King Louis VII

King Louis VI of France (1120 - 1180) had several children with his second wife, Adélaide of Maurienne. Their eldest, Philip (1116 - 1131) was named heir apparent. The second child was Louis, intended for the Church.

Louis' childhood education was designed to prepare him for a high ecclesiastical position. He spent a lot of his youth therefore at Saint-Denis with the Abbot Suger, his father's advisor, which had the effect of making him a very devout Christian his whole life. The accidental death of Louis' older brother Philip in 1131 changed Louis' life forever. He was named heir apparent and anointed king by Pope Innocent II at Reims Cathedral. (The French Capetian dynasty for a time followed the practice of actually naming the heir as king while the father lived; see another example here.)

In 1137, Duke William X of Aquitaine died on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. William had asked Louis VI to be his daughter Eleanor's guardian, and Louis VI moved quickly to have his son marry her, especially since she inherited her father's lands. Louis married Eleanor of Aquitaine that same year when he was 17 and she was a few years younger. As heir to the enormous province of Aquitaine, she was one of the wealthiest women in Europe; the alliance spread the Capetian territory significantly.

Louis VI died one week after the wedding, and all at once Louis and his new bride became King and Queen of France. Suddenly the raised-to-be-a-cleric Louis had the weight of running a kingdom on his shoulders, and his lively young and wealthy bride was not quite suited to the serious older teen he had just married.

Louis was monkish, but not meek, and immediately asserted his authority as king over areas that were certain to cause him trouble. But we'll start discussing those tomorrow.

The Holy Ampulla

Many years ago, I posted how Clovis I (c.466 - 511) was the first king of the Franks to be converted to Christianity, influenced by his Christian wife Clotilde and St. Rémy (also known as Remigius). There is a legend about his baptism that says that just as he was about to be baptized, a dove flew down from above carrying a vial of chrism, the oil needed for anointing.

That legend, however, was a later creation and seemed based on an earlier miracle of St. Rémy, called the "Legend of the Baptism of the Moribund Pagan." In this legend, when Rémy (c.437 - 533) was the Bishop of Reims, a dying pagan requested baptism, but there was no oil for anointing. Rémy asked that two vials be placed on the altar, and as he prayed they miraculously filled with a chrism that gave off an unearthly fragrance.

At the time of Archbishop Hincmar of Reims (806 - 882), Rémy's sepulcher was opened and found to contain two vials of oil. In a clever piece of marketing, Hincmar combined the discovery of the vials, the story of the pagan, and the knowledge that Rémy baptized Clovis, into a new legend that allowed him to declare that French kings in the future should all be crowned at Reims Cathedral and anointed with the miraculous oil that Reims possessed.

The Holy Ampulla is about 1.5 inches tall and made of Roman glass. Its use was first noted at the coronation of Louis VII in 1131, and the connection to Clovis and Rémy was made common knowledge. Its last use for a coronation (for a time) was that of Louis XVI in 1775, because it the ampoule was destroyed.

The illustration above is not the Holy Ampulla found in the tomb of St. Rémy. During the French Revolution, symbols of monarchy were routinely vandalized. Fearing the invasion of the cathedral, a cleric drained the chrism from the ampoule. Shortly after, a revolutionary smashed the ampoule. The fragments were saved by several of the faithful, and in 1823 they were brought together. A reliquary was ordered by Louis XVIII to house the fragments, and a new glass bulb was created to hold the oil. It is still preserved at the Saint-Rémi Basilica in Reims. The new Holy Ampulla and its contents were used for the coronation of Charles X in 1825.

And speaking of French kings, we've never said much about Louis VII, although he is connected to several posts of the past, including having one of the most amazing women of the Middle Ages divorce him for a younger man. Let's give Louis his due tomorrow.

How Far They Fall

Gilles, the Baron de Rais (c.1405 - 26 October 1440) was a French leader during the Hundred Years War. In 1429 he was made the Marshal of France (a distinction awarded for special achievement) after the military campaigns inspired by Joan of Arc.

When Joan first arrived at Chinon to speak to the Dauphin, Charles, Gilles was present. Gilles wrote to John V, Duke of Brittany, requesting support for Joan's planned attempt to raise the Siege of Orléans. On 25 April 1429, when Joan arrived at Blois, she found a well-supplied and well-armed contingent of soldiers headed by Gilles and the Marshal of Boussac, Jean de Brosse. There were additional soldiers paid by Gilles personally, who apparently had put great faith in Joan and her divine mission.

Gilles was also with Joan during the progress through the Loire, and the Battle of Patay in June of 1429. Their efforts helped put Charles on the throne. Gilles (and three other lords) carried the Holy Ampulla (a glass vial with the anointing oil) during the coronation of the Dauphin as Charles VII. Charles entrusted Jean de Brosse and Gilles to head the army against the Anglo-Burgundian alliance. At the Siege of Paris, Joan asked for Gilles to stay by her side, which he did all day. For his service, Charles allowed Gilles to add a border of flour-de-lis around his coat of arms, a distinction only shared by Joan herself.

The man had a darker side, however. Military failures and financial issues caused him to withdraw more and more from court and public life, and Charles was not happy with him. Supposedly, he looked for power in other directions.

According to the records of a trial against him in 1438, Gilles looked for people with knowledge of alchemy and summoning demons. He found an Italian cleric named François Prelati who claimed expertise in both. Gilles and Prelati conducted rituals to summon a demon in Gilles' Château de Tiffauges in the border lands between Brittany, Poitou, and Anjou. When no demon materialized after three attempts, Prelati claimed the demon required an offering of the body parts of a child. Gilles provided the required offering, but with no better result.

He may have wanted a demon's help in reclaiming some of his properties. He decided to reclaim by force a castle he had given to someone else; he was unsuccessful, and succeeded only in alienating his former comrades. In mid-May 1440, he ambushed a troop of men; he then entered a church, disrupting Mass and threatening the priest to leave. He physically abused servants and harassed clerics.

An ecclesiastical investigation was begun. Bishop Jean de Malestroit visited Gilles' local parish and began investigating tales of local children missing. Locals claimed that children entered the castle to beg for food and never emerged. Charges were brought against Gilles and Prelati for murder, sodomy, and heresy. The charges were also brought against a few servants and some local women who were accused of providing the children. Court records claim there were 140 or more.

Gilles confessed to the charges on 21 October 1440; his death sentence was declared on the 25th. He was simultaneously hanged while fire was set to brush piled around the gallows. His remains were cut down before being completely burned.

Some think he was the model for the tales of Bluebeard, the French folktale about a man who murders all his wives.

We need a palate cleanser after all the war and executions. Tomorrow let us see if there is anything interesting about a vial named the Holy Ampulla.

Brother of a Saint

Jeanne d'Arc had four siblings. Although Charles VII ennobled the family after her help getting him crowned, the family did not distinguish itself very much politically or otherwise. Her father died shortly after her execution for heresy. Her mother lived for several years and fought successfully to get her daughter exonerated. Her siblings drop out of sight, except for her younger brother, Pierre d'Arc.

