Final Sentence

The Final Sentence of condemnation delivered to Saint Joan of Arc on Wednesday, May 30, 1431. The Bishop of Beauvais, and chief Promotor of the Trial of Condemnation, Pierre Cauchon, introduced the sentence and read the text to Joan before the public gathered at the Old Market in Rouen around 9:00 a.m. that morning.

The below texts are the English translations of two early 20th century translations. These entries, followed by the attestations of the three translators of the Trial into Latin, mark the end of the official text of the Trial of Condemnation.

Final Sentence

SENTENCE OF DEATH

Final Sentence given before the People. Wednesday, May 30th, towards 9 o'clock in the morning.

We, the Judges, repaired to the place of the Old Market, in Rouen, near the Church of Saint Sauveur.

We were assisted by the reverend Fathers in Christ the Lords Bishops of Thérouenne and Noyon ; and by a number of other Lords, Masters, and ecclesiastical personages.

Before Us was brought the said Jeanne, in presence of the people, assembled in this place in an immense multitude.

She was placed upon a scaffold or platform.

For her wholesome admonition and for the edification of the whole multitude, a solemn address was made by the renowned Doctor, Nicolas Midi, who took for his text those words of the Apostle in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter xii., "If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it."

This address ended, We, the Bishop, did once more admonish Jeanne to look to her salvation, to reflect on her misdeeds, to repent of them, to have a true contrition for them. We exhorted her to believe hereon the opinion of the Clergy, of the notable persons who have taught arid instructed her on all that treats of her salvation. We did particularly exhort her to believe the good advice of the two venerable Dominicans who were at that moment beside her, and whom we had sent to her to converse with her up to the last moment and to furnish her in all surety with wholesome admonitions and counsels profitable to her salvation.

Afterwards, We, the Bishop and Vicar aforesaid, having regard to all that has gone before, in which it is shewn that this woman hath never truly abandoned her errors, her obstinate temerity, nor her unheard-of crimes; that she hath even shewn the malice of her diabolical obstinacy in this deceitful semblance of contrition, penitence, and amendment ; malice rendered still more damnable by perjury of the Holy Name of God and blasphemy of His ineffable Majesty ; considering her on all these grounds obstinate, incorrigible, heretic, relapsed into heresy, and altogether unworthy of the grace and of the Communion which, by our former sentence, We did mercifully accord to her ; all of which being seen and considered, after mature deliberation and counsel of a great number of Doctors, We have at last proceeded to the Final Sentence in these terms:

In the Name of the Lord : Amen.

At all times when the poisoned virus of heresy attaches itself with persistence to a member of the Church and transforms him into a member of Satan, extreme care should be taken to watch that the horrible contagion of this pernicious leprosy do not gain other parts of the mystic Body of Christ. The decisions of the holy Fathers have willed that hardened heretics should be separated from the midst of the Just, so that to the great peril of others this homicidal viper should not be warmed in the bosom of pious Mother Church. It is for this that We, Pierre, by the Divine Mercy, Bishop of Beauvais, and We, Brother Jean Lemaître, Deputy of the renowned Doctor, Jean Graverend, Inquisitor of the Evil of Heresy, specially delegated by him for this Process, both Judges competent^in this Trial, already, by a just judgment, have declared this woman fallen into divers errors and divers crimes of schism, idolatry, invocation of demons and many others. But because the Church closes not her bosom to the child who returns to her, we did think that, with a pure spirit and a faith unfeigned, thou hadst put far from thee thy errors and thy crimes, considering that on a certain day thou didst renounce them and didst publicly swear, vow, and promise never to return to thy errors and heresies, to resist all temptations, and to remain faithfully attached to the unity of the Catholic Church and the communion of the Roman Pontiff, as is proved at greater length in a writing signed by thine own hand. But after this abjuration of thine errors, the Author of Schism and Heresy hath arisen in thine heart, which he hath once more seduced, and it hath become manifest by thy spontaneous confessions and assertions — O, shame! — that, as the dog returns again to his vomit, so hast thou returned to thine errors and crimes ; and it hath been proved to us in a most certain manner that thou hast renounced thy guilty inventions and thy errors only in a lying manner, not in a sincere and faithful spirit. For these causes, declaring thee fallen again into thine old errors, and under the sentence of excommunication which thou hast formerly incurred, We decree that THOU ART A RELAPSED HERETIC, by our present sentence which, seated in tribunal, we utter and pronounce in this writing ; we denounce thee as a rotten member, and that thou mayest not vitiate others, as cast out from the unity of the Church, separate from her Body, abandoned to the secular power as, indeed, by these presents, we do cast thee off, separate and abandon thee ; — praying this same secular power, so far as concerns death and the mutilation of the limbs, to moderate its judgment towards thee, and, if true signs of penitence should appear in thee, [to permit] that the Sacrament of Penance be administered to thee.

