Joan the Maid
II - The Prisons
The following morning,
Sunday, May 8th, 1429,
the English lifted the siege and went into battle.
So we went out, in great numbers,
with the Maid, the men-at-arms and the people of Orleans.
We lined up in front of them,
in battle order.
From the beginning, the Maid forbad to attack the English,
for the love of the Holy Sunday.
We stayed face-to-face, without touching, for more than an hour.
The time went by. The English set off, in good order,
for their strongholds in Beaugency and Jargeau.
They lifted the siege which they had maintained near Orleans
since October 12th, 1428, until that day.
We went to see the king in his castle at Loches.
Normandy is ripe for the picking.
The English are there in great numbers.
But they begin to doubt now.
We just have to give the hornets' nest a kick.
A kick?
The people are suffering.
Would it not be wiser to let Burgundy have a truce?
Are you calling me a fool, Gaucourt?
I am a man of war, just like you.
But I think that peace is better than war sometimes.
It's easy for you to say that.
You didn't lose any land.
Your castles aren't in the enemy's hands.
You didn't spend six years in English prisons.
There is a time for anger
and a time for wisdom.
I agree with Gaucourt. Make peace with Burgundy.
We need to turn this bloody page.
Peace with Burgundy?
You will have to get it from the tip of a spear.
Young lady, you like weapons too much.
Who will silence her?
I don't hear the questions but I will answer them.
Jeanne is sitting at my right hand
because she did what she did and she is what she is.
I knighted her and her family in the name of the lily,
of heritable knighthood to female and male descendants.
And I give her the same right to speak.
Does anyone find fault with that?
Go on.
I was just saying that everybody should desire peace,
because everybody has something to gain from it,
above all the Duke of Burgundy.
I mean that we have a lot to gain from making peace with the duke.
La Tremoille is right, sire.
The English are losing courage.
Their luck is beginning to change.
Philippe cannot see their strength and support as he used to.
Without flattering myself, I am in a good position to know
that he would not be against a truce.
It would be a good idea to propose it to him.
A truce?
To what end?
Philippe hates me.
And he has good reason.
Reasons of blood.
It seems that you forget that.
Men can change, sire.
Even princes.
They may not like you, but at least they respect you.
- There was a time... - We digress.
It's too early to call a truce.
And even more so to make peace.
Our advantage is precarious.
The Englishman is wounded but still powerful.
He has withdrawn to Burgundy, Jargeau and Beaugency.
It's there that he will become stronger.
And if he can, take back his booty.
What we have to do first is to get him to move.
Yes, you are right.
I thus appoint you as chief of the armies for the Loire region,
you, my dear Alencon,
because your anger against our enemy has increased tenfold
from the pain that you endured in captivity,
and because you are the closest to my heart.
He has been in France for less than three months.
Enough! Silence!
- Am I the king of criminals and beggars? - Gentle Dauphin, you are no king at all.
And you, you are all wrong.
You talk about Normandy, Burgundy, truce, peace.
You don't think about the crown.
Gentle Dauphin, you will be king once you are crowned in Rheims.
- That's the only way. - In Rheims, Rheims.
Do you want us to go across Burgundy?
To provoke Philippe in his own lands?
I want Rheims.
Before Rheims, we will have to take control of Auxerre, Troyes and other cities.
Jeanne, what do you think?
First, the crown.
Once you have received the crown in Rheims,
who will still talk about Henry of France and England?
Nobody.
Who will be able to harm you without offending God at the same time?
Nobody.
Neither the Regent of England, nor the Duke of Burgundy.
Nobody.
And their strength will continue to decrease.
And yours will continue to increase.
- And Normandy? - No. She is right.
The man of war takes precedence over the man of peace.
You have never changed your mind.
I want to think about it.
The Duke of Alencon was looking forward to fighting.
Having been taken prisoner by the English at the battle of Verneuil,
and having been held captive for six years,
he had been released on oath that he would not fight
as long as his ransom remained unpaid.
I was told that this ransom,
which was only paid after the battle of Orleans,
amounted to 80,000 gold coins.
- What's wrong, Nicolas? - Nothing is broken.
Go and tell my wife that Jeanne is here. Hurry up!
- Jeanne the Maid? - Yes, Jeanne the Maid.
That's all the silver tableware I have left.
I had to sell everything to pay my ransom.
You need a lot of plates to pay 200,000 gold ecus.
But I am free.
Without being false to honour, now I can follow you.
My name is Jeanne too. Jeanne d'Orleans, like you.
My father would have been proud to have you as his daughter.
Sometimes at night, I think that I may not see him again,
that he may die in captivity.
In the next battles, we will capture many English lords.
And we will exchange them for the duke.
And if necessary, I will fetch him from England myself.
But first, Jargeau, Beaugency,
Notre-Dame de Clery, Vendome,
Vendome.
If we had followed my advice, we would already be on our way.
Already?
We have been apart so long.
I'm so worried that he will be captured during the battle, like the first time.
If I had to live all those years without you again, I would die.
Can he stay with me a little longer?
Just a moment.
Lady, don't worry.
I will give him back to you safe and sound,
and as he is now.
Or even, better than he is.
Monsieur Jacques Boucher from Orleans is here.
He wants to talk to Madame Jeanne.
Madame Boucher prays for you every morning and night.
Charlotte wants me to buy her a horse.
And our handmaid, Hermine, I don't know if you remember her,
she begged me to give you this.
I don't know what it is.
And this one is from the people of Orleans.
Nettle leaves, the emblem of the family of Orleans.
I and the people of Orleans believe that if you hadn't helped us,
we would have been at the mercy and under the rule of the besiegers.
It's soft.
Noble Dauphin,
take counsel no longer.
Come as soon as possible to Rheims to receive your worthy crown.
- Your counsel says so? - Yes.
My counsel torments me with it.
How does your counsel speak to you?
