Saint Joan of Arc (Jeanne la Pucelle): Difference between revisions
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If Joan's mission was to save France, Philip II (reigned 1165-1223) would have been the better intercessor, not Charlemagne or his grandson St. Louis, for Charlemagne's empire extended across Germany, and while Saint Louis extended French sovereignty, it was Philip who created the modern France that Joan defended.<ref>or Charles V who recovered much of France in the second phase of the Hundred Years War in the 1370s.</ref> Philip was the first to declare himself "King of France." Now, Philip was no Saint, as they say, so in Saints Charlemagne and Louis IX, perhaps Joan was appealing more to the Roman Catholic France than to the territorial one. Or, in that Joan's exhortation to the Bastard was about Orléans and not France, perhaps "the prayer of St. Louis and of St. Charlemagne" was just for the city. But Orléans was the key to it all, for as went Orléans, so went France -- and, ultimately, French Catholicism. | If Joan's mission was to save France, Philip II (reigned 1165-1223) would have been the better intercessor, not Charlemagne or his grandson St. Louis, for Charlemagne's empire extended across Germany, and while Saint Louis extended French sovereignty, it was Philip who created the modern France that Joan defended.<ref>or Charles V who recovered much of France in the second phase of the Hundred Years War in the 1370s.</ref> Philip was the first to declare himself "King of France." Now, Philip was no Saint, as they say, so in Saints Charlemagne and Louis IX, perhaps Joan was appealing more to the Roman Catholic France than to the territorial one. Or, in that Joan's exhortation to the Bastard was about Orléans and not France, perhaps "the prayer of St. Louis and of St. Charlemagne" was just for the city. But Orléans was the key to it all, for as went Orléans, so went France -- and, ultimately, French Catholicism. | ||
The French King Charles V (reigned 1364-1380)<ref>There were six Charles's, actually, going back to Charlemagne, but he considered himself the fifth "Charles" of France. He was the first Charles to use a "regnal number," which is probably why he took number "V" since it looks cooler than "VI." Just a guess. The earlier Charles's were then designated a number, from Charles I, Charlemagne, through to Charles IV "The Fair" in order to line up with Charles V, skipping the third Charles who is stuck with "Charles the Fat." </ref> promoted veneration of Charlemagne, including to dedicate a chapel to him at | The French King Charles V (reigned 1364-1380)<ref>There were six Charles's, actually, going back to Charlemagne, but he considered himself the fifth "Charles" of France. He was the first Charles to use a "regnal number," which is probably why he took number "V" since it looks cooler than "VI." Just a guess. The earlier Charles's were then designated a number, from Charles I, Charlemagne, through to Charles IV "The Fair" in order to line up with Charles V, skipping the third Charles who is stuck with "Charles the Fat." </ref> promoted veneration of Charlemagne, including to dedicate a chapel to him at Saint Denis with an elaborate reliquary, which treated him like a Saint. The city of Reims maintained a cult of Charlemagne and actively supported his canonization by the antipope Paschall III in 1165.<ref>The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, or Barbarossa (reigned 1155-1190), orchestrated the canonization of Charlemagne at Aachen in Germany under the antipope Paschal III. Holy Roman Emperors had a bit of a habit of appointing antipopes (popes in their eyes), which asserted their power and that of their supporting bishops. With his long reign, Barbarossa backed four antipopes to oppose Pope Alexander III (1159-1181), but he was unable to outmaneuver Alexander, who gained the upper hand when kings of England, France and Hungry backed him, largely by way of contesting Holy Roman Empire's hold on Italy. (Alexander III spent most of his papacy outside of Rome.) Barbarossa capitulated after his forces were defeated by the Lombard League, which supported Alexander, at the Battle of Legnano in northern Italy in 1176. Alexander consolidated his papal rule at the Third Council of Lateran in 1179, which formally brought an end to the schisms.</ref> After resolving the 12th century schism of antipopes aligned with the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I ("Barbarossa"), Pope Alexander III annulled their papal acts, which included the canonization of Charlemagne.<ref>Pope Alexander III nullified the acts of Barbarossa's antipopes, including that of Paschall III to canonize Charlemagne. Alexander also forced the English Henry II into a year of penitence for the murder of Samuel Becket, who was canonized by Alexander shortly after his death in 1170. </ref> So we can't say that it was of regional tradition or a remnant of the revoked canonization that Joan invoked, but we do know that when referring to "Saint Charlemagne" prior to Orléans, Joan was under the guidance of her Voices. She invoked their names for a reason. | ||
== Joan the peasant girl == | == Joan the peasant girl == | ||
Let's next place Saint Joan's childhood within the context of the story. | Let's next place Saint Joan's childhood within the context of the story. | ||