"I never did the review of Shaw's play because I did not care for it. As far as I am concerned he turned her into a PROTESTANT."

"Shavian 1903, "in the style or manner of George Bernard Shaw" (1856-1950). An earlier form was Shawian (1894)."

"On September 10th, 1950, he tripped and broke a leg while pruning a tree, and in hospital, the will to live became a will to die...He hated the hospital and the constant washings and attention and was glad to be back home. In October he was back at Ayot St. Lawrence, now failing. He slept a great deal, and died in his sleep on the morning of November 2, 1950.
Perhaps the loneliness of being a man who had outlived all his friends was the decisive factor in destroying his will to live."

"Towards the end of his life, when asked if he missed any of his old friends, Shaw answered, 'I don't miss anyone but myself.' "Yourself?' "The man I used to be.' "

"A deft writer, she also contributed lines to a filmed version of George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion" (1938) and was so fluid in her style that the writer thought the script had been entirely faithful to his play."

Though Shaw states in his Preface that all one needs to know about his Joan can be found in the play, are you curious to learn more of this period in French/English history and the recorded background of Jeanne d'Arc?

In 1455, Joan’s family petitioned Pope Callistus III to reconsider the charges against Joan. Although Charles had made no effort to save her some 24 years earlier, he did help her family’s appeal to the Pope.

"I had always known that civilization needs a religion as a matter of life and death, and as the conception of Creative Evolution developed, I saw that we were at least within reach of a faith that complied with the first conditions of all religions that have taken a hold of humanity..."

"What obstacles women have had to overcome in order to achieve the right to learn! Even so, today rewarded by better examination results and with more women than men in the universities, women still do not hold their rightful place in society. Stereotypes die hard...

"Education for women should be considered suspect." This principle, which could not be more sexist, stated in the 15th century by Gerson, grand chancellor of the University of Paris, accurately summarised the view that prevailed and long dominated the Renaissance. Even among the wealthy classes, teaching girls was considered inappropriate and even dangerous. While boys took the path to secondary school, their sisters were condemned to remain cloistered in the home or a religious institution, with their only education being the domestic tasks demanded by their future role as wife and mother. Nevertheless, even in Gerson's day, one woman writer, Christine de Pisan, showed the necessity of educating women and giving them access to reading and writing. Thus to thought and speech. Nonetheless it was not until 1574 that one of the first schools for girls was founded in France by the Ursuline religious order." Literacy - Women - 15th century

",,,narrow eyes, near together, a long pendulous nose that droops over his thick short upper lip, and the expression of a young dog accustomed to being kicked, yet incorrigible and irrepressible."

There seems to be some contradiction as to the Feast Date of Joan of Arc - May 30 (the date she was executed, my birthday), and May 8. That's tomorrow! May 8 is not her birth date. I'm wondering why that date?

"Charles required her to be examined by Catholic theologians, who finally approved her in late March of 1429. She was then given titular command of an army - as was sometimes done with accepted religious visionaries - and allowed to try to lift the siege of Orleans, which she said was the first mission ordered of her."

I thought that was helpful in understanding why Joan would have been given command of Charles' army.

"Rules and customs with regard to marriage are often studied by scholars interested in the role of women throughout history. Although Joan of Arc never married, circumstances arising from the vow of celibacy she took reveal some information on the matter.

At the age of sixteen the Maid of Orleans was courted and proposed to by a boy from her town. Citing her celibacy as a defence, she turned down his offer, but faced the retribution of her father for doing so. 34 As we have seen, Joan had a tremendous respect for the opinions of her parents, so the decision not to marry could not have been taken lightly. But what does this reveal about marriage in the Middle Ages?