Could you say it here, in front of the king?
In the name of God, I know what you are thinking about.
I will tell you.
- Will you say it in front of them? - Yes, sire.
When something is wrong,
when I am not easily trusted
for what is told to me by God,
I retreat and pray.
I complain to Him that people do not believe me.
Once I have prayed, I hear a voice saying...
"Daughter of God,
"go. Go...
"I will come to your aid, go. "
When I hear that voice,
I have a great joy.
I'd like to hear it always.
Rheims!
Your counsel is right. I will tell mine.
The following day, we headed for Beaugency.
There, a battle started against the English who were in the town.
After the battle, the English left the city and went into the castle.
We were in front of the castle
when we heard that Constable Arthur de Richemont
was coming from Brittany with soldiers.
Alencon, take it as you wish.
I have decided to help the king.
Well, Constable, we don't want your aid.
Leave as you came, and quickly, or you will regret it.
When I take a decision, nothing or nobody can make me change my mind.
And you, no more than any other.
- Why do you refuse his aid? - The king hates him.
And I hate him because I love the king.
I was the king's favourite
when you were still in your eggshell, fledgling.
Do you not wonder why it's no longer true?
You should rather ask this plotter,
this courtier, this fine talker,
this swine, La Tremoille.
- For me, it's over. - Wait.
Constable, are you alone?
Alone? I may have fallen into disfavour but I still have companions.
I bring 600 spears and 400 archers.
This is worthy of consideration.
Talbot and Fastolf are coming here with more than a thousand armed men.
We need to help each other.
Not with him.
It's an order, or I promise you I'll lift the siege right now.
Disguised. I had to see that one day in my life.
Constable...
You say you are helping the dauphin.
You came here despite his orders. What are you looking for?
The king, the one you call the dauphin.
He already sent me an emissary, Monsieur... I don't know who he is,
to tell me to go back home.
- I give you the same answer I gave him. - I am listening.
Everything I do is for the good of the kingdom.
And we will see who wants to fight me.
That's not a very courteous answer.
Talking to you is already courteous.
I don't know who you are.
Some people say you are of God,
and others, of the devil.
And here is what I say.
If you are of God, I have nothing to fear from you,
because God knows my goodwill.
And if you are of the devil, I fear you even less.
Good Constable,
I didn't ask you to come,
but since you are here, be welcome.
A little while later,
after hearing that the king didn't want him at the coronation ceremony,
the constable gathered his troops and left.
After the storming of Beaugency,
while we were in front of the ramparts of Jargeau,
Jeanne said to the Duke of Alencon,
while he stood in a certain spot,
"Move from here, because if you don't leave,
"the machine that's in the city will kill you. "
She showed him the machine - a catapult - and the duke left.
And immediately, I saw someone get killed on that spot.
I heard that his name was Monseigneur Du Lude.
By my right, my lord...
Here is what I have to say.
If you dare to come to us, three knights will fight you.
For your shame, for your great harm.
Go to sleep, it's late.
But tomorrow, if it pleases God and Our Lady,
we will come to you.
Tomorrow, take good spurs.
What do you mean? Are we going to turn our backs on them?
No, we are going to run after them.
If only we had more horses. They outnumber us by three to one.
God sent them for us to punish them.
Even if they were hanging in the sky, they would be ours.
The following day,
the 18th day of June, in the year 1429,
we saw the English army led by Fastolf and Talbot
gathering outside the town of Meung, in battle order,
and moving into the fields towards Patay.
We followed them reluctantly,
but because of the high hedges, we couldn't see them
or know where they were.
Then our vanguards saw a stag coming out of the woods,
which threw itself into an English company lying in ambush,
from where we heard a loud cry,
for they did not know we were so close to them.
Hearing this cry,
the French vanguards told their captains what they had found and seen.
And we rode, keeping the English in sight.
When the English saw that the French were getting so close,
they hurried to join their vanguards.
The latter believed that they were being routed and that everything was lost.
The captain of the vanguard fled.
And Fastolf, seeing that everything was going very badly,
decided to run away.
The French had knocked Talbot to the ground,
had taken him prisoner,
and all his men were dead.
And we already had so much advantage that we could take or kill whomever we wanted.
We killed more than 2,000 of them.
And only three died on our side.
Thus was our victory in Patay,
where we spent the night,
thanking God.
Oh, you, I've got my eye on you!
Move forward!
Move forward! Is it Fastolf who taught you to walk like that? Move forward!
I'll speed things along a bit.
God will have pity on you.
He knows how to forgive, believe me.
Father, Father.
Hurry up! We need to save his soul.
I would like to give him absolution, Jeanne, but he is already dead.
Give it to him anyway. We have to save his soul.
No! Don't take him.
I will take him. They are my catch, the alive one and the dead one.
In the name of God, you won't take him.
- And why? - Because you killed the other one.
Maybe it was not the right time. If I had killed him during the attack,
I would have had my reward, what a shame.
He is mine. He is my property. I will take him, won't I, lads?
In the name of God, I tell you that you won't take him.
He stays with me.
I'm taking him, end of story.
I'm taking him, not you.
If that's how it is, I'm going to take care of him.
I don't know how to kill cattle, but I can beat you up.
We set off for Rheims.
People from Auxerre let us pass.
But we had to lay siege in front of Troyes.
The king's council was divided between different opinions.
And we were wondering what the better option was.
We had no more provisions.
And our soldiers were ready to withdraw.
Will you believe what I am about to say?
Yes, depending on what you are going to say, Maid.
Gentle Dauphin, order the assault.
Your men have been waiting in front of the city for four days.
Order the assault.
And I will make you enter the city,
out of love or out of strength and bravery.
When you say it, it seems easy to act.
You have a knack of making me accept your ideas.
All my ideas come from God.
- Don't you fear anything? - I fear nothing except betrayal.
