Look up arc, arc-, or arcs in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Arc may refer to:

Mathematics[link]

• Arc (geometry), a segment of a differentiable curve
• Arc (projective geometry), a particular type of set of points of a projective plane
• Arcminute, a measure used for angles, equal to 1/60th of a degree
• "arc-", a prefix sometimes used for an inverse function, specifically trigonometry functions
• A directed edge in graph theory

Optics[link]

• 120° parhelion, relatively rare halo, an optical phenomenon occasionally appearing along with very bright sun dogs
• Infralateral arc, a rare halo, an optical phenomenon appearing similar to a rainbow under a white parhelic circle
• Lower tangent arc, rarely observable halo, an optical phenomenon appearing under and tangent to a 22° halo centred around the sun
• Parry arc, a rare halo, an optical phenomenon which occasionally appears over a 22° halo together with an upper tangent arc
• Subhelic arc, a rare halo that curves upwards from the horizon and touches the tricker arc above the anthelic point
• Supralateral arc, a rare halo, an optical phenomenon often confused with the indeed infrequently appearing 46° halo
• Upper tangent arc, halo, an atmospheric optical phenomenon which appears over and tangent to the 22° halo centred around the sun

Engineering[link]

• Arc chute, a protective device in an electrical circuit breaker
• Arc lamp, a device that produces light by an electric arc
• Arc welding, a method of welding that uses an electric arc to melt the metals together
• Electric arc or voltaic arc, an ongoing plasma discharge (an electric current through a gas), producing light and heat
• Arc or arch, a bowed or curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight

Places[link]

• Arc (Savoie), a river of eastern France, tributary of the Isère river
• Arc (Provence), a river of southern France, flowing into the Étang de Berre
• Les Arcs, a ski resort in the French Alps
• Volcanic arc, a chain of volcanoes positioned in an arc shape as seen from above
• Island arc, a type of archipelago composed of a chain of volcanoes which alignment is arc-shaped, and which are situated parallel and close to a boundary between two converging tectonic plates

Biology[link]

• Arc (protein), a name of product of an immediate early gene, also called Arg3.1

Modern culture[link]

• Story arc, an extended or continuing storyline
• Character arc, the status of a character as it unfolds throughout the story
• "Arc", a song by Pearl Jam from Riot Act
• Arc (album), a 1991 live album by Neil Young
• Advance Reading copy or Advance copy

Computing and gaming[link]

• Arc (programming language), a Lisp dialect designed by Paul Graham
• ARC (file format), a file extension for archive files
• arc, the command-line interface for ArcInfo
• Arc System Works, a video game developer
• ARC International, a developer of configurable microprocessor technology now owned by Synopsys

Other[link]

• Aramaic language (ISO 639-2/3 language code), a Semitic language
• Arc @ UNSW, the principal student organisation at the University of New South Wales
• Arc of the United States, a charitable organization
• Joan of Arc (c. 1410–1431), nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" (French: Jeanne d'Arc, IPA: [ʒan daʁk]; ca. 1412 – 30 May 1431), is considered a national heroine of France and a Catholic saint
• Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a Group 1 flat horse race
• Arc (Bahá'í), a number of administrative buildings for the Bahá'í Faith, located on Mount Carmel in Israel
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc, a cellphone

See also[link]

• Ark (disambiguation)
• Arch (disambiguation)
• ARCS (disambiguation)
• ARRC (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Robert William Maddison
Robbie Maddison at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix Celebrity Challenge
Born	(1981-07-14) 14 July 1981 (age 30)
Nationality	Australian
Other names	Robbie Maddison, Maddo
Occupation	Motorbike rider
Known for	World record length motorcycle jump
Website
http://www.robbiemaddison.com

Robert William Maddison, commonly known as Robbie Maddison and "Maddo" (born 14 July 1981) in Caringbah, Australia is an Australian motorbike stunt rider from the town of Kiama, New South Wales.

Growing up in Kiama Downs he developed his passion for riding by competing in national motocross events.

He finished school at Kiama High and took up an electrician apprenticeship, after getting viral meningitis and viral encephalitis, which left him paralyzed and blind in one eye. After recovering for numerous years with this virus he returned to the bike riding to further follow his passion.

In May 2005, the Crusty Demons gave Robbie the opportunity to break two world records on his motorbike. 125cc distance Guinness world record- 221feet 250cc distance world record with a trick- 246 feet (75 m) superman seat grab.

After this he went on to win numerous international FMX events around the world and get recognized as one of the best FMX riders in the world.

On 31 December 2007, (on the 40th anniversary of Evel Knievel jumping the fountains at Caesars Palace), Live on ESPN, Maddison broke the world motorcycle jumping record,^[1] traveling 98.34m on a motorbike. He repeated the event immediately afterward, successfully landing the jump, as his fiancee Amy looked on. His second attempt, however, did not go as far as the first jump; he was not injured in either jump.

On 29 March 2008, he broke his own world record twice during the Crusty Demons Night Of World Records show in Melbourne, Australia. During his first jump he traveled 316 feet (96.32 m) and landed on the safety zone nearly hitting the front of the landing ramp. On his second attempt he broke the world record by traveling 342 feet 7 inches (104.42 m) this time he landed hard on his back tire and was not satisfied by the jump, so he decided to jump once more. On his third jump he again broke the world record, this time with 106.98m (350.98 feet) into a perfect landing.

On 1 January 2009, Live on ESPN in front of the world, Maddison successfully jumped 96 feet (29 m) up onto a replica of the Arc de Triomphe in front of Paris Las Vegas and then descended a 80-foot (24 m) drop off the monument to return safely to ground level. Robbie said after the jump that he may have broken his hand and had a gash to the bone in the webbing of his left hand.

