Joan of Arc: sinner or saint?

Depends who you ask, of course. To Shakespeare, she was a heretic and whore. Decide for yourselves on Monday, August the 23rd when we begin Henry the Sixth, Part One. It’s an extravaganza that takes us deep into the Hundred Years War, and includes a depiction of Joan of Arc that will have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief.

Yes, you read that right. Joan of Arc is a character in the play we’re reading this fall.

When we first read Henry V and the two parts of Henry IV, we learned that Shakespeare was in fact completing, in non-chronological order, a cycle of histories that he had begun years earlier with Henry VI and Richard II. We are now beginning to draw that circle to a close, with the first of three parts of Henry VI.

You may remember from reading about Henry V that the historical plays of Shakespeare for the most part deal with the period of history we know today as The Hundred Years’ War. This was a pivotal time for Europe as a continent, as it was the time when the regions of Europe were emerging from the feudal system of the Dark Ages. It was also key for the major players like England and France, as they were gradually throwing off their old allegiances and developing the national identities which they have today. (For a reminder of the history of the Hundred Years’ War, see the articles at the end of this page.)

As was the case with most of his plays based on English history, Shakespeare’s source for this play was the Chronicles of Raphael Holinshed, but he also incorporated parts of The Union of Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancaster and York by Edward Hall, among others. This is believed to be among the earliest of Shakespeare’s works, at a time when he was only known as an actor, and it’s more than possible that he had help writing it, probably from Robert Greene and/or Thomas Nash, two more-established playwrights of the period. One likely scenario has him revising an earlier work by Greene. This would help explain why Greene, dying shortly afterwards in 1592, would write of an “upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that … supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you … (and) is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country.”

One of Shakespeare’s many themes is that Henry VI does not deserve to be king, since the crown was stolen by his grandfather, Henry IV. Although Henry IV rules wisely, and Shakespeare indeed considers King Henry V to be the ideal king, nonetheless by the third generation divine forces are at work to remove young Henry from the throne his grandfather usurped from Richard II.

This is also the argument behind another of England’s pivotal conflicts, the War of the Roses. In a nutshell, Richard II became king because he was the eldest son of Edward the Black Prince, who was the eldest son of the previous king, Edward II. Richard II, who had no son of his own, had appointed his twice-removed cousin Edmund Earl of March to be his successor, on the grounds that Edmund was descended from the third son of Edward II, and so was arguably the next in line. By the logic of this custom, called primogeniture, Henry IV had no right to seize power, since he was the son of the fourth son of Edward II.

Got all that? There’s more. Richard Duke of York, who was descended from the fifth son of Edward II, nonetheless insisted that his lineage was superior to Henry’s since on his mother’s side he was descended from the third son of Edward II; in fact, his mother was the sister of the once-heir apparent, Edmund Earl of March. To bolster his claim, he adopted the name Plantagenet, which was the nickname of a distant ancestor of the entire royal family. Those who agreed with him aligned themselves with the House of York, identified by the sign of a white rose. Those supporting the Lancaster faction of Henry wore instead a red rose.

Several incidents in the story are mere legends, and the incident in which the two sides seize roses from the garden hedge to mark themselves must be counted among them. While dramatic, it appears to be a product of Shakespeare’s fertile imagination. In addition, he takes many liberties with the historical sequence of events. The many events of this play, including the funeral of Henry V (1422), the coronation of the Dauphin (1429), the execution of Joan of Arc (1431) and the death of Talbot (1453) are all compressed together into a timeframe that seems to last no longer than a year. This is a dramatic technique known as conflation, and it’s easy to see that he had to do that to heighten the drama and make the story more interesting. For one thing, the historical Henry was an infant at his father’s funeral, and only nine years old at his own coronation. It makes the story much more exciting, and believable, to depict him as a young man, just past adolescence.

Those who think of the historical Joan of Arc as a hero and a saint are often surprised to find that she is a character in Shakespeare’s Henry VI, although portrayed in a very negative light. This should not be too surprising; since Shakespeare was English, it is understandable that he would portray the national symbol of France, the hereditary enemy of England, as a witch and a slut. Weighing in on this debate is my friend Vincent, who actually was the originator of this club. He wrote:

I don’t know how familiar you are with Jeanne d’Arc, but Shakespeare manhandles her quite a bit in this play.

