The Interrogation of Joan of Arc
Lindsay Cooper
29 November 2000

Keywords:

Joan of Arc, Catholic Saints, The Trial of Joan of Arc, Spanish Apparitions, 15th Century Apparitions, Hundred Years’ War, Charles VII, Jean Gerson

I. Abstract

Joan of Arc was a military leader of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France in the 14th and 15th centuries.She became a soldier, known in history as the Virgin Warrior, after she was called by God to intervene on France’s efforts to return French land and the authority of the crown to France's Charles VII.God contacted Joan through apparitions of Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret.The authorities, however, saw no empirical evidence supporting her divine legitimacy and thus tried and convicted Joan of being a heretic and a witch.However, the Catholic Church, recognizing the validity of her heavenly association, canonized Joan as a saint 1920.

II. Scope and Purpose of the Interrogation of Joan of Arc

The Trial of Joan of Arc began in May 1430 and ended with her conviction and her execution in May 1431.Although Joan truly believed that God contacted her through the apparitions of three angels, the courts could find no legitimacy in her claims.According to her interrogators' criteria, her visions were false and were demonic in nature.The criteria used to convict Joan of heresy and witchcraft investigated the behaviors of the saints she claimed to speak with and Joan's character as the seer in discerning whether Joan's visions were evil or divine.This same set of criteria were used in 1455 to exonerate Joan of the charges brought against her in 1431 only with different motivations behind them.

The criteria for the investigation into apparitions were developed to help discern between true visions and those that were false.Claims of apparitions became prevalent in medieval Europe and a need to regiment their investigations arose.Clergymen who intended to maintain the legitimacy and power of the Church established the criteria that were eventually used in England with the trial of Joan of Arc.

III. Authority Structure

A.Sources and Criteria of Valid Knowledge

The criteria used in the conviction of Joan of Arc were traditional and first used in the interrogations of Spanish visions earlier in the 15th century.Joan's interrogators were concerned with the presence of physical evidence that could demonstrate her communication with God.They wanted signs, since "only after signs, miracles, or special references in the scriptures should prophets be believed, because it is so difficult to tell true from false spirits" (2:188).When asked to provide a sign, Joan could not give them a sufficient one.The courts demanded was "some manifestation of divine presence or impingement upon the natural world that could be independently verified" (2:188).Joan's proof lay in her testimony.Joan, like visionaries before her, had personal revelations that were apparently divine only to her and could not be proven to others who had not seen the apparition themselves.When questioned about "what sign she had that the revelations [were] from God and that Saint Catherine and Margaret are the ones who talk[ed] to her" and "how she know it was Saint Michael," she testified that they helped her to do good and referred to Michael's "angelic speech and language", things that only Joan had witness to herself.

Joan eventually referred to one sign shared by someone other than herself.She testified that Michael had come to her prior to her meeting with Charles VII in May 1429 and guided her by hand to his room.In the presence of the king, Saint Michael bowed to Charles, presented him with a crown, and told him that Joan would return those things of France to his majesty.Joan also revealed to Charles information that only God or God's messenger would know (4). Charles was convinced by this sign and gave Joan the army that would triumph at Orleans shortly after.However, at the time of the trial, no one could provide the crown from the angel and no one could testify to seeing the angel that day in the court (2:189-190).It is unknown why Charles VII did not testify on Joan's behalf, but what is known is that he had received counsel from those opposing Joan and that his mental state was questionable during the time of interrogation.

B. Methods of Inquiry

The distinction between good and evil spirits became a central element to Joan's trial (2:190).The courts were convinced that Joan's visions were evil.They related them to the fairies, pagan spirits that Joan and her friend claimed to converse with in childhood and alluded to a pact that they believe she had made with the tree fairies.The interrogators at Joan's trial questioned Joan for details specifically pertaining to her visions, which she declined to answer numerous times.When she did reveal details of her witness, they were scrutinized for incriminating evidence in the behavior of the saints. Fron the vision in which Michael bowed to Charles VII and from another in which the saints touched and kissed Joan, the interrogators found grounds for suspicion.For both of those actions were "something that saints are in no way accustomed to do in apparitions" and it was said that "there is no indication that ... a bow ... had ever been made by angels to any holy man and not even to the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God" (2:191).The interrogators questioned the saints' demeanors in relation to instruction they had given to Joan to dress in men's clothes.The courts could not believe that real saints would influence Joan to go against the Church's standards.

