The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-09-17
Joan of Arcs Martyrdom,
Facts Which Go to Show that She Was
Not Burned at All.
TLondon Standard

lLOuuOn SIauuaru,l
Though Joan Of Arc is a French heroine in
little danger Of being forgotten, the citizens OF
Crotoy have thought fit to make assurance
doubly sure by rearing fresh statue to her
memory The Maid Of Orleans having had
the misfortune to be a sound Catholic sacri-
feed by bishop, the clericals and their oppo-
nents have seized the occasion for a renewal
of their ancient combat against everybody and
everything considered inimical to the Warrior
Girl of Domremy. The story of Jeanne d'Arc's
life, as oonventionally received, is a tragedy
which aptly lends itself to the legion of poets,
prosers, painters and sculptors who have chos-
en- it for the illustration of their genius or the
demonstration of their dizziness. But in truth,
after an interval of four centuries and half,
history is apt to grow little mouldy, and
though SO orthodox chronicler as NJ Henri
Martini who was chosen to pronounce the Gro
toy eulogy, might have proved equal to the
demands on his Imagination, the least exacting
of historians must now and then be staggered
as they try to repeat the oft-told tale of the
foundress of the noble family of De Lys
career of 10 years, so obscure in its beginning,
SO sad and yet SO brilliant at its close, could
uOt 1dli " oujiot bhO oJhp"phJ GIN oNAhiA"oior
of every age Thus Jeanne dare has been
accorded an immortality of glory, and wealth
of pictures, statues, memoirs and epics such as
have fallen to no other woman of her nation.
Unhappily, we live in Philstinish times. The
iconoclasts of history delight in hewing down
their fathers gods. With such spirit let
loose among the records it could hardly be eX-
pected that the Maid of Orleans would escape
the cruel investigations of the soulless critic
1t is true that, though there is a question
how far the fanaticism of Jeanne aided in rout-
ing our countrymen, no one doubts that they
were defeated. 1t is, therefore, needless revis-
ing the verdict then passed at the spear-polnt.
But after hundred works described her death,
and thousands of reverent pilgrims have wept
over the scene of her martyrdom in the Place
de la Pucelle of Rouen, it was shock to
hear not only that the English were not re-
sponsible for her martyrdom, but that the he-
roic damsel was never burned at all, having
lived to be respected matron and weil-to-do
cheyenne. This is, nevertheless what Father
Vignier asserts to be the fact, and M. Delapi-
ERE has confirmed with documents regarding
the authenticity of which there can be much
skepticism. There always was a belief that
the woman executed in 1431 was not the real
Maid and at different towns during the
subsequent years numerous impostors were
punished for attempting 10 pass themselves of
as the authentic martyr. M Vignier, howev-
err found in the archives of Mentz c0ntem-
porary account OF the arrival of Jeanne in that
city on the Goth of May, 1896, and her recogni-
ton by her two brothers
This paper Furthermore mentions that in due
time she was married to Sieur de Hermoise
or Armoise, and though it might be admitted
that the document discovered was modern
forgery, it is certainly staggering to disinter
from family imminent chest of M. des Ar
noise, of Lorraine, a contract OF marriage be-
tween Robert des Armoise, Knight, with
Jeanne darcy, surnamed the Maid of Or
leans" This also might have been coinci-
dence, though rather striking one, but among
the archives OF the MaSon de Vile of Orleans,
under dates 1885 and 1886 are records of certain
payments made to messengers bringing letters
from Jeanne the Maid" to her brother, John
known to have been that under which, rs re-
ward for long service, the Arc family are
ennobled. So here-nnless we at once cut the
knot by declaring the entire mass of docu-
ments (those in Mentz, in Lorraine, and in Or
leans to be gross forgeries) which has not yet
been attempted-is curious network OF facts,
out of which it is rather difficult to escape
from the conclusion that there must have been
some mistake about the Maid of Orleans hav-
ing been incinerated in that lively city on the
Seine in which stands one of her many statues
erected to attest the truth of the event. Most
curious of all--and NJ Delapierre, in his
"Doutes Historiques,' adduces-numerouso 9TH
er data tending in the same direction--in the
Orleans accounts, under date OF Aug. 1, 1889
(eight years after she ought to have been dead)
there is an entry of 30 livres presented to
Jeanne d'Armoise by the Town Council for
services rende red by her at the seige of 1929
1t is difficult to get over these facts.