Pierre had actually joined his sister, along with their older brother Jéan, and fought at the Siege of Orléand. Pierre was captured at the same time Jeanne was, but he was released as having no value as a captive. He stayed in the army and, after the family was ennobled, was knighted. He married and had two sons and a daughter. He was even given an island of his own, the Île aux Bœufs, a small island in the Seine south of Rouen, currently uninhabited and serving only as a support for a bridge across the river.

Jeanne was executed on 30 May 1431. Of this there is no doubt...now. At the time, there were people who were willing to take advantage of her fame and impersonate her. A woman calling herself Jeanne des Armoises (in a 19th century depiction above) started telling people that she was the Maid of Orléans and not dead after all. As shameless as this scam was, even more shameless was the reaction of the dead Jeanne's brothers.

In 1434, Pierre and Jéan met this woman and supported her claim. From 1434 to 1450 they traveled the country with her, taking advantage of the original Jeanne's fame and accepting gifts from admirers. At least two princesses fell for this scam (Elizabeth of Luxembourg and Elizabeth of Burgundy)—and who wouldn't? Jeanne's own brothers vouched for her identity.

Emboldened by the public's acceptance, the trio took a step too far, meeting with someone who know Jeanne well and was certain of the execution: King Charles VII himself. Even if there was a physical resemblance to the original, Charles tested her by asking her to repeat something that the real Jeanne had told him. She could not, and the scam fell apart. Her real name was Claude des Armoises. (For more on her, see here.)

Pierre and Jéan faded from historical records. In the 19th century, a descendant of Pierre named Henry Gautier received permission from Charles X to rename the family "d'Arc." His great-great-granddaughter Clotilde d'Arc portrayed her famous ancestor in an Orléans commemoration of the raising of the Siege by her intervention.

Pierre was pretty darn unethical about using his sister's fame to enrich himself. There are worse things, however, like going from a companion and supporter of Jeanne d'Arc to being a serial killer. Sad, but true, and I'll go into that horrible true story tomorrow.

Mother of a Saint

Isabelle Romée (1377 - 1458) grew up in Vouthon-Bas and move to Domrémy when she married Jacques d'Arc, a wealthy farmer who had inherited 50 acres and a stone house from his father. Her surname is unusual, and may have been used because of a pilgrimage to Rome. Whatever the case, she was a devout Roman Catholic who raised her five children (Jacquemin, Jean, Catherine, Jeanne, and Pierre) to be devout Catholics.

Her daughter, Jeanne (we know her as Joan of Arc), claimed to have visions that inspired her to get involved in the Hundred Years War and the French civil war that prevented the Dauphin (son of Charles VI) to be enthroned. Jeanne's involvement helped the Dauphin become Charles VII. Unfortunately, that made Jeanne many enemies, and she was eventually captured and put on trial for (among other things) heresy, after which she was burned at the stake.

Jeanne's father died shortly after, some say of grief. Isabelle had a different reaction: she would fight to clear her daughter's name. Isabelle moved to Orléans, where a city grateful for her daughter's work offered Isabelle a pension.

Her first move was to send a petition to Pope Nicholas V to re-open the case. An inquiry was begun in 1449, and the chief inquisitor for heresy in France took it on in May 1452. Investigations dragged on, and Isabelle went to Paris to speak to the new pope, Calixtus III. Calixtus gave the chief inquisitor, Jean Bréhal, his support and three assistants. Bréhal presided over the re-trial in November 1455, at which the 70-year-old Isabelle gave a moving speech. 115 witnesses were questioned (many of whom had been part of the first trial). Bréhal declared in June 1456 that Jeanne had died a martyr, and he posthumously excommunicated the head of the original trial, Bishop Pierre Cauchon, as a heretic who pursued a secular vendetta. Calixtus confirmed the excommunication.

The illustration above shows Isabelle and two of her children kneeling in the lower right, facing Jean Bréhal dressed as a Dominican, with the pope and others presiding. Bréhal wrote two books about his investigations and the retrial. He was present at a public burning of the articles of the original trial.

A victorious Isabelle died on 28 November 1458.

There is another member of the family that we know about: Jeanne's brother, Pierre. Why more information about him has made it to the historical record is not necessarily commendable, however. Little brothers can be annoying, and Jeanne's little brother did something selfish and bad. I'll explain next time.

Father of a Saint

Often in history a figure comes out of nowhere who has a big effect on the world stage, yet we know nothing of their background. In the case of Joan of Arc, however, we actually know quite a bit about her parents, even though they were not particularly remarkable politically or culturally until after her rise to prominence.

Her father was Jacques d'Arc (1375 - 1431), a successful farmer in Domrémy, France. Domrémy, unremarkable until the rise of Joan, chained a special dispensation in 1429 from King Charles VII. At Joan's request, the town became exempt from taxes because she felt the taxes were too burdensome for the people. This tax-exempt status lasted until the French Revolution.

Jacques inherited 50 acres of land from his father. He married Isabelle Romée (1377 - 1458), from the nearby village of Vouthon-Bas. Together they raised five children: Jacquemin, Jean, Catherine, Jeanne, and Pierre. The size and success of his farm made Jacques a prominent citizen in his own way; he was a town government official, and owned the only stone house in the town.

That stone home was a blessing. In July 1428, the Armagnac-aligned townspeople evacuated to Neufchâteau when the surrounding Burgundian forces invaded as part of the civil unrest between the Duke of Burgundy and the Dauphin. After they returned, they discovered the town ransacked and houses destroyed—there was even damage to the church. The d'Arc home survived the invasion.

His relationship with his daughter was contentious. She was headstrong as a child, and he had recurring dreams of her going off to war, a future that dismayed him, because the only women he knew of who followed armies were prostitutes. Jacques told his sons that, if Joan were to show that she were going to follow the army, they should drown her to preserve her virtue. His attempts to marry her to get her to settle down were rebuffed.

After Joan's aid in getting Charles VII crowned, the king ennobled the family and gave them a coat of arms in 1429. Jacques had gone to Reims for the coronation, and Joan probably introduced her father and the king. Her trial and execution a year later, however (Parts One and Two), likely disturbed him deeply. He died in 1431 in his 50s, some say from grief. He was honored later by a statue in Domrémy (see above).

His wife, Joan's mother, did not die from grief, but lived long after. This is not because she did not grieve; rather, it is because Joan's execution gave her a cause to which to dedicate her life. We'll talk about Isabelle next time.

The Trial of Joan of Arc, Part 2

One of the problems the authorities had with Jeanne d'Arc after her capture and during her trial was her insistence, from the start of he campaign to put Charles on the throne of France, that she wear men's clothing and act as a soldier. This was such an aberration to the Europe of 1431 that they would not allow her into the courtroom unless she dressed appropriately.

Her constant requests to hear Mass were being denied; finally, they pointed out that it would not be appropriate to attend mass in men's clothing. The transcript of the questioning reads:

Joan: Promise me that I'll get to hear Mass if I wear woman's clothing.

Interrogator: I promise that you will hear Mass if you wear women's clothing.

Joan: And what do you say if I've promised our king and sworn not to remove these clothes? Nonetheless, I say, make me a long robe that touches the ground, with no train and give it to me for Mass. Then when I come back I'll put back on these clothes I'm wearing.