Firstly, it shows that the marriage of a girl was a family affair. According to Christine de Pizan, a female, medieval author, there is a danger in "entering into any new marriage without the approval and advice of family and friends." 35 Also, the necessity of the bride's family to pay a dowry to her husband meant that the family were given significant sway in choosing the successful suitor. 36

Secondly, it shows that chastity and religion are among the only reasons a woman could remain single. Stuard notes that:

"Women who did not marry were considered appropriately situated only when they were cloistered, an enormous burden on the spiritual nature of the conventual orders and houses which existed." 37

Although Joan did not join the monastic life, the fact that she carried out a spiritual mission would suffice." Joan of Arc and the Role of Medieval Women

"Each of the first three scenes of Saint Joan ends with a similar high-point, as the miracles of the Maid create faith in those around her. The audience is surely intended to share this excitement. And yet at some level we must be affected by Shaw's partial scepticism, his awareness that what he is writing is a "romance." Sybil Thorndike recounts how when Shaw first read the play to her, after she had listened spell-bound to the opening three scenes, he remarked, "That's all flapdoodle up to there, just 'theatre' to get you interested - now the play begins."

"Historians have long commented about the surprising amount of detailed information available about Jehanne's childhood, information which was somewhat paradoxically provided for us by an event which took place over 20 years after her death: when the English were finally driven from the site of her trial (Rouen) in November of 1449, steps were taken to launch an appeal of her case, generally referred to as the Rehabilitation Trial. During the long course of this appeal 115 witnesses were questioned by the Inquisition, including 22 of the villagers who had known her during her early years; movingly, some of them still referred to her by her childhood nickname, "Jhenette" ("little Joan"). According to these witnesses, she had been a dutiful child who helped her parents with the chores along with her other siblings: her three older brothers Jacquemin, Jean, and Pierre, and her sister Catherine"...."Childhood

"I heard the voice on my right, in the direction of the Church [i.e., the little Church of St. Rémy near her house], and rarely do I hear it without a light. This light comes from the same side as the voice.... It seemed to me a worthy voice, and I believed it was sent to me by God; after I had heard this voice the third time, I knew that it was the voice of an angel."

"It taught me to be good, to go regularly to church. It told me that I should come into France [i.e., territory loyal to the Dauphin]... This voice told me, two or three times a week, that I must go away and that I must come to France; and my father knew nothing of my leaving.

The voice told me that I should go to France and I could no longer stay where I was. It told me that I should raise the siege laid to the city of Orléans. ...And I replied that I was a poor girl who knew neither how to ride nor lead in war."

She said the first of these visions was Saint Michael the Archangel:mn1 "It was Saint Michael, who I saw before my eyes; he was not alone, but was accompanied by many angels from Heaven... I saw them with my bodily eyes, as well as I am seeing you; and when they left, I wept and greatly wished that they should have taken me with them." "Saint Michael, when he came to me, told me that Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret;mn2 would come to me and that I should act on their advice; that they were instructed to lead and advise me in what I had to do; and that I should believe in what they would say to me, for it was by God's order." Visions

Bâtard: "Are you Joan the Maid?
Joan: "Sure."

Thursday, the 28th – ... The Bastard succeeds in calming Jehanne down. He tells her of the plan to ferry the supplies across the river at Checy, about five miles from Orleans and come into the city from the lightly guarded east side. "

The plan seems to go awry as the wind is blowing in the wrong direction for the boats to cross. Jehanne tells them to wait a little while; all would be well as the wind would change. And suddenly, the wind changes! All are amazed by this prophecy and faith in Jehanne’s mission grows. The supplies are ferried across the river. The army, too numerous to risk an extended crossing by boat, return to Blois to cross the bridge there and return to Orleans via the north bank of the Loire. Jehanne is reluctant to have them leave, but the captains say, "Jehanne, go in surety, for we promise to return to you before long."

"And so she entered Orleans, with the Bastard of Orleans at her left, very richly armed and mounted; afterward came other noble and valiant lords; squires, captains, and men-at-arms, as well as some from the garrison and bourgeoisie of Orleans who had gone ahead of her. From the city, other men-at-arms came to receive her, along with bourgeois of Orleans, carrying many torches and making such joy as if they had seen God himself descend among them; and not without reason, for they had endured much difficulty, labor, pain, and fear of not being rescued and of losing all their bodies and goods. But they felt already comforted, as though freed of the siege by the divine virtue that they were told resided in that simple Maid, whom they regarded with strong affection, men as much as women and little children."