If I was sure that one single assault would be enough to control the city,
I would order it immediately. I know the soldiers haven't eaten for eight days.
Yes, they have been eating ears of corn for a week now.
Inactivity makes them even more hungry.
We have to act.
We have to make our artillery move.
We have to move it, to show it.
We have to make wood piles,
put up beams, ladders, racks.
And so we did.
And the city surrendered without fighting and offered its keys to the king.
And on the 17th day of July, we were in Rheims.
Long live the king!
Well, gentlemen of Burgundy, what did you think of the ceremony?
A bit improvised, I grant you...
the circumstances which you are aware of and I regret...
Jeanne, rise.
Gentle King, it is done!
God's wish has been done...
He wanted me to lift the siege of Orleans,
and bring you to this city of Rheims
to receive your Holy Crown.
I have shown you are the true king,
to whom the kingdom of God must belong.
Rise, please.
Then the royal army set off for Paris.
The burghers of Soissons and Laon
brought their keys to the king.
And Chateau-Thierry, Crecy-en-Brie, Provins and several other cities
came under his rule.
But the English army was becoming stronger
and set off for Senlis.
On Monday, the 15th day of August, 1429,
near Montepilloy,
the Maid came to the fortifications of the English
to tell them that if they wanted to leave their places to fight,
our people would move back and let them take up battle order.
But they did not wish to.
We spent the whole day, the one before the other,
a hand cannon's length apart, without fighting.
As night came, we went back home.
The following day, we heard that the English were going back to Paris.
We set up our camp at the place called La Chapelle.
- He has lost less than me! - Time?
- No, teeth! - I thought you were speaking of Raymond.
Speak of the devil.
An eye for an eye. Tete-Noire robbed me, 1 ecu and 10 sous.
- I took his belt! - Raymond...
I have had enough of you.
You're never here when you should be. You are a bad boy!
It is not the day for settling scores.
Louis, you will arm me.
We have won!
Gentlemen, we have won.
The king is coming.
He dined at Compiegne, this evening he will be in Saint-Denis.
None too soon!
Ten days of skirmishes in front of Paris, waiting on his goodwill!
The king...
she will put him in Paris tonight, if he wishes it.
We will fight!
I'm fed up.
These cities giving themselves like whores, armies who shy away...
I must have seen him five times, our gentle sire,
before he consented to come.
I had lost hope.
How strange!
We give him the kingdom piece by piece...
and it seems to bother him.
- What's wrong? - I do not know.
No more questions! Paris, the two of us!
We know how she is made, this damn city...
We know its weak point - the Saint-Honore gate.
Give the order, we'll take it.
Gentle Duke, ready your men.
I want to see Paris at close quarters.
I need you.
Father, they want a show of arms.
I want to go further, beyond the ditches of Paris.
- Today? - I know.
The day of the Nativity of Our Lady...
God will forgive me.
Look at you.
It is a grave sin to fight on a holy day.
Graver still to act against one's thoughts.
I chose.
You are pale.
I prayed this morning.
Terribly.
My voices...
They did not forbid me to fight.
They told you to go into combat?
They told me many things.
Many good things, many sweet things.
Why are you crying?
Because compliments are not what I wanted!
I wanted a command, an order!
And nothing!
Neither for, nor against.
Before, it was clear, it was simple...
Orleans, then Rheims.
And now? Now what?
Do you want to wait until tomorrow?
- A word from you, and they all stop. - No.
I want Paris.
The heart of the kingdom... They are all here for that, I more than they.
What do you want of me?
Your absolution, your blessing...
You have them.
It will be fine.
You were a good worker, a good worker of God.
You have had no rest in three months.
- You should think of it now. - After Paris.
Good Marshal... you left the gaze of the sky.
What you saw on earth was unpleasant?
The worries of stewardship...
They blame my folly,
I am too rich!
If I can't squander something, how will I reach heaven?
Stop playing. The king is coming, everyone is rejoicing, apart from you!
I don't know what to think.
It is all my uncle's doing, La Tremoille...
He's a fat lump, but he has a sense of reality.
- And the king's ear... - You know something, say it!
Our Archbishop Regnault met Philippe the Good...
A truce with Burgundy.
If the king wants a truce, why come to Saint-Denis?
It's clear - whatever happens today, his glory is safe.
Whatever happens?
If we take Paris today, it's what God wants - our Sire, the Well-Served,
will be victorious, for he is near the city.
- Beware of what you say. - I say what I think, and it is well done.
- If we do not take Paris... - We will, have no doubt.
Lf...
If we do not take Paris,
then the king is not with us, but not far.
- And our defeat will not be his. - It's not true.
- The king is not as you say! - No matter!
Let us give him Paris, and these words will be in vain!
I prefer to see you so.
Yes, we'll give him Paris.
It will not be a truce but peace.
A good firm peace.
Armagnac and Burgundy together,
and the English will have to clear off...
and I shall rest.
September 8th, 1429,
I will stay on the hill of Saint-Roch,
with a good view of the Montmartre gate, the Saint-Denis gate.
If they attempt a sortie to get you from behind...
My men are in front of the Saint-Honore gate.
We can lead an assault when you want.
- Jeanne, are you joining him? - No, I'm going that way.
I want to clear those posts, I want to go past the ditches.
- I want to see those walls close-up. - The two sentries?
I know you fight well, but you will not take them alone.
And we dismounted from our horses,
Jeanne and a few others with me,
to storm these outposts
and see the city close-up.
The weak point of Paris, is it there?
The harder we try, the closer we get.
And the more it bends, it breaks.
La Hire!
Surrender to the King of the Heavens!
Obey King Charles!
Take him, I'll keep his sword.
- Come, let's see the other side. - Which side?
March and you will see.
They are mad! A thousand at least!
Courage! We will see the Louvre!
I might have known.
We must pass!
Give me my standard.
- We can't see the bottom. - Give it to me!
Be careful, it's slippery.
