Medieval History
President Nicolas Sarkozy and far-right leader Marine Le Pen this week embark on a tug-of-love over the French patron saint Joan of Arc, a surprise player in the upcoming presidential election.
The two leaders are to stage rival celebrations of the 600th anniversary of the birth of the 15th-century Catholic martyr who has been appropriated by the far-right partly for her booting out of medieval English ?immigrants.?
The teenage peasant led the French army against the English after experiencing religious visions and was later burned at the stake, but her broad appeal to French of all political colours has ensured her immortality.
France is officially a secular state, but the story of Joan?s struggle against the English and Burgundians on behalf of the French crown has often served as an inspiration in patriotic causes.
She is regularly wheeled out as a symbol of French unity, alongside such Gallic icons as general Charles de Gaulle or Vercingetorix, who defied the Romans like a real-life Asterix.
Her broad appeal is key: French Catholics see in her a saint, nationalists see her as a royalist warrior who kicked out the English, while Socialists can hail her humble origins, although she was the daughter of a landowner.
Click here to read this article from the National Post
- France Celebrates Joan Of Arc's 600th Birthday
The normally tranquil city of Orleans is buzzing with festivities over the next two weeks to mark the 600th birthday of one of France's best cultural exports: Joan of Arc. Looking appropriately cinematic, the Loire River swarmed with wooden boats...
- Joan Of Arc: Enduring Power
Joan of Arc was born 600 years ago. Six centuries is a long time to continue to mark the birth of a girl who, according to her family and friends, knew little more than spinning and watching over her father?s flocks. But type her name into Amazon?s search...
- Remembering Joan Of Arc, The Maid Of Orléans
No one knows for sure when Joan of Arc was born in the village of Domrémy. But many believe the date was Jan. 6, 1412 ? six centuries ago today. After all this time, the tale of Joan of Arc remains a strange one. A peasant girl who never learned to read...
- Marine Le Pen & Jeanne D'arc - An Uncomfortable Iconography
Iconographically, very few can claim as much power as Joan of Arc. The idea of Joan has been used in thousands of ways for innumerable causes, and she continues to resurface in new forms and imagery constantly. The political leader Marine Le Pen of the...
- The Geography Of Joan, Part Ii: Orleans
The battles won at Orleans were the decisive victories for the French in the Hundred Years War. Orleans' situation on the Loire was important for the English, as it would have connected their landholdings in the west with their Burgundians allies...
Medieval History
Nicolas Sarkozy, far-right leader Marine Le Pen in tug-of-love over Joan of Arc
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| Joan of Arc painted in 1854. |
The two leaders are to stage rival celebrations of the 600th anniversary of the birth of the 15th-century Catholic martyr who has been appropriated by the far-right partly for her booting out of medieval English ?immigrants.?
The teenage peasant led the French army against the English after experiencing religious visions and was later burned at the stake, but her broad appeal to French of all political colours has ensured her immortality.
France is officially a secular state, but the story of Joan?s struggle against the English and Burgundians on behalf of the French crown has often served as an inspiration in patriotic causes.
She is regularly wheeled out as a symbol of French unity, alongside such Gallic icons as general Charles de Gaulle or Vercingetorix, who defied the Romans like a real-life Asterix.
Her broad appeal is key: French Catholics see in her a saint, nationalists see her as a royalist warrior who kicked out the English, while Socialists can hail her humble origins, although she was the daughter of a landowner.
Click here to read this article from the National Post
- France Celebrates Joan Of Arc's 600th Birthday
The normally tranquil city of Orleans is buzzing with festivities over the next two weeks to mark the 600th birthday of one of France's best cultural exports: Joan of Arc. Looking appropriately cinematic, the Loire River swarmed with wooden boats...
- Joan Of Arc: Enduring Power
Joan of Arc was born 600 years ago. Six centuries is a long time to continue to mark the birth of a girl who, according to her family and friends, knew little more than spinning and watching over her father?s flocks. But type her name into Amazon?s search...
- Remembering Joan Of Arc, The Maid Of Orléans
No one knows for sure when Joan of Arc was born in the village of Domrémy. But many believe the date was Jan. 6, 1412 ? six centuries ago today. After all this time, the tale of Joan of Arc remains a strange one. A peasant girl who never learned to read...
- Marine Le Pen & Jeanne D'arc - An Uncomfortable Iconography
Iconographically, very few can claim as much power as Joan of Arc. The idea of Joan has been used in thousands of ways for innumerable causes, and she continues to resurface in new forms and imagery constantly. The political leader Marine Le Pen of the...
- The Geography Of Joan, Part Ii: Orleans
The battles won at Orleans were the decisive victories for the French in the Hundred Years War. Orleans' situation on the Loire was important for the English, as it would have connected their landholdings in the west with their Burgundians allies...