My daughter was born of a legitimate marriage.
I had her baptised and confirmed.
I brought her up to fear God and respect the Church
within the limits of her age and simple condition.
She did not think, plot or do anything against the faith.
But envious people who wished ill
on her, her parents and the good of princes and peoples
tried her for heresy.
They accused her of false crimes,
condemned her with iniquity
and burned her.
TRIAL OF JOAN OF ARC
Joan ofArc died on 30th May 1431.
She received no burial and no portrait remains of her.
But we have a better portrait:
her words before the judges of Rouen.
I have used the genuine minutes of the trial.
For the last instants, I have used the witness statements
from the Trial of Rehabilitation which took place 25 years later.
When the film starts,
Joan has been imprisoned for several months in Rouen.
Captured at Compiegne by French soldiers loyal to her adversaries,
she has been sold to the English (We know the interests at stake).
She appears before a tribunal
made up exclusively of members of the Anglophile University of Paris
and presided over by Bishop Cauchon.
My name is Joan. I am 19.
Swear to tell the truth.
I swear.
- Where were you baptised? - In Domremy.
- Who taught you the faith? - My mother taught me my prayers.
- Say a Pater Noster. - I will say it in confession.
What did you do at home?
I did housework. I didn't work in the fiields.
- Did you learn other skills? - Yes, to spin and sew.
We, the bishop, forbid Joan to leave the chateau of Rouen.
I do not accept it.
You have tried several times to escape.
Like all prisoners, it is my right.
It would be perjury for me to say what I have sworn not to say.
- Tell the truth to yourjudge. - You call yourself judge.
- It's a grave responsibility. - Take the oath.
Must I do it twice?
Will you take the oath?
You don't need it.
Swear to tell the truth.
I will tell the truth, but not all of it.
That will render you suspect.
I'm aware of that.
We demand that you take the oath.
I cannot tell the whole truth.
I come from God and do not belong here.
Send me back to Him.
On your knees!
It came from the right of the church.
It was always accompanied by a bright light.
I recognised the voice of an angel.
It told me to raise the siege of Orleans
and go to Vaucouleurs and what would happen there.
What were you wearing when you left?
Men's clothes.
On whose advice?
Next question.
- Do you hear this voice often? - Every day. I've come to need it.
Did you hear it yesterday?
- At what time? - Morning. I don't know what time.
- What were you doing? - I was asleep. The voice woke me.
- Was it in your room? - It was in the chateau.
Did you thank the voice and kneel before it?
I sat on my bed and joined my hands.
What did the voice tell you?
To reply to you bravely.
Be on guard. God sends me and you're in great danger.
It tells you not to say everything?
- Not concerning the king. - The voice forbids it?
Who are you to deny that?
It comes from God?
I believe it comes from God.
I'd rather not reply than offend it.
Telling the truth displeases God?
The voice told me to speak to the king.
There are things I must tell him for his own good.
Can't you make the voice do that?
I would, if it would please God.
Can't the voice talk to your king like it did when you were present?
Perhaps it is God's will.
Without God's grace I can do nothing.
Are you in God's grace?
If I'm not, may God bring me to it. If I am, may He keep me in it!
When you lived at home,
did you play with other girls?
Do you remember the trees in your village?
There's a tree called Ladies "Tree or Fairies" Tree.
Nearby there's a fountain where the sick drink.
Under this tree, we used to make flower garlands, sing and dance.
But I never saw any fairies.
And elsewhere?
Not as far as I know.
Take her.
You can judge her words but not burn her.
- Why? - This is not a proper trial.
She will burn.
Have you been well since last time?
I have been as well as I could be.
Have you heard the voice since then?
Have you heard it in this room?
- Is it relevant to your trial? - It will serve the trial.
- I've heard it. - What did it say?
I didn't understand until I was back in my room.
What did it tell you there?
I asked for advice on your questions.
Did it give you advice?
On certain points.
On others, I cannot answer without its permission.
If Our Lord gives it to me,
I will not be afraid to answer.
Did an angel talk to you or God Himself?
It was the voices of St Catherine and St Margaret.
How do you know it was their voices?
They've guided me for seven years.
Are they dressed the same?
I will tell the King of France, not my interrogators.
Are they the same age?
I don't know.
Did they talk together or separately?
I was also comforted by St Michael.
How long have you heard his voice?
I only said I was comforted.