She was not allowed to hear Mass. Her English captors put men's clothes in her cell, knowing she would put them on and they could point out her inappropriate ways.

There were 70 articles drawn up against her, including the wearing of men's clothes, heresy, lying, stealing a horse (she swore she gave money for it, but did not know if the money got to the owner), and many more. The trial ended in an abjuration, in which the accused is forced to renounce a previous belief.

On 24 May she was led to a scaffold and told her burning at the stake was imminent unless she signed the abjuration, agreeing that her visions were false and returning to wearing women's clothing. She agreed to sign, but four days later she regretted what fear of her life drove her to do, and she recanted. This "relapse into heresy" was punishable by death, and so, two days after she recanted, on 30 May 1431, she was burned at the stake.

Charles VII requested an investigation into the trial—18 years later—that declared the judgment faulty because proper procedure was not followed. An appeals court overturned the conviction on 7 July 1456.

What motivated Charles to look into the trial of Jeanne years later, when at the time of the trial he showed no interest? To answer that question we have to look back at the people who were the source of Jeanne d'Arc: her parents. I'll tell you about them tomorrow.

The Trial of Joan of Arc, Part 1

After she was captured by the French Burgundians and handed over to the English, Jeanne d'Arc was taken to Rouen (the center of the English in France) for trial. Just being an enemy of the English was not a sufficient reason to try someone, so they used a different charge: heresy.

Jeanne had claimed she was shown vision of Saints Mic hall and Catherine that motivated her to do whatever necessary to make sure the Dauphn Charles was crowned King of France. The previous few days' worth of blog posts show that she did, in fact, help achieve this goal. Unfortunately, she reached a point where her desire for military action was no longer consistent with the new King Charles' Armagnac party's desire for less-bloody negotiation with the Burgundians.

The trial was headed by Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Although French, Cauchon was allied to the Burgundian party (he was the ambassador to the Duke of Burgundy), and had Anglo-centric leanings. If Joan could be proven not to be an agent of God, then they could delegitimize Charles VII and place the use of Burgundy on the throne.

Three notaries were appointed to each make an account of the trial while it proceeded in February 1431. Translated from Middle French to Latin in 1435, they were preserved sufficiently that there are three copies extant. An investigation in the 1450s spoke to many of the 115 witnesses that were Brough forth in the trial and uncovered much new information that had not been recorded during the trial.

Cauchon arranged for investigators to look into Jeanne's character. The Duchess of Bedford oversaw an examination into the maid's claims of virginity, and declared them true. An investigator sent to her home town of Domrémy came back with the statement that he could hear nothing about her character "that he would not have liked to find about his own sister." (Cauchon declared that investigator a bad man and refused to pay his salary.)

A trial for heresy required some specific facets according to canon law: the presence of the vice-inquisitor, permission for Cauchon to preside over (he was outside his diocese of Beauvais), and equal numbers of prelates representing both sides of the debate. Joan said she would attend, but wanted to hear Mass. She was not allowed to hear Mass, and was not allowed to attend the trial because she refused to wear anything but a (male) soldier's garments. Complaints about her improper clothing were raised again and again. (The illustration is by a 19th century artist, depicting the Cardinal of Winchester interrogating her in her prison cell.)

She refused to reveal any details of what her visions said to her, claiming that she shared them only with Charles and would not share them with anyone else. She would repeatedly say "Everything I have done is at God's command."

Weeks of questioning were to determine her standing with God and the Church and to create the list of potential charges. Tomorrow I'll explain the actual trial that followed, the compromise about clothing she offered them, and her execution.

Joan of Arc Captured

Jeanne d'Arc had accomplished the chief mission of her visions, putting Charles VII on the Throne of France through her military support and inspiration of the troops. In exchange, Charles had raised her family to noble status. At that point, with Charles in charge, peaceful negotiations were the way forward for France, but she wanted to do more to drive the English out of the continent.

In April of 1430, she was on the march (without royal approval), driving out English and Burgundians (Charles' political party was the Armagnacs) from towns and garrisons they encountered. More local people and soldiers joined her along the way. At the town of Lagny-sur-Marne, the group defeated an Anglo-Burgundian force and captured their leader, a mercenary named Franquet d'Arras. Usually, someone of his status would be used for ransom, but Joan allowed a trial that led to his execution.

They continued to Compiègne, reaching it on 14 May. At that time, the number of followers had grown so large that it could not find sufficient food locally to support itself, so Joan disbanded them, retaining only 400 soldiers to enter Compiègne. Ten days later, they left Compiègne to attack a Burgundian camp northeast of the town. The attack failed and Jeanne was captured (shown above in a 19th century painting). A Burgundian nobleman, Lyonnel de Wandomme, took her to his castle at Beaulieu-les-Fontaines.

She tried to escape and was moved to the more secure Beaurevoir Castle. She attempted another escape, jumping from a high window to a dry moat, but was too injured from the fall to go any further. She was then moved to the town of Arras, deep in Burgundian-held territory.

The English were happy to offer a ransom to get this devil-maid into their hands. Philip the Good, son of the Duke of Burgundy, was all too happy to hand her off to the English and shed responsibility for her fate since she was so beloved by many of her countrymen. After a payment of 10,000 livres tournois, Jeanne was moved to the main stronghold of the English in France, Rouen. We have no evidence that Charles VII took any steps to save the person who was instrumental in putting him on the throne.

Although there was no doubt as to the outcome of handing her to the English, formalities had to be observed. I'll go through her trial for heresy tomorrow.

The Siege of Paris

The goal and prediction of Jeanne d'Arc was that she would lift the Siege of Orléans and get the Dauphin crowned as King Charles VII of France. After the coronation at Reims Cathedral, a fifteen-day truce between Charles' Armagnac forces and the Duke of Burgundy who held Paris discussed a peaceful transfer of Paris to the new king. The Duke of Burgundy reneged once the fifteen-day period was over.

On the way to Paris, many towns easily switched their allegiance to the new king. On 15 August, however, the Armagnacs came up against English forces in a fortified position led by the Duke of Bedford. Joan rode alone against the English, hoping they could be goaded to leave their fortifications and attack, but they stayed put.  For whatever reason, however, the English retreated the next day, and the Armagnacs were able to continue their march to Paris, which they reached on 8 September.

The Siege of Paris turned out to be a turning point for Jeanne. She was wounded in the leg by a crossbow bolt and hid in a trench until nightfall, when she could be rescued. Fifteen hundred Armagnac casualties led Charles to call off the assault. Jeanne argued against this course of action, but the Armagnacs retreated.

Jeanne insisted on fighting, but the court wanted a diplomatic solution. The failure of the Siege of Paris reduced the army's faith in her. Scholars at the University of Paris concluded that her involvement in the army was not, in fact, divine as they had thought.

She was allowed, in October, to be part of a force sent to deal with a mercenary. A siege and attack urged by Jeanne succeeded, but attempts to retake another town failed, further diminishing faith in Jeanne.

Nevertheless, in December, upon her return to court, she found that Charles had ennobled her family as a reward for services. She also discovered that a truce had been made with the Burgundians which would last until Easter 1430, so her services as a soldier were not needed.

