The Life of Joan of Arc Part 47

[Footnote 1121: _Journal du siege_, pp. 91, 92. Jean Chartier, _Chronique_, vol. i, p. 71.]

From Chinon the King caused to be sent to the inhabitants of the towns in his dominion and notably to those of La Roch.e.l.le and Narbonne, a letter written at three sittings, between the evening of the 9th of May and the morning of the 10th, as the tidings from Orleans were coming in. In this letter he announced the capture of the forts of Saint-Loup, Les Augustins and Les Tourelles and called upon the townsfolk to praise G.o.d and do honour to the great feats accomplished there, especially by the Maid, who "had always been present when these deeds were done."[1122] Thus did the royal power describe Jeanne's share in the victory. It was in no wise a captain's share; she held no command of any kind. But, sent by G.o.d, at least so it might be believed, her presence was a help and a consolation.

[Footnote 1122: _Charles VII's Letter to the Inhabitants of Narbonne_, in _Trial_, vol. v, pp. 101, 104. Arcere, _Histoire de La Roch.e.l.le_, vol. i, p. 271 (1756). Moynes, _Inventaire des archives de l'Aude_, supplement, p. 390. _Procession d'actions de graces a Brignoles (Var) en l'honneur de la delivrance d'Orleans par Jeanne d'Arc_ (1429).

Communication made to the Congress of learned Societies at the Sorbonne (April, 1893) by F. Mireur, Draguignan, 1894, in 8vo, p.

175.]

In company with a few n.o.bles she went to Blois, stayed there two days,[1123] then went on to Tours, where the King was expected.[1124]

When, on the Friday before Whitsunday, she entered the town, Charles, who had set out from Chinon, had not yet arrived. Banner in hand, she rode out to meet him and when she came to him, she took off her cap and bowed her head as far as she could over her horse. The King lifted his hood, bade her look up and kissed her. It is said that he felt glad to see her, but in reality we know not what he felt.[1125]

[Footnote 1123: _Trial_, vol. iii, p. 80. _Journal du siege_, p. 91.]

[Footnote 1124: _Ibid._, vol. iii, pp. 72, 76, 80.]

[Footnote 1125: _Trial_, vol. iii, p. 116 (evidence of S. Charles).

Eberhard Windecke, p. 177, and _Chronique de Tournai_, edition Smedt, pp. 407 _et seq._ (vol. iii of _Les chroniques de Flandre_).]

In this month of May, 1429, he received from Messire Jacques Gelu a treatise concerning the Maid, which he probably did not read, but which his confessor read for him. Messire Jacques Gelu, sometime Councillor to the Dauphin and now my Lord Archbishop of Embrun,[1126]

had at first been afraid that the King's enemies had sent him this shepherdess to poison him, or that she was a witch possessed by demons. In the beginning he had advised her being carefully interrogated, not hastily repulsed, for appearances are deceptive and divine grace moves in a mysterious manner. Now, after having read the conclusions of the doctors of Poitiers, learnt the deliverance of Orleans, and heard the cry of the common folk, Messire Jacques Gelu no longer doubted the damsel's innocence and goodness. Seeing that the doctors were divided in their opinion of her, he drew up a brief treatise, which he sent to the King, with a very ample, a very humble, and a very worthy dedicatory epistle.

[Footnote 1126: _Trial_, vol. iii, pp. 394, 407; vol. v, p. 413. Le P.

Marcellin Fornier, _Histoire des Alpes-Maritimes ou Cottiennes_, vol.

ii, p. 320. Le P. Ayroles, _La Pucelle devant l'eglise de son temps_, pp. 39, 52.]

About that time, on the pavement of the cathedral of Reims a labyrinth had been traced with compa.s.s and with square.[1127] Pilgrims who were patient and painstaking followed all its winding ways. The Archbishop of Embrun's treatise is likewise a carefully planned scholastic labyrinth. Herein one advances only to retreat and retreats only to advance, but without entirely losing one's way provided one walks with sufficient patience and attention. Like all scholastics, Gelu begins by giving the reasons against his own opinion and it is not until he has followed his opponent at some length that he returns to his own argument. Into all the intricacies of his labyrinth it would take too long to follow him. But since those who were round the King consulted this theological treatise, since it was addressed to the King and since the King and his Council may have based on it their opinion of Jeanne and their conduct towards her, one is curious to know what, on so singular an occasion, they found taught and recommended therein.