For one thing, Jeanne d’Arc was never impregnated in her prison, and Shakespeare’s ending is rather clumsy. Also, the English who witnessed her execution all left terrified of heavenly retribution, crying “We have burnt a Saint!” to whoever listened.

Jeanne could have escaped death by recanting but refused; she sincerely believed her visions and she preferred going to the pyre rather than recant. Her death was painful: she burned. Executioners would usually wait for the smoke to thicken and get behind the condemned victims to throttle them or break their necks. In Joan’s case, this explicitly was not done, by order of the court which condemned her. Visions were quite common by the way. Many people in the 15th century France experienced ecstatic visions and would die for them. Genuine or delusory, there’s no denying that Jeanne visions inspired her and that she in turn inspired the people to rescue the French monarchy.

The traditional French account of her life and trial is more or less accepted as is. Clerks recorded the trial in unusual detail and their work is available today. She is France’s patron saint, and her mission is considered by French historians, beginning with Jules Michelet, as signaling the birth of French national identity. Before Jeanne, the King of France was simply the holder of a title to which dukes and counts owed allegiance. The people, bourgeois and peasants, would identify with the dukes or counts.

After Jeanne, the people would think of themselves as French. (It’s only with Louis XIV, the Sun King of the 17th century, that they would think of themselves as right bastards, but that’s another story.)

Vincent

What are we to think of the appearance of a character named Sir John Falstaff? Remember, this was some seven years BEFORE Shakespeare wrote the loveable rogue of the Henry IV/Henry V trilogy. Why then do we have another knight of the exact same name, behaving like a coward on the battlefield and still demanding the respect due to a knight? It’s possible to speculate: there was a figure in history named Sir John Fastolfe, who served with honor and distinction in the king’s armies.

However, several sources suggest that both Bedford and Talbot accused him of cowardice in the battle of Poitiers, and insisted that he did not deserve to wear the Order of the Garter. Shakespeare appeared to believe these rumors. When he wrote the part of the good-for-nothing mentor of Prince Hal years later, he originally named him Oldcastle, again after an actual historical person. However, the descendants of Oldcastle were then very influential in the Queen’s government, and forced Shakespeare to change the character’s name. Perhaps, casting about for another name, Shakespeare decided to recycle the one he had used for the cowardly knight in Henry VI.

French pronunciation is not used even for French names. Just as the city of Milan is called “MILL-en” in Tempest and Two Gentlemen of Verona, please use the following guide for French names:

“Agincourt” – A-jin-COURT
“Alançon” – AL-an-son

“Armagnac” – AR-min-ack

“Calais” – CAL-is

“Dauphin” – DAW-fin or sometimes Dolphin!

“Orleans” – OR-lee-ints

“Poitiers” – PAT-ay
“Rouen” – ROW-an

New vocabulary

attainted – convicted, disgraced

brave – to insult, to boast, to defy

bruit – to be rumored, to announce

cates – delicacies, such as cakes

collop – slice

daw – crow

exequies – funeral rites

glikes – scoffs

pledge – a personal article, usually a glove, to represent a promise to fight a duel

linstock – stick with a burning fuse for setting off a cannon

periapt – good luck charm

reguerdon – reward

trull – prostitute

vaward – vanguard, the part of the army that confronts the enemy first

weal – the common good

weening – thinking

Historical and classical references

Alcides – a nickname for Hercules Cordelion – King Richard I, known as “Richard the Lion-Hearted” (or in French, “Coeur de Lion”)

Dauphin – the heir to the French throne (sometimes spelled “Dolphin”)

Deborah – legendary hero from the Bible. She lead the Israelites in battle.

flower-de-luce – lily, or “fleur-de-lis”, the national symbol of France Gallia – France

Golias – Goliath, giant warrior from the Bible

Hecate – goddess of witchcraft

Machevile – Niccolo Machiavelli, political philosopher who advocated ruthlessness by rulers

Oliver – legendary hero from the time of Charlemagne

Pendragon- Uther Pendragon, according to British mythology, was the father of King Arthur

phoenix – a mythical bird that rises reborn from the ashes of its own funeral pyre

Roland – legendary hero from the time of Charlemagne

Samson – legendary hero from the Bible

sibyl – priestess with the gift of prophecy

St. Denis – patron saint of France, as St. George is of England

Summary

ACT ONE

scene 1

The funeral of King Henry V is interrupted by bad news from France: that several French cities are in revolt against English rule; that the Dauphin has been crowned king of France in open defiance of Henry’s rule, and that England’s great military hero in France, John Talbot, had been captured by the French.

