For as long as could be remembered prior to and during her lifetime there were ongoing battles as well as tenuous treaties between these nations. The countryside was ravaged by war over the years. When Joan was believed to have been born in the year 1412 was a critical period for her country. Due to many defeats to the hands of the English, as well as powerful French lords and landowners loyal to England, the French aristocracy and national leadership was in a state of disarray. The battles of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt solidified the English resolve to their objectives as well as left the French forces with little in the way of experienced leaders.

The political landscape was very complicated as various nobles sided with either the French or English Kings with a wide variety of claims to the throne. The Duke of Burgundy was clearly sided with the English. The Burgundians were of particular importance in the life of Joan. At the end of her time leading the French army against the English she was captured by the Burgundians and turned over to her English enemies. The political landscape of the times were rife with power plays, rivalries and deception as key players attempted to rise to power during such a chaotic time period.

A sense of the state of the church and significant events shows that during this period France was considered to be a Catholic state. Also, this was the time of the ascetics monasteries which were very prominent in the region of Germany and the lowlands of France. During this time was a high period in the Ascetic movement. An interpretation might be that as the world around them continued to disintegrate from order to chaos, the life of the ascetic monk provided some order and control not otherwise available to the average citizen. Tied to the political issues of the day was the Great Schism that resulted in three popes vying for sole authority over the church. The Council of Constance attempted to bring an end to this embarrassing time with two or three popes vying of power. Also during this time the church was struggling with the subject of heresy within the church and repeatedly sought to combat this influence and this Council focused on this issue.
Wars, treaties, weak national leadership, political alliances, political maneuvering, upheaval, uncertainty in the leadership of the church as well as the ever present hunt to stamp out heresy; it was a brutal and turbulent time in history. Being born to this time did not give much hope of long life, health or a semblance of a stable lifestyle. Out of this period Joan of Arc found her passion, her voice and her mission. Guided by God and the voices of the saints she followed her call, the path that God laid before her.

Early Life

Joan was born into a peasant family and was raised to be pious, prayerful and understanding of the teachings of God as well as the teachings of the church. She learned her faith and learned to live rightly being taught to do so by her mother. Her childhood growing up in the village of Domremy would be described as nothing remarkably different then that of the other children in the town. She helped out her family and was known to work with the animals in the field as well as becoming proficient at sewing and spinning. What is most remarkable for her early years was the unremarkable-ness of this young girl. Due to the turbulent times it was not unusual for her to travel away from her home as the war moved closer to her town, staying with relatives until the danger passed. Her life was not marked by any significant indication of what would soon become her driving passion and mission. Just as with other notable people who were selected by God for specific purposes, Joan’s early life gave no indication of such significance to come.

She first heard the voice she later attributed to Saint Michael when she was thirteen. According to her own words later recounted during her trials, she saw and heard Saint Michael many times. The first time was when she was in her father’s garden not far from the church. Her description was that Saint Michael was not alone, but duly attended and accompanied by many heavenly angels. The times when she was in this heavenly presence provided great joy and she was often very sad after the vision disappeared. According to her words she described the voice of Michael instructed her to live rightly, to go to church often and that she would have to travel into France from her town. In addition to Saint Michael, she was visited by Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret. These visitations provided her incredible joy and she felt very sad when the left her, wanting to be taken with them to paradise. But as the instruction and visitation continued she was told her task was to raise the siege at Orleans. Joan responded that she was a simple peasant girl and did not know of riding and warfare.

According to Scripture God has chosen at least a few simple, unprepared people to fulfill Gods plan here on Earth. What is typical in these instances is the response of the person selected by God. The story of Moses call by God from Exodus 3 reflects similarly to the call of Joan. Just as Moses was living a simple life at the time tending his flock when he came upon the burning bush, so too was Joan living her simple live in her father’s house when she was first visited by the angels and heard the voices. Moses initial response indicated that he felt God may have gotten the selection process wrong,
“10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You will lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.