Give the city to the King of France!
Or we will enter by force!
- Try it, idolatress! - Burn in hell!
Surrender, in Jesus' name!
We will enter before nightfall.
You will all be put to death!
- Antichrist! - Antichrist yourselves!
Renegades!
Some wood piles, racks, boards...
We'll make a bridge, we will pass.
A bridge! It's as deep as the sea!
I say we pass!
Throw some carts.
- Move back! - What are you waiting for?!
- The carts, quickly! - Yes, we will. But, please, don't stay there!
If only the king appears...
If he shows himself, the city is ours.
Bring some more.
Louis! Get a horse! Bring him as close as possible!
Come.
Take her.
The king has come. He saw everything from Montmartre hill,
and left, advising retreat.
Do you want some?
It's good, and gives strength.
- Do you want the surgeon? - No, I'm fine.
You wanted to see me? How do you feel?
Strong enough to ride.
I will not leave until we have the city.
You have lost a lot of blood, we can wait until tomorrow.
Not tomorrow nor the day after. Now.
They aren't losing hope?
No, they are furious...
- because the king did not come to see you. - Leave the king alone.
Leave him!
He prays for us. Be assured.
The men from Burgundy!
Duke of Alencon, I come to see you.
Montmorency, what are you doing here, renegade?
I come, very humbly, with my companions
to submit entirely to our lord,
Charles VII, the only French King.
- Gentlemen, where do you come from? - From Paris...
to be forgiven and forgotten for the crimes,
mistakes and offences that we made by supporting Henry of Lancaster.
He claims to be the King of France and England.
To be forgiven, maybe, but to be forgotten...
- The king never forgets. - You could talk to him politely.
To prove our goodwill, I and my companions
ask for the honour of being part of the next assault.
Be welcome.
Gentlemen, order of the king...
Read.
"To our dear and beloved princes, captains, and men-at-arms,
"assembled in front of Paris.
"We know that some, who are in the royal army,
"went in valorous arms against Paris,
"disregarding that the city
"was under our dear and beloved cousin,
"Philippe, Duke of Burgundy... "
- "Dear and beloved cousin... " - Silence!
"... who this very morning sent his herald
"to strengthen the truce,
"this 28th day of last month.
"May our royal word be held,
"we order abstinence from war
"against the city,
"and order all the princes, captains, and men-at-arms,
"to return to us in battle dress,
"or be declared felons and traitors.
"Said in the abbey of Saint-Denis, the ninth day of this month of September,
"with our royal seal. "
Gaucourt...
What do we answer?
Gentlemen, you will tell our sire
that the captains follow him,
once we have assembled our men.
You scared me!
Adieu, Jeanne.
I shall go with him, and those who want it.
Where will you go?
Normandy. We must fight, if not die.
- And the truce? - Truce? We don't know the word!
Those who make it are the same.
And those who respect it with them!
We are not counsel to the court.
- We are in the field. - As he says!
By my staff,
we fought good battles with you!
No one had ever seen that.
Adieu, Jeanne.
Adieu, my good warriors.
- You return home? - I return by way of Orleans.
I commissioned a play in honour of our feats of war...
It is more expensive than expected.
Everything is more expensive than expected.
You don't look well. You're not an angel after all.
I always said it!
But I feel robbed.
- You have changed. - I don't think so.
Then it's me. Adieu!
- You too? - I too. I leave.
- You will not fight the English? - No, I leave that to the roughnecks!
Why don't you come with us?
Those who go with the king like to be fooled...
I don't want it said that the second Duke of Alencon is an imbecile!
I'm leaving alone,
to find the other Jeanne, my wife...
She will see that I kept my word!
My good duke, I fear I won't see you again.
I fear I won't see anyone again.
Heaven knows.
Adieu, Jeanne.
Let us go too.
Saint-Denis in France -
Saint Denis, protector of France,
receive these arms.
This sword, I took it from the enemy,
I wore this armour in all my battles.
To those who wait for me,
may I give victory.
May I still be at my task.
May my king return to us,
we who work for him.
On the 21st day of September, 1429, in Gien,
the king gave the order to dissolve the army,
and forced the captains to stop fighting.
Thus,
both the will of the Maid and the royal army were broken.
Jeanne stayed with the king in the castle of Sully-sur-Loire,
which belonged to La Tremoille,
who governed the king's council with Regnault de Chartres.
Monseigneur.
- Where is the king? - Preparing himself for Mass.
We were about to join him.
You have something to say to him?
We are his ears and mouth.
Speak without fear.
I want him to allow me to join Alencon,
who is fighting in the borders of Maine.
How curious. Alencon made the same request,
a few days ago.
The two of us, we will go far.
We will push to Guyenne.
- Did you not fail in Paris? - We did not fail.
We ended our assault.
Who do you call "we"?
Hold your rank, Jeanne - that of a good soldier.
When and where we must fight, and when to call a truce,
it is for us, the king's council, to decide.
War is a whole. It encompasses realities you ignore.
It is so.
And it's good that it is so.
Gentlemen, are we ready?
Sire, I beg of you.
Speak, Jeanne.
You know I can't refuse you anything.
Do you want a new favour for your good city of Domremy?
I have already exempted it from taxes.
I ask but one thing,
to join the Duke of Alencon, and fight with him.
Here, I am of no use.
You know how pleased I am with what you have done.
Now you may rest.
It is time for you to rest.
You must rest... I want it.
Alencon disappoints me.
He does as he wishes. Don't imitate him.
He only wishes for the good of the kingdom.
- What is wrong? - His eyes...
I see his eyes.
- I always think of them. - Raymond didn't suffer.
It happened quickly.
Do you want to fight?
I have work for you.
One of our strongholds has been invaded by a traitor.
Would you be able to retake La Charite-sur-Loire from this bandit,
whose name is Perrinet Gressard?
- Is it the wish of the king? - No more and no less.
