Saint Jeanne d'Arc

My 16 year old daughter wrote this poem and I thought I would share it here.

Jeanne d’Arc

“ I am not afraid. I was born to do this” - Jeanne d’Arc

Oh Joan through deep devotion, faith and love

God whispered word to you from up above 

And through the trees the light shone bright as flames

The voices left as silent as they came

.

Through every summer breeze and dawning day

The words would soon return then fade away

And as the bright sky darkened with the dusk

God spoke for you Oh Joan, fight for us.

.

How many sleepless nights spent wide awake,

You pacing, praying, pleading for His sake

And Joan though fear bequeathed your beating heart

You cut your hair and faithfully did your part.

.

Through pain of war and doubt, through darkest time

You ate but just communion bread and wine

Though arrows flew and doom did strike you down

Stood by the bridge you wept for those to drown

.

Through battle blood and mocking throng

Your soul strived on, stayed strong for everyone

As night did fall and war’d been bravely fought

You travelled on, alone, but soon we’re caught.

.

Though you fell, your standard still flew high

Your truth stood firm defying all  their lies

At your stone cold bed you silent wept 

Embraced by Angels while you trembling slept.

.

And at the stake you stood at peace and rest

Held to your heart a cross of wood you kissed 

And as last light shone red through ash and dust

You laid your life through love and dared to trust.

.

A life lived with meaning

Jeanne's signature

Jeanne d'Arc was born 6 January 1412  to Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée, a peasant family,
at Domrémy in north-east France.

The house Jeanne grew up in.

There was much unrest during this time. A large portion of France was under English domain
and the heir to the French crown was in contention.

For generations, there had been prophecies in France which promised emancipation
by a virgin from the "borders of Lorraine" "who would work miracles".

The room where Jeanne was born[/caption]

Jeanne was 13 years old when she received her first visions of saints and angels while
strolling under the shade of trees in her garden.

The church in Domremy where Jeanne attended daily mass.

Inspired by these visions she cut her hair, dressed in male attire, for protection and under
the escort of a local garrison commander Robert de Baudricourt made her way to the
uncrowned Dauphin to offer her counsel and support.

At first her presence drew derision and scorn but Jeanne made various predictions about
the outcome of several battles and her accuracy brought her to the attention of the royal court.

The story goes that when she was presented to the Dauphin, he feigned to be the King.
As a test an equerry was brought to her pretending to be the true King. But she knew
that it was not him.  Drawn by curiosity, the real king was keen to take a furtive look
in the room. But as soon as Jeanne saw him, she immediately recognised him even though
they had never met before.

She made the bows and curtseys customarily made to Kings, as though she had been
raised in his court . When she had finished her salutations, she addressed the king .
“ May God give you long life, noble Dauphin .” The king replied “ I am not the King, Jeanne .
” And pointing to one of his lords, he said  “ There is the King .” To which she replied 
“In God’s Name, noble prince, it is you and no other . From this point on, he was
convinced that her mission was divinely appointed.

Jeanne stated that she carried her banner in battle and had never killed anyone,
preferring her banner "forty times better than a sword." But her presence and council
seemed to contribute to the sudden rise in Frances victories over the English.
The most notable of these was the siege of Orléans a strategically significant city.

Drawing of Joan of Arc by Clément de Fauquembergue (a doodle on the margin of the protocol

Drawing of the parliament of Paris, dated 10 May 1429)

 She went into battle with no other nourishment but the bread and wine of holy communion. She predicted that she would be wounded during the battle but this didn't deter her.

Although she had never ridden before, Jeanne's horsemanship while wielding her standard,
was commended by all.

Contemporaries acknowledged Jeanne as the heroine of the engagement. She was wounded
by an arrow between the neck and shoulder while holding her banner in the trench outside
les Tourelles, but later returned to encourage a final assault that succeeded in taking the fortress.
The English retreated from Orléans the next day, and the siege was over.

Before this, Jeanne had declared that she would provide a sign at Orléans.
The lifting of the siege was interpreted by many people to be that sign.

Jeanne traveled to Compiègne the following May to help defend the city against an 
English and Burgundian siege. On 23 May 1430 she was ambushed and captured.

Jeanne was imprisoned by the Burgundians at Beaurevoir Castle. She made several escape
attempts, on one occasion jumping from her 70-foot  tower.

Jeanne was swiftly put on trial for heresy. She was charged with cross dressing and witchcraft.
Although she was illiterate she outwitted her prosecutors.

 

——————————————————

Asked if she knew she was in God's grace, she answered, 'If I am not, may God put me there;
and if I am, may God so keep me.' The question is a scholarly trap. Church doctrine held
that no one could be certain of being in God's grace. If she had answered yes, then she would
have been charged with heresy. If she had answered no, then she would have confessed her own guilt.
The court notary  later testified that at the moment the court heard her reply,
"Those who were interrogating her were stupefied."

At her execution Jeanne asked two attending priests, Fr Martin Ladvenu
and Fr Isambart de la Pierre, to hold a crucifix before her. An English soldier also
constructed a small cross that she put in the front of her dress.

She was burned at the stake at the age of 19 years.

The executioner, Geoffroy Thérage, later stated that he "greatly feared to be damned".

A posthumous retrial declared Jeanne's  innocence on 7 July 1456. She was beatified in 1909.

Her last words:

"I pray you, go to the nearest church, and bring me the cross, and hold it up level with my
eyes until I am dead. I would have the cross on which God hung ever before my eyes
while life lasts in me."

"Jhesus, Jhesus!"

"One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it.
But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying."

My youngest daughter is named after Jeanne d’Arc. For me, Jeanne is a heroine. A great  saint.

She never questioned her path. Her brief life was a sharpened point, a tapered arrow,
a tempered blade, that cut through the pretence of men, the pride of armies and the  
greed of leaders with the sharp, unwavering sword of innocence and truth.

She was an emblem of everything kingship and religion should be, humble, steadfast,
courageous, true. She shone a light, which cast a shadow, exposing the hypocrisy of both
church and crown. For that she was more dangerous to either than any foreign army.

But Jeanne was a girl as well as a soldier. When abandoned she wept in fear and despair.
She wasn’t unfeeling, steely and battle-worn, she was a tender girl with a heart claimed
fully by love of her God. She experienced a full spectrum of emotions; fear, despair,
loneliness and deathly sorrow. She was human. But she was also beatified.

She went forth  into that great unknown.

She chose fire and death rather than a life bereft of life and the fire which purges and
refines as well as consumes. She chose a life of meaning despite the cost.

In other's Words

"She was truthful when lying was the common speech of men; she was honest when honest
was become a lost virtue; she was a keeper of promises when the keeping of a promise was
expected of no one; ... she was full of pity when a merciless cruelty was the rule; she was
steadfast when stability was unknown, and honorable in an age which had forgotten what
honor was; she was a rock of convictions in a time when men believed in nothing and
scoffed at all things; she was unfailingly true in an age that was false to the core; ...
she was of a dauntless courage when hope and courage had perished in the hearts of her nation..."
- Mark Twain

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Although this picture book by Josephine Poole is aimed at children, it beautifully and simply
captures the essence of the story with engaging text and enchanting illustrations.