Which one of these saints appeared to you fiirst?
St Michael, accompanied by celestial angels.
Did you see St Michael and the angels in the flesh?
I saw them with my own eyes.
What proof do you have your visions are from God?
Believe me ifyou will.
Was there an angel above your king when you fiirst saw him?
I don't know. I didn't see it.
Some brightness, or light?
Much light, over 50 torches. Not all light is for you.
How did your king show his faith in you?
- He had a sign. - What sign?
I will not answer that question.
Where did you get your sword?
- In Vaucouleurs. - Did you have another sword?
I found one in the church of St Catherine de Fierbois.
How did you know it was there?
It was on the ground, with fiive crosses on it.
My voices told me.
- Did you have it blessed? - It wasn't blessed.
Did you place the sword on the altar for luck?
Did you prefer your standard to your sword?
I much preferred my standard.
- Who carried it? - I did, to avoid killing someone.
I've never killed anyone.
How many men did your king give you?
10 to 12,000 men.
In Orleans, did you tell your men that the stones and arrows
would only hit you?
I told them to raise the siege.
When I placed the ladder, an arrow pierced my neck.
Did you know you'd be wounded?
St Catherine and St Margaret had told me.
Did they talk to you under the Ladies' Tree or Fairies' Tree
mentioned earlier?
I don't remember.
And at the nearby fountain?
I heard them there.
O gentle Lord, ifyou love me,
tell me whatto say to these churchmen.
What are you doing here?
You know very well.
Those of you outside the city of Orleans, return to your country.
King of England, I'm a war chief.
I'll chase your men out of France.
If they don't obey, I'll have them all killed.
God sends me to fiight you hand to hand.
Have no doubt, God will not give you the kingdom of France.
Do you recognise this letter?
I do, except where it says commander and hand to hand.
What do you think will happen to your side?
In seven years, God will give the French victory over the English.
I want people to know I said this.
The date?
You will not know it from me.
How do you know ifyour visions are men or women?
They tell me. I see their faces.
- Do they have hair? - Possibly.
Do they wear their hair down?
I don't even know if they have a body.
How can they speak without a body?
I trust God. The voice is soft and speaks the language of France.
Do you have any rings?
You have one of them. Give it back!
The English have the other one. Show it to me ifyou have it.
Who gave you the other ring?
My parents. Inscribed Jesus Maria.
Have you cured people with those rings?
Not by means of the rings.
Did the saints make any promises?
It's not relevant to your trial.
Did they promise to rescue you from the prisons?
From the prison where you are now?
You won't know everything.
I shall be rescued. Those who seek my death may well die before me.
I'll die without the revelations that comfort me.
Where is your mandrake?
I don't have one.
I never did.
Wasn't there one near your village?
What is it used for?
To bring money. So they say, I don't believe it.
I act according to my conscience.
Why Jesus Maria and a cross on your letters?
The cross was to tell my side not to do what I wrote.
What arms did you put in the church of St Denis?
A sword and armour,
for the wounded.
Is that why they are revered?
When your standard was made, did it have shields similar to yours?
Some, yes.
Did you tell the soldiers it would bring them luck?
I told them to attack with courage.
Were the shields anointed with holy water?
Not under my orders.
Were the shields carried around an altar or a church?
I never saw it done.
Are there any images made in your likeness?
One of me presenting a letter to my king.
Why did you look at your ring before an attack?
To honour my parents who gave it to me.
Isn't it blasphemous
to wear sumptuous clothes and to attribute it to the command of God?
I have never blasphemed.
Did your side pray or say mass for you?
If they did, they did nothing wrong.
Did they believe God sent you?
I don't know if they believed it, but I was sent by God.
Can't you read the minds
of those who kiss your feet, hands and clothes?
Many came to me and kissed my clothes.
The poor came because they liked me.
Did the women rub their rings against yours?
Many women touched my hands and rings,
but I cannot read their minds.
Did you receive the sacraments on your way through towns?
In men's clothes?
Yes, and unarmed.
Did you take the bishop's horse in Senlis?
I paid for it. But I sent it back, it was worthless.
How old was the child you visited in Lagny?
Three days.
He was dead when they brought him to me.
- They say you resurrected him. - I never heard it.
What did you do at La Charite sur Loire?
I mounted an assault.
God had ordered you to go in. Why didn't you?
Who says God ordered me to?
At the coronation in Reims,
why was your standard carried?