[Footnote 1127: L. Paris, _Notice sur le dedale ou labyrinthe de l'eglise de Reims_, in _Ann. des Inst. provinc._, 1857, vol. ix, p.

233.]

Treating first of the Church's weal, Jacques Gelu holds that G.o.d raised up the Maid to confound the heretics, the number of whom, according to him, is by no means small. "To turn to confusion those who believe in G.o.d as if they believed not," he writes, "the Almighty, who hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, _King of Kings and Lord of Lords_, was pleased to succour the King of France by the hand of a child of low estate." The Archbishop of Embrun discerns five reasons why the divine succour was granted to the King; to wit: the justice of his cause, the striking merits of his predecessors, the prayers of devout souls and the sighs of the oppressed, the injustice of the enemies of the kingdom and the insatiable cruelty of the English nation.

That G.o.d should have chosen a maid to destroy armies in no way surprises him. "He created insects, such as flies and fleas, with which to humble man's pride." So persistently do these tiny creatures worry and weary us that they prevent our studying or acting. However strong his self-control, a man may not rest in a room infested with fleas. By the hand of a young peasant, born of poor and lowly parents, subject to menial labour, ignorant and simple beyond saying, it hath pleased Him to strike down the proud, to humble them and make His Majesty manifest unto them by the deliverance of the peris.h.i.+ng.

That to a virgin the Most High should have revealed His designs concerning the Kingdom of the Lilies cannot astonish us; on virgins He readily bestows the gift of prophecy. To the sibyls it pleased Him to reveal mysteries hidden from all the Gentiles. On the authority of Nicanor, of Euripides, of Chrysippus, of Nennius, of Apollodorus, of Eratosthenes, of Heraclides Ponticus, of Marcus Varro and of Lactantius, Messire Jacques Gelu teaches that the sibyls were ten in number: the Persian, the Libyan, the Delphian, the Cimmerian, the Erythrean, the Samian, the c.u.maean, the h.e.l.lespontine, the Phrygian and the Tiburtine. They prophesied to the Gentiles the glorious incarnation of Our Lord, the resurrection of the dead and the consummation of the ages. This example appears to him worthy of consideration.

As for Jeanne, she is in herself unknowable. Aristotle teaches: there is nothing in the intellect which hath not first been in the senses, and the senses cannot penetrate beyond experience. But what the mind cannot grasp directly it may come to comprehend by a roundabout way.

When we consider her works, as far as in our human weakness we can know, we say the Maid is of G.o.d. Albeit she hath adopted the profession of arms, she never counsels cruelty; she is merciful to her enemies when they throw themselves upon her mercy and she offers peace. Finally the Archbishop of Embrun believes that this Maid is an angel sent by G.o.d, the Lord of Hosts, for the saving of the people; not that she has the nature, but that she does the work of an angel.

Concerning the conduct to be followed in circ.u.mstances so marvellous, the doctor is of opinion that in war the King should act according to human wisdom. It is written: "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy G.o.d."

In vain would an active mind have been bestowed on man were he not to make use of it in his undertakings. Long deliberation must precede prompt execution. It is not by a woman's desires or supplications that G.o.d's help is obtained. A prosperous issue is the fruit of action and of counsel.

But the inspiration of G.o.d must not be rejected. Wherefore the will of the Maid must be accomplished, even should that will appear doubtful and mistaken. If the words of the Maid are found to be stable, then the King must follow her and confide to her as to G.o.d the conduct of the enterprise to which she is committed. Should any doubt occur to the King, let him incline rather towards divine than towards human wisdom, for as there is no comparing the finite with the infinite so there is no comparing the wisdom of man with the wisdom of G.o.d.

Wherefore we must believe that He who sent us this child is able to impart unto her a counsel superior to man's counsel. Then from this Aristotelian reasoning the Archbishop of Embrun draws the following two-headed conclusion: "On the one hand we give it to be understood that the wisdom of this world must be consulted in the ordering of battle, the use of engines, ladders and all other implements of war, the building of bridges, the sufficient despatch of supplies, the raising of funds, and in all matters without which no enterprise can succeed save by miracle.