On 30 May 2009, Maddison proved himself more than just a stuntman by defeating some of the world's best freestyle riders at the Calgary, AB Canada stop of the Red Bull X-Fighters competition. His victory in the Head-to-Head competition meant he had to progress through three rounds, defeating multiple X Games medallist Nate Adams (USA) in the first, defending series champion Mat Rebeaud (SUI) in the semi-final round and then 30 year old series veteran Eigo Sato (JPN) in the final.

On 13 July 2009, Maddison jumped Tower Bridge with a backflip, whilst the drawbridge was open by 25 feet.^[2]

The following weekend Maddison went onto the Red Bull xfighters championship in Madrid, winning the best trick contest with a brand new trick. Under flip one hander to side saddle lander.

In March 2010, Robbie Maddison become the first person to jump the start gantry at the Formula One in melbourne, Australia.

On 7 April 2010, the daredevil performed an amazing moto-x jump over the Corinth Canal in Greece.^[3] That made him the first fmx rider who accomplished to cross over the canal on his motorbike. He took off with a speed of 120 km/h and jumped over more than 80m. About the heroic deed Maddison said: "Jumping across the Corinth Canal became a challenge I just could not resist. This Jump involved the highest consequences I have faced so far. I believe that sometimes you have to take risks in life to become wiser and facing a challenge like this will help get me ready for the next aim I will face in the future. I am thrilled about managing to pull it off, as you know there is only one opportunity to get it right!"

On 31 December 2011 Maddison attempted to jump 400 feet across San Diego Bay as part of Red Bull New Year No Limits, in a tandem jump with American snowmobile racer Levi LaVallee. Maddison landed shy of the 400 feet goal, landing 378 ft, 9 inches.

Sponsors[link]

Swatch, Dragon Alliance, Dunlop Sport, Red Bull, DC Shoe Company Thor, KMC, Yamaha, Parts Unlimited, Crusty.com, Stomp grip, Cernics, FMF Racing, VP racing fuels, Amerigas, Acerbis, Works Connection, Hammerhead, Pro Taper,

References[link]

External links[link]

• Robbie Maddison's Official Site

Joan of Arc
Painting, ca. 1485. An artist's interpretation, since the only portrait for which she is known to have sat has not survived. (Centre Historique des Archives Nationales, Paris, AE II 2490)
Saint
Born	ca. 1412 Domrémy, Duchy of Bar, Kingdom of France.
Died	30 May 1431 (aged 19) Rouen, France (then controlled by England)
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church Anglican Communion
Beatified	18 April 1909, Notre Dame de Paris by Pope Pius X
Canonized	16 May 1920, St. Peter's Basilica, Rome by Pope Benedict XV
Feast	30 May
Patronage	France ; martyrs; captives; military personnel; people ridiculed for their piety; prisoners; soldiers, women who have served in the WAVES (Women Appointed for Voluntary Emergency Service); and Women's Army Corps

Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" (French: Jeanne d'Arc,^[1] IPA: [ʒan daʁk]; ca. 1412^[2] – 30 May 1431), is a folk heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in what is now eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII of France. She was captured by the Burgundians, transferred to the English in exchange for money, put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon for charges of "insubordination and heterodoxy,"^[3] and was burned at the stake for heresy when she was only 19 years old.^[4]

Twenty-five years after her execution, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr.^[4] Joan of Arc was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. She is – along with St. Denis, St. Martin of Tours, St. Louis IX, and St. Theresa of Lisieux – one of the patron saints of France. Joan said that she had visions from God that instructed her to recover her homeland from English domination late in the Hundred Years' War. 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 lifted the siege in only nine days. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VII's coronation at Reims and settled the disputed succession to the throne.

To the present day, Joan of Arc has remained a significant figure in Western civilization. From Napoleon I onward, French politicians of all leanings have invoked her memory. Famous writers and composers who have created works about her include: William Shakespeare (Henry VI, Part 1), Voltaire (The Maid of Orleans), Friedrich Schiller (The Maid of Orleans), Giuseppe Verdi (Giovanna d'Arco), Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (The Maid of Orleans), Mark Twain (Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc), Arthur Honegger (Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher), Jean Anouilh (L'Alouette), Bertolt Brecht (Saint Joan of the Stockyards), George Bernard Shaw (Saint Joan) and Maxwell Anderson (Joan of Lorraine). Cultural depictions of Joan of Arc have continued in film, theatre, television, video games, music, and performances.

Background[link]

France at the outset of Joan of Arc's career. The dot that represents Paris is near the centre of the Anglo-Burgundian-controlled region. Reims lies to the northeast of this area.

The historian Kelly DeVries describes the period preceding her appearance in the following terms: "If anything could have discouraged her, the state of France in 1429 should have." The Hundred Years' War had begun in 1337 as a succession dispute over the French throne with intermittent periods of relative peace. Nearly all the fighting had taken place in France, and the English army's use of chevauchée tactics (similar to scorched earth strategies) had devastated the economy.^[5] The French population had not recovered from the Black Death of the previous century and its merchants were isolated from foreign markets. At the outset of Jeanne d'Arc's appearance, the English had nearly achieved their goal of a dual monarchy under English control and the French army had not achieved any major victories for a generation. In DeVries's words, "The kingdom of France was not even a shadow of its thirteenth-century prototype."^[6]

The French king at the time of Joan's birth, Charles VI, suffered bouts of insanity^[7] and was often unable to rule. The king's brother Duke Louis of Orléans and the king's cousin John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, quarreled over the regency of France and the guardianship of the royal children. This dispute escalated to accusations of an extramarital affair with Queen Isabeau of Bavaria and the kidnappings of the royal children.^{[citation needed]}. The matter climaxed with the assassination of the Duke of Orléans in 1407, on the orders of the Duke of Burgundy.^[8]

