Jeanne d'Arc, Maid of Orleans, Deliverer of France: Being the Story of Her Life, Her Achievements, and Her Death, as Attested on Oath and Set Forth in the Original Documents
History
Jeanne d'Arc, Maid of Orleans, Deliverer of France: Being the Story of Her Life, Her Achievements, and Her Death, as Attested on Oath and Set Forth in the Original Documents
Joan, of Arc, Saint, 1412-1431 -- Trials, litigation, etc.
This was the original Latin translation of the Minute, made by Thomas de
Courcelles, signed by the Registrars, and attested by the seals of the
two Judges. No trace of this first document can be found; but the Bishop
of Beauvais caused five complete and legally attested copies to be made,
three of these being in the writing of Manchon, the Registrar, of which
there are still in existence, (1) Copy made for the King of England, now
in the Library of the Corps Législatif in Paris; (2) Copy for the Bishop
of Beauvais, formerly in the Colbert Library; and (3) Copy for the
Inquisitor, formerly in the Dupuy Library—the last two being now in the
National Library at Paris. The two other copies are lost, one having
been sent to the Pope, whilst the other was the property of Manchon
himself.
Besides these Original Documents, there are also seven copies of the
Process, of different dates: five in the National Library, one in the
Vatican, and one at Geneva.
NOTE ON THE DOCUMENTS CONNECTED WITH THE TRIAL OF REHABILITATION
In the Preface to the Authentic Document of the Rehabilitation, the
Notaries, Denis Lecomte and François Ferrebouc, state that they have
prepared under their seals three copies of the Process of
Rehabilitation, one containing also the entire Process of the Trial of
Condemnation: this Copy is unfortunately lost. The two still in
existence, both in the National Library of Paris, contain only the text
of the Trial of 1455–6. In one of these Manuscripts are inserted the
Eight Memorials presented to the Holy See in favour of Jeanne.
The Second Manuscript contains only the Memorial of Gerson. Other
Documents connected with the Enquiries may be found in _Quicherat_, Vol.
II., and in Lanery d’Arc’s _Mémoires et Consultations en faveur de
Jeanne d’Arc_, the most important being the _Opinions_ of sundry learned
Doctors given in 1452, and the _Recollectio_ of Jean Bréhal in 1456.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO THE TRIAL
In order to understand more fully the course of events in the last year
of Jeanne’s life, it may be well to give in some detail the story of her
capture at Compiègne on May 23rd, 1430, and of the negotiations and
legal preliminaries which preceded the opening of the Case in the
following February. Strangely enough, there is in the Trial of
Rehabilitation absolutely no witness to this period. It may therefore be
more satisfactory to quote at some length from the contemporary
Chronicles, which, as regards the Capture itself, are fortunately very
explicit.
In the early dawn of Tuesday, May 23rd, Jeanne started from Crespy with
about 400 followers to reinforce the garrison of Compiègne, then
besieged by the combined forces of England and Burgundy. Of the events
of that day there is no better account than that given in the Chronicle
of Percival de Cagny,[213] which reads as follows:—
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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