It had suffered. We wanted to honour it.
Take her away!
What a din.
Two assessors, a substitute, the clerk and the inquisitor.
And the others?
I don't need them. But they must not leave the city.
You have no jurisdiction.
Did you know you'd be caught?
My voices said it was necessary, but they didn't say when.
If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone.
Ifyour voices had ordered you to go where you'd be caught,
would you have gone?
Not willingly, but I would have obeyed.
Were you on horseback?
Who gave you the horse?
My king. I had fiive saddle horses and seven trotting horses.
Any other gifts from your king?
Some money, to go to war with.
What sign did you give your king?
I will not tell you. Ask him.
Did the sign come from God?
An angel gave the sign to my king.
The same angel who had appeared before?
The same. It has never tricked me.
Weren't you tricked when you were caught?
It was God's will that I was caught.
How could He trick me when He comforts me every day?
I mean, the saints do.
Did you promise them to keep your virginity?
Did they say ifyou lost your virginity,
your voices would stop?
It was never revealed to me.
Ifyou were married, would your voices come?
I don't know, I trust the Lord.
You left home
without your parents' consent.
If I had a hundred parents, I'd still obey God.
Did they tell you to say you were leaving?
My voices left it up to me.
Did your voices call you
Daughter of God or Daughter of the Church?
They called me Joan The Maid, Daughter of God.
Enough lies!
You're not a maiden.
I say I am. Too bad ifyou don't believe me.
You don't belong to God,
but to the Devil!
I belong to Our Lord Jesus Christ.
These women confiirm she's a virgin.
Yes, that gives her strength.
What sign did your king have that you came from God?
I promised not to tell.
We demand that you do.
You want me to commit perjury?
You swore to St Catherine not to tell?
I swore it to myself.
But the sign was the crown given to my king by the angel.
The crown meant he'd hold the whole kingdom of France.
What was the crown like?
Golden with precious stones.
Where did the angel take the crown?
To Chinon.
The angel came fiirst.
I said to the king: Sire, here is your sign.
Did you hold the crown in your hands?
Did the angel come from up on high?
Yes, he was sent by the command of God.
- Did he walk through the door? - He did.
Did those with the king see the angel?
The archbishop and others did.
Some saw the crown but not the angel.
When the angel left, were you afraid?
Not afraid. I would have followed him. I mean my soul.
Did you deserve to be sent an angel?
Why you?
God chose a simple girl as intermediary.
Where did the angel fiind the crown?
I trust God. I don't know where.
Did the crown smell good? Was it attractive?
What do you know about a lost glove and cup that were later found?
Nothing.
Did you intend to kill yourself when you jumped from the tower?
I wanted to escape from the English.
Did you say you'd rather die than be captured by the English?
I'd give my soul to God rather than fall into English hands.
After you recovered consciousness,
didn't you blaspheme?
Those who heard me misunderstood.
Do St Catherine and St Margaret appear in a bright light?
When they speak, there is brightness.
Was it bright when you heard the voice in the chateau?
I heard the voice, but I didn't see St Catherine or St Margaret.
Didn't you say it was dangerous for me to judge you?
Mind you don'tjudge me wrongly. It is my duty to tell you.
What danger are we, the bishop, in?
My voices tell me I will be victorious at the trial.
They say Do not fear martyrdom.
You will be in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I call martyrdom the great pain I suffer in prison.
But I accept Our Lord's Will.
Would you escape now?
If the door was open and the guards didn't stop me,
I'd know God was rescuing me.
She won't fly away.
Do St Catherine and St Margaret hate the English?
They love what God loves and hate what God hates.
Does God hate the English?
I don't know if He does,
but they must leave France or die.
Have you always obeyed your voices?
I've always obeyed God through them,
to the best of my abilities.
Have you ever acted against God's will?
Yes, at Beaurevoir.
But my voices saved me.
As always when I was in need. It shows they're good spirits.
Any other signs that they're good spirits?
St Michael told me they were.
What clothes did St Michael wear?
I don't know about his clothes.
Was he naked?
Do you think God cannot afford clothes for him?
- Did he have long hair? - Why would it be cut?
How do you know it was St Michael?
He spoke like an angel.
How do you know he spoke like an angel?
I wanted to believe he did.
How did you know the angel was not an evil spirit?
The fiirst time, I doubted it was St Michael.
What made you believe it was him every other time?