[Here follows the Sentence of Excommunication, [the introductory part being word for word the same as the previous sentence, read on May 24th, up to the words "We, the Judges, say and decree "; after which follows:]

. . . that thou hast been on the subject of thy pretended divine revelations and apparitions lying, seducing, pernicious, presumptuous, lightly believing, rash, superstitious, a divineress and blasphemer towards God and the Saints, a despiser of God Himself in His Sacraments ; a prevaricator of the Divine Law, of sacred doctrine and of ecclesiastical sanctions; seditious, cruel, apostate, schismatic, erring on many points of our Faith, and by all these means rashly guilty towards God and Holy Church. And also, because that often, very often, not only by Us on Our part but by Doctors and Masters learned and expert, full of zeal for the salvation of thy soul, thou hast been duly and sufficiently warned to amend, to correct thyself and to submit to the disposal, decision, and correction of Holy Mother Church, which thou hast not willed, and hast always obstinately refused to do, having even expressly and many times refused to submit thyself to our lord the Pope and to the General Council ; for these causes, as hardened and obstinate in thy crimes, excesses and errors. We declare thee of right excommunicate and, HERETIC ; and after thine errors have been destroyed in a public preaching, We declare that thou must be abandoned and that We do abandon thee to the secular authority, as a member of Satan, separate from the Church, infected with the leprosy of heresy, in order that thou mayst not corrupt also the other members of Christ; praying this same power, that, as concerns death and the mutilation of the limbs, it may be pleased to moderate its judgment; and if true signs of penitence should appear in thee, that the Sacrament of Penance may be administered to thee.

Translation by W.P. Barrett

From the Trial of Condemnation official transcript as translated by W. P. Barrett, The Trial of Jeanne d'Arc (1931)

Final sentence pronounced before the people

Afterwards towards nine o’clock in the morning of the same day we the said judges repaired to the Old Market of Rouen, near the church of St Sauveur, in the presence of and assisted by the reverend fathers in Christ the lord bishops of Thirouanne and of Noyon, masters Jean de Chatillon, André Marguerie, Nicolas de Vendères, Raoul Roussel, Denis Gastinel, Guillaume Le Boucher, Jean Alespée, Pierre Houdene, William Haiton, the prior of Longueville, Pierre Maurice and many other lords, masters and clergy. The said Jeanne was led before us in view of a great multitude of people assembled in this place , she was placed upon a scaffold or platform. For her salutary admonition and the edification of the people a solemn sermon was delivered by the distinguished doctor of theology, master Nicolas Midi. He took as his text the words of the Epistle of the twelfth chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians,

Si quid patitur unum membrum, compatiuntur alia membra Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it

When this sermon was over we once more admonished Jeanne to look to the salvation of her soul, to reflect on her misdeeds and to repent and show true contrition for them. We exhorted her to believe the counsel of the clergy and notable persons who instructed and taught her things concerning her salvation, and especially of the two venerable Preaching brothers who were then standing near her, and whom we had appointed to instruct her continually and zealously to address to her salutary admonitions and profitable counsels. Finally we the bishop and vicar aforesaid, having regard to what has gone before, in which it is manifest that this woman had in her obstinate rashness never truly abandoned her errors end abominable crimes; but rather that she had shown herself infinitely more damnable by the diabolical malice of her obstinacy in the false simulation of contrition, penitence and correction, and by the perjury of God’s holy name and the blasphemy of His saints: that she had by such means declared herself obstinate, incorrigible, a heretic, relapsed in heresy, altogether unworthy of grace and of the communion which in our earlier sentence we had mercifully offered her. In view of all the things to be considered in this matter, and after mature deliberation and counsel with many learned persons, we proceeded to the final sentence in these terms:

