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.