Joan of Arc:
Christianity, Popular Religion, and Magic in Late Medieval France
At the age of thirteen, an illiterate daughter of a tenant farmer began to hear voices that
told her of “the great misery that was in France.”1 This remarkable young lady went on to help
Charles, the uncrowned king of France, drive the English out of France. Her greatest
achievement may be attributed to her escorting of the Dauphin to Rheims where he was crowned
as Charles VII, in July of 1429.2 Two short years later, Joan’s victories and influence on French
nationalism within the people were of no importance as she was condemned as a relapsed heretic
and witch and burned at the stake.3 However, the Church made a grave mistake when they tried
Joan as a heretic. However, Joan of arc was not a heretic because not only was the Catholic
church at this time not meeting the needs of the people and exercising the measure of persecution
to legitimize its power, Joan, along with the majority of France, practiced the popular religion of
France, the Christian Folk religion, which the Catholic Church heavily borrowed from. If Joan
was condemned as a heretic, then it would only be proper to condemn the majority of French
peasants and the magical practices of the Catholic Church as heretics as well.
Those who called Joan a heretic were part of the elite Christian religion of the time.
During this period, the period of the late Middle Ages, Christianity was still evolving and in need
of gaining converts. The Christian religion at this time was defined by intellectual categories
such as dogma and canon law and its leadership was limited to its male priesthood.4 Any contact
an individual made on their own, without the guidance of the male priesthood, with the divine
spirits was very thinly tolerated. This was due to the church’s rethinking on the limitations of the
1
Anne Llewellyn Barstow, Joan of Arc: Heretic Mystic, Shaman. Studies in Women and Religion. (Lewiston: The
Edwin Mellen Press, 1986) , xvi
2
Ibid
3
Encyclopedia Britannica, Academic ed., s.v. “Saint Joan of Arc.”
4
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 13-14.
Catholic faith. The church needed to use its power to redefine the faith in a way that was still
responsive to the needs of the people.5 However, this need to redefine the faith caused the
church to become more paranoid in what or who they believed went against the faith.
The Church at this time was experiencing a tension of its own, which disillusioned many
prospect converts. Internal problems within the church began in the fourteenth century.
Problems such as the captivity in 1303 and the devastation of the bubonic plague injured not only
the people of France, but the power and image of the church.6 As a result of the bubonic plague,
the church suffered a loss in landlords’ incomes and a loss of status7. The miracle working of the
church proved useless to the people as they learned that the sacraments did nothing to cure them
of the plague.
Taking all this into consideration, it seems fitting to conclude that the church was not
meeting the needs of the people. With the church facing its own internal problems and its power
waning, the French people needed a new outlet to look to for guidance. As a result, people
began turning to their own resources for guidance, one of which being popular religion.
Joan of Arc practiced what is known as the popular religion, or folk religion, of Europe.
It was the religion of the majority of Europe until the 1700’s. Popular religion was characterized
by its use of modified forms of classical Christianity and folk culture.8 Popular religion was
most prominent and practiced in the villages by the rural villagers. Nearly all the followers of
popular religion were illiterate, this meant that it was a religion of oral tradition, passed down
from follower to follower. The most notable part of popular religion was that it was a religion of
5
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 15.
Georges Duby, France in the Middle Ages 987-1460: from Hugh Capet to Joan of Arc. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1991) 60155
7
Ibid
8
Anne Llewellyn Barstow, “Mystical Experience as a Feminist Weapon: Joan of Arc,” Women’s Studies Quarterly 13,
no.2 (Summer, 1985): 26, http://www.jstor.org/ (accessed November 22, 2011).
6
individualism.9 The religion was not based on clerical relationships with God, but rather each
individual’s personal relationship to the spirits and God alike. For example, a villager might ask
a wise woman or man for advice on when it is most beneficial to plant crops, but the decision is
ultimately based on the individual’s relationship with the spirits.
