{"id":83879,"date":"2017-10-24T12:00:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-24T01:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/?p=83879"},"modified":"2017-10-24T18:28:02","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T07:28:02","slug":"joan-of-arc-burnt-at-stake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/2017\/10\/24\/joan-of-arc-burnt-at-stake\/","title":{"rendered":"Joan of Arc: burnt at the stake for wearing the trousers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/a><\/h3>\n

In a poem, William Wordsworth called Joan of Arc \u201ca perfect woman\u2026\u201d<\/strong>, Winston Churchill wrote <\/strong>\u201c\u2026she finds no equal in a thousand years<\/strong>\u201d and <\/strong>Mark Twain capped them all with: \u201cBy far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

High praise, but just who was she, this Joan of Arc\u2014and what\u2019s her claim to fame? An extraordinary military genius and kingmaker who united France in the Middle Ages\u2014or just a jumped-up, androgynous teenage transvestite who wore the trousers in a world of powerful medieval men?<\/p>\n

Well, to help you decide here\u2019s a very brief synopsis of the protracted and convoluted story of her short life.<\/p>\n

Joan of Arc\u2019s life<\/span><\/h1>\n

A long long time ago, in the fifteenth century, Jeanne, <\/em>later to become La <\/em>P<\/em>ucelle d’Orl\u00e9<\/em>ans,<\/em> had a bevy of divine connections who got in touch with her regularly, it seems.<\/p>\n

One day, when talking to them, they suggested that she help Charles VII to become king of France<\/a>\u2014and get rid of the English while she was about it.<\/p>\n

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/a><\/h3>\n

After she\u2019d crowned him king, she became a kind of armoured mascot in the army. Charles then sent her to relieve Orl\u00e9ans against la perfide Albion. <\/em>But she was captured by the Burgundians who were English allies (\u2026you were warned that this would be convoluted\u2026) and eventually handed over to the Bishop of Beauvais. He\u2019d been after her for a while because the Church didn\u2019t like cross dressing peasant girls who spoke directly to saints in heaven.<\/p>\n

So, they charged her with witchcraft.<\/p>\n

But, this wouldn\u2019t stick because, when they checked, they discovered she was a virgin. This meant, apparently, that she couldn\u2019t be a witch.<\/p>\n

So, she was then tried for wearing men\u2019s gear\u2014and condemned to burn for heresy. But, to avoid the stake, she recanted and was simply sent to prison.<\/p>\n

Alas, a few days later she was at it again\u2014wearing men\u2019s pants in jail. This relapse was the last straw and she was burned alive in Rouen in 1431.<\/p>\n

Joan of Arc: hero or enemy?<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

Today, unfortunately, Joan\u2019s considerable achievements have been hijacked, exploited and mythologised by a hodgepodge of quite opposing factions.<\/p>\n