Joan's character was also questioned in effort to discern if she was indeed filled with the Holy Spirit.They found that "in [Joan] the two signs that are manifest in a person filled with the Holy Spirit, virtue and humility, are entirely absent" (2:191).Wearing men's clothes supported her lack of virtue. Joan was confident in the validity of her mission and of its spiritual origin and her fearlessness and perceived conceit supported her lack of humility.Jean Gerson, a guru of spirit evaluation during the time of the trial, had his own set of criteria of a true seer but was not called to testify in Joan's trial.Gerson wrote a text called De Distinctione Verarum Visionum describing his these characteristics of a true seer: humility, willingness to accept counsel, patience, accuracy, and charity (2:192).After Joan's death, at the request of Charles VII, an advisor found Joan to posses all those criteria proposed by Gerson.She accredited her success to God, accepted counsel from the saints, saw no good in violence, her prophecies were believed to be accurate 1441, and she died gracefully as she remained loyal to her God until the end.

C. Institutions and Professional Structure

The criteria that existed during the trial of Joan of Arc is still used by the Catholic Church somewhat in the verification of visions.Although Joan was eventually canonized, the same criteria were used to exonerate her in 1455 that were used to convict her of heresy in 1431.The differences lay in the circumstances of the time periods.Joan was a threat to her interrogators at the time of her trial but was no threat to those who rehabilitated her later in the 15th century.In 1431 there existed a "great danger ... that comes of giving out false prophesies and divinations not known from God, but invented" (2:203).Joan was even a greater threat to the English Burgundains because she sought to empower the French crown.However, after her death, their was no fear of placing the authority of sainthood upon Joan.Charles VII may have felt obligated to Joan to pay her the respect that her actions as a leader deserved.

IV. History

During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries France and England were engaged in the Hundred Years War, a power struggle over the possession of French land.The two political groups involved in the conflict were the pro-English Burgundians, united behind Henry VI, and the pro-French Armagnacs, in support of the dauphin Charles VII.At the time of Joan of Arc’s birth and all through her childhood, the French efforts, in most of France, were disabled.Charles VII’s competency and legitimacy to the French throne was in question and most of the French citizens were dying of starvation and the plague.

The voices, often accompanied by a bright light, came gradually to Joan beginning when she was about thirteen years of age.But after hearing the voices three times, Joan knew they were of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine.The direct messages from the angels were general and personal and were put out by Joan, however the tone of the voices changed in 1429 with the “crowning order” making it impossible to ignore any longer. The voices urged her to go to France and restore the crown to France.In 1429, Joan left her family in Domremy in search of her future King.When she was finally granted his presence months later, Joan placed faith within Charles by telling him information that only God or God’s messenger would know.

Following an exam by clergyman in which she was found to be strong in faith and noble in intentions, Joan was granted a small army who she traveled with to Orleans (11).In Orleans, Joan had her first victory.After her success in Orleans, Joan met Charles in Reims where she crowned him King of France, just was she had prophesied.After the coronation, Joan’s military success declined.King Charles, under the influence of councilmen took Joan’s military losses to mean that God was no longer with her cause.Abandoned on the battlefield at Compiegne by her own men, Joan was captured and sold to the English.Doubt of her communication with God arose around the time or her capture.She did not know that she would be captured that day.The voices had not told her.She had not heard the voices for a period of time before she had been captured and wondered if they were still with her (1: 83).Doubt would arise later when Joan would attempt to kill herself by jumping out of the tower of her captivity due to her lack of assurance that God would save his people despite Saint Catherine’s promise that he would (1: 88, 4).Her survival of the fall gave the clergy even more evidence of her demonic dealings.

By the time Joan was taken into captivity, the desire for her ruin had long been established.Over the years, Joan had compiled a large group of followers.Her influence had spread tremendously.And since she by-passed the Church hierarchy and spoke to God directly, the Church felt threatened by the eighteen year old girl.There were other political implications that spurred her inquisition. If the English could prove Joan guilty of witchcraft and heresy, Charles’s crown would be illegitimate, since Joan crowned him, and the crown could be retrieved. The clergyman that headed Joan’s trial had a political agenda, too.Pierre Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais, wished to gain the title of archbishop and was willing to do all he could to find Joan guilty of paganism.

During the actual trial of Joan of Arc, besides the unjust approach to established criteria, there were numerous violations of the ecclesiastical procedure.At the end of her first of three trials, Joan signed an incriminating document that denounced her faith in God and falsified her spiritual voices.Witnesses at the trial say that the statement was no longer than a few sentences, however the record that exists today is pages full of insulting attacks on Joan (11).Joan reversed her confession and after more time in prison, Joan was found guilty of heresy and witchcraft and was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431.The Catholic Church canonized Joan of Arc as a saint in 1920, verifying what people had known for centuries.

V. Representative Examples of Argumentation

As mentioned before in an earlier section, there is little empirical evidence to say that Joan of Arc’s voices were legit and that she was truly sent by God.However, despite the lack of physical, irrefutable proof, it is difficult to believe she was not a divine messenger.The story of Joan of Arc instills in most people a feeling of nobility, honesty, innocence, helplessness, courageousness, and admiration, all of which are able to displace a lack of evidence for sainthood or divinity.

