Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Song of Joan of Arc


The Song of Joan of Arc is an epic poem written and finished on July 31, 1429, by Christine de Pisan who was a highly regarded poet who lived in France during the same time as Joan of Arc.  This poem was written and finished shortly after Charles VII was crowned King so it provides a unique view on the momentous events brought about by Joan of Arc during this period of history.  Below is a stanza from the poem describing the coronation of Charles VII: 
"Now let us welcome our King!
Rejoice at his return from his fall,
overjoyed at the site of his splendor.
Let us all both great and small
step forward to greet him-no one
hold back-salute him with joyful face.
Praising God who has been so kind
let shouts of "Noel!" fill the place."

The poem is full of praise toward Joan reflecting the national sentiment at the time after Joan won her great military victories and crowned Charles VII King of France:

"And blessed Maid, are you to be forgotten?
For God has honored you so much using you
against the rope binding France so tightly
which you untied in your debut.
Could our praise ever be enough
for one that we so greatly adore. 
You brought peace to our land,
so greatly ravaged by war"

The full English translation of this famous poem is available online at MaidOfHeaven.com at:
Since today is the anniversary of the completion of this poem it is a good time to read it though to better understand how great a impact Joan of Arc had upon France and world history.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Joan Crowns Charles VII Anniversary

On July 17, 1429, Joan of Arc fulfilled her primary mission to have Charles VII crowned and anointed as  King of all France. Joan had predicted that she would lead Charles to his crowning in Reims when she had begun her mission only a few months earlier. What had seemed impossible to everyone except Joan occurred that summer day in late July of 1429 in the Cathedral of Reims when Charles VII was crowned King of France. All the French people loyal to Charles rejoiced as echoed by Christine de Pisan in her famous epic poem The Song of Joan of Arc:


"Now let us welcome our King!
Rejoice at his return from his fall,
overjoyed at the site of his splendor.
Let us all both great and small
step forward to greet him-no one
hold back-salute him with joyful face.
Praising God who has been so kind
let shouts of "Noel!" fill the place."

Christine’s poem was finished shortly after Charles VII was crowned in Reims and reflects the national sentiments toward Joan of Arc at that time and is well worth reading to better understand the huge impact that this event had upon the people of France. An English translation is available online at MaidOfHeaven.com at
The Song of Joan of Arc by Christine de Pisan

You can also learn more about the coronation and the city of Reims by visiting this page at MaidOfHeaven.comt:
Joan of Arc & Reims