The factions loyal to these two men became known as the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. Henry V of England took advantage of this turmoil to invade France, winning a dramatic victory at Agincourt in 1415, and capturing many northern French towns.^[9] The future French king, Charles VII, assumed the title of Dauphin – the heir to the throne – at the age of fourteen, after all four of his older brothers died in succession.^[10] His first significant official act was to conclude a peace treaty with Burgundy in 1419. This ended in disaster when Armagnac partisans assassinated John the Fearless during a meeting under Charles's guarantee of protection. The new duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, blamed Charles for the murder and entered into an alliance with the English. Large sections of France were conquered.^[11]

In 1420, Queen Isabeau of Bavaria concluded the Treaty of Troyes, which granted the succession of the French throne to Henry V and his heirs instead of her son Charles. This agreement revived rumors about her alleged affair with the late duke of Orléans and raised fresh suspicions that the Dauphin was illegitimate rather than the son of the king.^[12] Henry V and Charles VI died within two months of each other in 1422, leaving an infant, Henry VI of England, the nominal monarch of both kingdoms. Henry V's brother, John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, acted as regent.^[13]

By the beginning of 1429, nearly all of northern France and some parts of the southwest were under foreign control. The English controlled Paris and Rouen while the Burgundians controlled Reims, the latter city being the traditional site of French coronations. This was an important consideration since neither claimant to the throne of France had yet been officially crowned. The English had laid siege to Orléans, one of the few remaining loyal French cities and a strategic position along the Loire River which made it the last obstacle to an assault on the remainder of the French heartland. In the words of one modern historian, "On the fate of Orléans hung that of the entire kingdom."^[14] No one was optimistic that the city could long withstand the siege.^[15]

Life[link]

Her birthplace is now a museum. The village church where she attended Mass is on the right behind the trees.

Joan was born the daughter of Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée.^[16] in Domrémy, a village which was then in the duchy of Bar (later annexed to the province of Lorraine and renamed Domrémy-la-Pucelle).^[17] Joan's parents owned about 50 acres (20 hectares) of land and her father supplemented his farming work with a minor position as a village official, collecting taxes and heading the local watch.^[18] They lived in an isolated patch of eastern France that remained loyal to the French crown despite being surrounded by Burgundian lands. Several local raids occurred during her childhood and on one occasion her village was burned.

Joan said she was about 19 at her trial, so she must have been born around the year 1412. She later testified that she experienced her first vision around 1424 at the age of 12 years, when she was out alone in a field and saw visions of figures she identified as Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret, who told her to drive out the English and bring the Dauphin to Reims for his coronation. She said she cried when they left, as they were so beautiful.^[19]

At the age of 16, she asked a kinsman, Durand Lassois, to bring her to nearby Vaucouleurs where she petitioned the garrison commander, Count Robert de Baudricourt, for permission to visit the royal French court at Chinon. Baudricourt's sarcastic response did not deter her.^[20] She returned the following January and gained support from two men of standing: Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy.^[21] Under their auspices, she gained a second meeting where she made a remarkable prediction about a military reversal near Orléans.^[22]

Rise[link]

Jeanne d’Arc by Henri Chapu

Ruin of the great hall at Château de Chinon where she met the future King Charles VII. The castle's only remaining intact tower has also become a museum dedicated to her.

Robert de Baudricourt granted her an escort to visit Chinon after news from the front confirmed her prediction. She made the journey through hostile Burgundian territory in male disguise.^[23] Upon arriving at the Royal Court she impressed Charles VII during a private conference. During this time Charles's mother-in-law Yolande of Aragon was financing a relief expedition to Orléans. Joan asked for permission to travel with the army and wear the equipment of a knight. She depended on donated items for her armor, horse, sword, banner, and other items utilized by her entourage. Historian Stephen W. Richey explains her attraction to the Royal Court by pointing out that they may have viewed her as the only source of hope for a regime that was near collapse:

Upon her arrival, Joan effectively turned the longstanding Anglo-French conflict into a religious war.^[24] But this course of action was not without its risks. Charles' advisers were worried that unless Joan's orthodoxy could be established beyond doubt – that she was not a heretic or a sorceress – Charles' enemies could easily make the claim that his kingdom was a gift from the Devil. To circumvent this possibility, the Dauphin ordered background inquiries and a theological examination at Poitiers to verify her morality. In April 1429, the commission of inquiry "declared her to be of irreproachable life, a good Christian, possessed of the virtues of humility, honesty and simplicity."^[24] The theologians at Poitiers did not pass judgment on her divine inspiration; rather, they informed the Dauphin that there was a 'favorable presumption' to be made on the divine nature of her mission. This was enough for Charles, but they put the ball back in his court by stating that he had an obligation to put Joan to the test. 'To doubt or abandon her without suspicion of evil would be to repudiate the Holy Spirit and to become unworthy of God's aid', they declared.^[25] The test for the truth of her claims would be the raising of the siege of Orléans.

She arrived at the siege of Orléans on 29 April 1429, but Jean d'Orléans, the acting head of the Orléans ducal family, initially excluded her from war councils and failed to inform her when the army engaged the enemy.^[26] This did not prevent her from being present at most councils and battles. The extent of her actual military leadership is a subject of historical debate. Traditional historians such as Édouard Perroy conclude that she was a standard bearer whose primary effect was on morale.^[27] This type of analysis usually relies on the condemnation trial testimony, where she stated that she preferred her standard to her sword. Recent scholarship that focuses on the nullification trial testimony asserts that the army's commanders esteemed her as a skilled tactician and a successful strategist. Stephen W. Richey's opinion is one example: "She proceeded to lead the army in an astounding series of victories that reversed the tide of the war."^[23] In either case, historians agree that the army enjoyed remarkable success during her brief career.^[28]

Leadership[link]