"But when on the other hand divine wisdom is seen to be acting in some peculiar way, then human reason must be humble and withdraw. Then it is, we observe, that the counsel of the Maid must be asked for, sought after and adopted before all else. He who gives life gives wherewithal to support life. On his workers he bestows the instruments for their work. Wherefore let us hope in the Lord. He makes the King's cause his own. Those who support it he will inspire with the wisdom necessary to make it triumphant. G.o.d leaves no work imperfect."

The Archbishop concludes his treatise by commending the Maid to the King because she inspires holy thoughts and makes manifest the works of piety. "This counsel do we give the King that every day he do such things as are well pleasing in the sight of the Lord and that he confer with the Maid concerning them. When he shall have received her advice let him practise it piously and devoutly; then shall not the Lord withdraw His hand from Him but continue His loving kindness unto him."[1128]

[Footnote 1128: Bibl. Nat. Latin Collection, no. 6199, folio 36.

_Trial_, vol. iii, pp. 395-410. Lanery d'Arc, _Memoires et consultations_, pp. 365 _et seq._ Le P. Ayroles, _La Pucelle devant l'eglise de son temps_, pp. 31-52.]

The great doctor Gerson, former Chancellor of the University, was then ending his days at Lyon in the monastery of Les Celestins, of which his brother was prior. His life had been full of work and weariness.[1129] In 1408 he was priest of Saint-Jean-en-Greve in Paris. In that year he delivered in his parish church the funeral oration of the Duke of Orleans, a.s.sa.s.sinated by order of the Duke of Burgundy; and he roused the pa.s.sions of the mob to such a fury that he ran great danger of losing his life. At the Council of Constance, possessed by a so-called "merciful cruelty"[1130] which goaded him to send a heretic to the stake, he urged the condemnation of John Huss, regardless of the safe-conduct which the latter had received from the Emperor; for in common with all the fathers there a.s.sembled he held that according to natural law both divine and human, no promise should be kept if it were prejudicial to the Catholic Faith. With a like ardour he prosecuted in the Council the condemnation of the thesis of Jean Pet.i.t concerning the lawfulness of tyrannicide. In things temporal as well as spiritual he advocated uniform obedience and the respect of established authority. In one of his sermons he likens the kingdom of France to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar, making the merchants and artisans the legs of the statue, "which are partly iron, partly clay, because of their labour and humility in serving and obeying...." Iron signifies labour, and clay humility. All the evil has arisen from the King and the great citizens being held in subjection by those of low estate.[1131]

[Footnote 1129: Launoy, _Historia Navarrici Gymasii_, book iv, ch. v.

J.B. Lecuy, _Essai sur la vie de Jean Gerson, chancelier de l'eglise et de l'universite de Paris, sur sa doctrine, sur ses ecrits...._ Paris, 1832, 2 vols. in 8vo. Vallet de Viriville, _Histoire de Charles VII_, vol. ii, p. 94. A.L. Ma.s.son, _Jean Gerson, sa vie, son temps, ses oeuvres_, Lyon, 1894, 8vo.]

[Footnote 1130: _Par une cruaute misericordieuse._ Du Boulay, _Historia Universitatis Parisiensis_, vol. iv, p. 270.]

[Footnote 1131: Gerson, _Opera_, vol. iv, pp. 668-678.]

Now, crushed by suffering and sorrow, he was teaching little children.

"It is with them that reforms must begin," he said.[1132]

[Footnote 1132: Gerson, _Adversus corruptionem Juventutis_. A.

Lafontaine, _De Johanne Gersonio puerorum adulescentiumque inst.i.tutore...._ La Chapelle-Montligeon, 1902, in 8vo.]

The deliverance of the city of Orleans must have gladdened the heart of the old Orleanist partisan. The Dauphin's Councillors, eager to set the Maid to work, had told him of the deliberations at Poitiers, and asked him, as a good servant of the house of France, for his opinion concerning them. In reply he wrote a compendious treatise on the Maid.

In this work he is careful from the first to distinguish between matters of faith and matters of devotion. In questions of faith doubt is forbidden. With regard to questions of devotion the unbeliever, to use a colloquial expression, is not necessarily d.a.m.ned. Three conditions are necessary if a question is to be considered as one of devotion: first, it must be edifying; second, it must be probable and attested by popular report or the testimony of the faithful; third, it must touch on nothing contrary to faith. When these conditions are fulfilled, it is fitting neither persistently to condemn nor to approve, but rather to appeal to the church.