She took matters into her own hands, however, and still had influence over many who believed in her mission. Her independent attempts to drive out the Burgundians and English led to her downfall, however, which I will go into tomorrow.

On to Reims!

After the siege of Orléans was lifted thanks to Jeanne d'Arc's motivation and inspiration, she insisted there push on to Reims, the traditional site of coronation for the kings of France. The Dauphin, Charles, let her go ahead with the army to clear a path. Doing so meant gaining control of all the bridges over the Loire River.

The army set out on this task on 11 June 1429. Jeanne, as before, was not shy about battle. While besieging the town of Jargeau, she scaled a ladder against the wall, only to be struck in the head by a stone that cracked her helmet. Jargeau was taken and many English were executed.

Beaugency, a castle along the south bank of the Loire, was the next target. Those holding Beaugency, unaware that help was on its way under the command of Sir John Fastolf, surrendered on the 18th. The main English army in the region was on the north bank, and they retreated toward Paris. On Jeanne's advice, the French pursued, caught up, and the Battle of Patay took place on the same day.

The English tried to repeat the tactic that worked at Agincourt: a barrier of stakes to stop any cavalry, and long bowmen to rain arrows on the enemy. They did not know how close behind the French were, however, and so while finding a place to make their stand, the French sent archers to the sides of the road to ambush the English. The following battle is estimated to have cost the English over 2000 deaths out of 5000. Most of the rest were captured. The French declared only 100 dead or wounded.

The wild success of Patay encouraged the French leaders to want to push on to Normandy and continue taking land back and driving English out, but Jeanne insisted that Reims and a coronation of Charles was of primary importance. Charles agreed, and on 29 June the march to Reims began. Towns along the way offered no resistance, except for Troyes with a garrison of English and Burgundians (rivals of the Dauphin's Armagnac party). They held out for four days, until Jeanne ordered the moat to be filled with wood. Fearing that the city would be destroyed by fire, Troyes surrendered.

The Dauphin, Jeanne, and the Armagnacs marched in to Reims unopposed on the evening of 16 July. The Dauphin was crowned Charles VII the next morning at Reims Cathedral, with Jeanne prominent in the ceremony. (The statue of her above is outside Reims Cathedral.)

Charles was now king, and proceeded to negotiate a fifteen-day truce with the Duke of Burgundy, his cousin who had driven him from Paris years earlier. They would agree to a peaceful transfer of Paris from the Duke and Burgundians to Charles and the Armagnacs, but at the end of the fifteen days the Duke reneged.

If Charles wanted Paris, he would have to fight for it. Let's talk about that next time.

Joan of Arc

The historical figure we call Joan of Arc was born Jeanne d'Arc c.1412 in northeast France. During a crucial time in the Hundred Years War, she managed to gain an audience with the Dauphin, the rightful heir to the French throne, who was having trouble not only with the English but also with his own countrymen.

They met in late February or early March at the Dauphin's court in Chinon, where he had retired since being driven from the capital, Paris, years earlier. Orléans was under siege at the time, and she told the Dauphin that she had come to raise the siege and ensure his coronation. This was based on a series of visions she had.

Not willing to accept the seventeen-year-old illiterate peasant girl at her word, she was sent to theologians at Poitiers to be examined. Her strong Catholic upbringing was in her favor, but they could not agree that she was in fact seeing visions of St. Michael and others. Still, if she went to Orléans and was successful, that would be the best test of her claims. First she was sent to Tours where the Dauphin's mother, Yolande of Aragon, led a team of women who examined her physically and determined that she was, indeed, a virgin as she claimed. The prophecy that a virgin would be France's savior might have been satisfied by this girl, after all.

The Dauphin was sufficiently convinced that he commissioned plate armor for his maiden warrior. She gained a sword, brought from under the altar in the church at Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois. The Armagnac faction was severely demoralized at this point in the face of the Burgundian and English occupation, but Jeanne's arrival, her constant optimism, and her profound and public assurances of the divine support of their cause inspired the troops. Before going to raise the siege of Orléans in April of 1429, she dictated a letter to be delivered to the Duke of Bedford, warning him that she would drive him out of France.

She and the troops arrived at Orléans on 29 April. They managed to get her into the city where she was initially treated as a symbol, with no part in the military attempt to fight back. On 4 May, the Armagnac troops in Orléans took the offensive. Jeanne always seemed to be in the thick of the fighting, and gained the respect of the troops and their commanders, who sometimes even accepted her suggestions on where to focus their forces.

The next day was Ascension Thursday, commemorating the bodily ascension of Jesus to Heaven after the Resurrection, and therefore a day when no fighting was allowed by the Church. Jeanne dictated another letter to the English to leave France; it was tied to a crossbow bolt and fired at the enemy. On the next two days, the Armagnacs made progress, but each time they wanted to stop and consolidate their gains, Jeanne urged them to continue the forward offensive. Their progress continued from 5 - 7 May, when they attacked the main English stronghold. Jeanne, holding her banner, got an arrow in her shoulder but was part of the successful assault. On 8 May it was clear that Orléans was free of danger from the English.

For the French, like theologian Jean Gerson, the liberation of Orléans satisfied Jeanne's claim that she was sent by God. To the English, it clearly affirmed that the power behind her came from the devil.

She was famous, and there was more to come. See you next time.

A Maid Appears

About the year 1412, on (tradition claims) the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January, a girl was born to a peasant family in northeast France, in the town of Domrémy. Her parents were Jacques d'Arc, a farmer who owned 50 acres of land, and Isabelle Romée. Jacques and Isabelle had five children: Jacquemin, Jean, Catherine, Jeanne, and Pierre. 

The d'Arcs were relatively wealthy, with a house—modest by modern standards, but the only stone house in the town at the time—that is now a museum (shown here). Their children did not have opportunities to learn to read and write, but the family had strong Catholic values that would form their children's upbringing. It is their second daughter that we want to focus on.

Her name was Jeanne, and she would refer to herself later as Jeanne la Pucelle ("Jean/Joan the Maiden"). As a child she performed the usual household chores: spinning, looking after livestock. Her father claimed to have dreams that his younger daughter was going to go to war. This disturbed him so much that he told his sons to guard against this by drowning her if it looked like his dreams proved prophetic. Attempts to marry Joan off failed due to her obstinacy.

In 1425, Jeanne says, a figure she identified as St. Michael appeared to her in the garden. She started having visions regularly, especially when she heard the church bells rung (in the illustration above, the church is the building in the distance to the right). Its. Margaret and Catherine also appeared (although which Margaret and which Catherine were never made clear). Saints Margaret of Antioch and Catherine of Alexandria were known as virgins who had powerful enemies and were martyred for their beliefs.

In the French countryside at the time, a prophecy circulated based on the statements of Marie Robine of Avignon (died 1399), a French mystic who said an "armed virgin" would save France. In 1428, she went to the nearby town of Vaucouleurs where soldiers were garrisoned and asked the commander to escort her to the Dauphin, Charles. The commander, Robert de Baudricourt, sent her back home. The following year, Burgundian forces hostile to the Dauphin raided Domrémy, burned the crops, stole the cattle, and destroyed houses (the d'arc's stone house survived). Jeanne went back to Vaucoleurs and was again rebuffed by the commander, but two of the garrison's soldiers were intrigued by her claims and offered their support.