Entrance of Joan of Arc into Reims in 1429, painting by Jan Matejko

Joan of Arc rejected the cautious strategy that characterized French leadership during previous campaigns. During the five months of siege before her arrival, the defenders of Orléans attempted only one aggressive move and that ended in disaster. On 4 May the French attacked and captured the outlying fortress of Saint Loup, which she followed on 5 May with a march to a second fortress called Saint Jean le Blanc, which was found deserted. The next day she opposed Jean d'Orleans at a war council where she demanded another assault on the enemy. D'Orleans ordered the city gates locked to prevent another battle, but she summoned the townsmen and common soldiers and forced the mayor to unlock a gate. With the aid of only one captain she rode out and captured the fortress of Saint Augustins. That evening she learned she had been excluded from a war council where the leaders had decided to wait for reinforcements before acting again. Disregarding this decision, she insisted on attacking the main English stronghold called "les Tourelles" on 7 May.^[29] Contemporaries acknowledged her as the heroine of the engagement after she was wounded in the neck by an arrow but returned to lead the final charge.^[30]

The sudden victory at Orléans led to many proposals for further offensive action. The English expected an attempt to recapture Paris or an attack on Normandy. In the aftermath of the unexpected victory, Joan persuaded Charles VII to grant her co-command of the army with Duke John II of Alençon and gained royal permission for her plan to recapture nearby bridges along the Loire as a prelude to an advance on Reims and the coronation of Charles VII. This was a bold proposal because Reims was roughly twice as far away as Paris and deep within enemy territory.^[31]

The inner keep at Beaugency is one of the few surviving fortifications from Joan's battles. English defenders retreated to the tower at upper right after the French breached the town wall.

Notre-Dame de Reims, traditional site of French coronations. The structure had additional spires prior to a 1481 fire.

Joan at the coronation of Charles VII, by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres in 1854, is a notable example of attempts to add more feminine characteristics to her appearance. Note the long hair and the skirt around the armor.

The army recovered Jargeau on 12 June, Meung-sur-Loire on 15 June, and Beaugency on 17 June. The Duke of Alençon agreed to all of Joan's decisions. Other commanders including Jean d'Orléans had been impressed with her performance at Orléans and became her supporters. Alençon credited her with saving his life at Jargeau, where she warned him of an imminent artillery attack.^[32] During the same battle she withstood a blow from a stone cannonball to her helmet as she climbed a scaling ladder. An expected English relief force arrived in the area on 18 June under the command of Sir John Fastolf. The battle at Patay might be compared to Agincourt in reverse. The French vanguard attacked before the English archers could finish defensive preparations. A rout ensued that decimated the main body of the English army and killed or captured most of its commanders. Fastolf escaped with a small band of soldiers and became the scapegoat for the humiliating English defeat. The French suffered minimal losses.^[33]

The French army set out for Reims from Gien-sur-Loire on 29 June and accepted the conditional surrender of the Burgundian-held city of Auxerre on 3 July. The other towns in their path returned to French allegiance without resistance. Troyes, the site of the treaty that tried to disinherit Charles VII, capitulated after a bloodless four-day siege.^[34] The army was in short supply of food by the time it reached Troyes. But the army was in luck: a wandering friar named Brother Richard had been preaching about the end of the world at Troyes and convinced local residents to plant beans, a crop with an early harvest. The hungry army arrived as the beans ripened.^[35]

Reims opened its gates to the army on 16 July. The coronation took place the following morning. Although Joan and the duke of Alençon urged a prompt march on Paris, the royal court preferred a negotiated truce with the duke of Burgundy. Duke Philip the Good broke the agreement, using it as a stalling tactic to reinforce the defense of Paris.^[36] The French army marched through towns near Paris during the interim and accepted more peaceful surrenders. The Duke of Bedford headed an English force and confronted the French army in a standoff on 15 August. The French assault at Paris ensued on 8 September. Despite a wound to the leg from a crossbow bolt, Joan continued directing the troops until the day's fighting ended. The following morning she received a royal order to withdraw. Most historians blame French Grand Chamberlain Georges de la Trémoille for the political blunders that followed the coronation.^[37] In October Joan took Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier and was granted nobility.

Capture[link]

After a minor action at La-Charité-sur-Loire in November and December, Joan traveled to Compiègne the following April to help defend the city against an English and Burgundian siege. A skirmish on 23 May 1430 led to her capture, when her force attempted to attack the Burgundian's camp at Margny.^[38] When she ordered a retreat into the nearby fortifications of Compiègne after the advance of an additional force of 6,000 Burgundians,^[38] she assumed the place of honor as the last to leave the field. Burgundians surrounded the rear guard, and she was unhorsed by an archer and initially refused to surrender.^[39]

It was customary for a captive's family to ransom a prisoner of war. Joan was in an unusual circumstance. Many historians condemn King Charles VII for failing to intervene. She attempted several escapes, on one occasion jumping from her 70 foot (21 m) tower in Vermandois to the soft earth of a dry moat, after which she was moved to the Burgundian town of Arras.^{[citation needed]} The English government eventually purchased her from Duke Philip of Burgundy. Bishop Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais, an English partisan, assumed a prominent role in these negotiations and her later trial.^[40]

Trial[link]

The keep of the castle of Rouen, surviving remnant of the fortress where Joan was imprisoned during her trial. It has since become known as the Joan of Arc tower.

The trial for heresy was politically motivated. The Duke of Bedford claimed the throne of France on behalf of his nephew Henry VI. Joan had been responsible for the rival coronation, hence condemning her was an attempt to undermine her king's legitimacy. Legal proceedings commenced on 9 January 1431 at Rouen, the seat of the English occupation government.^[41] The procedure was irregular on a number of points.

Joan interrogated in her prison cell by Cardinal Winchester. By Hippolyte Delaroche, 1824, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen, France.

