Saint Joan of Arc (Jeanne la Pucelle): Difference between revisions

Line 48:

Rejecting the French response, which was essentially, "here, take another princess,"<ref>In 1396, Charles' second and surviving daughter, six years old, was married to Richard II of England, the goal of which was to maintain peace between the countries. The marriage was never consummated, as age 12 was considered the age of consent. Richard, apparently, loved her like an adopted child or niece. </ref> in 1415 Henry invaded Normandy, reviving the ongoing but episodic French succession conflict we now call the "Hundred Years War". At the famed Battle of Agincourt, Henry destroyed French forces that consisted mostly of loyalists to the House of Orléans, while its French rival, the House of Burgundy, sat out, possibly by agreement with the English.<ref>Per See [https://archive.org/details/agincourtkingcam0000bark/page/68/mode/2up?q=67 Agincourt : the king, the campaign, the battle, by Barker, Juliet R. V (Archive.org)]; p. 67</ref> Animosity continued between the French factions, further weakening Charles VI, who had long suffered attacks of severe mental illness which periodically left his rule up for grabs.

Charles VI assumed the throne as a minor at age 11, so France was ruled by a regency council made up of his father's brothers, but dominated by the youngest brother, and most ambitious, Philip II "the Bold", Duke of Burgundy.<ref>Through marriage and negotiation, Philip created the Duchy of Burgundy and so was the first Duke of Burgundy. He earned the nickname "the Bold" at the age of fourteen for fighting alongside his father at the 1356 Battle of Poitiers. They were both captured and ransomed four years later. Later, Philip adopted artillery into his military tactics and used it to conquer Flanders. </ref> At the age of twenty-one<ref>or was he still 20?</ref> in 1389, Charles VI finally assumed full control from his uncles, whom he forced out by reinstalling his father's old and loyal advisors. While his mental illness must have been already evident, in 1392 Charles deliriously attacked his own guard, killing a knight and several others.<ref>He was subdued and lapsed into a coma.</ref> The Duke of Burgundy reassumed control which was ostensibly exercised by a regency council under Charles's queen, Isabella of Bavaria. Between mental bouts Charles actually ruled in competency, but he largely let his wife represent him to the council. Henceforth, she and the the King's younger brother, Louis II, Duke of Orléans,<ref>Charles VI appointed his brother Louis Duke of Orleans in 1392. The title was a royal grant that was later used as the title for the French prince. </ref> angled for power over Charles' uncles, especially Philip, Duke of Burgundy.

Charles VI assumed the throne as a minor at age 11, so France was ruled by a regency council made up of his father's brothers, but dominated by the youngest brother, and most ambitious, Philip II "the Bold", Duke of Burgundy.<ref>Through marriage and negotiation, Philip created the Duchy of Burgundy and so was the first Duke of Burgundy. He earned the nickname "the Bold" at the age of fourteen for fighting alongside his father at the 1356 Battle of Poitiers. They were both captured and ransomed four years later. Later, Philip adopted artillery into his military tactics and used it to conquer Flanders. </ref> At the age of twenty-one<ref>or was he still 20?</ref> in 1389, Charles VI finally assumed full control from his uncles, whom he forced out by reinstalling his father's old and loyal advisors. While his mental illness must have been already evident, in 1392 Charles deliriously attacked his own guard, killing a knight and several others.<ref>He was subdued and lapsed into a coma.</ref> The Duke of Burgundy reassumed control which was ostensibly exercised by a regency council under Charles's queen, Isabella of Bavaria. Between mental bouts Charles actually ruled in competency, but he largely let his wife represent him to the council. Henceforth, she and the the King's younger brother, Louis II, Duke of Orléans,<ref>Wikipedia pages on the Duke always show a salacious painting of the Duke "Uncovering a Mistress" by the anti-clerical, anti-monarchist painter, Eugène Delacroix (most famous for his painting, "Liberty Leading the People," celebrating the July Revolution of 1830 and the overthrow of King Charles X, Ironically, another famous Delacroix work, "Murder of the Bishop of Liege" was commissioned by the Duke of Orléans. </ref><ref>Charles VI appointed his brother Louis Duke of Orleans in 1392. The title was a royal grant that was later used as the title for the French prince. </ref> angled for power over Charles' uncles, especially Philip, Duke of Burgundy.

