Ôªø History 413

History 413: JOAN OF ARC: History, Legend and Film

"But here we are still talking about you..."

Larissa Taylor

Fall 2004
M 1:00-3:30 pm

249 Miller Library, x3267
Office Hrs:
M 11:30-1; T 10:30-12:30
and by appointment

Yes, here we are still talking about her, writing screenplays and films about her, studying her history and composing fiction. Joan has inspired tens of thousands of works in every genre since her short lifetime (1412-31). In the beginning of her study of Joan, Marina Warner states: "A story lives in relation to its tellers and receivers, it continues because people want to hear it again, and it changes according to their needs and tastes" (p. 3). Joan of Arc will always remain cloaked in ambiguity. La pucelle, as Joan called herself, speaks to each of us in different ways. This tells us a great deal about history and the historian's craft. Will we ever know the historical Joan? Yes and no; but this course will make the attempt.

The documentary evidence on Joan of Arc is plentiful considering that the events of her life occurred in the early fifteenth century. We have her signed documents and letters, numerous official sources, including the trial and nullification records, poetry and defenses of the time, and the materials used for and against her canonization in 1920.

So who was Joan of Arc? In her time, it depended on whose side you were on - if you were an Armagnac (a supporter of the dauphin and future Charles VII), an Englishman, or a Burgundian. We will explore the meanings of what it meant to be "French" in the fifteenth century and later. Was Joan a saint or a heretic? An effective military leader and strategist or a figurehead? A woman, an Amazon, or an androgyne? A patriot, a potent symbol of France to this day?

The most important questions surrounding Joan concern the "whys?" Why, as Devries says, did Robert de Baudricourt not put her in an "insanity wing?" Why did experienced captains and mercenaries follow a woman? Why did the Burgundians hand her over to the English? Why did the English burn her? Why did the French make no attempt to stop the execution? Why did many churchmen view her as a heretic rather than as one who heard genuine voices? Why did other clerics in English-controlled areas suffer exile, imprisonment and threats of death rather than take part in her trial? Why was she seen as a cross-dresser rather than a "virile woman"? Why was the woman (however one interprets how she did it) who turned French fortunes around in 1429 either too dangerous or too inconvenient for almost everyone by 1431? Why, in 1920, after 500 years, was she canonized? And why - once she was no longer alive - did she become so important as a symbol? Why are we still talking about her?

Joan as symbol is as important to our understanding of past and present as the historical figure herself. This course will provide fascinating insights into a study often considered dull - historiography. Why has Joan become a figure for all times - why does each generation and people from many different backgrounds interpret her in new ways? How much does our own experience and the times in which we live shape and even create our understanding of the past, and is this a help or a hindrance? Is Joan relegated to be the person we want her to be, or the person she was? Through reading of interdisciplinary sources and audiovisual presentations, we will each decide who Joan was/is.

Books Available for Purchase:
The course will rely on the most recent secondary sources, many of which contain original documents. A number of the original sources are out of print (such as the trial and nullification records in English translation), so they are on reserve, in addition to books that may be useful for research projects. The following are available in the bookstore:

Régine Pernoud and Marie-Véronique Clin, Joan of Arc: Her Story
Marina Warner, Joan of Arc
Ann Astell and Bonnie Wheeler, Joan of Arc and Spirituality [AW]
Kelly DeVries, Joan of Arc: A Military Leader
Bonnie Wheeler and Charles Wood, eds, Fresh Verdicts on Joan of Arc [FV]

Course Expectations
Regular in-class presentations/discussion leader (20%)
6-8 page paper on assigned topic, due October 25 (20%) - see end of syllabus
1-2 page abstract and substantial bibliography of final paper
Final paper (30-50 pages), utilizing at least some primary sources (40%)
Attendance and discussion is REQUIRED at all seminar meetings
NOTE: Reading knowledge of French is not expected, but students who can do so are encouraged to conduct research projects that use sources in French.

Note on Plagiarism
I expect all my students to follow a personal honor code. Unfortunately, there have been several cases recently in the department, so the following should help clarify what is and is not plagiarism. Plagiarism will result in an automatic F.
To plagiarize is
1) to steal and use the writings and ideas of another as one's own;
2) to appropriate passages or ideas from another and use them as one's own (American Heritage Dictionary). It includes:
- quoting directly without acknowledging the source
- paraphrasing without acknowledging the source
- constructing a paraphrase that closely resembles the original in language and syntax

[Mark Hellstern, et al., The History Student Writer's Manual (Saddle River, NJ, 1988), p. 121]. The Chicago Manual of Style format will be used for footnotes and bibliographies in all papers.

You might find it worth while to download the Colby provided EndNote application and attend one of the library's tutorials. The CBB Plagiarism Resource Site has many helpful links or view this Bowdoin site for EndNote information.

Websites of Interest
http://www.smu.edu/ijas/ International Joan of Arc Society - trial records, original documents, discussion list and other resources
http://www.jeanne-darc.com/ Musée Jeanne d'Arc, Rouen
http://www.stjoan-center.com/ St. Joan Center, Albuquerque
http://www.indiana.edu/~sotl/portfolios/shopkow/joan.htm original sources

Schedule of Classes
Attendance is required at all seminar meetings. All readings should be done before the date on which they are listed. Study questions will be sent via email before the classes.