I need to take advice.
We're counting on you.
But Perrinet Gressard,
who was selling his services to the English and Burgundian people,
and who, based on what I have heard, was the personal enemy of La Tremoille,
held not only La Charite-sur-Loire but also Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier.
We first went to besiege Saint-Pierre.
We were just a few.
During the assault, Jean d'Aulon, the Maid's intendant,
sustained foot injuries.
He could only support himself with crutches.
Jeanne was alone with her soldiers.
The people of Saint-Pierre were shooting at us.
I told Jeanne, "Why stay here? With four or five men, we can't do anything. "
She removed her helmet and said to me,
"Four or five men? We are 50,000."
I swear, I counted again and if there was a sixth person, it was the devil.
So, she began to shout, "Wood piles, racks, for the bridge. "
And it was like a storm. In one hour, the place was taken.
- Why are you doing that? - I block the spells of a witch, who is after me.
When I hit, her spells turn against her,
and she is paralysed.
She is like you, Jeanne. She sees things.
Every night, a woman in white comes to see Catherine to tell her wonders.
- A woman in white? - Yes.
Wearing gold cloth.
She came to see me to tell me to go through the good cities,
and that the king would give me heralds and trumpets
to ask for gold and silver and every hidden treasure to be brought to me.
I will know those who refuse and will discover their treasures,
which I will give you, Jeanne. I will pay your men with them.
Yes.
You had better go back to your husband,
take care of your home and children.
But, Jeanne, listen to her.
This woman in white, does she come often?
Every night.
Do you want to see her?
Yes, Catherine.
I want to see her with my own eyes.
- Are you going to sleep with her? - Sleep? No.
Though I really need to.
Does she come quite early or late in the night?
It depends.
Did she tell you something about what is currently happening?
You know this truce with Burgundy.
Yes. That's a good thing.
We have to make peace with Burgundy.
- Is she coming soon, your woman in white? - Yes.
- Soon. - Are you nervous?
- Why? - You seem nervous.
I have pins and needles.
Stop moving like that.
Actually, don't stop. It keeps me awake.
La Tremoille is sending me to take a city, La Charite-sur-Loire.
What do you think?
Nothing.
Your woman in white didn't tell you anything about that?
And your saints, what do they think about it?
What do they think? I keep that to myself.
I want to know what you think about it.
You shouldn't go there. If it were me, I wouldn't go.
It's too cold and you won't do any good there.
- We won't take the city? - No.
- With God's help, we will take it. - Without me.
I think I fell asleep.
So, did she come, your woman in white?
- Yes, she did. - That's not true.
I didn't fall asleep.
I said that to see what you would say.
I know. That's why I said that.
- So, will she come or not? - Yes, soon.
A fool, that's what you are.
A fool.
We stayed around one month in front of La Charite-sur-Loire,
in the depths of winter.
And, as Catherine de la Rochelle had said,
in the absence of food and money to maintain the company,
the Maid had to lift the siege and leave, to her great displeasure.
Shamefully, we left that place
without helping the people in the city.
There, we lost bombards and artillery.
Hello, Jeanne.
Sire, time is catching up with us.
The truce with Burgundy is about to end.
And the duke took advantage of this to set up camp on the Oise, in great numbers.
What should we do?
You also said that 2,000 Englishmen have landed in Calais.
And this cold. It doesn't help matters either.
The duke distracted you with his promises of peace.
And now we will have to face the hardest fights.
How strange it is that you can only see things from one angle.
There is another outcome to this truce than resuming fighting.
- Which one? - The extension of truce.
Don't be surprised. We are looking for the same thing,
the same thing but through different means.
And this thing...
this thing is called...
What is it called?
It is called... peace.
- It may be the right time. - Now?
While they are besieging Compiegne?
Sometimes one word is more effective than weapons,
to free a city.
Yesterday, I met Hugues de Lannoy, the duke's negotiator.
He was very well disposed towards me.
I would like to say the same.
Their protocol was frosty.
- He was very courteous to me. - He didn't kiss you.
He should have. That's true.
We have to be patient. We are progressing little by little.
Maybe you don't know it, but diplomacy is a science,
just like heraldry.
In our profession, each gesture has an exquisite meaning.
Monseigneur, forgive me. I don't have time to learn.
All I know is that right now,
soldiers are ready to resume fighting.
We have to support them.
- I feared that you had already left. - Without seeing you?
What are you thinking about?
Let me see your face.
You have worries. It's not because of me?
A little.
Who will hear my confession now?
Nobody is eternal or indispensable.
- You have to sign my letter to the Hussites. - To whom?
Hussites. It is a terrible heresy which is ravaging Bohemia.
Why do you think I'm leaving?
I wrote a monition which I will submit to the Pope.
They attack the militant Church.
They want to deal with God themselves. It's horrible.
I shall read it to you.
"To the followers of John Huss, opponents of faith.
- "I, Jeanne the Maid... " - I, Jeanne the Maid?
Yes, it sounds better than "I, Brother Jean Pasquerel".
"I, Jeanne the Maid, heard rumours saying
"that you have replaced the true religion and its cult
"with an ignominious and criminal superstition... "
You wouldn't make me sign something wrong?
Wish me a good journey.
It's a long way to Rome.
I will feel alone.
I'm here.
You? May God keep you alive.
We won't stay here very long.
On the last day of March, 1430,
the Maid heard that the people of Compiegne
had resolved to fight to the death, with their wives and children,
rather than surrender to Burgundian authority.
But rumours also said
that men-at-arms had gathered in Lagny-sur-Marne
and were bravely fighting the English from Paris and elsewhere.
And you left like that?
If I had asked, I wouldn't be here.
I said I was going for Easter to a village of the area, and here I am.
You mustn't say it!
You left La Tremoille! He won't like it.
I was suffocating. Here, we can breathe.