News of her claims of visions and desire to help the Dauphin had spread, and the Duke of Lorraine, Charles II, summoned her. He was ill, and wondered if she had some supernatural ability that could help cure him. Her only comment to him as that he had sinned by living with a mistress.

Meanwhile, English forces were encroaching more and more. Baudricourt agreed to meet with Jeanne for a third time, urged by the two soldiers, Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy. She was given an escort of six soldiers to see the Dauphin. For the journey, she borrowed men's clothing to wear. For the rest of her life she dressed as a man. 

She reached the Dauphin in late February or early March 1429, and the story will continue tomorrow.

Question of Succession

When Charles VI died in October 1422, the Treaty of Troyes determined that the Crown would pass to Henry V of England or his successor. Henry had died a couple months before, on 31 August, and his successor was his son, Henry VI, who was only 10 months old.

Of course there were people in France who did not ant to abide by the Treaty of Troyes, giving Charles VI's mental instability at the signing. They considered the Dauphin—Charles VI's eldest surviving son Charles—the rightful heir.

Even so, there were some who questioned the legitimacy of the Dauphin's birth, and supported the claim of his cousin Charles, the Duke of Orléans. One problem with that choice: the Duke of Orléans had been a captive of the English since the Battle of Agincourt. Henry had disallowed a ransom for Orléans' release, considering him too close to the line of succession to the French throne and (rightly) assuming he would be a threat to the terms of Troyes. (Spoiler: he would not be released until 1440!) The illustration represents him in the Tower of London.

Because of Agincourt, England already occupied northern France, including Paris. Henry V's brother, John Duke of Bedford, was regent for the child Henry and was put in control of France.

Charles and his people decided to ignore Troyes and continue the Hundred Years War. He gained some land back, executing any Frenchman who sided with the English. In December 1422 he married Marie of Anjou, the daughter of Yolande of Aragon, Duchess of Anjou and Countess of Provence, giving him an alliance that might prove useful.

Although he claimed the title King of France, he did not achieve any significant progress driving the English out of France. He operated out of Chinon. By 1429, Charles' future was looking particularly bleak because of advances by the Duke of Bedford.

Then, on 23 February 1429, a young girl arrived in Chinon to meet with the Dauphin. She was about 16 years old, from the village of Domrémy, and she had demanded of a garrison commander that he assemble an escort to take her to the Dauphin, because she had been given a mission in a vision.

Her name was Jeanne, and we will begin her part of the story next time.

Charles VII of France

Charles was born on 22 February 1403, the third "Charles" of his father's sons. His father was King Charles VI, and had a son Charles who was born and died in 1386, then a son named Charles who lived from 1392 to 1401. (He had two additional older brothers, but they died in 1415 and 1417, respectively.) You might say that the third Charles was lucky, but only if you did not know what the rest of his life was like.

His (surviving) older brothers had each held the title Dauphin of France, declaring them heirs apparent to the French throne; their deaths without children (although each had been married young) left the title Dauphin to Charles in 1417. This was no guarantee of succession, however.

In May 1418 the Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless, invaded Paris. He was a cousin of the current king, Charles VI, whom everyone realized was mentally unwell. Reducing a lot of rivalries to simple terms: the defeat at the Battle of Agincourt angered the Burgundians, who blamed the king and his Armagnac supporters for mismanagement. John felt he should take over, so he established himself in the capital, Paris, but the Dauphin escaped the night before, going to Bourges where he would be safe.

Charles actually set up a court and a parliament in Bourges, and he was referred to sarcastically in Paris as "King of Bourges." Charles did not have the support to challenge John directly, so he agreed to meet and discuss a treaty. The two met on 11 July 1419 at a bridge where they signed the Treaty of Pouilly-le-Fort, in which they agreed to share government and not sign any treaties with other parties without discussing it first with each other. They also agreed to a second meeting on 10 September.

With peace established between them, the second meeting took place as planned. John figured he had nothing to fear, so he arrived with a small contingent of men. The Dauphin's men assassinated Duke John.

I'll pause to point out that this was during the period known as the Hundred Years War. The Battle of Agincourt had been so devastating to the French that the English were in a position to make the terms. Henry V of England had taken Charles VI's daughter Catherine of Valois (Charles VII's sister) as his wife, and their son would rule both England and France. This arrangement was supposed to be the end of hostilities forever.

The result of the assassination of the Duke of Burgundy was that his son and heir, Philip the Good, aged 24, continued the hostilities between the Burgundians and the Armagnacs. He also made an alliance with Henry V. A few years later, he married his sister to the English Duke of Bedford, who was regent for Henry's son Henry VI, who was intended to be the king of both countries. Although he did not involve himself directly in major conflicts of the Hundred Years War, Philip was constantly involved in more local conflicts. It was Philip, however, who in 1430 would capture Joan of Arc and turn her over to the English.

But there's a lot that happened in France between now and then, and we'll go into more detail tomorrow.

Christine and Joan

One of the last written works by Christine de Pizan was the poem Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc ("The Tale of Joan of Arc"), published mere weeks after the coronation of Charles VII (17 July 1429). Two complete manuscripts of the poem have survived. This is the only work about Joan of Arc that was written in her lifetime. Christine never mentions here or anywhere the capture of Joan by the English, and it is assumed that Christine's death took place in 1430, preceding Joan's capture in May of that year.

Her opening prologue of a dozen stanzas offer us a bit of autobiography as well as her emotions about the end of the war, showing us a tremendous surge in national pride and optimism over the end of the war and the restoration of the original monarchy:

I.
I, Christine, who have wept for eleven years in a walled
abbey where I have lived ever since Charles (how strange
this is!) the King’s son–dare I say it?–fled in haste
from Paris, I who have lived enclosed there on account of
the treachery, now, for the first time, begin to laugh;

III.
In 1429 the sun began to shine again. It brings back the
good, new season which had not really been seen for a
long time–and because of that many people had lived
out their lives in sorrow; I myself am one of them. But I
no longer grieve over anything, now that I can see what I desire.

The following 49 stanzas tell us the story of the civil war, the first of which immediately credits the efforts of Joan of Arc:

XIII.
And you Charles, King of France, seventh of that noble
name, Who have been involved in such a great war before
things turned out at all well for you, now, thanks be to
God, see your honour exalted by the Maid Who has laid
low your enemies beneath your standard (and this is new!)

Joan's contribution to the war is considered a sign of divine intervention, as the young Maid of Orleans single-handedly renewed the fighting spirit of the French.

Christine concludes the poem with the understanding that not everyone sees the end of the war the same way as she:

LXI.
This poem was completed by Christine in the above
mentioned year, 1429, on the last day of July. But I
believe that some people will bc displeased by its
contents, for a person whose head is bowed and whose
eyes are heavy [can not] look at the light.

Christine's works were kept alive in small pockets of literary interest since her death. In 1949, French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir wrote that Christine's 1399 L'Épistre au Dieu d'amours ("Epistle to the God of Love") was "the first time we see a woman take up her pen in defence of her sex." The later 20th century saw increased interest in her as the first feminist writer.