All make plans to send a punitive expedition to France. Gloucester also prepares to officially crown the young Henry VI, while the Bishop of Winchester secretly plans to exercise power behind the scenes.

scene 2

The Dauphin is introduced to Joan, who promises him that he will defeat the English if she leads the army.

scene 3

The Bishop of Winchester and Gloucester come to blows in the Tower of London, forcing the Mayor to intervene. Both accuse the other of being a traitor to the King, and advancing selfish ends.

scene 4

Talbot, just ransomed from the French, sneaks into Orleans with his friend Salisbury to decide where best to attack next. Unfortunately a French gunner had aimed a cannon at that exact spot, and his son lights the fuse, killing Salisbury, just as word comes that Joan is leading an attack on the English.

scene 5

Joan’s army easily breaks past Talbot to enter Orleans. She fights hand-to-hand with Talbot, and so well he believes she must be a witch.

scene 6

Dauphin and his men praise Joan for her victory, proclaiming her France’s new saint.

ACT TWO

scene 1

Talbot’s army breaks into Orleans at night, catching the French unaware. Instead of fighting back, the French blame each other for not defending the walls, and forgetting their earlier praise, accuse Joan of misleading them.

scene 2

During Salisbury’s funeral, Talbot receives an invitation to the home of a French countess. He agrees to go, although he is suspicious.

scene 3

The countess tries to lock up Talbot in her home to turn him over to the French, but he saw through the trap and had his men standing by to come to his rescue. Unbelievably, he forgives her for her treachery, and then sits down to have the meal he was originally promised.

scene 4

The different factions of the royal family meet in a rose garden to have their argument over who should really be king. Those on the side of Richard, Duke of York, who has started calling himself “Plantagenet”, show their support by plucking and wearing a white rose, while the Lancasters supporting the king, including the Duke of Somerset, wear red roses instead. The argument grows heated, especially when Somerset accuses Plantagenet’s father, the Earl of Cambridge, of treason.

scene 5

Plantagenet visits his uncle, Edmund Mortimer, in prison, to ask whether his father was really guilty of treason. We learn that Mortimer had been the designated heir of Richard II. Years earlier, Richard was deposed by Henry IV, the grandfather of the present king, causing a civil war, and Mortimer was thrown in jail. Cambridge had supported Mortimer, and was killed for it, but before any official charges of treason could be leveled. Mortimer dies, and Plantagenet vows to clear his family name.

ACT THREE

scene 1

Gloucester and Winchester present their arguments against each other in Parliament. Even the young king can’t convince them to relent. Plantagenet chooses not to take sides with either, for his own ambitions.

A battle breaks out between the followers of Winchester and Gloucester; because they are forbidden to have weapons, they fight with stones. With great difficulty the two sides agree to be peaceful, although Winchester secretly intends to go back on the deal.

Plantagenet convinces the king to restore him to the title of Duke of York.

Henry decides to go to France to be officially crowned, as a way of asserting his claim over the rebellious people.

scene 2

Joan tricks her way into Rouen by pretending to be a peasant, then mocks Bedford, who is by then an invalid. Talbot launches an attack, and Falstaff (again, not the same one from Henry V) runs away from the battle, just as he did earlier at Poitiers. Joan and her forces retreat immediately, and Bedford can die knowing that his armies were triumphant.

scene 3

Joan convinces Burgundy, a Frenchman fighting on the side of the English, to switch his allegiance.

scene 4

The king rewards Talbot by making him an earl, and inviting him to take part in the coronation.

The followers of York and Lancaster continue to assail each other for wearing the wrong color roses.

ACT FOUR

scene 1

Falstaff shows up at the king’s coronation. Talbot strips him of his Order of the Garter, since it is intended only for those of great bravery, and the king banishes him. To make matters worse, Falstaff bears a message from Burgundy that he is now fighting for France.