For example, the conception of the very holy Virgin, indulgences, relics, are matters of faith and not of devotion. A relic may be wors.h.i.+pped in one place or another, or in several places at once.

Recently the Parlement of Paris disputed concerning the head of Saint Denys, wors.h.i.+pped at Saint-Denys in France and likewise in the cathedral at Paris. This is a matter of devotion.[1133]

[Footnote 1133: Gallia Christiana, vol. vii, col. 142. Jean Juvenal des Ursins, year 1406.]

Whence it may be concluded that it is lawful to consider the question of the Maid as a matter of devotion, especially when one reflects on her motives, which are the rest.i.tution of his kingdom to her King and the very righteous expulsion or destruction of her very stubborn enemies.

And if there be those who make various statements concerning her idle talk, her frivolity, her guile, now is the time to quote the saying of Cato: "Common report is not our judge." According to the words of the Apostle, it doth not become us to call in question the servant of G.o.d.

Much better is it to abstain from judgment, as is permitted, or to submit doubtful points to ecclesiastical superiors. This is the principle followed in the canonisation of saints. The catalogue of the saints is not, strictly speaking, necessarily a matter of faith, but of pious devotion. Nevertheless, it is not to be highly censured by any manner of man.

To come to the present case, the following circ.u.mstances are to be noted: First, the royal council and the men-at-arms were induced to believe and to obey; and they faced the risk of being put to shame by defeat under the leaders.h.i.+p of a girl. Second, the people rejoice, and their pious faith seems to tend to the glory of G.o.d and the confounding of his enemies. Third, the enemy, even his princes, are in hiding and stricken with many terrors. They give way to weakness like a woman with child; they are overthrown like the Egyptians in the song sung by Miriam, sister of Moses, to the sound of the timbrel in the midst of the women who went out with her with timbrels and with dances: "Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea."[1134] And let us likewise sing the song of Miriam with the devotion which becometh our case.

[Footnote 1134: Exodus, xv, 20, 21 (W.S.).]

Fourth, and in conclusion, this point is worthy of consideration: The Maid and her men-at-arms despise not the wisdom of men; they tempt not G.o.d. Wherefore it is plain that the Maid goes no further than what she interprets to be the instruction or inspiration received from G.o.d.

Many of the incidents of her life from childhood up have been collected in abundance and might be set forth; but these we shall not relate.

Here may be cited the examples of Deborah and of Saint Catherine who miraculously converted fifty doctors or rhetoricians, of Judith and of Judas Maccabeus. As is usually the case, there were many circ.u.mstances in their lives which were purely natural.

A first miracle is not always followed by the other miracles which men expect. Even if the Maid should be disappointed in her expectation and in ours (which G.o.d forbid) we ought not to conclude therefrom, that the first manifestation of her miraculous power proceeded from an evil spirit and not from heavenly grace; we should believe rather that our hopes have been disappointed because of our ingrat.i.tude and our blasphemy, or by some just and impenetrable judgment of G.o.d. We beseech him to turn away his anger from us and vouchsafe unto us his favour.

Herein we perceive lessons, first for the King and the Blood Royal, secondly for the King's forces and the kingdom; thirdly for the clergy and people; fourthly for the Maid. Of all these lessons the object is the same, to wit: a good life, consecrated to G.o.d, just towards others, sober, virtuous and temperate. With regard to the Maid's peculiar lesson, it is that G.o.d's grace revealed in her be employed not in caring for trifles, not in worldly advantage, nor in party hatred, nor in violent sedition, nor in avenging deeds done, nor in foolish self-glorification, but in meekness, prayer, and thanksgiving.

And let every one contribute a liberal supply of temporal goods so that peace be established and justice once more administered, and that delivered out of the hands of our enemies, G.o.d being favourable unto us, we may serve him in holiness and righteousness.

At the conclusion of his treatise, Gerson briefly examines one point of canon law which had been neglected by the doctors of Poitiers. He establishes that the Maid is not forbidden to dress as a man.

Firstly. The ancient law forbade a woman to dress as a man, and a man as a woman. This restriction, as far as strict legality is concerned, ceases to be enforced by the new law.