Archbishop of Beauvais - Cauchon, you see as truly interested in "saving Joan's soul first and foremost." And yet you see her conviction as a done deal..."absolutely". Does this mean that you sense from this scene that Cauchon doesn't really believe that his attempt to save Joan's soul will succeed? A question occurs - what will save her soul and prevent her execution?

hahaha, Babi, we need a definition of "traitor" here - what is Shaw really writing about the French and English?

"Joan of Arc had been a subject of particular interest around 1920. During the First World War she had been represented fighting alongside French soldiers against the Germans and it is likely that this was a factor that influenced her canonization by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920.

A translation of documentation relating to her trial had been brought to Shaw's notice by a friend and his wife also enthusiastically promoted it as a subject for a play."

Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc,
Do your eyes, from the skies, see the foe?
Don't you see the drooping Fleur-de-lis?
Can't you hear the tears of Normandy?
Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc,
Let your spirit guide us through;
Come lead your France to victory;
Joan of Arc, they are calling you. (cont.)
Joan of Arc - World War II

"One would expect Shaw to manipulate historical fact, however, as clearly it wasn't the documentary aspect of Joan's life that interested him. The play is not written from an orthodox religious point of view but neither does it adopt a debunking attitude to her performance of miracles or her hearing of saints' voices, though it is implied that these could be accounted for in rationalist terms."

SATIRE: An attack on or criticism of any stupidity or vice in the form of scathing humor, or a critique of what the author sees as dangerous religious, political, moral, or social standards. Satire became an especially popular technique used during the Enlightenment, in which it was believed that an artist could correct folly by using art as a mirror to reflect society. When people viewed the satire and saw their faults magnified in a distorted reflection, they could see how ridiculous their behavior was and then correct that tendency in themselves.definition of satire

"In 1409 the Council of Pisa attempted to end the Schism that occurred in the latter part of the 14th century. The two popes - Benedict XIII and Gregory XII - were asked to attend the Council but both refused. Therefore, the Council elected another pope, Alexander V. Christendom now had three popes. The Schism finally came to an end at the Council of Constance (1414-1418). The Council requested the resignation of all three popes, and elected Pope Martin V (1417-1431) to be the rightful successor of St. Peter."Three Popes

Rheims in Ruins, 1915

Bomabardment of Rheims, 1915

The authors of the books featured in the above two sites document the extensive damage inflicted on this treasured cathedral during WWI. One author tells that every time the Germans were frustrated during the war, they would bomb Rheims.

"After the coronation/culmination they meet Karl, Jeanne, Dunois and other dignitaries. In this fifth scene of the piece particularly the king draws the attention of the girl to how alone it is in reality. The simple people believes enemies (jealousy) in it, at the Hofe however has it nearly only. Advising against to an attack on Paris, their Karl explains it would be as impossible to release it in the case shank from the hands of the Englishmen."Die Heilige Johanna - Translated - Holy Joan

"There are people in the world whose imagination is so vivid that when they have an idea it comes to them as an audible voice, sometimes uttered by a visual figure. The inspirations and intuitions and unconsciously reasoned conclusions of genius sometimes assume similar illusions. Socrates, Luther, Swedenborg, Blake saw visions and heard voices just as Saint Francis and Saint Joan did. If Newton's imagination had been of the same vividly dramatic kind he might have seen the ghost of Pythagoras walk into the orchard and explain why the apples were falling. Such an illusion would have invalidated neither the theory of gravitation nor Newton's general sanity. What is more, the visionary method of making the discovery would not be a whit more miraculous than the normal method. The test of sanity is not the normality of the method but the reasonableness of the discovery. In the same way Joan must be judged a sane woman in spite of her voices because they never gave her any advice that might not have come to her from her mother wit exactly as gravitation came to Newton. We can all see now, especially since the late war threw so many of our women into military life, that Joan's campaigning could not have been carried on in petticoats. This was not only because she did a man's work, but because it was morally necessary that sex should be left out of the question as between her and her comrades-in-arms. She gave this reason herself when she was pressed on the subject; and the fact that this entirely reasonable necessity came to her imagination first as an order from God delivered through the mouth of Saint Catherine does not prove that she was mad. The soundness of the order proves that she was unusually sane; but its form proves that her dramatic imagination played tricks with her senses. Her policy was also quite sound: nobody disputes that the relief of Orleans, followed up by the coronation at Rheims of the Dauphin as a counterblow to the suspicions then current of his legitimacy and consequently of his title, were military and political masterstrokes that saved France. They might have been planned by Napoleon or any other illusionproof genius. They came to Joan as an instruction from her Counsel, as she called her visionary saints; but she was none the less an able leader of men for imagining her ideas in this way."