York and Lancaster bring their complaint to the king, although the others chide them for bothering the king with a private quarrel while England is at war with France. Even though the king swears he loves both sides equally, York is upset that the king puts on the red rose of Lancaster.

scene 2

Talbot lays siege to Bordeaux, but soon finds himself surrounded by the French army.

scene 3

York, still upset about his quarrel with Lancaster, refuses to send troops to relieve Talbot, whose situation is becoming more serious.

scene 4

In a parallel of the previous scene, Lancaster blames York for Talbot’s predicament.

scene 5

Talbot and his son both try to convince each other to escape from the battle and live, but both are too noble to run away from a fight.

scene 6

Really a continuation of scene 5: Talbot rescues his son from some attackers, and both vow to die fighting.

scene 7

Really a continuation of scene 5: Talbot dies with his dead son in his arms. Joan and Charles rejoice in their victory, but grudgingly acknowledge that both Talbots fought bravely. They return the bodies to the English, and prepare to march to Paris.

ACT FIVE

scene 1

Henry agrees to marry the daughter of the duke of Arminack, who is French, as a way of resolving the war — but also for her huge dowry.

Winchester, who has bribed his way into Cardinal robes, prepares to seize even greater power for himself.

scene 2

The French prepare to engage the English army.

scene 3

Joan is visited by evil spirits, which tell her that Satan demands her soul in return for her success on the battlefield. York defeats Burgundy, then captures Joan and leads her away to her execution.

Suffolk (also called Pole) captures Margaret of Anjou, but is so captivated by her beauty that he promises to get her married to the king. Both Margaret and her father agree to this, but Suffolk still has romantic designs of his own on Margaret.

scene 4

On the way to her execution, Joan shows many bad traits: first she refuses her father’s blessing, and denies that he is really her father, claiming to have royal blood. This causes her father to curse her instead. Then she claims to be a virgin protected by heaven, to make the English change their minds about executing her; when that doesn’t work, she goes the opposite way and claims to be pregnant, hoping they will spare her for the sake of the baby. She names one man after another as the father of her child, but each time the English are determined that even if she is pregnant, the baby deserves to die with her.

Winchester, negotiating for the church, concludes a truce between the two armies, which both sides very reluctantly agree to.

scene 5

Suffolk convinces Henry to marry Margaret, against the wishes of Gloucester, who wants him to keep his promise to marry the duke of Arminack’s daughter. Part One ends on Suffolk gloating that after the marriage, Margaret will control the king, but he (Suffolk) will control Margaret, and therefore, the whole kingdom. We’ll see how that plays out when we continue with Henry VI Part Two.

See below for historical info, courtesy of Microsoft Encarta

Hundred Years’ War, armed conflict between France and England during the years from 1337 to 1453. The Hundred Years’ War was a series of short conflicts, broken intermittently by a number of truces and peace treaties. It resulted from disputes between the ruling families of the two countries, the French Capetians and the English Plantagenets, over territories in France and the succession to the French throne.

THE LANCASTRIAN WAR (1415-1435) The Lancastrian war was originally a success for the English. Aided by an alliance with the duke of the French region of Bourgogne, the English quickly captured much of northern and western France, taking Paris in 1420. English expansion, though checked in 1429, was not reversed until the duke of Bourgogne changed his allegiance back to the French in 1435, leaving English forces seriously overextended. After this, the French quickly regained lost territory.

English Resurgence
The turmoil generated by John the Fearless left France highly vulnerable to attack, and King Henry V of England inaugurated the Lancastrian war by invading France in 1415. A large French force trapped Henry’s troops in October near Agincourt in northern France. Though Henry’s forces were severely outnumbered, the English archers and foot soldiers held their ground against the French heavy cavalry. The French, who no longer had leaders like Clisson who understood English tactics, reverted to their traditional cavalry charge and were easy targets for English arrows. The French suffered a defeat that approached a massacre at the Battle of Agincourt.

In 1417 Henry began the methodical conquest of Normandy and other parts of northwestern France. He met little resistance since many of the noblemen of Normandy had died in the massacre at Agincourt. Henry was aided by the forces of Philip the Good, the son of John the Fearless of Bourgogne. Philip sided with the advancing English after his father was murdered by forces loyal to the French king. In 1420 the French government was forced to sign the Treaty of Troyes, which disinherited the dauphin (the French heir to the throne), gave his sister Catherine to Henry V in marriage, and declared Henry the heir of Charles VI. Philip the Good accompanied the English king into Paris. In 1421 Henry and Catherine had a son, Henry VI. Like Edward III before him, he was the grandson of two kings but owed his French royal blood to his mother.