We, however, will use her last work to veer off into politics of the French civil war and the appearance of Joan of Arc. See you tomorrow.

Poets and Politics

Christine de Pizan (1364 - c.1430) was considered the first professional woman of letters in Europe, first writing after the death of her husband to support her family, and then becoming so well-known for her poems and ballads that she got commissions from nobility. Her works for others were often more scholarly, such as Le Livre des trois vertus ("The Book of Three Virtues") instructing the wife of Dauphin Louis of France, Margaret of Nevers.

As the Dauphin himself was growing up, Christine dedicated three works to him, advising him on wise and effective government. One of these works, Livre du Corps de policie ("The Book of the Body Politic") described the governments of medieval Europe. In it, she criticized the Italian city-states of her birth that were run by corporations, favoring hereditary monarchies that she felt were better for the common good. Much of this book covered the king's duties as a military leader.

Perhaps it was those chapters that inspired a gift of 200 livres* to her for writing Livre des fais d'armes et de chevalerie ("The Book of Feats of Arms and of Chivalry"). In it, she explains the rationale for a "just war" and quotes classical writers on warfare. She rejected Trial by Combat, discussed proper treatment of noncombatants and prisoners of war, and claimed that only a king can start a war because the king is responsible for the welfare of his people and country. One year after producing this book, nobles were prohibited from raising armies by royal edict.

In 1413, Christine followed this work with Livre de la paix ("The Book of Peace"), her thoughts on good governance. This was a time of civil war in France, and she urged the Dauphin to seek peace, quoting writings of Abelard, St. Benedict, and Cicero.

The Dauphin's mother, Queen Isabeau, requested of Christine her collected works. In 1414, Christine presented the queen with a lavishly illustrated compendium of 30 of her writings. The illustration above is the frontispiece, with Christine presenting the work to Isabeau.

There was a long period away from court when she wrote less. It is assumed she was avoiding the stress of civil war by staying in a Dominican convent, but in 1429 she came out with another work at the end of the civil war. That was a poem, Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc ("The Tale of Joan of Arc"). I'll talk about that, and Joan, tomorrow.

*A unit of currency. Charlemagne established it as equal to 1 pound of silver.

Christine de Pizan

Although Heloise d'Argenteuil was noted for their education and intellect, her situation was not unique. Many young girls were sent to convent schools to learn, and sometimes that education led to becoming known for writing, even if they became a cloistered nun such as Hildegarde of Bingen. Plenty of parents wanted their daughters educated for the sake of their futures. One such example is Christine de Pizan.

Cristina da Pizzano was born in Venice in 1364. Her father was a physician and court astrologer in Venice, but accepted an offer to become court astrologer to Charles V of France who, when he was not fighting England in the Hundred Years War, was promoting such intellectual projects as accurate clocks and proper agricultural techniques. Christine moved to Paris in 1368, and at the age of 15 married a royal secretary, Etienne du Castel.

Their marriage produced three children. One of their daughters, Marie du Castel,  went into the Dominican convent at Poissy in 1397 as a companion to King Charles VI's much younger daughter, Marie of Valois. Christine wrote of her visit to the convent in 1400 where she saw her daughter and the princess Marie. By that time, both Christine's father and husband had died from the Plague, in 1388 and 1389 respectively.

Left to care for her children and mother alone, Christine had to fight for years in the court system to get money from her dead husband's estate. She started writing to support herself, and the love ballads she produced—the early ones were about lost love written in memory of her husband—gained the attention of people at the royal court. She gained royal patrons whose financial support made her and her family comfortable and also ensured that her reputation would be spread. Among her patrons were Louis I, duke of Orléans; the duke of Berry; Philip the Bold of Burgundy; Queen Isabella of Bavaria; and, in England, the 4th earl of Salisbury, Thomas Montagu. She accepted multiple requests from her wealthy patrons for their personal libraries, and would then publish her works separately for even more income. She is considered the first professional women of letters in Europe.

In 1402 she publicly criticized the popular and misogynistic Roman de la Rose by Jean de Meun, which satirized the conventions of courtly love and portrays women as seducers of good men. In 1405 she published Le Livre de la cité des dames ("The Book of the City of Ladies"), praising women's capabilities and virtues. It includes stories of women of political and military accomplishment, of learning and skill, and of prudence. She also talks about female saints. There are 25 extant manuscripts.

Through all of this, she was navigating some politically difficult times and choosing to express her opinions on events. I'll tell you more tomorrow.

The Romance of the Rose, Part 2

The title of this blog post is almost "literal" in the sense that the Roman de la Rose was written in two parts: one by Guillaume de Loris in the first half of the 13th century and the second by the poet Jean de Meun in the second half. Jean saw nothing wrong with taking what Guillaume had written and adding to it—in fact, adding four times the number of lines as the original—but also changing its themes to those of personal interest to him.

Jean added new allegorical figures such as Nature and Genius, and continued the conversation about the nature of Love and its affect on the narrator. More than that, however, was a cynical approach to other topics, mocking many of the people and conventions of his society.

He attacks the priesthood, monastic orders, and the papacy, considering the Church's fairly recently push to outlaw clerical marriage. He attacked the mendicant orders: they had begun to push into the universities, becoming teachers and threatening the seniority of the secular clergy. He also mocks the nobility and the pretensions of royalty in a pre-echo of the 14th century's peasant's cry of "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?"

He also took the opportunity to express cynical views on women and marriage. He offered his list of women's vices and how men could avoid their traps. Although this may have been entertaining to some readers, as the work became popular it was attacked by many writers of the 14th century, such as by Jean Gerson, Christine de Pizan, and Pierre d'Ailly.

One of its aspects that may have helped its duplication and distribution is that the (second) author had a broad knowledge of current scientific and literary knowledge. He packs into the total work a lot of references to classical authors and historical events. In fact, it is a reference to a specific event that helps place the composition: the execution of Conradin by Charles of Anjou in 1268, so the poem was completed after that date and before Jean's death in 1305.

Despite the hostility it received from some quarters, it was enormously popular. Chaucer made a translation called The Romaunt of the Rose, which he mentions in his poem The Legend of Good Women, but the extant version of The Romaunt of the Rose that we have may not have been produced by Chaucer, since parts of it differ stylistically from Chaucer's other works.

Back to the hostility, however, and a contemporary of Chaucer: Christine de Pizan is considered one of the earliest feminist writers, and we should talk about her more. We'll start that conversation next time.

The Romance of the Rose, Part 1

Let's talk about the most popular secular literary work in the Middle Ages. More manuscripts have survived of the Roman de la Rose than just about any other non-religious work. It has a few other notable aspects. One is its length: 21,782 lines! The other is that it is an unintended collaboration by two men who never met.

Guillaume de Lorris (c.1200 - c.1240) was a French scholar and poet who wrote 4,058 lines of a romantic poem called the Roman de la Rose c.1230. That is all we know about him; we would know even less if not for Jean de Meun. Jean de Meun (c.1240 - c.1305) was a Parisian writer who picked up Guillaume's work and added 17,724 lines. The only reason we know the name "Guillaume de Lorris" is that Jean de Meun names him as the man who started the poem that de Meun continued.

