Review: Joan of Arc: Her Story by Regine Pernoud. 10/23/2017

I thought this was an interesting book. I only read about 175 pages because the rest was Joan of Arc’s letters and they were in Latin. I haven’t read or spoke Latin since the eighth grade. Some of what I read was new to me. When I was going to a Catholic school I was told the story differently then what I just read. Some situations and issues were altered but not all. A forward, a preface, acknowledgments and a prelude started the book. I recommend that the prelude should be read to help understand the history, climate and era of this book. The writer uses various writings describing the impact on others, the interrogations and Joan of Arc’s own words.

Joan of Arc is a sixteen year old peasant girl from Lorraine who travels at the time of the anti-French Burgundy to help in who claims the French Throne, Charles VII. She has stated that amidst her travels angels voices told her that God instructed her to raise the barrier at Orleans that has been going on for some time and take Charles to Reims to be consecrated and crowned King. Charles gives her an army and defeats the English army at Patay led by Fastolf, and seen Charles be anointed.

After that Joan falls out of approval with Charles because of court jealousies and captured by Burgundians of France. Then Charles VII rejects to give ransom and Joan is handed over to the English. A priest of the University of Paris, Pierre Cauchon sets up Joan of Arc’s trial. Two years as a prisoner she is sentence to die by fire. Her last word is, “Jesus.”…..

There is still so much history to Joan’s story that the writer separated it into three sections. What little information of Joan’s childhood wasn’t mentioned in this book until near the end because it wasn’t placed into historical records until after her death. There was more on her bravery battling the English and her long unjustified trial. Much of the trials controversy was the fact that she wore men’s clothing…. ( )

There are more witness accounts and authentic sourced materials written about this once unknown simple village girl than those of the many other of world famous personages. If there is only one to read about Joan of Arc and the supporting cast of her time, this is the book. ( )

Written by the grande dame of French history, the story of the maid of Orleans, from her origins through her trial, the burning at Rouen, and the nullification trial 25 years post-mortem. The biography proper is followed by the second half of the book which goes through the documents and testimony of those who had a memory of Joan, much of it recovered from the nullification trial. Joan was canonized in 1920. [245]

By all accounts, Joan grew up among peasants who described her as entirely "ordinary" before she answered the call to "save France". [159]

She probably learned to read while in prison. Her remarkable and dictated letters are provided in French with translations. [247] ( )