JOAN OF ARC - Smu

171 Pages·2002·0.67 MB·English

JOAN OF ARC
THE FIRST
BIOGRAPHY OF
JOAN OF ARC
With the Chronicle Record of a
Contemporary Account
TRANSLATED AND ANNOTATED BY
DANIEL RANKIN AND CLAIRE QUINTAL
UNINVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PRESS
Copyright @ 1964 by the University of Pittsburgh Press
Library of Congress Card Number 64-21449
Manufactured in the United States of America
Headpieces forProvenance, Chronicle Comments, and Appendix are from a Latin Ms. Of Joan’s
century, library of M. Ambroise Firmin-Didot. Those for Prologue, Biography Comments, and
Booklists are from Chronicles of Monstrelet, who talked with Joan, No.2678 Bibliothe'que nationale.
The one for the First Chronicle ... is from Ms. fr. 189, Bibliotheque nationale. All were photographed
from Jeanne d'Arc, H. Wallon. Coat of Arms of Joan of Arc is depicted here for the first time
exactly as she described it during her trial. Drawn by Mrs. John Preston, Tryon, North Carolina.
TO
BishopJohn J. Wright
of
Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania
with gratitude and appreciation.
He has written eloquently
with genuine learning and gracious good humor
Of
Joan of Arc
whose life, work, and sanctity
illustrate and illumine
the moral right
of
freedom of conscience
PREFATORY NOTE
It might well have seemed impossible to attempt the publication of yet another life of St. Joan of Arc
unless, of course, one could come up with a translation of the first of all the hundreds of biographies
of the Maid. That is what Father Daniel Rankin and Miss Claire Quintal decided to do; they then
added, for good measure, a first English translation of a brief but eloquent (also anonymous) chronicle
of great moments in Joan's career.
The latter document ends with the kind of words which have fired the determination of
countless writers, musicians, and scholars to make the all but inaudible splash of the ashes of Joan
in the Seine re-echo forever like thunder endlessly building up its reverberations. Commenting on the
intensely practical wisdom of the British in shoveling the poor relics of the discredited girl into a bag
to be thrown into the river, the anonymous chronicler observes that this was done "so that no
attempt could ever be made, nor even a proposal be suggested, to use them for sorcery or any other
mysterious evil."
Well, God save us from "mysterious evil," but preferably by the gentle, more enduring ways
of knowledge and of love.
Father Rankin and Claire Quintal are the most recent to contribute -6 our knowledge of "the
deeds and works of Joan who called herself the Maid." Their contribution is (quite beyond the work
of translation) substantial, reasoned, erudite; it ranges from careful criticism of the history and value
of some standard sources and of these new texts to intriguing bits of casual erudition for the sake of
us less learned but deeply devoted partisans of St. Joan.
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For example, how did the ill-fated Bishop Peter Cauchon spend the day after the cruel death
that, as Joan reminded him, came to the saint through him? What kind of letters did Joan write and
leave behind her, this girl who said of herself that she didn't know A from B? Precisely who taught
a country girl tactical skill *in the placement of artillery? What later became of those who appeared
to have made out so well on the day that Joan clearly made out so badly?
These and like questions receive fresh, fascinating answers in the extensive notes added by
the translators. It is in their commentaries that one senses not only the diligence but the great love
of these latest scholars to have come to the service of Joan.
Both have done me the honor of confiding in me the separate and intensely personal
backgrounds of the motivation of the love brought to this work and destined, one rejoices to know,
in their projected further books on Joan. Their passionate partisanship breaks through with mild
explosions from time to time in the authors' commentary. Should this irritate the bleakly
dispassionate, let these be grateful that the same love gave origin and perseverance to the labor of
making available two important documents and other rich material for the study of that life which
Mark Twain dared to describe as the most noble life that was ever born into this world save only
One. Mark Twain's praise is fulsome; it admits of debate. But Winston Churchill is not likely to be
challenged in his assertion that "the ever-shining, ever-glorious Joan of Arc ... finds no equal in a
thousand years. Father Rankin and Claire Quintal clearly establish how early that fact was
appreciated.
JOHN WRIGHT
Bishop of Pittsburgh
viii
CONTENTS
Prefatory Note by Bishop John Wright vii
Provenance 3
The First Biography of Joan of Arc 13
Authors' Comments 65
The First Chronicle to Record
Joan of Arc's Exploits 109
Authors' Comments 127
Appendix 133
Books Mentioned in the Comments 143
Index 147
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