Joan was an illiterate maid from eastern France in the 15th century. Legend has it that she saved France from English takeover during the Hundred Years War and is one of the figures with most statues around France. But the question remains – how did an illiterate teenager put up such a courageous fight and led the demoralised French forces against all odds (in decisive battles at Orléans, Beaugency, Reims, etc.)? Nancy Goldstone in this book tries to demystify Joan and rationalise the events surrounding her rise.
The first I knew of Joan was when
I was a child; while playing Age of Empires II; wherein Joan’s story is one of
the campaigns and since then – this history surrounding England and France has
always fascinated me. This book does not start with Joan’s origins at Domrémy
in eastern France, which was her birthplace, but instead in Aragon (present day
Spain). It introduces us to another prominent woman from those times – Yolande
of Aragon. The writer builds her case as to how Joan’s whole story was prop
used by Yolande for her power grab (coincidentally or otherwise, Joan was from
the Duchy of Bar – which was Yolande’s matrilineal place of origin).
To provide a context – the latter
phase of the Hundred Years War was effectively a civil war between two
factions, the Burgundian faction which had King Charles VI on their side who
backed the English king – Henry V’s, claim to the French throne; the other
faction known as the Armagnacs – wanted the succession to remain with the
Valois family – the King’s son. And what was Yolande’s interest in this?
Charles VII, the son of the King was Yolande’s son-in-law.
I would say the book highlights
three aspects – the first is to provide us a brief account of the Hundred Years
War during the latter phase and in particular – the role of Yolande and her
diplomatic skills in bringing various factions together as France was a highly
divided country during the time. The second was to demystify the myths
surrounding Joan of Arc – while the book certainly portrayed her as heroic – it
also emphasised as to how not all on the Armagnac side were in favour / in awe
of Joan. The third was also to demonstrate how divided France was and while we
might know Henry V’s exploits in the Battle of Agincourt through Shakespeare’s
play, he also had the advantage of attacking a country so divided that his
victory was not as surprising as dramatisations have portrayed.
I got a good sense of who was
Joan of Arc, her motivations, and the legal systems in place in the 15th
century, considering how her trial is one of the most documented events of the
era. I also got to know of some interesting anecdotes which I would surely like
to read (like the folklore The Romance of Melusine).
My only suspicion is the extent
to which the author’s bias has influenced the work. The book has two principal
characters – the Maid – Joan of Arc and the Queen – Yolande of Aragon, Queen of
Sicily. The book certainly glorifies Yolande a lot, and sometimes I suspected
it was far more than her importance in history. Yolande held her court in her
castle at Saumur (in the western French region of Pays de la Loire) and after
having read the book, I visited Saumur and the castle. The museum in the castle
had more mention of René I of Naples than Yolande herself. This was strange as
the book was dismissive of René and described him as the incompetent son of Yolande who often needed his
mother’s diplomatic skills to bail himself out. Yolande’s name was mentioned in
the castle only once and if that is the extent to which her history is savoured
in Saumur, I wonder to what extent it remains elsewhere. However, I would also
consider that modern French historians are downplaying or ignoring her role
during the Hundred Years War.
To conclude, this is one of the most
interesting historical accounts that I have read so far, and I would look
forward to reading more about the insights I picked up from this book. On that
note, I would award the book a rating of eight.
Rating –
8/10
Have a
nice day,
Andy