The fiirst time, I was a child.
He's taught me many things since then.
What did he teach you?
Most of it is in that book.
Will you dress as a woman?
I will when I'm gone. The way I dress now pleases God.
Women will not dress as men or men as women
says the Holy Scripture.
For it is an abomination to do so.
I make no distinction between the two.
Have you committed any sins,
which could condemn you?
What do you think of this dress?
I will wear it only if it pleases God.
But if I'm condemned and made to undress,
I ask for a woman's shirt and a head-dress.
I'd rather die than revoke God's orders.
He will not let me stoop so low without coming to my rescue.
Why would you wear a woman's shirt ifyou were to die?
I only ask that it be long.
You've asked to hear mass
because of the solemnity of Holy Week.
I ask to hear mass and receive communion on Easter Day.
Take off this male dress and we will accord you the grace.
I will not hear mass
and receive communion.
What are my people doing?
Have they forgotten me?
Examine my answers. I'll accept it if they're wrong.
If the Church says your visions are evil, will you accept it?
I was sent to the King of France by God's Church in Heaven.
Everything I do, I submit to it.
Aren't you subject
to God's Church on earth and to its churchmen?
God must be served fiirst.
Do your voices
command you not to submit to the Church Militant?
They don't tell me to disobey the Church,
but God must be served fiirst.
She claimed to mind God alone
and accepted Him and His Saints,
and not the judgement of the Church,
spreading lies and errors.
She committed crimes
of indecency, sedition, idolatry and evil-doing.
She let herself be revered like a saint.
She claimed to come from God
even in war and the shedding of human blood.
She assumed with pride the role of leader of men and army captain.
She offered the armour in which she had been wounded as a relic.
She hid a sword in the church of St Catherine de Fierbois
and claimed she knew by revelation where it was.
She cast a spell on her ring, standard and sword,
to triumph over her adversaries.
She carried with her a mandrake,
to obtain fortune and riches.
I protest against these false accusations,
contrary to the interrogation and to my answers.
She claimed to know the future and the past
and to have God's attributes.
Let Paris and the University pronounce themselves. I will not.
Why not?
None of us here is free to speak.
We cannot judge under constraint.
Be quiet!
I'm not from your diocese, Monseigneur.
We should have explained to her.
I orderyou to stay.
I will not stay. I do not want to be here.
What is it? Are you ill?
The bishop sent me food. I ate it and it made me ill.
You ate the wrong things on purpose.
I didn't do that.
These chains must come off now.
I thankyou for assisting my salvation.
I feel so ill, I must be dying.
Ifyou don't submit to the Church,
you will not receive the sacraments.
Amend your life if you fear for it.
If I die in prison, I demand to be buried in consecrated ground.
Matthew says
If he refuses to listen, tell the Church.
If he refuses to listen to the Church, he is a pagan.
Shall we hold a procession
to pray for your health?
I'd like Catholics to pray for me.
You can appeal to the Pope, Joan.
And to the Holy Council.
Submit to it. It is your right.
Which Holy Council?
The Holy Council of Basel. I must warn you,
there could be as many Doctors for you as against you.
Submit and save yourself, Joan.
There's still time.
Her soul is hard and will not be brought to reason.
She will be solemnly admonished before this court.
Read fiirst, then I will answer.
I trust God, my creator. I love Him with all my heart.
He is my judge and the King of Heaven and earth.
Do you submit
to the Church Militant?
I believe in the Church Militant,
but I will obey God alone, my creator.
Do you mean Our Holy Father is not yourjudge on earth?
I have but one master: Our Lord.
Ifyou don't submit
to the One Holy Catholic Church,
you will be declared heretic and be sentenced to burn.
Ifyou show me the fiire, I will not recant.
Will you submit to the Holy Council, the Pope and the Cardinals?
Will you submit to the Pope?
Take me before him and I will answer.
We'll send him the proceedings for him to judge.
I want the Pope to interrogate me.
Will you submit to the Church?
I will not submit to you,
my key enemy.
But if there are as many doctors in the Council for me as against me,
I will submit to the Holy Council of Basel.
Who has been speaking to this woman?
You only write down what is against me!
Answer truthfully to every point.
Tell the truth.
Ifyou tear me limb from limb, I will not speak differently.
And if I do, I'll say you used force.
Take her away.
You believed in your visions. Return to the path of truth.