By my staff, as La Hire would say, I am happy.
I thought I'd never see you again, save in heaven.
And him, why isn't he with us?
La Hire? Don't speak of him.
We were split at Dourdan by a Burgundian company.
Since then, no news. I can't sleep.
If he were dead, we would know.
- He must have been taken, the lazy thing. - Him? I doubt it.
May the heavens hear you.
He still owes me twenty livres.
- Thanks to you. - No, thanks to Raymond.
- What is it? - He will have nothing of it.
We pay for the sulphur and saltpetre, or Baretta's men, but not both!
You pay both! For cake, you need flour and eggs!
Pay the men. There are cities who will pay for the powder.
You know how to speak.
You shouldn't have enlisted that crook. He is ruining us.
To free Compiegne, we need good warriors like him.
How do you feel being the head of a troop?
- What do you say? - God's pleasure, that is what I say.
And, following Jeanne's wishes,
we went to help the people of Compiegne.
From this city, we made several forays against the Burgundians,
who wanted to besiege it.
On the 23rd day of May, Jeanne decided to attack the fort of Margny,
to the north of Compiegne.
On three occasions we thought we had beaten the enemy,
which was pushed back to its positions.
But as Burgundian reinforcements came,
much to the Maid's chagrin,
we began to withdraw back to Compiegne.
The captain of the city,
seeing the number of Burgundians and Englishmen ready to enter,
and out of fear of being overrun,
ordered the lifting of the bridge and the closure of the door.
Thus the Maid stayed, shut outside,
few of her people with her.
Follow me!
Here! Here!
Follow me!
Surrender, Maid! Give me your faith!
To you... never!
- I will receive your faith. - Who are you?
I'm lieutenant to Jean de Luxembourg. I'm the Bastard of Wandonne.
I give you my faith.
That same evening, in the castle of Margny -
Without a doubt, it is not a chimera, she is a woman.
According to my chaplain, every woman is a chimera -
pretty face, of fetid touch, and deadly company.
The man knows nothing of it.
You will not untie her hands?
- They are purple. - She is dangerous, sire.
Undo her bonds.
- Do you want some bread and wine? - I want nothing.
- Do you know to whom you speak? - She knows.
Do you have a request, a request I may satisfy?
Sire, break your allegiance to England.
Not so lofty.
A request for yourself.
- Don't give me to the English. - It is not in my power.
Aren't you Philippe, the great Duke of the West?
A friend of the King of France and England.
There is no King of France and England.
There is only the King of France, by the grace of God,
Charles, seventh of the name.
I don't know the one you speak of.
I only know a disinherited heir, Charles the ill-advised...
Now he is Charles the Victorious.
Sire, I asked you by letter,
imploring you with joined hands, not to repudiate France,
and to make peace with my king.
Do not wait until it is too late.
In your position, you threaten me?
I will never make peace with your king,
unless he can reverse the wheel of time,
and have my assassinated father leave his grave...
to unforge the axe which cut the hand,
the sword which split the skull of John the Fearless
ten years ago, at the bridge of Montereau,
under orders and in sight of the one you call Charles the Victorious.
Does he have that power?
Or even you,
who is said to be a magician?
No one has that power. You have the power to forgive.
- Does your king have the power to repent? - God gave it to all.
Then let him repent, publicly.
May he raise a gold cross, on the site of the murder,
and shed tears on it every day.
- Then I will see about making peace. - Don't wait.
Time is in my king's favour, and is against you and the Englishman.
- She has the folly of pride. - No, she speaks like a child.
- She is a child. - You have already lost many cities.
- I don't forget it is by your fault. - By the grace of God.
Insolent!
If you do not make peace with my king,
a good firm peace, without treachery,
you will lose everything.
She has ceased to amuse me.
Remove her from my sight.
June, 1430, in Beaurevoir, castle of Jean de Luxembourg -
The Lady of Bethune wants to see you.
Hello, Jeanne.
I think it is cold up there.
Show her the cloth.
It is wool, it comes from Flanders.
It would be nice for a dress.
You should leave those men's clothes.
I am your prisoner because I am a soldier.
I must remain a soldier.
If I wanted a woman's dress, I would sew it.
But I haven't finished my task.
You have not taken long to make use of my permission.
I beg you, do not take advantage of it.
This girl is our prisoner.
Don't give her bad habits.
And your hair? Barely more than my husband!
It goes with my clothes.
My child,
I know, by my nephew, you will be reproved for your clothes.
I've been wearing them for so long...
I have done and seen so much with them.
I could not leave them.
As long as you are here, with us, you need not fear.
It is for later - a dress would be less perilous.
We wanted to soften your captivity, Jeanne...
Before, with your parents,
when you were not a soldier...
That's far away.
God,
I pray with all my might,
as my mother taught me,
as my saints taught me.
My saints!
You tell me to be confident and not lose courage.
You speak of deliverance, of freedom, of joy.
That I will be saved.
But this deliverance, when will it come?
Who will bring it?
Who will free me?
- Does she pray often? - More often than usual.
I knew it. She is shrewd.
- Have you thought of my offer? - Don't tempt me, sire.
- 13,000 gold ecus is a large sum. - I can increase it by half.
I want her. She was taken in my diocese.
Make it known to the English authorities.
This woman is a virus infecting Christianity.
I hope you will understand.
I understand the sorrow of the inquisitors.
But I must take into account the throne of England.
A sorrow worth its weight in gold.
I thought she was taller.
Stay kneeling, Jeanne.
Pay devotion to the most reverend father in God, Lord Bishop of Beauvais.
You are from Beauvais, my Lord...
Did Beauvais not give its keys to the King of France?
Yes, unfortunately.
I was not there.
I come from Paris.
Bishop, do you bring me words of solace?
Leave us.
Solace is in the heavens, Jeanne.
We are on earth, where there is but the cross, worry and sorrow.
I represent the University of Paris.