This idea of individual experience is crucial to understanding the beliefs of Joan of Arc,
as she claimed her belief in God through her own individual experience. The ability to negotiate
with God and other spirits meant that every individual had access to the divine and that each
person was responsible for their own spiritual fate. One specific attribute of this belief is that
any one person may be called upon or visited by the divine spirits. A prime and most
appropriate example of this is Joan of arc herself, who was visited by and heard voices from
Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margret.10
Specific calls from the divine usually came in times of crisis. Fittingly, Joan of Arc
received her call from the divine during the Hundred Years War.11 Characteristics of those
persons receiving divine calls include a withdrawal from society to ensure a better receiving of
the messages, a period of seclusion in a remote nature area, and finally after full control of the
divine spirits is reached, a new identity in the form of a new name, different clothing, and the
breaking off of sexual relations with others.12 It can be concluded, then, that popular religion is
based on reciprocity or an exchange with the spirits.13 This meant that in order to gain spiritual
guidance and also concrete objects, the individual follower had to be prepared to give in order to
gain. This exchange is what kept a balance of power between the spiritual world and the
9
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 3
Regina Pernoud and Marie Veronique Clin, Joan of Arc: Her Story. (New York: St. Martin Press, 1998), 127
11
Edward Lucie-Smith, Joan of Arc. (New York: Norton, 1976), 33-41.
12
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 9
13
Barstow, “Mystical Experience as a Feminist Weapon,” 27
10
material world.14 Communication between the two worlds and constant exchange served in the
place of or can be seen as the equivalent of the Christian sacramental practice.
Those who practiced this popular religion were mostly those living in rural areas, farmers
or herders. With the majority of the followers in rural areas, popular religion was very much
nature centered and practiced by the peasants.15 Objects that were sacred included trees, springs,
rocks, and hill-tops. These sacred objects were considered to be inspirited and places where one
could have a spiritual experience. The sacredness of these objects not only filled a spiritual need
of the peasantry who had lost faith in the church, but they also served as places of healing and
match-making.16 For example, praying at a holy tree one might be instructed through a vision on
how to heal a stomach ache or ear ache. From these visions began the emergence of folk
medicine, which remained popular even throughout the modern period.
Another characteristic of folk religion was the principle of magic.17 Fear and social
instability were dealt with by magical means such as exorcisms, magic charms, spells, amulets,
and the ability to see into the future. However, it is important to note that the village life, the life
of those practicing popular religion, was in fact more stable then the lives of the elite practicing
Christianity. This stability was due to popular religions belief in that those things or beings that
are sacred moved everywhere, meaning they were available and easily accessible to all people at
all times, even in times of unrest.
18
All these characteristics can be attributed to and seen in Joan of Arc. Joan was the
daughter of a tenant farmer, which means she belonged to the peasant class, the class that most
evidently practiced popular religion. Joan also received her individual divine message from the
14
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 3-7.
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 3-5.
16
Bartsow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 4-7.
17
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 7.
18
Ibid.
15
Saints during the Hundred Years War, a time of conflict in France. Joan was also guided by the
direct communication she had with her voices, Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint
Margret. After years of listening to her voices, she renamed herself Jeanne La Pucelle and also
refused to marry, remaining a virgin until she was burned at the stake.19 Joan also relied on her
own individual experience of God’s presence to guide her faith.20 Taking all these factors into
account, it is no doubt that Joan practiced popular religion during a time when the Catholic faith
was in distress.
Elite Christianity condemned Joan as a heretic, however, it seems that elite Christianity
has borrowed many elements of popular religion. To deem Joan a heretic, it seems, would mean
that the Catholic Church would have to deem many of its own practices heretical. Magic, for
example, has a place not only in popular religion, but in elite Christianity as well.21 In elite
Christianity, magic is most evident when one examines at Jesus Christ. Jesus was most
remembered as a miracle worker, who healed those with his touch. This idea is identical to that
of healing and magic in popular religion. The doctrine of transubstantiation can also be viewed
as magic with the same power as the magic used in popular religion.22 The church also used
magic when they encouraged followers to repeatedly utter holy words, which the church claimed
could bring about desired results.23
Another element that elite Christianity has borrowed from popular religion is the spirits
that the followers of popular religion believed in and looked to for guidance. These spirits in
many cases became the Christian saints.24 Examining the saints further, it seems they possessed
19
Barstow, Mystical Experience as a Feminist Weapon, 28.
Encyclopedia Britannica, Academic ed., s.v. “Saint Joan of Arc.”
21
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 15-18.
22
Ibid
23
Ibid
24
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 3.
20
magical powers of their own, for which they were worshiped, but Joan was condemned. An
example of this is Saint Martin of Tours, who made the sign of the cross to stop a pagan funeral
and also to save himself from the likes of a falling tree.25 Saint Martin also made use of the cross
as a sacred object that would protect him from battle, just as those who followed popular religion
believed in the spiritual power of the sacred objects of nature. Saint Martin is also an excellent
example of the use of chanting as a magical spell. He repeated the word crux, or cross, as a
chant to banish a demon. It is important to note that many who did convert to Christianity did so
because they believed they were gaining access to a more advanced source of magic. 26 Simply
put, many who practiced popular religion and converted did so because they believed
Christianity had greater magical power.