“But who am I to appear before Pharaoh?” Moses asked God. “How can you expect me to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” Then God told him, “I will be with you.” Ex 3:10-11a

Joan’s call and mission was certainly different from that of Moses, but her mission was no less divine. My point in briefly describing the similarities in the call and responses of both Moses and Joan was that both initially felt unworthy of the mission set before them. Moses confronted his own trials by facing Pharaoh and leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Joan also had an uphill journey as she traveling in a world of men, where men were the leaders and women performed woman’s work, a world where she was a peasant girl setting off to influence none other the heir to the throne of France of her purpose and her mission. Joan was in good company.

Reading her words describing her life as they were written down from her trial prior to her death clearly indicate a running theme for her life. Joan continually subordinated herself to the will of God and adherence to the direction she was given by Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret. Even through the difficult and often cruel methods of the trial she was subjected to continually reiterated her faithful adherence to Gods will for her life. When she was asked if she felt she was operating within Gods grace she responded by stating that if she was then she was truly blessed, and if she wasn’t she would pray for God’s grace to be upon her. Her faithful example and ongoing deference to God’s will in the face of many dangers, trials and difficulties clearly indicated she was not crazy, or heretical in her response to the Christian faith.

Significant Events

Joan set out on her journey with a clear direction from God to raise the siege of Orleans, to drive out the English and to help in the coronation of the Dauphin as the King of France. There were many obstacles in her way. She was a peasant girl who must now convince the leaders of her country to follow her call, was unskilled in warfare or military tactics and the politics and church’s view of women leaders of the time did not allow her easy access to the positions of leadership she needed in order to fulfill her mission.

Her first venture out of her town to begin the journey was conducted in steps. She first traveled to visit her uncle who then brought her to the town where she could communicate her mission to authorities of the Dauphin. At Vaucouliers she met with Robert de Baundricourt, a court official. Her words to him ,

“The Kingdom of France was not the Duaphin’s but belonged to God, but that God wills the Duaphin to be King of France despite his enemies and that I shall lead him to his anointing. [Trask 15]

Her response to these refusals reflected a despair of a person who would rather be at home helping her mother then pushing this agenda. But she was compelled by God on this mission and felt she had to press on. Baundricourt refused her twice but on her third communication with him he provided her with men of arms and escorted her to where the Dauphin was residing.

The central theme of faith in action is woven throughout the rest of her story as she communicated God’s plans and to convince the leaders of her country to allow her to lead the siege at Orleans. Her words to the Dauphin when she met him were never revealed or written down. Joan’s own words on the subject of the secrecy of of what she said to him were that it was not her place to reveal what was said. She was instructed by her voices of who to meet and what to say, so she only revealed what she knew she could reveal. As she received no instruction on this subject she kept this to herself. The Dauphin, who later was crowned King in the cathedral in Reims also never revealed what was said to him. We could speculate to the reason for this but we would miss the point of Joan’s faithful response to the call and mission provided her. She was obedient to what she was asked to do and God provided the means to make it happen.

Joan was given leadership of the army and raised the fight for the city of Orleans. She was provided armor and a horse and led the attack. Witnesses who fought along side her during these battles reflect that Joan was a very skilled military tactician and effective leader of the troops. She maintained her pious and prayerful ways as she had been taught. The impact she had on the army she led was leadership by example. She directed all the men to be focused on god and that God’s call for them all was to drive out the English army. Her example was humble and the men under her charge reflected her countenance and pure focus. There as sense of that the men did not want to behave in a way that might cause them embarrassment in her eyes. She demonstrated and received respect in a way that was full of grace. Their victory over the English at Orleans provided the confidence for the people but also vindication that Joan was the real thing.

After her victory at Orleans she led her forces in other battles and eventually released the city of Reims from the grip of the English. This was a critical victory as this was the historic and traditional setting for the crowning of the Kings of France which only occurred in the cathedral at Reims. Once the city was secure the coronation took place and the dauphin was crowned King Charles of France.

