Subject: Joanie, Pt. 4- The final chapter

Date: 22 Mar 94

From: uncleterry@clubfred.win.net (uncle terry)

And now, the final chapter in our tale:

the English... turned her over to a church court in Rouen. There she was tried on charges of heresy and witchcraft, and the judges declared her visions diaboloical [sound familiar, Fred?]. After months of interrogation, Joan was tricked into admission of guilt. She soon retracted her confession, however, and was condemned as a relapsed heretic. On May 30, 1431, she was burned at the stake in Rouen [there is little, if any, truth to the rumor that she shouted "You cannot legislate victory!" immediately before incandescing]. When French fortunes were finally restored, Joan was rehabilitated in a formal trial (1456) called for by Charles VII, who had done nothing to save her while she was alive [better late than never?]. Joan of Arc has been the subject of much art and literature. The are monuments to her memory in many French cities and towns. In Rouen, a statue stands on the spot in the marketplace where she was executed [field trip!]. She was canonized in 1920. Feast day: May 30.