With so many similarities between popular religion and the elite Catholic faith, it seems
the Catholic Church was wrong to condemn Joan as a heretic. Joan was condemned as a
relapsed heretic and a witch in a trial that lasted over three months and resulted in her burning at
the stake on May thirtieth by the English civil authorities and ecclesiastical court.27 The charges
against Joan fell into three categories with the first one being that she had used magic. The
English ecclesiastical court claimed that Joan had used magic “by seeing, hearing, touching,
smelling, and talking to her saints.”28 They also claimed that she used sacred words and spells to
further her mission and that she also used magic as a method to heal a dying baby at Lagny.29 In
an interrogation session on March first, Joan was asked such questions as, “What did St. Michael
look like when he appeared to you?..Was he naked? Do you think that God doesn’t have the
wherewithal to give him clothes? Did he have hair? Why would it have been cut off? Did he
25
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 15.
Ibid
27
Wilfred T. Jewkes, Joan of Arc: Fact, Legend, and Literature. (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1964) 1-34
28
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman, 82.
29
Pernound and Clin, Joan of Arc: Her Story, 117.
26
have scale?” To these questions Joan answered, “I don’t know anything about that. I have great
joy when I see him.”30 In questioning Joan with questions about magic and her voices, it seems
the church was very hypocritical as they have borrowed these very ideas of magic as mentioned
above. Joan’s healing of the baby at Lagny can be seen as the equivalent to the healing and
miracles done by Jesus Christ.
Joan was also charged in the category of sorcery and pride. The church was furious that
Joan refused to accept the authority of the church, that she claimed she was sent by God, and that
she consecrated her virginity to her saints. In the final article describing the charges the church
placed on Joan, the church claimed that Joan “does not submit herself to the judgment of the
Church Militant, or to that of living men, but to God alone.”31 These charges express the fear of
the church and its diminishing power. If any one person could communicate with God and the
divine spirits, then there would be no need for the church clergy or the pope. All people would
be equal in their divine ability. With the churches power already declining due its internal
problems and those caused by the black plague, Joan of Arc’s voices would further deteriorate
the power of the church. The church thought it more fit to persecute Joan and condemn her a
heretic than watch their power fade.
Joan of Arc was not a heretic, for to condemn her one would mean the condemnation of
the masses of France. She was rather a follower of popular religion, a religion that met the needs
of the majority of France during a time when the elite Catholic Church could not. The internal
problems within the church and the effects of the black plague caused people to lose faith in the
Catholic Church and the ability of the clergy to help people gain salvation. The religion of
Catholicism itself borrowed heavily from popular religion, but failed to make note of this when
30
31
Pernound and Clin, Joan of Arc: Her Story 116.
Barstow, Heretic, Mystic, Shaman 83.
condemning Joan on the basis’s of her use of magic, sorcery, and pride. Joan was not a heretic,
but a hero of her time that would receive her much deserved recognition more than twenty years
later.
Works Cited
Barstow, Anne Llewellyn. Joan of Arc: Heretic, Mystic, Shaman. Studies in Women and
Religion. Lewiston: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1986.
Barstow, Anne Llewellyn. “Mystical Experience as a Feminist Weapon: Joan of Arc.” Women’s
Studies Quarterly 13, no. 2 (Summer, 1985): 26-29. http://www.jstor.org/ (accessed
November 22, 2011).
Duby, Georges. France in the Middle Ages 987-1460: from Hugh Capet to Joan of Arc.
Oxford: Blackwell, 1991.
Encyclopedia Britannica, Academic ed., s.v. “Saint Joan of Arc.”
Jewkes, Wilfred T. Joan of Arc: Fact, Legend, and Literature. New York: Harcourt, Brace &
World, Inc., 1964.
Lucie-Smith, Edward. Joan of Arc. New York: Norton, 1976.
Pernoud, Regine, and Marie Veronique Clin. Joan of Arc: Her Story. New York: St. Martin’s
Press, 1998.
Joan of Arc:
Christianity, Popular Religion, and Magic in Late Medieval France
Emily Omar
History 301: Medieval Europe 410-1500
December 5, 2011