and demanded an audience of Robert de Baudricourt, the castellan. A century earlier, the first Valois, Philip VI, had been acknowledged as king. Joan was determined to help Philip’s great-great-grandson to gain recognition too.
She had had to leave Domremy in 1428 when Burgundians raided the village and the church was burnt. Along with her family she took refuge in the nearby village of Neufchâteau. While there she was cited before a Church court in Toul in a case of breach of promise of marriage, a promise she maintained she had never made. Winning the case confirmed her belief in her call to be virginal; and the Burgundian attack gave a new sense of urgency to her mission. To go to a château alone was unthinkable for a young woman, so she made an excuse to visit a pregnant cousin who lived in a little village three miles from Vaucouleurs and then sought the help of her cousin’s husband, Durand Laxart. Laxart was the first person to believe in her. Many years later, he recalled how ‘Joan told me she wished to go into France, to the Dauphin, to have him crowned.’ 1 In January 1429 the unlikely pair, a labourer and his cousin by marriage, turned up at Vaucouleurs to see the castellan. Without hesitation, Joan told de Baudricourt that she came in the name of her Lord; Charles must be forced to fight, he would be helped before the end of Lent, the kingdom belonged to her Lord but had been entrusted to the Dauphin, whom she would make king. Who was her Lord, the astonished castellan enquired? When Joan replied ‘the King of Heaven’, de Baudricourt turned to Laxart, told him to take her to her father and to tell him to give her a good whipping.
Historians disagree over whether she went home and came back or whether she stayed on in the town. What is clear is that she grew impatient and decided to set out at once, wearing her ‘uncle’ Laxart’s cast-offs. At the entry into a forest she stopped at the little chapel of St-Nicolas de Septfonds, where, praying before the wooden crucified Christ, she realised she had disobeyed her voices, who had told her to seek the support of de Baudricourt. She went back to Vaucouleurs. As in a good fairy story, she had failed the first time, failed a second time and would succeed the third time; and this is what happened. She now had useful supporters, among them two squires, Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy; she was summoned by the ailing Duke of Lorraine, who probably hoped she would perform a miracle. She told him frankly that she could not oblige, but that, if he gave her an escort, she would pray for him. Back in Vaucouleurs, she learnt from her voices that the French had been routed near Orléans. She told de Baudricourt what had happened and impressed on him the urgency of her journey to the royal court at Chinon. News came from Chinon that if nobody could find evil in her, she should be sent for. On 23 February she appeared in the courtyard of the château of Vaucouleurs, her escort swore their loyalty to the castellan, and, armed with letters for the king, she set off.
Any journey in 1429 could be dangerous. It took Joan eleven days to pass through enemy territory, where fortunately she was able to stop at places held by Valois sympathisers or French soldiers. At no time did she show any fear, but instead reassured her companions that God was protecting them. What worried her was that she could seldom go to Mass – until the party reached the monastery of Ste-Catherine-de-Fierbois, where she felt able to relax in congenial surroundings and where she dictated a letter to Charles to announce that she would be with him soon.
Her arrival in Chinon is one of the best-known incidents in her short life. High above a little medieval town on the River Vienne stands the château of Chinon, built by Henry, Count of Anjou and soon Henry II King of England, and from 1204 a castle of the kings of France. It was this building with its spectacular views over a lush landscape that
She had had to leave Domremy in 1428 when Burgundians raided the village and the church was burnt. Along with her family she took refuge in the nearby village of Neufchâteau. While there she was cited before a Church court in Toul in a case of breach of promise of marriage, a promise she maintained she had never made. Winning the case confirmed her belief in her call to be virginal; and the Burgundian attack gave a new sense of urgency to her mission. To go to a château alone was unthinkable for a young woman, so she made an excuse to visit a pregnant cousin who lived in a little village three miles from Vaucouleurs and then sought the help of her cousin’s husband, Durand Laxart. Laxart was the first person to believe in her. Many years later, he recalled how ‘Joan told me she wished to go into France, to the Dauphin, to have him crowned.’ 1 In January 1429 the unlikely pair, a labourer and his cousin by marriage, turned up at Vaucouleurs to see the castellan. Without hesitation, Joan told de Baudricourt that she came in the name of her Lord; Charles must be forced to fight, he would be helped before the end of Lent, the kingdom belonged to her Lord but had been entrusted to the Dauphin, whom she would make king. Who was her Lord, the astonished castellan enquired? When Joan replied ‘the King of Heaven’, de Baudricourt turned to Laxart, told him to take her to her father and to tell him to give her a good whipping.
Historians disagree over whether she went home and came back or whether she stayed on in the town. What is clear is that she grew impatient and decided to set out at once, wearing her ‘uncle’ Laxart’s cast-offs. At the entry into a forest she stopped at the little chapel of St-Nicolas de Septfonds, where, praying before the wooden crucified Christ, she realised she had disobeyed her voices, who had told her to seek the support of de Baudricourt. She went back to Vaucouleurs. As in a good fairy story, she had failed the first time, failed a second time and would succeed the third time; and this is what happened. She now had useful supporters, among them two squires, Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy; she was summoned by the ailing Duke of Lorraine, who probably hoped she would perform a miracle. She told him frankly that she could not oblige, but that, if he gave her an escort, she would pray for him. Back in Vaucouleurs, she learnt from her voices that the French had been routed near Orléans. She told de Baudricourt what had happened and impressed on him the urgency of her journey to the royal court at Chinon. News came from Chinon that if nobody could find evil in her, she should be sent for. On 23 February she appeared in the courtyard of the château of Vaucouleurs, her escort swore their loyalty to the castellan, and, armed with letters for the king, she set off.
Any journey in 1429 could be dangerous. It took Joan eleven days to pass through enemy territory, where fortunately she was able to stop at places held by Valois sympathisers or French soldiers. At no time did she show any fear, but instead reassured her companions that God was protecting them. What worried her was that she could seldom go to Mass – until the party reached the monastery of Ste-Catherine-de-Fierbois, where she felt able to relax in congenial surroundings and where she dictated a letter to Charles to announce that she would be with him soon.
Her arrival in Chinon is one of the best-known incidents in her short life. High above a little medieval town on the River Vienne stands the château of Chinon, built by Henry, Count of Anjou and soon Henry II King of England, and from 1204 a castle of the kings of France. It was this building with its spectacular views over a lush landscape that
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