I pray you, Joan, for the love ofyour creator.
Repent your errors
and you will save your soul and your body from destruction,
as it is God's will.
Or your soul will be damned.
I stand by my acts and words.
Ifyou throw me in the fiire, I will not speak differently.
I stand by what I said.
France, you're abused.
He who calls himself king has been dishonoured.
And notjust him, but all those who obey him.
O Joan, your king has become a heretic by listening to you.
He's a good Christian and loves the Church.
You've acted against God and the faith.
You wore men's clothes.
Repent or you will burn.
Joan, will you recant
your acts and words?
I will obey God and the Pope.
This will not do. We cannot bring the Pope here.
We admonish you once more.
Do you recant your acts and words?
She will not speak. We shall read the sentence.
We, honouring our faith,
place ourjudgement in the hands of the Lord.
We decree that you have grievously sinned against God.
We pity you, Joan.
Recant or we'll abandon you to the secular power.
I have done nothing wrong. I believe in the Ten Commandments.
I trust the Council and the Pope and believe in the Holy Church.
Recant what you said!
With a hardened heart, you refuse to submit to the Holy Church.
Recant, recant!
We declare you obstinate and opinionated in your offences,
excesses and errors.
I'll do anything you want.
Abjure and sign this paper. You will be freed from prison.
You're lying!
I'm a judge in a matter of faith. I seek her salvation, not her death.
You insult me.
I, Joan, miserable sinner,
return to the Church of my own free will,
and not through fear.
I confess that I have sinned.
I pretended to have revelations from God, the angels and the saints.
All my deeds against the Church I now renounce.
I demand counsel before I sign.
Demand counsel.
Do not speak to her!
If the Church advises me to, I will sign.
Place me in the hands of the Church.
Ifyou don't sign, you will be burned without delay.
I trust the conscience of myjudges.
What must we do now?
Joan, the Church forgives you.
But because you have sinned against her
and that you may do penance,
we condemn you to perpetual imprisonment,
so that you may wipe out your sins and not return to them.
Do not leave me in the hands of the English.
Take her where you found her.
Take her and give her women's clothes!
Why are you in men's clothes again?
You swore not to wear them.
I never swore it.
I have not been given what I was promised.
When I put this dress on, I was beaten.
An English lord tried to molest me.
I'd rather die than be in chains.
But if I'm placed in the hands of the Church, I will obey it.
Have you heard your voices?
Yes, I have.
What did they say?
That I was wrong to abjure to save my life.
And to answer with courage to the preacher.
He's a false preacher.
If I said God hasn't sent me, I would be damned. He has sent me.
Are they the voices of the saints?
Yes, and of God.
And that crown you mentioned?
I told the truth during the trial.
And when you abjured before the people?
I didn't renounce my visions. I acted in fear of the fiire.
But I'd rather die than endure this torment.
I didn't understand the paper.
I said I wouldn't recant unless it pleased God.
You are a relapsed heretic.
It's done, she's caught!
The bishop sends us to prepare you for death.
I want to die, but I don't want to burn.
My body is not corrupt. It should not be reduced to ashes.
Bishop, you send me to my death.
I appeal to the great Judge.
Yourvoices said you'd be saved.
Yourvoices have deceived you.
Yes, they have deceived me.
If they were from God, they wouldn't lie.
You have lied to the people and must ask theirforgiveness.
Remind me in the market place. I might forget.
- She wants to have communion. - Give her all she wants!
Is this the body of Christ?
Yes, and only He can free me.
- Where will I be tonight? - Don't you hope in the Lord?
God willing, I shall be in Paradise.
Joan, go in peace!
The Church abandons you to the secular arm.
We admonish you to think of your soul and show true penance.
Rouen, will I die here?
I asked for pity from my side and from my adversaries.
May they pray for me!
I forgive them for the wrong they do me.
We, Bishop of Beauvais,
decree that you, like a rotten member infecting other members,
be cast out from the unity of the Church,
sundered from her body
and handed over to the secular power.
We pray the same secular power
to moderate its judgement
short of death and mutilation of the limbs.
I ask for a cross.
I commend my soul to God, the Blessed Mary and all the saints.
For what I have done, neither my king nor others are to blame.
I take leave of those here present.
O St Michael, St Catherine and St Margaret!
My voices were from God.
What I did, I did by the command of God.
No, my voices did not deceive me. My revelations were from God.
Jesus!