Joan Of Arc Was A Saint
“They addressed her as Jeanne la Pucelle, fille de Dieu – Joan the Maid, daughter of God” (Beevers 23). Who was this young girl, who at seventeen led the French army to a victorious battle at Orléans, ultimately causing the French to win the Hundred Years War? Why was she canonized and pronounced a saint after her death? Her life and death have been the subject of controversy and debate ever since they occurred (Matterer 1). There are those who believe that this girl, Joan of Arc, was a witch, a harlot, a crazy girl who heard voices, but this is all far from the truth. Not purposelessly was Joan of Arc hallowed, and not without reason is she regarded as a French heroine, revered, and ...
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towards the church. There was a great light all about. (Trask 5)
Because of the fact that she heard these voices, Joan is sometimes regarded as insane. Her critics claim that she had hallucinations. However, this can be proven wrong. “If anyone has hallucinations, those hallucinations will not remain quiescent. They will not be like dreams. They will act upon and influence the sufferer’s whole character” (Beevers 29). Joan’s voices told her to act and she obeyed, “but she did not suffer that change of character which is so noticeable when we examine the behavior of those who merely imagine they hear voices”(29).
Joan was also not lying about the voices. A person does not die at the stake rather than confess to a lie. In fact, Joan was tempted to admit to the charges brought against her, and signed the recantation. She said that she would “rather sign it than burn”(Trask 135). Later she confessed that “What [she] said, [she] said for fear of the fire” (139). This is not unnatural, ...
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appeared before the council at Poitiers to be examined, on account of her authenticity, a member of the council said:
She prophesied to me and those others present four things which happened as she foretold. First she said that the English would be beaten, that the siege of Oréans would be raised and the town rid of the English. Then she said that the King would be anointed at Rheims. Third, she said that Paris would return to the King’s rule and, last, that the Duke of Orléans would come back from his captivity in England. And I have seen all this come true. (Beevers 53)
There is no way Joan could have known these predictions in advance without spiritual guidance. There were several ...
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"Joan Of Arc Was A Saint." Essayworld.com. December 17, 2003. Accessed April 20, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Joan-Of-Arc-Was-A-Saint/48.
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