The Treaty of Troyes did not end the Lancastrian War, for much of central and southern France did not accept it; they supported the dauphin, who became Charles VII in 1422. Though still young, Henry V of England died in 1422, and Charles VI followed a few months later. The infant Henry VI was officially the king of both countries, and his uncle John, duke of Bedford, continued the English war effort in France, with the much-needed support of Philip the Good of Bourgogne. In 1424 the duke of Bedford defeated the French in battle at Verneuil, and in 1428 he besieged Orléans, an important city in central France.

JOAN OF ARC Early in 1429 there appeared before Charles VII a most unusual and unexpected visitor—a 17-year-old peasant girl, dressed in men’s clothing. This young woman claimed to have had visions of saints who told her that she was to lead a French army against the English besieging Orléans. Though hesitant to accept this offer, Charles finally agreed and sent a relief expedition that successfully broke the siege. The young heroine, known to history as Saint Joan of Arc, followed this success with another victory over the English at Patay, and then led Charles to Reims, deep in enemy-held territory, where he was crowned king of France.

However, despite the dramatic French victories under Joan of Arc, they were merely a brief episode in which the French made limited gains. Joan was eventually captured by the Bourguignons, turned over to the English, and executed in 1431.

THE END OF THE WAR In 1435, after lengthy peace negotiations with Charles VII, Philip the Good of Bourgogne abandoned his support of the English. Without the support of Philip’s forces, the English were unable to adequately hold their territory, and the tide of the war turned in favor of France, and the French regained Paris in 1436.

In addition, the French revived the stable coinage, regular taxes, and the standing army that had originated under Charles V but had disappeared during his son’s insanity. France also acquired superiority in the use of firearms, especially field artillery.These large, mobile cannons were capable of inflicting heavy damage, and they gave the French the same sort of military advantage that the longbow had given the English in the previous century.

In 1444 French conquests forced the English to agree to a truce. When that truce expired five years later, the remaining English possessions in France quickly fell into French hands. Artillery decided both the battle of Formigny (1450), which determined the fate of Normandy, and the battle of Castillon (1453), which ended English rule in Aquitaine. The battle of Castillon marked the end of the Hundred Years’ War. The English retained Calais in the far north until 1558, but were never again able to mount a serious threat to France.

The end of the Hundred Years’ War was also the end of a long period of economic trouble and declining population in both countries, to which the war had contributed. In France, the war encouraged the emergence of centralized governing institutions. In England, the loss of French territory forced the government to focus on domestic issues. By the end of the war both the French and English peoples began to view themselves as separate and distinctive nationalities, and not merely as members of a feudal empire.

Contributed By:
John Bell Henneman

Roses, Wars of the, series of dynastic civil wars in England fought by the rival houses of Lancaster and York between 1455 and 1485 (see Lancaster, House of; York, House of). The struggle was so named because the badge of the house of Lancaster was a red rose and that of the house of York a white rose. The initial opponents were the Lancastrian king of England Henry VI, aided by his queen, Margaret of Anjou, and Richard Plantagenet, 3rd duke of York. Because of the insanity of the king and military losses in France during the last phase of the Hundred Years’ War, the authority of the house of Lancaster was badly shaken. York asserted his claim to the throne in 1460, after having defeated the Lancastrian armies at St. Albans in 1455 and at Northampton in 1460. In the latter year York was defeated and killed at Wakefield. In 1461, however, his son was proclaimed king as Edward IV and shortly thereafter he decisively defeated Henry and Margaret, who then fled from England. In 1465 Henry was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London.

The war was revived because of division within the Yorkist faction. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, aided by George Plantagenet, duke of Clarence, younger brother of Edward, made an alliance with Margaret and led an invasion from France in 1470. Edward was driven into exile and Henry restored to the throne. In 1471, however, Edward returned and, aided by Clarence, defeated and killed Warwick at the Battle of Barnet. Shortly thereafter, the Lancastrians were totally defeated at the Battle of Tewkesbury, and Henry was murdered in the Tower.

After the death of Edward in 1483, his brother Richard usurped the throne, becoming king as Richard III, and the Lancastrians turned for leadership to Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, who later became King Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty. In 1485 the forces of Richard and Henry fought the decisive Battle of Bosworth Field, the last major encounter of the war. After Richard’s death in battle, Henry ascended the throne and married Edward’s daughter, thus uniting the houses. The chief result of the war was an increase in the power of the Crown. Battle and execution all but destroyed the old nobility, and the financial resources of the monarchy were strengthened by the confiscation of estates.