We have asked the prince of Burgundy to hand you over,
in the name of the Holy Inquisition of France,
to be tested on matters of faith.
A test in matters of faith?
I had one in Poitiers.
The doctors of Poitiers are dishonoured, fooled by your innumerable misdeeds,
your errors, and idolatry.
Father, if I am already judged, spare us a trial.
- Condemn me now, it will be quicker. - I see.
I know you.
Despite your clothes, you cannot disguise your true sex.
You are subtle, the subtlety of women.
We will undo your specious arguments, to the shame of your lost soul.
I knew, as soon as I saw you, that you were my enemy.
By profession, I am the enemy of evil.
Because your soul is with the enemy.
I will see you again.
At the home of Jeanne de Luxembourg -
Here, look. Take them, I have a bad back.
This one is bigger,
and this one warmer.
I would take the warmer one.
No, I will take the bigger one.
May I say, respectfully, Aunt,
it is unseemly to treat this prisoner as your guest.
She is an important prisoner. I treat her as such.
Monseigneur, has my king found the money for my ransom?
I don't know what is happening on that side of France.
Charles is my godchild. You have a tendency to forget it.
I do not forget, but it is not to him that I give allegiance.
I know.
It is why I demand in earnest, here, in front of her,
regardless of the offers made to you,
that you never give Jeanne to the English.
I am a soldier.
A soldier disposes of his plunder as he wishes.
A soldier is not a merchant. Honour before interests.
I forbid you, in the name of heaven, to sell her to the English.
You would leave my faith and my law.
I hold my place. I don't overstep it.
Since we must be clear.
If it should occur, I will disinherit you.
- You would do that? - Without hesitating, believe me.
Do what you will.
I will do what I know to be my duty.
I think I touched a sensitive point.
I shall not be sold?
Not as long as I live.
- More cakes? - Look...
Everything is round!
Even the window is round!
I will be like a ball if I cut my hair with this.
- I can cut it if you wish. - No, hold it. I'll take the scissors.
- Do you do it often? - When I look too much like a girl!
Leave us alone.
Jeanne, come.
- Are you leaving? - Yes. Come with me.
Listen, Jeanne. I used to have a younger brother.
- His name was Pierre. - I have a brother called Pierre too.
- He is not dead. - No.
He is certainly in prison.
My brother, Pierre de Luxembourg, died young.
He was a saint.
We were orphans. I raised him like my own son.
Since his death,
each year, I have made a pilgrimage to his final dwelling,
the Eglise des Celestins in Avignon.
Now, I'm an old and tired lady,
though nothing could prevent me from going there again this year.
I'm leaving soon, Jeanne.
- It's a long journey. - A thousand leagues.
I would go to the ends of the earth, just like you, I know.
It's my prayer path and you will be in all of them.
I will pray for you.
May they give you comfort.
Pray for me in return.
Who knows how long God will allow me to live?
Adieu, Jeanne.
As long as I live, I will believe in you.
End of November, 1430, at the home of Jeanne de Bethune -
Don't run so fast.
You told the guards to bring her here?
But I had to stop them from disturbing her during her prayer.
I think she heard me speak.
- You are pulling my hair! - It is like straw, all tangled.
- When did you comb it? - Here she is!
Do you have news?
Hello, Jeanne.
Sad news.
Take your work, Jeannette.
They say Compiegne will be taken.
The city will be given to fire and the sword.
All will pass by the sword.
How could God let the good people of Compiegne die?
They were so loyal to their Lord!
I was coming up to see you.
But... since you are here,
I will speak here, in front of my wife.
What you are about to say,
would you say it in front of your aunt, Jeanne de Luxembourg?
Forget my aunt,
she is no more.
Prince Philippe, to whom I swore loyalty...
this Prince, it is my duty to say,
has decided to give you to the English.
You did it!
- You did it! - It is so, Jeanne. We had to.
You don't improve, little Jeanne!
- I don't like doing it, that's all. - It's time to do what we don't like!
Take the prisoner!
- Where are you going? - Take care of your mother!
God, forgive me if I tire of being alone.
These English will make me die.
Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, Saint Margaret...
Why leave me alone, here, without counsel?
The people of Compiegne are in danger.
I want to go.
Tell me if I must. Answer me.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
- Is she living? - Yes, she is alive.
- Thank heaven. Will she live? - Unless her back is broken.
Do everything in your power to have her on her feet.
The English come in five days.
For the price they're paying, I want to give them a prisoner in good health.
Five days... You ask for a miracle!
Do it.
Mid-December, in the Bay of Somme -
May 24th, 1431, in Rouen, after four months of trial -
Saint John says, "The stem cannot bear fruit,
"if it is not attached to the vine. "
O, House of France!
You have never seen such a monster as we have before us.
Magician, heretic, schismatic!
And Charles who calls himself king,
in associating himself with the words and acts
of this vain, slanderous, and dishonourable woman,
has made himself heretic and schismatic!
It is to you, Jeanne, that I speak.
Your king is a heretic and a schismatic!
Do not speak of my king.
He is the most Christian of all.
He loves the Church and Faith most.
- What you say is not true. - Quiet!
You are guilty of blasphemy,
vain words, idolatry,
of hating your gender and the clothes pertaining to it.
Repent.
Renounce your faults!
What I did, I did in God's name.
I blame no one, my king, nor any other.
If there is any fault, it belongs to me, and no one else.
Silence her.
Will you not revoke those deeds which are condemned?
I bear witness to God and our Holy Father the Pope.
It is impossible to bring the Pope.
He is too far away.
You must revoke here
words and deeds which the Church condemns.
You must abjure!
Abjure!
I know not what it means.
It means to renounce certain words and deeds.
Whether I must abjure them or not,
I abide by the universal Church.
Abjure today, or you will be burned.
I did no wrong.
I believe in the Ten Commandments.
Do what is advised.
