Joan of Arc

St. Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc) (January{{fn|1}} 1412 – 30 May 1431), also styled the Maid of Orléans (Pucelle d'Orléans), is a national heroine of France and a Saint of the Catholic Church. At just 17 years of age, she commanded the French royal army. She convinced King Charles VII to drive the English out of France, and he gave her authority over the army in the siege of Orléans, the Battle of Patay and other engagements in 1429 and 1430. Those campaigns enabled the coronation{{fn|2}} of Charles VII. As a result, he awarded her family with ennoblement. The Burgundians captured and delivered her to the English, who selected clergymen to find her guilty of heresy. John, Duke of Bedford had her burnt at the stake in Rouen. In 1920 Pope Benedict XV canonized her in recognition of her innocence{{fn|3}} as found by an earlier appeal after her death. Her posthumous reception history is a lengthy one: she was revered by the Catholic League in the 16th century, embraced as a cultural symbol in French patriotic circles since the 19th century, became an inspiration to Allied forces during the First and Second World Wars and an official Saint to Roman Catholics since the early 20th century; currently being a focus of considerable interest in the Republic of Ireland, Canada, United Kingdom and United States. Many people therefore regard Joan of Arc as a notable woman of valor, vigor, and faith.

Trivia

Historical representation

The figure of Jeanne d'Arc has fascinated writers throughout the ages. The best known plays, offering widely differing interpretations of her life, were written by Shakespeare (Henry VI, part 1), George Bernard Shaw (Saint Joan), Friedrich Schiller (Die Jungfrau von Orleans), Jean Anouilh (L'Alouette) and Bertolt Brecht (Saint Joan of the Stockyards). Schiller's version became the basis of the opera Giovanna d'Arco by Giuseppe Verdi. Samuel Clemens wrote a fictional biography entitled (Joan of Arc), under the pen-name of Sieur Louis de Conte (borrowing the name of one of Joan's pageboys), forgoing his usual pen name of Mark Twain.

Related Topics:
Shakespeare - Henry VI, part 1 - George Bernard Shaw - Saint Joan - Friedrich Schiller - Jean Anouilh - Bertolt Brecht - Giovanna d'Arco - Giuseppe Verdi - Samuel Clemens - Biography - Pen name - Mark Twain

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During World War II, both the Vichy Regime and the French resistance used the image of Jeanne: the Vichy regime took her as a symbol of national pride and emphasized her peasant origin and anti-English spirit, and tried to rally support against the Allies by producing posters showing Rouen being bombed by British warplanes with the ominous caption: "They Always Return to the Scene of Their Crimes". The resistance countered by reminding people that Jeanne was born in the Lorraine region (now lost to the Germans) and that she had fought for the liberation of the country.

Related Topics:
World War II - Vichy Regime - French resistance

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To this day the French political party 'Front National' still uses the image of Jeanne as a symbol of French nationalism and views respect of the Maid as a patriotic duty.

Related Topics:
'Front National' - French nationalism

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Her name has been applied to three separate vessels of the French Navy, including a Helicopter Carrier currently in active service.

Related Topics:
French Navy - Helicopter Carrier

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Joan of Arc in popular culture

• Leonard Cohen's 1970 album Songs of Love and Hate contains a song named Joan of Arc, and a verse in the song Last Year's Man refers to her: 'I met a lady, she was playing with her soldiers in the dark, oh one by one she had to tell them that her name was Joan of Arc,'
• A "clone" of Joan of Arc appeared in the traditionally animated television show Clone High.
• The reincarnation of Joan of Arc was the main character in the Japanese manga and animated show Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, who used her God-given powers and arsenal of push-pins to trap demons hiding in works of art.
• The theme song to the CBS series Maude refers to Joan: 'with the Lord to guide her/she was a sister who really cooked.'
• CBS's Joan of Arcadia, in which a girl about Joan's age speaks to God and uses His influence to do good deeds in her community.
• The Fox Television series Wonderfalls was inspired by Joan of Arc.
• The WB animated series Histeria! (1998-2000), featured Joan as a regular character, voiced by Laraine Newman.
• Joan of Arc is the name of an indie rock band from Chicago.
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released two singles Joan of Arc and Maid of Orleans.
• The Smiths' song "Bigmouth Strikes Again" includes the line 'And now I know how Joan of Arc felt, as the flames rose to her Roman nose and her Walkman started to melt'.
• The Silverfish song "This Bug" includes the lyrics, "Sometimes I feel like Joan of Arc -- the way I bite, and spit and bark".
• Garbage's song Vow includes the line 'You burned me out but I'm back at your door, like Joan of Arc coming back for more'.
• Catatonia's song Post Script includes the line 'Joan of Arc, come kiss my art, leave a charcoal mark. There's so much more to solitary refinement'.
• In an episode of The Simpsons, Lisa played Joan of Arc and Milhouse played the Dauphin, after Homer read about her in a children's book.
• In Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, the flagship for the League Militaire's resistance is a Ra Cailum class battleship named Jeanne D'Arc.
• There is a Japanese rock band named Janne Da Arc, although they are not directly named after Joan of Arc.
• Tal Bachman mentions Joan of Arc in his 1999 hit 'She's So High', "She's so high, like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc".
• In an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the character of Willow dresses as Joan of Arc for a costume party, having almost been burned at the stake herself in a previous episode.
• Also, in the Buffyverse, Joan of Arc was the Vampire Slayer of her time period. She had some encounters with the newly sired vampire and former ally, Gilles de Rais, after the war.

Joan of Arc in film

The story of Joan of Arc has been played out to varying degrees of success in many motion pictures, including:

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• Geraldine Farrar was film's earliest Joan in Joan the Woman 1917
• Sybil Thorndike portrayed Joan in the 1927 film, Saint Joan
• The 1928 film, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc), was made by Carl Theodor Dreyer, based upon transcripts of her trial. Starring Maria Falconetti in her second and final film role, her performance is considered by some film historians to be the definitive portrayal of Joan. Some also regard the film itself to be one of the great masterpieces of the silent era.
• German actress Angela Salloker portrayed Joan in the 1935 film Das Mädchen Johanna
• Ingrid Bergman, despite being much older than Joan was in real life, portrayed her in two films, 1948's Joan of Arc, and again in the 1954 Italian film, Giovanna d'Arco al rogo (a.k.a. Joan at the Stake).
• Jean Seberg portrayed Joan in the 1957 film, Saint Joan.
• Hedy Lamarr portrayed Joan in the 1957 film, The Story of Mankind
• Janet Suzman portrayed Joan in the 1968 TV movie St. Joan
• Jane Wiedlin portrayed Joan in the 1989 comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
• Sandrine Bonnaire portrayed Joan in the 1994 Jacques Rivette film Joan the Maid (Jeanne la Pucelle).
• Milla Jovovich portrayed Joan in the 1999 Luc Besson film '.
• Leelee Sobieski portrayed Joan in a television mini-series also made in 1999.
• Christine Lakin portrayed Joan of Arc in the 2005 TV movie/musical Reefer Madness.