The Dauphin was lingering at Gien, which is some distance south of
Orleans, instead of being at the head of his army, and in the front
of the fighting, where he should have been. His lazy and cowardly
favourites told him that it was a long way to Rheims, and on the
road there were several towns with strong walls, and castles full of
Englishmen and Burgundians, who would not let him pass.
Joan answered that she knew this very well, and cared nothing about it:
all the towns and castles would yield and open their gates. So she left
the Dauphin to do as he pleased, and went away with her company into
the country. The Dauphin had no money to pay his troops, but men-at-arms
came in, hundreds of them, saying that they would fight for the love
of the Maid and of chivalry. No doubt they would have been very glad to
crown _her_, in place of the stupid Dauphin, but the French law did not
allow it; and Joan wanted nothing for herself, only to make France free,
and go back to her mother, as she said. However, the Dauphin, who was
grateful in his lazy way, made her and her brothers, Peter and John,
nobles, and gave her a coat-of-arms, a sword supporting the Crown, with
the Lilies of France on each side, and changed their name to du Lys.
But Joan never used her coat-of-arms, but bore a Dove, silver, on a blue
shield. Her brothers were with her, and seem to have fought very well,
though in most ways they were quite ordinary young men.
When Joan went away, the Dauphin made up his mind at last to march
to Rheims, going first to Troyes, a strong town on the road. All the
castles and fortresses on the way, instead of resisting him, submitted
to him, as Joan had said that they would. At Troyes, where he came on
8th July, the English garrison, and the people of the town who were on
the English and Burgundian side, wanted to oppose him. They fought on
the 8th and 9th of Jury. The Dauphin’s advisers did not want to fight,
the brave Dunois tells us, but Jean said, “Gentle Dauphin, bid your army
besiege the town, and do net hold these long councils, for in three days
I will bring you into the town.” Then down she went to the great ditch
or fosse round the town, and worked harder, says Dunois, than two or
three of the most famous knights could have done. The people of Troyes
then yielded to Joan, and they had a great feast in the city, which they
needed, for the army had been living on soup made from the beans in the
fields.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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