To summarize some major problems: Under ecclesiastical law, Bishop Cauchon lacked jurisdiction over the case.^[42] He owed his appointment to his partisan support of the English government which financed the trial. Clerical notary Nicolas Bailly, commissioned to collect testimony against Joan, could find no adverse evidence.^[43] Without such evidence the court lacked grounds to initiate a trial. Opening a trial anyway, the court also violated ecclesiastical law in denying her right to a legal adviser. Upon the opening of the first public examination Joan complained that those present were all partisans against her and asked for "ecclesiastics of the French side" to be invited.^[44]

The trial record demonstrates her remarkable intellect. The transcript's most famous exchange is an exercise in subtlety. "Asked if she knew she was in God's grace, she answered: 'If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.'"^[45] The question is a scholarly trap. Church doctrine held that no one could be certain of being in God's grace. If she had answered yes, then she would have convicted herself of heresy. If she had answered no, then she would have confessed her own guilt. Notary Boisguillaume later testified that at the moment the court heard this reply, "Those who were interrogating her were stupefied."^[46] In the twentieth century George Bernard Shaw found this dialogue so compelling that sections of his play Saint Joan are literal translations of the trial record.^[47]

Several court functionaries later testified that significant portions of the transcript were altered in her disfavor. Many clerics served under compulsion, including the inquisitor, Jean LeMaitre, and a few even received death threats from the English. Under Inquisitorial guidelines, Joan should have been confined to an ecclesiastical prison under the supervision of female guards (i.e., nuns). Instead, the English kept her in a secular prison guarded by their own soldiers. Bishop Cauchon denied Joan's appeals to the Council of Basel and the pope, which should have stopped his proceeding.^[48]

The twelve articles of accusation that summarize the court's finding contradict the already doctored court record.^[49] The illiterate defendant signed an abjuration document she did not understand under threat of immediate execution. The court substituted a different abjuration in the official record.^[50]

Execution[link]

Joan of Arc's Death at the Stake, by Hermann Stilke (1843)^[51]

Heresy was a capital crime only for a repeat offense. Joan agreed to wear feminine clothing when she abjured. A few days later she told a tribunal member that "a great English lord had entered her prison and tried to take her by force."^[52] She resumed male attire either as a defense against molestation or, in the testimony of Jean Massieu, because her dress had been stolen and she was left with nothing else to wear.^[53] In terms of doctrine, she had been safe to disguise herself as a page during her journey through enemy territory and she was safe to wear armor during battle. The Chronique de la Pucelle states that it deterred molestation while she was camped in the field. Clergy who later testified at the posthumous rehabilitation trial affirmed that she continued to wear male clothing in prison to deter molestation and rape.^[54] Preservation of chastity was another justifiable reason for cross-dressing: her apparel would have slowed an assailant, and men would be less likely to think of her as a sex object in any case.^[55]

Statue of Joan of Arc a few inches in front of the execution place, by Maxime Real del Sarte, 1928^[56]

She referred the court to the Poitiers inquiry when questioned on the matter. The Poitiers record no longer survives but circumstances indicate the Poitiers clerics had approved her practice. In other words, she had a mission to do a man's work so it was fitting that she dress the part.^[57] She also kept her hair cut short through her military campaigns and while in prison. Her supporters, such as the theologian Jean Gerson, defended her hairstyle, as did Inquisitor Brehal later during the Rehabilitation trial.^[58] Nonetheless, at the trial in 1431 she was condemned and sentenced to die.

Eyewitnesses described the scene of the execution by burning on 30 May 1431. Tied to a tall pillar at the Vieux-Marché in Rouen, she asked two of the clergy, Fr Martin Ladvenu and Fr Isambart de la Pierre, to hold a crucifix before her. A peasant also constructed a small cross which she put in the front of her dress. After she died, the English raked back the coals to expose her charred body so that no one could claim she had escaped alive, then burned the body twice more to reduce it to ashes and prevent any collection of relics. They cast her remains into the Seine from the only bridge called Mathilda.^[59] The executioner, Geoffroy Therage, later stated that he "...greatly feared to be damned."^[60]

Posthumous events[link]

Modern statue of Joan of Arc in Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral interior, Paris

The Hundred Years' War continued for twenty-two years after her death. Charles VII succeeded in retaining legitimacy as the king of France in spite of a rival coronation held for Henry VI in December 1431 on the boy's tenth birthday. Before England could rebuild its military leadership and force of longbowmen, lost in 1429, the country lost its alliance with Burgundy at the Treaty of Arras in 1435. The Duke of Bedford died the same year and Henry VI became the youngest king of England to rule without a regent; his weak leadership was probably the most important factor in ending the conflict. Kelly DeVries argues that Joan of Arc's aggressive use of artillery and frontal assaults influenced French tactics for the rest of the war.^[61]

In 1452, during the posthumous investigation into her execution, the Church declared that a religious play in her honor at Orléans would allow attendees to gain an indulgence (remission of temporal punishment for sin) by making a pilgrimage to the event.

Retrial[link]

A posthumous retrial opened after the war ended. Pope Callixtus III authorized this proceeding, also known as the "nullification trial", at the request of Inquisitor-General Jean Brehal and Joan's mother Isabelle Romée. The aim of the trial was to investigate whether the trial of condemnation and its verdict had been handled justly and according to canon law. Investigations started with an inquest by a priest, Guillaume Bouille. Brehal conducted an investigation in 1452. A formal appeal followed in November 1455. The appellate process involved clergy from throughout Europe and observed standard court procedure. A panel of theologians analyzed testimony from 115 witnesses. Brehal drew up his final summary in June 1456, which describes Joan as a martyr and implicated the late Pierre Cauchon with heresy for having convicted an innocent woman in pursuit of a secular vendetta. The technical reason for her execution had been a Biblical clothing law.^[62] The nullification trial reversed the conviction in part because the condemnation proceeding had failed to consider the doctrinal exceptions to that stricture. The appellate court declared her innocent on 7 July 1456.^[63]