Note: In the last several classes, there are numerous article and chapter readings. While students are encouraged to read as many of them as possible, these will be divided up for presentation by groups. They are indicated by an asterisk (*).
Sept. 13 INTRODUCTION AND FIRST VIEWING OF "JOAN OF ARC"
Charles Wood, "Preface" (FV)
"Joan of Arc and Spirituality" (Prologue, AW)
"Joan's Own Spirituality" (Part 1, AW)
First viewing of CBS miniseries "Joan of Arc" with critical commentary
(The film is longer than the class period - please allow 3-1/2 hours)
Sept. 20 THE MILITARY HISTORY
Devries, "A Woman as a Leader of Men" [FV]
Devries, Joan of Arc: A Military Leader
Warner, Joan, pp. 159-82
Recommended [background of 100 Years War]:
Ronald Zupko, "The Many Faces of Joan" in Mary Elizabeth Tallon, ed., Joan of Arc at the University (reserve),1-15
View (out of class) Part I of "Joan the Maid: The Battles" (Jeanne la Pucelle)
Sept. 27 THE EVENTS OF JOAN'S LIFE
Pernoud and Clin, Joan of Arc, Prelude, Parts I, II, and pp. 220-34
Warner, Joan of Arc, map, chronology, pp. 3-76
Bonnie Wheeler, "Joan of Arc's Sword in the Stone" [FV]
Charles Wood, "The Lost Interrogation at Poitiers" [FV]
Jean Fraikin, "Was Joan of Arc a Sign of Charles VII's Innocence?" [FV]
Marie-Véronique Clin, "Joan of Arc and Her Doctors" [FV]
View Part II of "Joan the Maid: The Prisons" (Jeanne la Pucelle)
Oct. 4 PRIMARY SOURCES AND THE TRIAL
Pernoud and Clin, Joan, Appendix I: Letters of Joan of Arc, pp. 234-36
W.P. Barrett, The Trial of Jeanne d'Arc (reserve) or W.S. Scott.The Trial of Joan of Arc
NOTE: Scott is available in full text form on the web at www.smu.edu/ijas/
or http://www.indiana.edu/~sotl/portfolios/shopkow/
or http://www.stjoan-center.com/Trials/
Oct 11 ANALYSES AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE TRIAL
Bourgeois de Paris, A Parisian Journal 1405-1449, pp. 141-47, 230-65, 337-38, 354-60
"Clerical Perceptions of Joan's Spirituality in Her Own Time" (Part 2, AW)
*Susan Crane, "Clothing and Gender Definition: Joan of Arc" (reserve)
*Susan Schihanoff, "Transvestism and Idolatry" [FV]
*Karen Sullivan, "I do not name you the voice of St. Michael" [FV]
*Steven Weiskopf, "Readers of the Lost Arc" [FV] - SKIM
View (out of class) Charles Dreyer's silent film (French and English subtitles) "The Passion of Joan of Arc"
Oct. 18 FALL BREAK
Oct 25 THE REHABILITATION TRIAL OF 1456
Pernoud, The Retrial of Joan of Arc (reserve) or
http://www.indiana.edu/~sotl/portfolios/shopkow/
"Rehabilitation Hearings and Rehabilitation" or
http://www.stjoan-center.com/Trials/
Warner, Joan, pp. 185-97
*Jane Marie Pinzino, "Speaking of Angels" [FZ]
Nov. 1 WOMAN: JOAN OF ARC AND CHRISTINE DE PIZAN
Warner, Joan, pp. 96-116, 139-58, 198-217
"Joan's Secular Contemporaries" (Part 3, AW)
Christine de Pizan, "The Song [Ditié] of Joan of Arc," at http://www.indiana.edu/~sotl/portfolios/shopkow/joan.htm
*Christine McWebb, "Joan of Arc and Christine de Pizan: The Symbiosis of Two Warriors in the Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc" [FV] - SKIM
*Anne Lutkus and Julia M. Walker, "PR pas PC: Christine de Pizan's Pro-Joan Propaganda" [FV]
*"Christine de Pizan's Ditié de Jehanne d'Arc," in Deborah Fraioli, "Joan of Arc: The Early Debate," ch. 7 (reserve)
*Gertrude H. Merkle, "Martin le Franc's Commentary on Jean Gerson's Treatise on Joan of Arc" [FV] -read only Appendix, the actual treatise
Jean Gerson, De quandam puella (translated), in Appendix of Anne Barstow, Joan of Arc (reserve)
*Deborah Fraioli, "Why Joan of Arc Never Became an Amazon" [FV]
Nov. 8 SAINT, PROPHET OR HERETIC?
Warner, Joan, 77-95, 117-38
Barstow, Joan, chs. 1-5 (reserve)
Pernoud and Clin, Joan, p. 245
Henry Ansgar Kelly, "Joan of Arc's Last Trial: The Attack of the Devil's Advocates"
View (out of class) "Saint Joan"
Nov. 15 JOAN FROM THE 16TH CENTURY TO OUR TIMES
Warner, Joan, pp. 218-75
Pernoud and Clin, Joan, 240-46
*Susan Dunn, "Michelet and Lamartine: Making and Unmaking the Nationalist Myth of Jeanne d'Arc," Romanic Review 80:3 (1989), pp. 404-418 (reserve)
*Moshe Sluhovsky, Patroness of Paris, pp. 46-53, 62-63 (reserve)
*Eric Jennings, "'Reinventing Joan of Arc': The Iconology of Joan of Arc in Vichy Schoolbooks, 1940-44," in Journal of Contemporary History 29 (1994), 711-30 (reserve)
*Dennis Sexsmith, "The Radicalization of Joan of Arc Before and After the French Revolution," Canadian Art Review 17:2 (1990), 125-130 (reserve).