As regents, the dukes of Orléans and Burgundy largely managed in conciliation, although when one was traveling, the other would pull some stunt back at the court. However, when Philip, the Duke of Burgundy, died in 1404 the Duke of Orleans removed Philip's son John the Fearless from both the council and the Royal treasury, a huge powerplay. In 1407, John got back by ordering the assassination of Louis I, an act that John not only admitted but acclaimed, justified by a reduction in taxes that Louis I had imposed upon Paris and a general appeal to Parisian autonomy. Additionally, the all-powerful University of Paris was upset that the Duke Orléans had returned French alliance from the Avignon antipope back to the Roman Pope. Louis had supported the antipope in exchange for an annulment of a prior betrothal of the Princess of Hungry, whom he was angling to marry in order to take the title King of Hungry.<ref>They were married by proxy, but before Louis could travel to Hungry to claim his throne, the Duke of Luxembourg invaded and with the support of Hungarian nobility married the princess to whom he had already been betrothed prior to Louis' intervention. It would have presented an interesting scenario by which were he King of Hungry, Louis would have supported an (anti) Pope that the Hungarian nobility did not recognize. Louis's claim on Hungary started when he was two and betrothed to the older sister of the Hungarian princess. By that time, the younger sister was already betrothed to the Princess that the Duke of Luxembourg, who became King of Hungry and later on Holy Roman Emperor. </ref> After that deal fell through, Louis returned French official allegiance to the Roman Pope, Benedict XIII.

Line 60:

The Burgundians now openly aligned with the English and negotiated the Treaty of Troyes with the Dauphin's father. Queen Isabeau supported the deal which, through marriage of her daughter to Henry V of England yielded succession to Henry as King of France, thus cutting off her son, the Dauphin Charles. Among those who negotiated the treaty was a Burgundian Bishop who would later persecute Saint Joan.<ref>Pierre Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais. He was extremely ambitious and calculating. Joan warned him that his soul was in peril. From the Trial of Condemnation, February 27, 1431, Joan was asked, "You said that my Lord of Beauvais puts himself in great danger by bringing you to trial; of what danger were you speaking ? In what peril or danger do we place ourselves, your Judges and the others ?<nowiki>''</nowiki> She replied, "I said to my Lord of Beauvais, 'You say that you are my Judge; I do not know if you are, but take heed not to judge wrongly, because you would put yourself in great danger ; and I warn you of it, so that, if Our Lord should punish you for it, I shall have done my duty in telling you.'" ([https://archive.org/details/jeannedarcmaido00fragoog/page/n115/ Murray, p 76])</ref> With the Duke of Orleans in captivity in England, the Dauphin sidelined for the murder of the Duke of Burgundy, and ratified by the Estates-General at Paris, Henry V triumphantly arrived to Parish to sign the treaty.

There's all kinds of messiness here, what with Charles VI bouncing between delusions and paranoias, his wife running the Court during his episodes, and rumored to have had an affair with the King's brother who was murdered by his uncle, whose son was murdered by the prince of France whom the Burgundians claimed was actually son of the Duke of Orleans<ref>Wikipedia pages on the Duke always show a salacious painting of the Duke "Uncovering a Mistress" by the anti-clerical, anti-monarchist painter, Eugène Delacroix (most famous for his painting, "Liberty Leading the People," celebrating the July Revolution of 1830 and the overthrow of King Charles X, Ironically, another famous Delacroix work, "Murder of the Bishop of Liege" was commissioned by the Duke of Orléans. </ref> and so not a legitimate heir. Weakened, nevertheless the Armagnac loyalists supported the Dauphin and rallied around his court at Bourges, where, on the death of his father, he assumed the throne of France as Charles VII, although without a full coronation at the traditional city of crowning, Reims, which was controlled by the Anglo-Burgundians. At the same time, Henry V declared himself, according to the Treaty of Troyes, King Henry II of France.

There's all kinds of messiness here, what with Charles VI bouncing between delusions and paranoias, his wife running the Court during his episodes, and rumored to have had an affair with the King's brother who was murdered by his uncle, whose son was murdered by the prince of France whom the Burgundians claimed was actually son of the Duke of Orleans and so not a legitimate heir. Weakened, nevertheless the Armagnac loyalists supported the Dauphin and rallied around his court at Bourges, where, on the death of his father, he assumed the throne of France as Charles VII, although without a full coronation at the traditional city of crowning, Reims, which was controlled by the Anglo-Burgundians. At the same time, Henry V declared himself, according to the Treaty of Troyes, King Henry II of France.

The war escalated from there, with each side took some victories, although the English secured their hold on northern France and in 1423 and 1424 inflicted two overwhelming defeats of the French and their Scottish partners.<ref>Battle of Cravant in1423, and at Verneuil in 1424, which devastated the Franco-Scottish forces (who had achieved a strong win at La Brossineire the year before but not to lasting effect). As for the Scottish, anyone opposing the English was a friend.</ref> Meanwhile, the English prompted the Burgundians to wage slash and burn tactics on areas of French loyalists, including the village of Domrémy, which was subjected to occasional raids and ransoms. The French government was going broke and no where, the Duke of Orléans was a still held captive in England, and the French were demoralized and cowered by English armies. Then, in October of 1429, the English moved upon the city of Orléans, which was the key to the last line of defense, the Loire River.