Canonization[link]

She became a symbol of the Catholic League during the 16th century. When Félix Dupanloup was made bishop of Orléans in 1849, he pronounced a fervid panegyric on Joan of Arc, which attracted attention in England as well as France and he led the efforts which culminated in Joan of Arc's beatification in 1909. Pope Benedict XV canonized Joan on 16 May 1920. As Saint Joan of Arc, she has become one of the most popular saints of the Roman Catholic Church.^[64]

Legacy[link]

Joan of Arc became a semi-legendary figure for the four centuries after her death. The main sources of information about her were chronicles. Five original manuscripts of her condemnation trial surfaced in old archives during the 19th century. Soon historians also located the complete records of her rehabilitation trial, which contained sworn testimony from 115 witnesses, and the original French notes for the Latin condemnation trial transcript. Various contemporary letters also emerged, three of which carry the signature "Jehanne" in the unsteady hand of a person learning to write.^[65] This unusual wealth of primary source material is one reason DeVries declares, "No person of the Middle Ages, male or female, has been the subject of more study."^[66]

Joan of Arc dictated her letters. Three of the surviving ones are signed Jehanne.

Joan of Arc came from an obscure village and rose to prominence when she was a teenager, and she did so as an uneducated peasant. The French and English kings had justified the ongoing war through competing interpretations of the thousand-year-old Salic law. The conflict had been an inheritance feud between monarchs. She gave meaning to appeals such as that of squire Jean de Metz when he asked, "Must the king be driven from the kingdom; and are we to be English?"^[21] In the words of Stephen Richey, "She turned what had been a dry dynastic squabble that left the common people unmoved except for their own suffering into a passionately popular war of national liberation."^[23] Richey also expresses the breadth of her subsequent appeal:

The people who came after her in the five centuries since her death tried to make everything of her: demonic fanatic, spiritual mystic, naive and tragically ill-used tool of the powerful, creator and icon of modern popular nationalism, adored heroine, saint. She insisted, even when threatened with torture and faced with death by fire, that she was guided by voices from God. Voices or no voices, her achievements leave anyone who knows her story shaking his head in amazed wonder.

—Stephen Richey^[23]

Joan of Arc was not a feminist. She operated within a religious tradition that believed an exceptional person from any level of society might receive a divine calling. She expelled women from the French army and may have struck one stubborn camp follower with the flat of a sword.^[67][68] Nonetheless, some of her most significant aid came from women. King Charles VII's mother-in-law, Yolande of Aragon, confirmed Joan's virginity and financed her departure to Orléans. Joan of Luxembourg, aunt to the count of Luxembourg who held custody of her after Compiègne, alleviated her conditions of captivity and may have delayed her sale to the English. Finally, Anne of Burgundy, the duchess of Bedford and wife to the regent of England, declared Joan a virgin during pretrial inquiries.^[69] For technical reasons this prevented the court from charging her with witchcraft. Ultimately this provided part of the basis for her vindication and sainthood. From Christine de Pizan to the present, women have looked to her as a positive example of a brave and active female.^[70]

Flag of Charles de Gaulle's government in exile during World War II. The French Resistance used the cross of Lorraine as a symbolic reference to Joan of Arc.

Joan of Arc has been a political symbol in France since the time of Napoleon. Liberals emphasised her humble origins. Early conservatives stressed her support of the monarchy. Later conservatives recalled her nationalism. During World War II, both the Vichy Regime and the French Resistance used her image: Vichy propaganda remembered her campaign against the English with posters that showed British warplanes bombing Rouen and the ominous caption: "They Always Return to the Scene of Their Crimes." The resistance emphasised her fight against foreign occupation and her origins in the province of Lorraine, which had fallen under Nazi control.

Three separate vessels of the French Navy have been named after her, including a helicopter carrier which was retired from active service on 7 June 2010. At present the controversial French far-right political party Front National holds rallies at her statues, reproduces her likeness in party publications, and uses a tricolor flame partly symbolic of her martyrdom as its emblem. This party's opponents sometimes satirize its appropriation of her image.^[71] The French civic holiday in her honour is the second Sunday of May.

Traditionalist Catholics, in France and elsewhere, also use her as a symbol of inspiration, often comparing the 1988 excommunication of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (founder of the Society of St. Pius X and a dissident against the Vatican II reforms), to her excommunication.

Philippe-Alexandre Le Brun de Charmettes is the first historian who wrote Joan of Arc's complete history^[72] in 1817, in an attempt to restore her family's reputation from Joan's status as a relapsed heretic. His interest in Joan came at a time when France was still struggling to define its new identity after the Revolution and the Napoleonic wars. The national ethos was in search of non-controversial heroes. A staunch supporter of King and country, Joan of Arc was an acceptable symbol to the monarchists. As a patriot and the daughter of commoners, she was seen as one prototype of the low-born volunteers (the soldats de l'an II) who had victoriously fought for revolutionary France in 1802 and as such could be claimed by the Republicans. As a religious martyr, she was also popular in the powerful Catholic community. De Charmette's Orléanide, today largely forgotten, was another attempt to magnify the national ethos as writers like Virgil (the Aeneid), or Camoens (the Lusiad) had done for Rome and Portugal.

Visions[link]

Jeanne d' Arc, by Eugene Thirion (1876). Late 19th century images such as this often had political undertones because of French territorial cessions to Germany in 1871. (Chautou, Church of Notre Dame)

Joan of Arc's religious visions have remained an ongoing topic of interest. The consensus among scholars is that her faith was sincere. She identified Saint Margaret, Saint Catherine, and Saint Michael as the source of her revelations, although there is some ambiguity as to which of several identically named saints she intended. Some Catholics regard her visions as divine inspiration.