Final Sentence

In the name of the Lord, amen. As often as the poisonous virus of heresy obstinately attaches itself to a member of the Church and transforms him into a limb of Satan, most diligent care must be taken to present the foul contagion of this pernicious Iepresy from spreading to other parts of the mystic body of Christ. The decrees of the holy Fathers have laid down that hardened heretics must be separated from the midst of the just, rather than permit such pernicious vipers to lodge in the bosom of Our Holy Mother Church, to the great peril of the rest. Therefore, we, Pierre by divine mercy bishop of Beauvais and brother Jean Le Maitre, vicar of the renowned doctor Jean Graverent, the Inquisitor of Heretical Error and especially appointed by him in this case, both competent judges in this trial, have declared by a just judgment that you, Jeanne, commonly called The Maid have fallen into divers errors and crimes of schism, idolatry, invocation of demons and many other misdeeds. Nevertheless, since the Church never closes her bosom to the wanderer who returns, esteeming that with a pure spirit and unfeigned faith you had cut yourself off from these errors and crimes because on a certain day you renounced them, swore in public, vowed and promised never to return to the said errors or heresy under any influence or in any manner whatever, but rather to remain indissolubly in the unity of the Catholic Church and the communion of the Roman pontiff, as is proven at greater length in the formula signed by your own hand. Since subsequently, after this abjuration of your errors the author of schism and heresy has arisen in your heart which he has seduced and since you are fallen again — O, sorrow! — into these errors and crimes as the dog returns to his vomit, as it is sufficiently and manifestly clear from your willing confessions and statements, we have concluded in most celebrated decisions that the denial of your previous inventions and errors was merely verbal. Therefore we declare that you are fallen again into jour former errors and under the sentence of excommunication which you originally incurred we decree that you are a relapsed heretic, and by this sentence which we deliver in writing and pronounce from this tribunal, we denounce you as a rotten member, which, so that you shall not infect the other members of Christ, must be cast out of the unity of the Church, cut off from her body, and given over to the secular power we cast you off, separate and abandon you, praying this same secular power on this side of death and the mutilation of your limbs, to moderate its judgment towards you, and if true signs of repentance appear in you to permit the sacrament of penance to be administered to you”

The sentence of which the greater part was read before Jeanne's abjuration

"In the name of the Lord, amen. All pastors of the Church who desire and endeavour to lead the Lord’s flock faithfully must, when the perfidious sower of errors laboriously attempts with great cunning to infect the flock of Christ with virulent poisons, assemble their whole strength to combat the assaults of the Evil one with greater vigilance and more urgent solicitude This is particularly necessary in these dangerous times in which the words of the aposte announced that many false prophets would come into the world and introduce sects of perdition and error which by their varied and foreign doctrines might seduce Christ's faithful people, if Our Holy Mother Church did not struggle to overthrow these erroneous inventions. Therefore before us your competent judges, namely Pierre by divine mercy bishop of Beauvais and brother Jean LeMaitre, vicar in this city and diocese of the notable master Jean Graverent, Inquisitor of Heretical Error in the kingdom of France, and especially appointed by him to officiate in this cause, you, Jeanne, commonly called The Maid have been arraigned to account for many pernicious crimes and have been charged in a matter of the faith. And having seen and examined with diligence the course of your trial and all that occurred therein, principally the answers, confessions and affirmations which you made, after having also considered the most notable decision of the makers of the Faculties of Theology and Decrees in the University of Paris, in addition to that of the general assembly of the University, and of the prelates, doctors and men learned in canon and civil law and in theology who were met together in a great multitude in this town of Rouen and elsewhere for the discussion and judgment of your statements, words and deeds, having taken counsel and mature conference with those zealots of the Christian faith, and having seen and weighed all there is to see and weigh in this matter, all that we and any man of judgment and law could and should observe: We, having Christ and the honour of the orthodox faith before our eyes, so that our judgment may seem to emanate from the face of Our Lord, have said and decreed that in the simulation of your revelations and apparitions you have been pernicious, seductive, presumptuous, of light belief, rash, superstitious, a witch, a blasphemer of God and His saints, a despiser of Him in His sacraments, a prevaricator of the divine teaching and the ecclesiastical sanctions. seditious, cruel, apostate, schismatic, erring gravely in our faith, and that by these means you have rashly trespassed against God and the Holy Church. Moreover, although you have very often, not by Us only but also by certain learned expert masters and doctors full of zeal for the salvation of your soul, been duly and sufficiently admonished to amend and reform yourself, and to submit to the disposition, decision and correction of Holy Mother Church, you would not, and cared not to do so, and even in the hardness of your heart stubbornly and obstinately declared that you would not, and on many occasions expressly refused to submit to Our Holy Father the Pope and the holy General Council. Therefore we declare you of right excommunicate and heretic, being stubborn and obstinate in your crimes, excesses and errors , and we pronounce it meet to abandon you and do abandon you to the secular justice as a limb of Satan, infected with the leprosy of heresy, cut off from the Church, m order to prevent the infection of the other members of Christ, praying this same power on this side of death and the mutilation of your limbs to moderate its judgment towards you, and if true signs of penance appear in you to permit the Sacrament of penance to be administered to you."