Do you want to die?
Admit everything and dress like a woman again, everything will be fine.
Simply repeat after me.
You are trying very hard to seduce me.
You Jeanne, commonly called the Maid,
handed over to us, Pierre, by the divine mercy of the Bishop of Beauvais.
You have gravely sinned by imposture,
feigning divine apparitions and revelations,
by blaspheming God and his saints,
and committing many mistakes contrary to the Catholic faith.
However, after charitable warnings,
you have openly abjured your faults,
we absolve you from excommunication.
You save her! You have betrayed us!
By profession, I must seek the salvation of the soul,
and the body of this woman.
- You are a traitor! - You will repair this injury!
- Make reparations right away! - But I...
Continue.
However,
since you have fearlessly been delinquent in word,
we condemn you finally and definitively,
so that you may make penance, to perpetual prison,
with bread for pain and water for sadness,
and there, cry for your sins, and may you not commit others.
We reserve, nevertheless,
the right to the pardon and moderation of your sentence,
if you deserve it.
I shall obey.
Repeat after me. "I will no longer bear arms...
"nor wear man's clothes, nor cut my hair short.
"I have been guilty of mistakes and heresy.
"I submit to the words and deeds of the Church. "
Sign.
Is it what I have just said?
Do you want to be burned? Sign.
You have done well, Jeanne.
You have saved your body and soul.
Bishop, the king has ill-spent his money.
Because of you, the Maid escapes us.
Fear not, Monseigneur, we will catch her.
Take me to your prison! So that I'm no longer in the hands of the English.
Take her to where she came from.
Here! From Saint Michael!
And this, from Saint Catherine.
We will lie with you when we want. Whore!
And afterwards, we will kill you.
What do you want?
I need to go to the latrine.
- For what? - To pee.
Go ahead.
Pee on yourself.
I am afraid.
My Lord, I am afraid.
I am so afraid.
Free me from this fear, it is worst of all.
Remove it from my soul.
Remove it from my body.
I beg of you, give me the light.
I beg of you, My Lord...
Our Father, who art in heaven...
Thy will be done...
I am the first to see you as a woman.
I paid for it, I paid the price.
I don't regret it.
Who are you?
When I am spoken to, one says, "milord".
- Who sent you? - No one. Myself.
Come.
Monday, May 28th, 1431-
When did you take back those men's clothes?
A little while ago.
Why? Who ordered you to take them back?
No one forced me. This is my own decision.
Why did you take them back?
I am with the men.
As long as I am with them, I will wear men's clothes.
You swore that you would not take them back.
I never swore this.
I took these clothes back
because the promise you made to me has not been kept.
You promised me that I could go to Mass,
and that I would receive the body of Christ.
You promised me that I would not be put in chains.
Did you not abjure?
You abjured the wearing of men's clothes.
I would rather die than remain in chains.
But if you promise me
that I will be allowed to go to Mass,
that I will no longer be in chains,
and that my guards will be women,
I will do what the Church wants.
Since the day that you abjured, have you heard your voices?
What did they tell you?
God told me, through them, that he felt pity,
that I would risk perdition in abjuring,
that I was damning myself to save my life.
When I was on the stand in front of the judges,
my voices told me to answer boldly to the one who was preaching to me.
He was a false preacher.
He mentioned several thing that I did not do.
If I said that God did not send me, I would be lying.
Because that's the truth.
God sent me.
Everything I have revoked,
I did it out of fear of the fire.
These voices which advise you,
do you still think that they are Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret?
I think they are of God.
Everything I said at the trial was the truth.
I said it as well as I could.
And that day, on the stand, you confessed that it was a lie.
I never said that.
I didn't want to revoke my voices.
If I did, it was out of fear of the fire.
I prefer doing my time in one go.
I would rather die than stay longer in prison.
Are you aware of what you are saying?
I never did anything wrong against God and the faith.
I was ordered to abjure things that I didn't understand.
If the judges wish it, I will wear women's clothing again.
But that's the only thing I will accept.
Everything is said.
May 30th, in the morning -
Tell me what you have to say.
The Lord Bishop of Beauvais sends me
to lead you to true contrition and penitence.
The judges declared you relapsed.
You lapsed into the same faults.
You will die today.
Die?
- Today? - Before noon.
You will be led to the stake to be burned.
This is the judges' order.
Burned?
Come on, Jeanne! Be brave!
Be brave.
Have pity.
I would rather they cut off my head.
That is not what the judges wanted.
To turn my body to ashes...
My body has never been corrupted.
Leave it intact.
I am begging you. Have pity on me.
Be strong, Jeanne.
If they had put me in a church prison, instead of here...
I can hear your confession.
Bishop,
I will die because of you.
Calmly bear what happens to you.
You will die because you broke your promise,
because you performed your first spell again.
If I had been put in church prisons,
if I had had women with me,
this would have never happened.
And you know that.
You knew that from the beginning.
For that, I appeal to you before God.
You will account for your actions before him.
Monseigneur, she wants to receive the body of Christ.
- May she have it. - But she is relapsed.
She is excommunicated.
May she have everything she wants.
So? Where is the stole?
- Where is the light? - They told me to bring only the bread.
If she communicates, she communicates.
I want the stole and the light, now!
- Do you believe this to be the body of Christ? - Yes, I do.
He is the only one who can save me.
I ask to receive it.
Lord Jesus.
Saint Michael.
Saint Catherine.
Saint Margaret.
Where will I be tonight?
I ask for everybody's forgiveness.
To the French, the English and all the others.
Forgive me all the harm I have done to you,
in serving my king and heaven's wish.
I forgive you for all the harm that you have done to me,
that you are doing to me.
I would like a cross.
Can I have a cross?
Religious men, each of you, have a Mass said for me,
so that I can be saved in eternal life.
Bring me another cross, a big one,
which I can see until the end.
I want to see the cross.
Jesus.