Analysis of her visions is problematic since the main source of information on this topic is the condemnation trial transcript in which she defied customary courtroom procedure about a witness's oath and specifically refused to answer every question about her visions. She complained that a standard witness oath would conflict with an oath she had previously sworn to maintain confidentiality about meetings with her king. It remains unknown to what extent the surviving record may represent the fabrications of corrupt court officials or her own possible fabrications to protect state secrets.^[73] Some historians sidestep speculation about the visions by asserting that her belief in her calling is more relevant than questions about the visions' ultimate origin.^[74]

Documents from her own era and historians prior to the 20th century generally assume that she was both healthy and sane.

A number of more recent scholars attempted to explain her visions in psychiatric or neurological terms. Potential diagnoses have included epilepsy, migraine, tuberculosis, and schizophrenia.^[75] None of the putative diagnoses have gained consensus support, possibly due to the limited amount of information available about Joan's life. Two experts who analyse a temporal lobe tuberculoma hypothesis in the medical journal Neuropsychobiology express their misgivings this way:

It is difficult to draw final conclusions, but it would seem unlikely that widespread tuberculosis, a serious disease, was present in this "patient" whose life-style and activities would surely have been impossible had such a serious disease been present.^[76]

In response to another such theory alleging that she suffered from bovine tuberculosis as a result of drinking unpasteurized milk, historian Régine Pernoud wrote that if drinking unpasteurized milk could produce such potential benefits for the nation, then the French government should stop mandating the pasteurization of milk.^[77]

The fact that Joan of Arc gained favor in the court of King Charles VII has been suggested as evidence against mental illness hypotheses. The argument suggests that Charles VII would have been able to recognize "madness" because his own father, Charles VI, suffered from it. Charles VI was popularly known as "Charles the Mad", and much of the political and military decline that France had suffered during his reign could be attributed to the power vacuum that his episodes of insanity had produced. The previous king had believed he was made of glass, a delusion no courtier had mistaken for a religious awakening. Fears that King Charles VII would manifest the same insanity may have factored into the attempt to disinherit him at Troyes. This stigma was so persistent that contemporaries of the next generation would attribute to inherited madness the breakdown that England's King Henry VI was to suffer in 1453: Henry VI was nephew to Charles VII and grandson to Charles VI. Upon Joan's arrival at Chinon the royal counselor Jacques Gélu cautioned,

One should not lightly alter any policy because of conversation with a girl, a peasant ... so susceptible to illusions; one should not make oneself ridiculous in the sight of foreign nations.

The court of Charles VII was shrewd and skeptical on the subject of mental health.^[78][79]

Also potentially relevant is the fact that she displayed none of the objective symptoms that can accompany the mental illnesses which have been suggested, such as Schizophrenia. She remained astute to the end of her life and the rehabilitation trial testimony frequently marvels at her astuteness:

Often they [the judges] turned from one question to another, changing about, but, notwithstanding this, she answered prudently, and evinced a wonderful memory.^[80]

Her subtle replies under interrogation even forced the court to stop holding public sessions.^[46]

Although mental illness does not necessarily include severe cognitive impairment, nonetheless the various psychiatric conditions which have been specifically suggested to explain Joan's experiences would include certain detrimental symptoms which are among the diagnostic criteria. For example, in the case of Schizophrenia the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" lists detrimental and noticeable side effects such as disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior, affective flattening, alogia, and avolition, among other effects.^[81] As noted farther above, these symptoms do not appear to have been present in Joan's case.

Some psychiatrists have also urged that a distinction should be made between different types of experiences. Ralph Hoffman, professor of psychology at Yale University, argues that visionary and creative states including "hearing voices" are not necessarily signs of mental illness. He lists Joan of Arc's case as a possible example of what Hoffman describes as an "inspired voice", without elaborating on the term.^[82]

Alleged relics disproven[link]

Joan of Arc on horseback, triumphantly raising her sword to the heavens and crepuscular rays at San Francisco's Palace of the Legion of Honor.

In 1867, a jar was found in a Paris pharmacy with the inscription "Remains found under the stake of Joan of Arc, virgin of Orleans". They consisted of a charred human rib, carbonized wood, a piece of linen and a cat femur – explained as the practice of throwing black cats onto the pyre of witches. They are now in the Museum of Art and History in Chinon museum. In 2006, Philippe Charlier, a forensic scientist at Raymond Poincaré Hospital (Garches) was authorized to study the relics. Carbon-14 tests and various spectroscopic analyses were performed, and the results^[83] show that the remains come from an Egyptian mummy from the sixth to the third century BC. The charred appearance comes from the embalming substances, not from combustion. Large amounts of pine pollen were also found, consistent with the presence of resin used in mummification and some unburned linen was found to be similar to that used to wrap mummies. The famous perfumers Guerlain and Jean Patou said that they could smell vanilla in the remains, also consistent with mummification. Apparently the mummy was part of the ingredients of medieval pharmacopoeia and it was relabeled in a time of French nationalism.

Revisionist theories[link]

The accuracy of the standard accounts of the life of Joan of Arc has been questioned by revisionist authors.

See also[link]

Golden statue of Joan of Arc at Place des Pyramides, Paris by Emmanuel Frémiet, 1874

	Christianity portal
	Saints portal

• Joanna of Flanders
• Charles VII of France
• Henry V of England
• Charles VI of France
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• Maid of Lorraine prophecies
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• List of women warriors in folklore
• The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, a book describing 15 military engagements which, in the opinion of the author, had a significant impact on world history. The Siege of Orléans is included.
• Joan of Arc, a sculpture in Washington, D.C.

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

Joan of Arc, by Scheffer Henry, 1843.