"Continued" should not be construed to mean "carried on in the same vein as the original." Guillaume's section takes place in a walled garden, a stereotypical locus amoenus ("pleasant place") for medieval lovers. The narrator describes a dream he had as a young man, finding the garden with carvings on the outside of the wall of women representing vices such as Cruelty, Covetousness, and Avarice.

When I the age of twenty had attained –
The age when Love controls a young man’s heart –
As I was wont, one night I went to bed
And soundly slept. But there came a dream
Which much delighted me, it was so sweet...

Inside the garden, however, he finds a different situation. A beautiful woman named Idleness introduces him to a young man named Pleasure, who in turn introduces the narrator to Love, Joy, Courtesy, and Pleasant Looks. After spending some time with them, the narrator goes for a walk, unaware that he is being stalked by Love. He comes to a pool in which he glimpses a beautiful rose. Just then, Love shoots him with five arrows— Beauty, Simplicity, Courtesy, Company, and Fair Seeming—and then demands the narrator become a servant to Love.

The narrator's goal then is to pursue the rose (which represents a lady as well as female sexuality). Reason appears and tells the narrator to abandon his quest for the rose. Friend comforts the narrator, who goes back to kiss the rose, but Jealousy builds a castle around the rose to keep the narrator away.

It doesn't seem likely that that is where Guillaume meant his poem to end, but that is all we have from him. When Jean de Meun came across it and decided to add more, he changed the tone a bit (he also might have edited the original, so we cannot be certain we know exactly what Guillaume wrote). Tomorrow I'll tell you how he changed the direction and used it to criticize more than just the act of falling in love.

When a Love Affair Goes Public

The story of Abelard and Heloise—revealed through their own writings and love letters—have intrigued people since the 12th century. They not only reveal the details of their relationship and feelings toward each other, but they also discuss and analyze love and related topics in philosophical terms.

These long letters, it is assumed, were kept by Heloise at the Abbey of the Paraclete, founded by Abelard and conceded to her when her convent was expelled from its original home by Abbot Suger. Their contemporary, the English anecdotalist Walter Map, mentions their story. It is possible that the letters were read by others during the process of delivery.

Eventually, the originals were uncovered at the Abbey of the Paraclete and someone decided they should be read more widely. The earliest manuscript collections are from the later 13th century. Some scholars think that the wounding of the Grail King in Chrétien de Troyes was influenced by Abelard's situation.

Their love story makes it into Jean de Meun's part of the Roman de la Rose ("Romance of the Rose"). Chaucer's Canterbury Tales mentions Heloise in the Wife of Bath's prologue, referring to her husband's book of "wicked wives" in which is mentioned "Heloise, that was abbess not far from Paris."

A 1616 Latin translation in Paris led to several versions in different European languages and kept their story alive into the 18th and 19th centuries where its popularity really took off. They were considered tragic lovers—rebelling against the restrictions of their time and society—who were united in death. Their remains were taken from the Abbey of the Paraclete and re-interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, established by Napoleon and housing many famous French citizens.

Speaking of long writings about love, the reference to Jean de Meun's "part" of the Roman de la Rose needs explanation. I'll explain that, and what the Roman was, tomorrow.

Abelard and Heloise, the Letters

The relationship of Abelard and Heloise was not only one of the great (true) "forbidden love" stories of the Middle Ages, it was also one of the greatest intellectual couplings of history. Had the two been able to spend their lives together, they would surely have produced some groundbreaking philosophical works.

Two works provide us with insight into their lives and thoughts. One is the Historia Calamitatum of Abelard, the "History of my Calamities" that explains the origin and downfall of their love affair. The second (and, in manuscripts, always appended to the Historia) was a collection of seven long letters (three by Abelard, four by Heloise), exchanged after they were living separate lives. There is actually a third source: an exchange of letters between Heloise (one letter) and Peter the Venerable (three letters), that have survived.

We learn a lot of their two natures and temperaments. The first letter in the series, from Abelard, refers to their last time together when she expressed how miserable she was and he tried to comfort her. Failing to do so, he tries again to make her feel less sad about her condition in the most arrogant way imaginable, by telling her that her troubles are nothing compared to his life:

The last time we were together, Philintus, you gave me a melancholy account of your misfortunes. I was sensibly touched with the relation, and, like a true friend, bore a share in your griefs. What did I not say to stop your tears? I laid before you all the reasons Philosophy could furnish, which I thought might anyways soften the strokes of Fortune: but all endeavors have proved useless: grief I perceive, has wholly seized your spirits: and your prudence, far from assisting, seems quite to have forsaken you. But my skilful friendship has found out an expedient to relieve you. Attend to me a moment; hear but the story of my misfortunes, and yours, Philintus, will be nothing, if you compare them with those of the loving and unhappy Abelard. Observe, I beseech you, at what expence I endeavour to serve you: and think this no small mark of my affection; for I am going to present you with the relation of such particulars, as it is impossible for me to recollect without piercing my heart with the most sensible affliction. [Gutenberg Project]

Her response was much more kind-hearted than one would expect:

I do not, however, reproach you for the innocent artifice you made use of to comfort a person in affliction, by comparing his misfortune to another much greater. Charity is ingenious in finding out such pious artifices, and to be commended for using them.

But she has accepted her fate, although she did not choose it and does not enjoy it:

You know it was neither zeal nor devotion which led me to the cloister. Your conscience is too faithful a witness to permit you to disown it. Yet here I am, and here I will remain; to this place an unfortunate love, and my cruel relations, have condemned me. But if you do not continue your concern for me, If I lose your affection, what have I gained by my imprisonment? What recompense can I hope for? The unhappy consequence of a criminal conduit, and your disgraces, have put on me this habit of chastity, and not the sincere desire of being truly penitent. Thus I strive and labour in vain.

She is far more mature and far less self-centered than the man she fell for.

The letters not only give insight to their relationship, but also comments that explain monastic life. Still, it is the love story that captured the attention of centuries to come. I'll talk a little more about their letters and story next time before we move on.

Abelard and Heloise, After the Fall

After the lives of Peter Abelard and Heloise d'Argenteuil took a catastrophic turn, they both entered cloistered settings.

Abelard retired as a monk at the Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris, refusing to discuss his actions with the public that had revered him as a scholar and debater. He could not stay away from intellectual pursuits, however, and eventually left Saint-Denis and opened a school in a priory owned by the Abbey. He lectured more on theology and the spiritual, rather than Logic and Dialectic. He discovered what he considered many inconsistencies in church writings, and produced a work he called Sic et Non ("Yes and No") to explain them.

It was another work, the Theologia Summi Boni ("Theology of Supreme Good") that got him in trouble. His explanation of the Trinity differed from the accepted dogma, and he was charged with thinking there was only one person in the Trinity, not three separate entities working as one. His teaching was condemned at a synod in 1121, and he was forced to burn a copy of the Theologia himself. He was sentenced to remain always in a monastery not his own, but it must have been revoked because he quickly returned to Saint-Denis.