Yes I am alone on earth; I have always been alone. My father told my brothers to drown me if I would not stay to mind his sheep while France was bleeding to death. France might perish if only our lambs were safe. I thought France would have friends at the court of the king of France; and I find only wolves fighting for pieces of her poor torn body. I thought God would have friends everywhere, because He is a friend of everyone, and in my innocence I believed that you who now cast me out would be like strong towers to keep harm from me. But I am wiser now; and nobody is any the worse for being wiser. Do not think you can frighten me by telling me that I am alone. France is alone; and God is alone, and what is my loneliness before the loneliness of my country and my God? I see now that the loneliness of God is his strength; what would He be if He listened to your jealous little counsels? Well, my loneliness shall be my strength too; it it better to be alone with God; His friendship will not fail me, nor His counsel, nor His love. In His strength I will dare, and dare, and dare, until I die. I will go out now to the common people and let the love in their eyes comfort me for the hate in yours. you will all be glad to see me burnt; but if I go through the fire I shall go through it to their hearts for ever and ever. And so, God be with me.

The trial was conducted and transcribed in French by court recorders, then subsequently translated into Latin for the official record. A complete second-generation copy of his French minutes is found in the "Orléans" manuscript, MS 518 located at the Bibliothèque Municipale d'Orléans. W.S. Scott's The Trial of Joan of Arc is the standard English translation of the Orléans manuscript, and is used here in this essay. The original manuscript of the Latin translation is lost. However, three copies of the original signed and sealed by Pierre Cauchon survive. On the translation of the official record

"Certain popular legends, however, served Joan very well in that they made a place in the public mind for someone like her. Many prophecies, from widely diverse sources, were abroad in Joan's time about a maiden who would save France. The earliest is from the Arthurian wizard Merlin, who prophesied that a marvelous maid would come from the Bois Chesnu, the ancient wood, to save France. Marie d'Avignon, a woman with a reputation as a prophet, had, some years earlier, foretold the arrival of someone like Joan at the dauphin's court. "She spoke of having had frequent visions concerning the desolation of France. In one of them Marie saw pieces of armor that were brought before her, which frightened her. For she was afraid that she would be forced to put this armor on. But she was told to fear nothing, that it was not she who would have to wear this armor, but a Maid who would come after her who would wear it and deliver the kingdom of France from its enemies."

Although it is easy to distinguish Joan from other mystics or pseudomystics, we should not go too far in this direction and forget that she was, at her core, a person moved by a religious vision. Like everything else about her, the nature of her religious life was mixed, there was a strong sprinkling of the practical and the political about it. There is no doubt, however, that she would have been incapable of doing the sometimes literally incredible things she did if she were not convinced to the depths of her soul that she was inspired by God.

"The events that unfolded afterwards led to Joan's downfall and ultimately to her demise. Joan and the newly crowned King Charles had opposing strategies on how to press the French advantage. Joan was a warrior, committed to continuing her military success against the English by marching on and retaking Paris. King Charles, on the other hand, was interested in a diplomatic truce and relegated Joan to an insignificant role. The reality was that Joan never truly had command of an army, though she was instrumental in persuading French leaders and soldiers to fight. Urged on by Joan, Charles reluctantly accompanied her and the French army as they captured small towns near Paris. When Joan opposed a truce, Charles allowed her to attack Paris on her own. (Warner, 1981, p. 73).