VI. Suggested Position in Comparative Scales

1.Emphasis in traditional authority (9) ... relative to testimonial evidence (1) during her trial in 1431

Joan was convicted of heresy based upon a set of criteria that had long been established and her personal testimony did nothing to support her case due to its lack of empirical evidence.

Emphasis on traditional authority (1) … relative to testimonial evidence (6) during her rehabilitation in 1455

Joan of Arc, although she was found guilty of heresy by the Catholic Church, had a much more convincing argument in her personal testimony for her divinity and legitimacy in her retrial.

2.Most power reserved for a divine being (3) ... relative to the control of results by human beings (8) during her trial in 1431

As accepted later during her exoneration, Joan was indeed in contact with God in 1431 though the opinion of men and politics caused her to be found guilty of heresy.

Most power reserved for a divine being (5) … relative to the control of results by human beings (1) during her rehabilitation in 1455

The real power of Joan’s actions and those that she orchestrated came directly from God placing him in complete control.Nothing anyone did could alter the result commanded by God.An example of this is Joan miraculous healing after a soldier tried to end her mission by stabbing her.Joan had no control either.She was merely a pawn used by God to complete his plan.

3.Mainly spiritual or moral objectives (2) … relative to pragmatic aims (8) during her trial in 1431

As I said before, politics played a major part in Joan's conviction and death sentence.The pragmatic aims of the power struggle between France and England were influential in Joan's interrogation.

Mainly spiritual or moral objectives (9) ... relative to pragmatic aims (1) during her rehabilitation in 1455

Joan was exonerated and later canonized in effort to right a wrong that the Church had committed both against Joan and God.There was no real pragmatic aim in her being cleared of her charges.

Bibliography

Primary sources:

1. Joan of Arc: In her own words.Trans. Willard Trask.New York: BOOKS & Co., 1996.

This book was good because it gave me direct interpretation of Joan’s state of mind and heart throughout her life.This was also the only primary source found on this topic.

Secondary sources:

2.Christian, William A. Jr. Apparitions on Late Medieval and Renaissance Spain. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.

This text was good because it gave a lot of historical background on interrogations that I had difficulties finding elsewhere.I used this a lot once I realized to access it.

3.Interrogation of Joan of Arc. Medieval Cultures 20. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999.

Although I did not use this much, it was a very good text on the trials of Joan of Arc.It was easy to read and had empathy for Joan.I suggest this reading for anyone interested in Joan of Arc, especially her trials.

4.Joan of Arc: Virgin Warrior. Videotape. A&E. 1998.

This was extremely helpful and interesting and used for general information about Joan.I watched the video before doing any other research.That was a wonderful idea because it gave me a firm base of knowledge to work off of.

5.Lowell, Francis C.Joan of Arc.Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1896.

I did not really use this book all that much.I did access it for confirmations on her history but for the most part, I gained by general knowledge from other sources.

6.Pernoud, Regine. The Retrial of Joan of Arc.Trans. J.M. Cohen. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1955.

Not used at all, however, appeared as if it could be helpful on the detailed events of Joan’s retrial (very detailed).

7.Pernoud, Regine and Marie Veronique Clin.Joan of Arc: Her Story.Trans. Jeremy duQuesnay Adams.New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.

This was a helpful text.Although I did not quote it directly in my paper, this book had a lot of good information that was organized well and was accompanied by quotes from other sources.

8.Sullivan, Karen.The Trial of Jeanne D’Arc.Trans. W.P. Barrett. Gotham House, Inc., 1932.

This is another book that I did not have a chance to use here.It, too, is very detailed in its organization of information.This would have been better had I done my whole paper on the trial of Joan of Arc.

9.Twain, Mark.Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1896.

This was my favorite book.It was relatively easy reading and it told Joan’s story from a really unique perspective.Again although I did not quote it directly in my paper, I gained an incredible amount of general knowledge (also found elsewhere) that I did use to write my paper.Mark Twain himself is most happy with this book out of all his works!!!!

Internet Sources:

10.

http://www.newadvnet.org/cathen/08409c.htm

This gave me more general information about Joan of Arc.This site is very organized with its presentation of the information and is simple to read. Encyclopedia style.

11.

http://dc.smu.edu/ijas/pinzino.html

This source consists of a students work on Joan’s story and is titled The Condemnation and Rehabilitation Trials of Joan of Arc, by Jane Marie Pinzino.This was EXTREMELY helpful in giving me quick details of Joan’s life and an interpretation of another student and her work.This would be a good site to access.