@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 Rejecting the French response, which was essentially, "here, take another princess,"<ref>In 1396, Charles' second and surviving daughter, six years old, was married to Richard II of England, the goal of which was to maintain peace between the countries. The marriage was never consummated, as age 12 was considered the age of consent. Richard, apparently, loved her like an adopted child or niece. </ref> in 1415 Henry invaded Normandy, reviving the ongoing but episodic French succession conflict we now call the "Hundred Years War". At the famed Battle of Agincourt, Henry destroyed French forces that consisted mostly of loyalists to the House of Orléans, while its French rival, the House of Burgundy, sat out, possibly by agreement with the English.<ref>Per See [https://archive.org/details/agincourtkingcam0000bark/page/68/mode/2up?q=67 Agincourt : the king, the campaign, the battle, by Barker, Juliet R. V (Archive.org)]; p. 67</ref> Animosity continued between the French factions, further weakening Charles VI, who had long suffered attacks of severe mental illness which periodically left his rule up for grabs.
-Charles VI assumed the throne as a minor at age 11, so France was ruled by a regency council made up of his father's brothers, but dominated by the youngest brother, and most ambitious, Philip II "the Bold", Duke of Burgundy.<ref>Through marriage and negotiation, Philip created the Duchy of Burgundy and so was the first Duke of Burgundy. He earned the nickname "the Bold" at the age of fourteen for fighting alongside his father at the 1356 Battle of Poitiers. They were both captured and ransomed four years later. Later, Philip adopted artillery into his military tactics and used it to conquer Flanders.  </ref> At the age of twenty-one<ref>or was he still 20?</ref> in 1389, Charles VI finally assumed full control from his uncles, whom he forced out by reinstalling his father's old and loyal advisors. While his mental illness must have been already evident, in 1392 Charles deliriously attacked his own guard, killing a knight and several others.<ref>He was subdued and lapsed into a coma.</ref> The Duke of Burgundy reassumed control which was ostensibly exercised by a regency council under Charles's queen, Isabella of Bavaria. Between mental bouts Charles actually ruled in competency, but he largely let his wife represent him to the council. Henceforth, she and the the King's younger brother, Louis II, Duke of Orléans,<ref>Charles VI appointed his brother Louis Duke of Orleans in 1392. The title was a royal grant that was later used as the title for the French prince.  </ref> angled for power over Charles' uncles, especially Philip, Duke of Burgundy.
+Charles VI assumed the throne as a minor at age 11, so France was ruled by a regency council made up of his father's brothers, but dominated by the youngest brother, and most ambitious, Philip II "the Bold", Duke of Burgundy.<ref>Through marriage and negotiation, Philip created the Duchy of Burgundy and so was the first Duke of Burgundy. He earned the nickname "the Bold" at the age of fourteen for fighting alongside his father at the 1356 Battle of Poitiers. They were both captured and ransomed four years later. Later, Philip adopted artillery into his military tactics and used it to conquer Flanders.  </ref> At the age of twenty-one<ref>or was he still 20?</ref> in 1389, Charles VI finally assumed full control from his uncles, whom he forced out by reinstalling his father's old and loyal advisors. While his mental illness must have been already evident, in 1392 Charles deliriously attacked his own guard, killing a knight and several others.<ref>He was subdued and lapsed into a coma.</ref> The Duke of Burgundy reassumed control which was ostensibly exercised by a regency council under Charles's queen, Isabella of Bavaria. Between mental bouts Charles actually ruled in competency, but he largely let his wife represent him to the council. Henceforth, she and the the King's younger brother, Louis II, Duke of Orléans,<ref>Wikipedia pages on the Duke always show a salacious painting of the Duke "Uncovering a Mistress" by the anti-clerical, anti-monarchist painter, Eugène Delacroix (most famous for his painting,  "Liberty Leading the People," celebrating the July Revolution of 1830 and the overthrow of King Charles X, Ironically, another famous Delacroix work, "Murder of the Bishop of Liege" was commissioned by the Duke of Orléans. </ref><ref>Charles VI appointed his brother Louis Duke of Orleans in 1392. The title was a royal grant that was later used as the title for the French prince.  </ref> angled for power over Charles' uncles, especially Philip, Duke of Burgundy.