Throughout this time and up to her death she continued to be visited by the saints and heard their voices of instruction. She predicted her capture at the hands of the Burgundians and that she was to be given over to the English as a political pawn. Now a captive of her enemies she was held in a civil jail and her trial began. As her captors did not have a civil crime with which to charge her they enlisted the help of compliant bishops of the church in order to charge her with an offense significant enough for execution. The details of the trail are exhaustive as the inquisitors, bishops and English civil authorities questioned her continually. A review of the records of these proceedings by great legal minds of the time after her death marveled at the simplicity and legal acumen with which Joan responded to the many questions that were clearly intended to trap her. As she was an uneducated peasant girl it is hard to believe how she held her own against such well educated accusers.

She continually refused to reveal what was spoken to her by the voices and did not reveal what she spoke to the Dauphin when she met him that enabled her to lead an army against the English. She repeatedly deferred to God as the source of her mission, yielding again and again to the will of God as the source of direction in her life. At every opportunity her accusers sought to find something with which to brand her a heretic, even so far as to ask why she wore men’s clothes when she went into battle. For her part in responding to such inquiries she indicated this was a practical necessity and nothing more as she was living in the world of men and leading an army, women’s clothes were just not practical.
In a human effort to save herself from the fire of being burned at the stake she did confess briefly to the charges against her. She feared the fire and wanted to save her life. But as is revealed when she confessed, her voices warned her of the danger of disobedience to God’s will. She feared God more then the fire and recanted her confession. This act sealed her fate. While being tied to the stake she called for the local priest to hold a crucifix in front of her eyes so she may look upon the face of Jesus until she died. The last words she said were, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

Conclusion

Joan of Arc’s trial was reexamined 25 years after her death. At the behest of her family and with the approval of Pope Calixtus III, the Trial of Nullification was conducted and cleared Joan of the crimes against her. Much of the her first trial was cloaked in injustice and false accusations. Joan lived each day according to the will of God. The fact that she readily admitted to meeting and speaking with Saints Michael, Catherine and Margaret can sometimes be interpreted as she was insane or dismissed as a heretic. Her language and focus on God never wavered, not during her time leading the armies of France or during her captivity, trial and execution regarding her belief that God was the King of all creation, that obedience to God was how she lived her life and that she always deferred her own wishes and desires to that of what she knew to be God’s will.

It is a sad fact that Joan was used as a political pawn during a time of Great triumph for her country. But God’s plans are not always the plans of man. How we interpret King Charles refusal to liberate Joan from the hands of the English is hard to grasp, but the impact Joan had clearly demonstrated to the leaders of the day her authority came from a higher source. Through her steadfast and faithful adherence of providing glory and honor to God during her trial provided church leaders enough of a “conscience” that prompted Pope Calixtus III to reexamine Joan’s trial. This eventually lead to her acquittal and restored her family name.

The short life of Joan of Arc is even more remarkable when you consider that the events which brought her to the attention or world and church historians occurred in the course of one year. Within that time she influenced a king, lead armies to victory, helped restore the French monarchy, was captured, tried and executed for her beliefs. Joan of Arc’s faithful focus on God and God’s will is a tremendous example. Even during the battles, she led the army carrying her Standard and did not use her sword to injure another. Her faith in God carried her through all her difficulties. Joan left her mark not only on her country, but the church. As we look at her life the conclusion is that she was certainly God’s faithful servant to the end.

Bibliography
1. Trask, Willard. Joan of Arc – In Her Own Words. StateNew York: Turtle Point Press, 1996.
2. “Thirteenth Century church Events.” Christian History Institute. Gospelcom.net.
~~~~~12 Dec. 2006 .
3. Ibid http://chi.gospelcom.net/centuries/cnt14.shtml
4. Ibid http://chi.gospelcom.net/centuries/cnt15.shtml
5. “Saint Joan of Arc’s Trials.” The Saint Joan Center. The Saint Joan
~~~~~12 Dec. 2006 .

Blessings,
Jim

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