In 1122, the newly appointed Abbot Suger allowed Abelard to go live wherever he wished. Suger likely did not want the controversial figure under his roof. Besides, he was annoying his fellow monks with frivolous conjectures about the founding of the monastery. He went to a deserted area of Champagne, built a cabin of reeds, and created a rough oratory dedicated to the Trinity. When his presence became known, students flocked to him for learning. He began to teach again, and the revenue and donations that came as a result led to a building of wood and stone, the Oratory of the Paraclete. He founded a Benedictine monastery there, and taught there for five years

Meanwhile, Heloise was a nun. He had strongly urged Heloise to take vows; she did not have many options in 12th century France. She quickly rose in the ranks, becoming a prioress at Argenteuil, but it was seized by Abbot Suger in 1128 for his monks, offering nothing to the nuns resident there in exchange. Abelard offered her the Abbey of the Paraclete (illustrated above from a 19th century history of France), re-dedicating it as a nunnery, and he moved on to the Abbey at Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys in Brittany. Heloise remained Abbess of Paraclete for the rest of her life.

Saint-Gildas was in a rough area, full of lawlessness; the abbey itself was undisciplined. Abelard did not enjoy his time there, and started teaching again. He must have been back in Paris teaching by 1136, because John of Salisbury mentions listening to him there.

During all the time, he was writing. He revised the Theologia, and wrote other works that also proved to be controversial. Heloise also wrote, and the two wrote letters to each other that were so intellectually stimulating that they actually put them together for publication to educate theorists world about love and theology. I'll tell you more about them next time.

Abelard and Heloise

When Peter Abelard met Heloise d'Argenteuil in 1115, he was a famous teacher approaching 40 years of age whose lectures drew hundreds from all over Europe. She was a 15-year-old girl known for being an excellent scholar, her young age making her rather famous.

She was too old for the convent education available to young girls, and too female for university education, so her uncle Fulbert, a canon of Notre-Dame, arranged for private instruction for her with Abelard. Abelard needed a place to live, and Fulbert took him in in exchange for tutoring. Abelard was enamored of his new clever student. He admitted, in his autobiographical writing, Historia Calamitatum ("The History of My Calamities"), that he embarked on a plan of seduction with her.

When Fulbert found out that their relationship was going beyond that of teacher-student, he sent Abelard from the house and forbade them from continuing. The relationship carried on in secret, however, and came to light again when Heloise became pregnant. Abelard protected Heloise by getting her out of Filbert's home and sending her to Abelard's sister, Dionysia in Brittany. The boy to whom she gave birth was named Astrolabe, after the astronomical instrument. (After what followed, Astrolabe was raised by Dionysia.)

Fulbert wanted the two to marry, and Abelard agreed to the union if Fulbert would keep it secret to protect Abelard's career. Heloise also wanted the marriage secret to protect Abelard's reputation. Abelard had been named a canon of the cathedral of Sens in 1115, and the Church was moving toward forbidding any clerical marriage. Heloise returned from Brittany to Fulbert's home. Soon, however, Fulbert reneged on the agreement and spread the knowledge of Abelard's affair and marriage.

Heloise denied this information, angering Fulbert. Abelard once again took her away and sent her to the convent at Argenteuil, the site of her first years of education. She dressed as a nun and lived among them. Fulbert arranged for a band of men to break into Abelard's place one night and castrate him. This was satisfying for Fulbert, but was illegal. The men were punished, and Fulbert was put on leave; his name does not appear in records for several years.

Abelard, disgraced in his career and by his castration, became a monk. Heloise became a nun; there were few other options available to her: living with Fulbert, retreating to Abelard's family in Brittany, or divorcing and finding another husband.

Separate living situations did not end the relationship between the two. I'll talk about Abelard and Heloise, post-split, tomorrow.

Heloise d'Argenteuil

Heloise d'Argenteuil (c.1100 - 1164) was the daughter of a woman named Hersinde. Her parents have been speculated to be Hersinde of Champagne and Gilbert Garlande, which would place her among the nobility, but she herself made a statement that contradicts that idea.

Alternately, she may be the daughter of a nun called Hersinde at the convent of St. Eloi, which could be the source of the name Heloise.

It is certain that she was raised by her uncle, Canon Fulbert of Notre-Dame. Her surname is from the convent of Argenteuil outside of Paris, where she studied as a child under the nuns. She became a scholar of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. In her mid-teens, Fulbert brought her to live with him and study at the cathedral school of Notre-Dame.

She became known throughout France as a scholar of language and writing. She wrote poems and plays, a few of which have survived.  Peter the Venerable writes that he was aware of her fame when she was still very young. She is also said to have learned medicine.

In 1115, she met Peter Abelard. He was a master at the cathedral school of Notre-Dame, and so became her teacher. He was at the height of his fame, with a reputation that drew hundreds to come and learn philosophy and theology from him. He was very much drawn to this highly intellectual girl who was at least 20 years younger than he. In his autobiographical writing, Historia Calamitatum ("The History of my Calamities"), he admits that he embarked on a plan of seduction. He used example phrases in his teaching such as "Peter loves this girl," and began to write poems and songs about love that were copied and shared.

Heloise herself wrote about their relationship, declaring it a mutual attraction between equals. Unfortunately, Fulbert discovered their relationship, and forbade them from seeing each other. They continued the relationship, however, meeting in secret.

Then Heloise became pregnant, and things got really wild. See you next time for more.

Peter Abelard

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy called Peter Abelard "the pre-eminent philosopher and theologian of the twelfth century. The teacher of his generation, he was also famous as a poet and a musician." Seems like someone we should get to know a little better.

Born about 1079 in the Duchy of Brittany to a minor French noble and soldier, Peter proved to be a clever boy who was encouraged by his father to study the Liberal Arts. He chose the path of academic over his father's military career. Around 1100 he went to Paris and started calling himself Peter "Abelard." The reason for the name change—and the etymological source of the surname itself—is unclear. In Paris he studied under one of the great French teachers of the age, William of Champeaux. Abelard's own account of his time there claims that his master's attitude turned to hostility when Abelard proved to be smarter and better at debate than William. Abelard began to make a career out of arrogantly quarreling with anyone and everyone.

He decided he should become the master, and so he established his own school, first away from Paris at Melun, and then between 1102 and 1104 moving nearer Paris to provide competition for the schools there. He found willing students, but the stress of running a school himself led to a nervous breakdown, so he went home to Brittany for several years.

He returned to Paris after 1108, setting up a rivalry between his school and that of William of Champeaux. One of the big philosophical quarrels was over the topic of universals. Abelard defeated William in a debate on the topic so efficiently that he was in line to be offered a position at the school at Notre-Dame, but William's influence managed to prevent Abelard from being allowed to teach in Paris. Abelard returned to Melun to run his school, but did manage to move it to a hill overlooking the left bank of the Seine, overlooking Notre-Dame.

He attended theological lectures by Anselm of Laon, but was unimpressed and started lecturing on the book of Ezekiel himself, but Anselm forbade him from teaching his way, so Abelard abandoned Laon for Paris. In 1115, he was offered the position of master of the Cathedral school of Notre-Dame.

At this point, he was a well-established and popular teacher in his late 30s. Into his social sphere came a girl of about 15 named Heloise d'Argenteuil. We need to talk about her next.