• DeVries, Kelly (1999). Joan of Arc: A Military Leader. Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-1805-5. OCLC 42957383. 
• Lucie-Smith, Edward (1976). Joan of Arc. Bristol: Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-0857-2. 
• Oliphant, Mrs. (Margaret). Jeanne d'Arc: Her Life and Death. http://www.authorama.com/book/jeanne-d-arc.html. 
• Royal Intrigue: Crisis at the Court of Charles VI, 1392–1420. Richard C. Famiglietti. New York: AMS Press. 1987. ISBN 0-404-61439-6. 

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Joan of Arc on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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• Media related to Jeanne d'Arc at Wikimedia Commons
• 1919 version of the Catholic Encyclopedia: Blessed Joan of Arc (written before her canonization)
• Archive of Joan of Arc materials
• Médailles Jeanne d’Arc, Exonumia: Medallions devoted to Joan of Arc
• Garden of Praise – Joan of Arc
• Catholic Online Saints
• Britannica article on Joan of Arc
• Site of the Joan of Arc Museum in Rouen, France.
• A Stirring Icon of Girl Power: A Father and a Daughter Follow the Trail of Joan of Arc Article in the Washington Post by Steve Hendrix, 12 Oct 2008.
• Joan of Arc's Loire Valley Battles on Google Maps

Carl Theodor Dreyer
Born	(1889-02-03)February 3, 1889 Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	March 20, 1968(1968-03-20) (aged 79) Copenhagen, Denmark
Occupation	Film director
Awards	Golden Lion 1955 Ordet

Carl Theodor Dreyer, Jr. (3 February 1889 – 20 March 1968) was a Danish film director. He is regarded by many critics and filmmakers as one of the greatest directors in cinema.^[1][2][3][4]

Life[link]

Dreyer was born illegitimate in Copenhagen, Denmark. His birth mother was an unmarried Scanian maid named Josefine Bernhardine Nilsson, and he was put up for adoption by his birth father, Jens Christian Torp, a married Danish farmer living in Sweden who was his mother's employer. He spent the first two years of his life in orphanages until his adoption by a typographer named Carl Theodor Dreyer, Sr., and his wife, Inger Marie (née Olsen). His adoptive parents were emotionally distant and his childhood was largely unhappy. He later recalled that his parents "constantly let me know that I should be grateful for the food I was given and that I strictly had no claim on anything, since my mother got out of paying by lying down to die."^[5] But he was a highly intelligent school student, who left home and formal education at the age of sixteen. He dissociated himself from his adoptive family, but their teachings were to influence the themes of many of his films.

Dreyer was ideologically conservative. According to David Bordwell, "As a youth he belonged to Radical Socialist party, a conservative group radical only in their opposition to military expenditures...'Even when I was with Ekstrabladet,' Dreyer recalled, 'I was conservative...I don't believe in revolutions. They have, as a rule, the tedious quality of pulling development back. I believe more in evolution, in the small advances.'"^[6]

Dreyer died of pneumonia in Copenhagen at age 79. The documentary Carl Th. Dreyer: My Metier contains reminiscences from those who knew him.

Career[link]

As a young man, Dreyer worked as a journalist, but he eventually joined the film industry as a writer of title cards for silent films and subsequently of screenplays. His first attempts at film direction had limited success, and he left Denmark to work in the French film industry. While living in France he mixed with Jean Cocteau, Jean Hugo and other members of the French artistic scene and in 1928 he made his first classic film, The Passion of Joan of Arc. Working from the transcripts of Joan's trial, he created a masterpiece of emotion that drew equally from realism and expressionism. Dreyer used private finance from Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg to make his next film as the Danish film industry was in financial ruin. Vampyr (1932) is a surreal meditation on fear. Logic gave way to mood and atmosphere in this story of a man protecting two sisters from a vampire. The movie contains many indelible images, such as the hero, played by de Gunzburg (under the screen name Julian West), dreaming of his own burial and the animal blood lust on the face of one of the sisters as she suffers under the vampire's spell. The film was shot mostly silent but with sparse, cryptic dialogue in three separate versions - English, French and German.

Both films were box office failures, and Dreyer did not make another movie until 1943. Denmark was by now under Nazi occupation, and his Day of Wrath had as its theme the paranoia surrounding witch hunts in the sixteenth century in a strongly theocratic culture. With this work, Dreyer established the style that would mark his sound films: careful compositions, stark monochrome cinematography, and very long takes. In the more than a decade before his next full-length feature film, Dreyer made two documentaries. In 1955, he made Ordet (The Word) based on the play of the same name by Kaj Munk. The film combines a love story with a conflict of faith. Dreyer's last film was 1964's Gertrud. Although seen by some as a lesser film than its predecessors, it is a fitting close to Dreyer's career, as it deals with a woman who, through the tribulations of her life, never expresses regret for her choices.

The great, never finished project of Dreyer’s career was a film about Jesus. Though a manuscript was written (published 1968) the unstable economic conditions and Dreyer’s own demands of realism together with his switching engagement let it remain a dream.

Filmography[link]

Feature films[link]

Short films[link]

• Good Mothers (Mødrehjælpen, 12 min, 1942)
• Water from the Land (Vandet på landet, 1946)
• The Struggle Against Cancer (Kampen mod kræften, 15 min, 1947)
• The Danish Village Church (Landsbykirken, 14 min, 1947)
• They Caught the Ferry (De nåede færgen, 11 min, 1948)
• Thorvaldsen (10 min, 1949)
• The Storstrom Bridge (Storstrømsbroen, 7 min, 1950)
• The Castle Within the Castle (Et Slot i et slot, 1955)

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Carl Th. Dreyer website
• Carl Theodor Dreyer at the Internet Movie Database
• In-depth article from 1951 on 'The Tyrannical Dane'
• Bibliography

v t e Cinema of Denmark Actors Directors Cinematographers Producers Screenwriters Score composers Studios Films A–Z Films by year: pre-1910 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s