 As regents, the dukes of Orléans and Burgundy largely managed in conciliation, although when one was traveling, the other would pull some stunt back at the court. However, when Philip, the Duke of Burgundy, died in 1404 the Duke of Orleans removed Philip's son John the Fearless from both the council and the Royal treasury, a huge powerplay. In 1407, John got back by ordering the assassination of Louis I, an act that John not only admitted but acclaimed, justified by a reduction in taxes that Louis I had imposed upon Paris and a general appeal to Parisian autonomy. Additionally, the all-powerful University of Paris was upset that the Duke Orléans had returned French alliance from the Avignon antipope back to the Roman Pope. Louis had supported the antipope in exchange for an annulment of a prior betrothal of the Princess of Hungry, whom he was angling to marry in order to take the title King of Hungry.<ref>They were married by proxy, but before Louis could travel to Hungry to claim his throne, the Duke of Luxembourg invaded and with the support of Hungarian nobility married the princess to whom he had already been betrothed prior to Louis' intervention. It would have presented an interesting scenario by which were he King of Hungry, Louis would have supported an (anti) Pope that the Hungarian nobility did not recognize. Louis's claim on Hungary started when he was two and betrothed to the older sister of the Hungarian princess. By that time, the younger sister was already betrothed to the Princess that the Duke of Luxembourg, who became King of Hungry and later on Holy Roman Emperor. </ref> After that deal fell through, Louis returned French official allegiance to the Roman Pope, Benedict XIII.
@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 The Burgundians now openly aligned with the English and negotiated the Treaty of Troyes with the Dauphin's father. Queen Isabeau supported the deal which, through marriage of her daughter to Henry V of England yielded succession to Henry as King of France, thus cutting off her son, the Dauphin Charles. Among those who negotiated the treaty was a Burgundian Bishop who would later persecute Saint Joan.<ref>Pierre Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais. He was extremely ambitious and calculating. Joan warned him that his soul was in peril. From the Trial of Condemnation, February 27, 1431, Joan was asked, "You said that my Lord of Beauvais puts himself in great danger by bringing you to trial; of what danger were you speaking ? In what peril or danger do we place ourselves, your Judges and the others ?<nowiki>''</nowiki>  She replied, "I said to my Lord of Beauvais, 'You say that you are my Judge; I do not know if you are, but take heed not to judge wrongly, because you would put yourself in great danger ; and I warn you of it, so that, if Our Lord should punish you for it, I shall have done my duty in telling you.'" ([https://archive.org/details/jeannedarcmaido00fragoog/page/n115/ Murray, p 76])</ref> With the Duke of Orleans in captivity in England, the Dauphin sidelined for the murder of the Duke of Burgundy, and ratified by the Estates-General at Paris, Henry V triumphantly arrived to Parish to sign the treaty.
-There's all kinds of messiness here, what with Charles VI bouncing between delusions and paranoias, his wife running the Court during his episodes, and rumored to have had an affair with the King's brother who was murdered by his uncle, whose son was murdered by the prince of France whom the Burgundians claimed was actually son of the Duke of Orleans<ref>Wikipedia pages on the Duke always show a salacious painting of the Duke "Uncovering a Mistress" by the anti-clerical, anti-monarchist painter, Eugène Delacroix (most famous for his painting,  "Liberty Leading the People," celebrating the July Revolution of 1830 and the overthrow of King Charles X, Ironically, another famous Delacroix work, "Murder of the Bishop of Liege" was commissioned by the Duke of Orléans. </ref> and so not a legitimate heir. Weakened, nevertheless the Armagnac loyalists supported the Dauphin and rallied around his court at Bourges, where, on the death of his father, he assumed the throne of France as Charles VII, although without a full coronation at the traditional city of crowning, Reims, which was controlled by the Anglo-Burgundians. At the same time, Henry V declared himself, according to the Treaty of Troyes, King Henry II of France.
+There's all kinds of messiness here, what with Charles VI bouncing between delusions and paranoias, his wife running the Court during his episodes, and rumored to have had an affair with the King's brother who was murdered by his uncle, whose son was murdered by the prince of France whom the Burgundians claimed was actually son of the Duke of Orleans and so not a legitimate heir. Weakened, nevertheless the Armagnac loyalists supported the Dauphin and rallied around his court at Bourges, where, on the death of his father, he assumed the throne of France as Charles VII, although without a full coronation at the traditional city of crowning, Reims, which was controlled by the Anglo-Burgundians. At the same time, Henry V declared himself, according to the Treaty of Troyes, King Henry II of France.
 The war escalated from there, with each side took some victories, although the English secured their hold on northern France and in 1423 and 1424 inflicted two overwhelming defeats of the French and their Scottish partners.<ref>Battle of Cravant in1423, and at Verneuil in 1424, which devastated the Franco-Scottish forces (who had achieved a strong win at La Brossineire the year before but not to lasting effect). As for the Scottish, anyone opposing the English was a friend.</ref> Meanwhile, the English prompted the Burgundians to wage slash and burn tactics on areas of French loyalists, including the village of Domrémy, which was subjected to occasional raids and ransoms. The French government was going broke and no where, the Duke of Orléans was a still held captive in England, and the French were demoralized and cowered by English armies. Then, in October of 1429, the English moved upon the city of Orléans, which was the key to the last line of defense, the Loire River.