Orleans France, hot bed of royal intrigue

Jeanne d'Arc

Jeanne d'Arc lowered herself onto her left knee, bowing her head in subservience -quietly pledging to her Dauphin, Charles VII, to escort him to Reims to be crowned as the rightful King of France. 

Jeanne d'Arc, or as we know her Joan of Arc, was just 17 years old.  Hers is a history recounted by innumerable famous authors, film makers, and more recently animated computer games.  She said that she had visions from God that instructed her to recover her homeland from the English, overrun by King Henry V of England in 1337, in a war started as a succession dispute between the French Armagnacs and the French Burgundians. 

The uncrowned King Charles VII sent her to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission.  She gained prominence when she overcame the dismissive attitude of veteran commanders and destroyed the siege in only nine days earning her the soubriquet, The Maid of Orléans.

 Orléans Cathedral underconstruction between 1278 & 1329

A skirmish in northern France on Mary 23rd 1430 led to her capture, when her forces were overrun by the Dauphins rivals, the Burgundians. 

She was unhorsed and sold to the English by Duke Philip of Burgundy.  The English Duke of Bedford claimed the throne of France on behalf of his nephew Henry VI. 

Inside the Cathedral

Joan of Arc had been responsible for the rival coronation, hence condemning her was an move to undermine the king's legitimacy.

She attempted several escapes, on one occasion jumping from her 70 foot (21 m) tower to the soft earth of a dry moat, after which she was moved to the Burgundian town of Arras in northern France.

Jeanne d'Arc watching over the square

On May 3th 1431 the saviour of Orléans, nineteen-year-old Jeanne d'Arc, was burned at the stake, as a heretic, because, well, I guess, a mere woman should never annoy men by getting involved in politics, war, or religion.

The present day Orléans has many statues commemorating Jeanne d'Arc.  It is an extraordinarily beautiful city, saturated with history, culture, art, and the all important ingredient - money - necessary to keep everything functioning. 

We stayed in a modest hotel on the main pedestrian street, and wandered up and down the centre of the old city, at one point sighting a bride impatiently waiting for her groom to arrive at the civil registry office. 

Waiting for arrival of groom

Later on Saturday night we discovered the modern tradition of stag or stagette parties celebrating in the city square, under the watchful eye of a very stern Jeanne d'Arc mounted on horseback. 

Saturday night stag party in Orleans France

I wonder what she would have thought about that; people older than she, enjoying silly frivolous fun on a Saturday night, without a care in the world?