Joan of Arc: The Legend and the Reality

by Frances Gies

Book Overview

"Now Frances Gies, co-author of "Women in the Middle Ages", "Life in a Medieval Castle",and other books on the Middle Ages, has written an unbiased, critical biography which places Joan in her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0690019424
• ISBN13: 9780690019421
• Release Date: January 1981
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

History of a Controversial Figure - Illustrated with Maps

From Front Jacket: "Joan of Arc has inspired some of the world's most illustrious writers, from Shakespeare and Voltaire to Mark Twain and George Bernard Shaw. She has also been exploited by a host of writers with axes to grind - religious, national, political. Strangely, however, she has drawn little attention from objective historians. Now Frances Gies, co-author of 'Women in the Middle Ages, Life in a Medieval Castle,' and other books on the Middle Ages, has written an unbiased, critical biography which places Joan in her historical setting and examines her in light of the situation of women in her time. Basing her narrative on original documents, and distinguishing firsthand and eyewitness accounts from more remote and doubtful sources, Mrs. Gies tells Joan's story in full detail and presents an account of her trial for heresy that examines fairly the outlooks and motives of her persecutors. The book closes with an engrossing analysis of the treatment of Joan over 5 centuries by other historians and writers - patriotic, poetic, Catholic and anti-Catholic. Was Joan victim of English nationalism and religious authoritarianism, or of her own heroic obstinacy? What was her real impact on history? And finally, to what extent has she been the victim of prejudice of male historians? The reader may judge." ***** Chapters Include: * Joan of Arc: The Story and Its Sources * Domremy * Voices * Chinon * Orleans * The Loire Campaign and the Battle of Patay * The Coronation Journey * The Road to Paris * Winter; The Last Campaign * Captivity * The Trial: Preliminaries, Preparatory Interrogation * The Trial: Charges and Judgment * Abjuration, Relapse, Death * Afterward * Five and a Half Centuries of Joan of Arc