***ABSTRACT (OR BASIC VERSION OF PAPER) AND BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE***

Nov. 22 JOAN ON STAGE
Pernoud and Clin, pp. 237-40
Johann Ch. Friedrich von Schiller, Die Jungfrau von Orléans [Joan of Arc: A Romantic Tragedy, trans. Robert MacDonald], at least Acts One and Five (reserve)
George Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan, Scenes 1, 3-5 (at least) (reserve)
*Nadia Margolis, "Trial by Passion: Philology, Film and Ideology in the Portrayal of Joan of Arc (1900-1930), Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 27:3(1997), 445-93 (reserve)
*Sarah Hibberd, "Marianne: Mystic or Madwoman? Representations of Jeanne d'Arc on the Parisian Stage in the 1820s," Prose Studies, 23:2 (2000), 87-98. (reserve).
*Patrick Marsh, "Jeanne d'Arc during the German Occupation," Theatre Research International 2:2 (1977), 139-145 (reserve).
*Kevin J. Harty, "Jeanne au Cinéma" [FV]
Nov. 29 A JOAN FOR ALL SEASONS -WHO WAS/IS JOAN?
"Joan as Model" (Part 4, AW)
*Nadia Margolis, "The 'Joan Phenomenon' and the French Right" [FV]
*"A Maid for All Reasons," The Economist 354(2000), brief review (reserve)
*Alan Jalowitz, "Joan of Arc in American Long Poetry," Kalamazoo paper
Dec. 6 PRESENTATIONS
FINAL PAPER DUE

HISTORY 413

First Paper Assignment due October 25 -choose one of the following. The paper should be 6-8 pages long (double-spaced) with FOOTNOTES. You will be graded on the sophistication of analysis, persuasiveness of argument, and writing.

1. Re-read carefully the assigned portions of A Parisian Journal. Following the method of a literary exercise known in French as explication de texte, go through the assigned pages in the journal, reading very carefully, paying attention to small details about Jeanne the Maid, the Bourgeois's observations of the different factions, daily life in Paris, etc.

Write an essay comparing and contrasting the version of the account provided by the Bourgeois with the trial records and the secondary sources you have read up through and including October 11. You will want to consider the following:

  • Paint a picture of the Bourgeois from internal evidence. Scholars dispute his adherence and even his nationality, but from the text you can discover several clues that will lead you to some conclusions about him. Do not rely on what other sources say about him -many are wrong.
  • Based on the portrait you have given of the writer, what is important to him? How does he describe the political, economic and social climate of Paris and France? What is his view of Joan of Arc and how does she fit in with the times in which he lives? Comparing his account with other sources, how accurate and informed is he?
  • On this basis, write an essay critiquing the journal and assessing its usefulness for scholarly research.

    2. In her book For Fear of the Fire: Joan of Arc and the Limits of Subjectivity, Françoise Meltzer writes:

    "The trial is removed from us in countless ways: by five centuries of time elapsed; by the layers of language that muffle the original (out of the spoken, Middle French, it is transcribed into French, translated into Latin, and in the present case, rendered into English); by the fact that the voices we hear and read are long since dead, so that they echo like hauntings on the page; by the rendering of voice into text in the first place; by the very syntax and protocol of fifteenth-century juridical proceedings; by the indirect discourse that characterizes most of the recorded aspects of questions and responses; by the defamiliarizing late medieval French and vulgate Latin in which the trial is transcribed; by the gaps and ellipses in the minutes, including lost documents, incomplete ones, and previous trials that are referred to but that have since been lost; by a succession of editors who have altered, interpreted, translated, amended, and otherwise corrupted the "purity" of the original, whatever it may have been; by the Church's own censorship, additions, and suppression of certain parts of the trial; by the ravages of wars and time that have colluded in losing, damaging, hiding, and otherwise corrupting the text; by the ensuing Trial of Rehabilitation, with its hindsight and justifications; by the beatification and ultimate canonization, five hundred years later, of the figure who is the defendant and whose condemnation we can no longer read without a constant perspective of backformation, so that every small and great event is doubly reinterpreted in the light of subsequent events. Nevertheless...one is riveted by the sense of immediacy and reality." (121-2)
    Based on your reading of the trial records, evaluate this comment. How accurate a portrayal of actual events do you believe comes through in these laters of language and editing? What are the limits of what we can and cannot know. Provide specific examples.