Facing massive superiority in men and arms, Joan bravely stood in full view during the battle and urged the French army to victory. She was wounded during her heroic stand, receiving an arrow through the thigh, but she remained undaunted and urged King Charles to continue the attack the following day. Instead, King Charles ordered a retreat, and the French attempt to regain possession of Paris from the English failed (Guillemin, 1970, p. 139).
After this defeat, not much is known about Joan's life. Her popularity and inspiration dwindled. Despite her accomplishments, King Charles continued relegating her to a back role and wanted her gone. Joan continued pushing for warfare, and Charles eventually allowed her to lead an army on her own. Charles consented to this mission believing secretly that Joan would be killed or captured (Guillemin, 1970, p. 156).

This time, Joan and her army faced the numerically superior Burgundians, who were French allies of the English. Shortly after the battle began, the French retreated, and Joan was unhorsed. To stop the advance, the French pulled up a drawbridge. Joan, defending the rear gallantly, was among a handful of soldiers left behind and captured (Sackville-West, 1936, p. 248).Joan, Charles, Paris

Kangaroo court - a tribunal where truth is no defence, where opinion is on trial, where fines can be unlimited, where there is no trial by jury, where the judge - called an adjudicator - is judge, jury and prosecutor, where there is no right of appeal within the framework of the Act, where normal rules of evidence don't exist, and where impressions count for more than fact."

"Shaw acknowledged in the preface that he flattered the character of Cauchon...and invented the character of the Inquisitor - 'such were the inevitable flatteries of tragedy' - in order to make the trial of Joan fully significant, he had to make her judges the best possible representatives of the system that found her guilty." He quotes Shaw:

" It is, I repeat, what normally innocent people do that concerns us, and if Joan had not been burnt by normally innocent poeple in the energy of ther righteousness her death at their hands would have no more significance than the Tokyo earthquake...

The tragedy of such murders is that they are not committed by murderers. They are judicial murders, pious murders, and this contradiction at once brings an element of comedy into tragedy."

Babi... I like your reason for the dream scene. "The heroine of the piece had come to a terrible end; he perhaps wanted some way to allow her to 'come out on top'." Had the play ended with the burning, we would have to call the play a terribly tragedy. I'm trying to imagine the mood ot the audience walking out of the theater after the dream scene.

- 1 poleaxe - to hit someone so hard that they fall down

- 2 INFORMAL - to give someone such a great shock that they do not know what to do.

"It might be assumed when reading this that the "Boccaccio" that Charles was reading was The Decameron (Il Decameron), and that Shaw deliberately wanted to underlay his dream scene with the sexual suggestiveness for which some of Boccaccio's tales in that book are notorious. 1 Boccaccio's Decameron is well known in the history of literature for being written, like Dante's The Divine Comedy, in vernacular Italian rather than the scholarly Latin. In this sense it seemed an appropriate forerunner for Shaw, whose masterly prose style is heavily inflected by colloquialism. Fouquet's illustrated Boccaccio

- "Shaw did respond to Joan with the necessary "sense of sympathetic admiration inspired by 'her irreducible uniqueness." There was in this an element of personal identification with Joan. Joan's single-mindedness, her militant spirit, her directness in cutting through forms and ceremonies to the heart of the matter, all essentially congenial to Shaw."

- "Above all where he felt an affinity with Joan was in the capacity to be right when everyone else was wrong.

- "He was convinced that he was, like Joan, if not a martyr at least a witness to an understanding of the world which could only come after him."

- "What we really get is a Joan cut down to Shavian size."

- "But Shaw's imagination did go out to Joan, he did dramatize something of the extraordinary quality of her life."

"On every thirtieth of May, being the anniversary of the death of the said most blessed daughter of God, there shall in every Catholic church to the end of time be celebrated a special office in commemoration of her..."

On May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen, France.
Washington Post Today in History

"Joan - I was burned all the same. Can they unburn me?
Charles - If they could, they would think twice before they did it. But they have decreed that a beautiful cross be placed where the stake stood, for your perpetual memory and for your salvation.

"I never did the review of Shaw's play because I did not care for it. As far as I am concerned he turned her into a PROTESTANT. What more can I say?