LA PERTE DU ROYAUME ETAIT L'OEUVRE D'UNE FEMME
The wife of Charles VI disinherited her son Charles VII,* and gave her daughter Catherine in marriage to Henry V of England. Thus the claim of the English king to the French throne was strengthened. See Historical note (Notes p. 83).
Notes 91
Merlin. The enchanter who plays an important role in Arthurian romances. Some authorities on folk-lore have connected the nemus canutum (ancient grove) of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Be prophetiis Merlini, with the oak wood at Domremy.
René d' Anjou (1409-1480). The duke of Anjou and count of Provence, surnamed the Good. He married the daughter of Charles IV of Lorraine in 1420.
Dont i/une. . .Compare also l'une d' (entre) eux.
M. de Baudricourt. The lord of Vaucouleurs. It was he who sent Joan of Arc to Charles VII.
il te fera mener au roi, he will have y ou taken to the king. Note the passive force of the infinitive after faire. This is true also after laisser, voir, and a few other verbs.
Sainte Catherine. Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of young girls, martyred about 307. Compare the French expression "coiffer Sainte Catherine", to be an old maid.
estoit. Old form of était. It was not until the eighteenth century that the modern spelling was introduced, although the pronunciation had already passed to ai before this time.
blanches figures. Explain the position of the adjective in this expression.
À en pleurer, enough to cause one to weep.
Quelque, however ... In this sense quelque is not an adjective, and does not agree with the noun or adjective that follows.
dans SA main, from her hand.
venaient À elle. After verbs of motion the preposition is required; hence the disjunctive form of the pronoun.
disait, continued to say, or tell, kept repeating. Note the force of the imperfect tense.
Ce fût. Explain the subjunctive.
devaient, were to be.
À corrÉy in comparison.
Notes 93
Touij. A town on the Moselle river, North Eastern France (Department Meurthe et Moselle). Consult the map.
se laisserait . . . condamner. See note P. 10-5.
échapper À. Several verbs in French require the dative case, or indirect object, instead of the accusative case, or direct object, as in English. The most common are: obéir, résister, renoncer, succéder, ressembler, plaire, nuire.
crût. Why the subjunctive?
de paysanne. See note 3-8
Dauphin. This title was first assumed by a lord of Dauphiny in the ninth century. Later (in the fifteenth century) it was given to the eldest son of the king of France. Compare the title Prince of Wales.
sacrer, to be crotvned.
il déploya son étole, etc. Various methods were employed by the clergy in the Middle Ages to drive out supposed devils from the bodies of men, women and children. This act was called exorcism.
dans l'admiration. See Vocabulary. Compare dans la joie,
ma mie. In Old French the feminine form of the adjective possessive pronoun was used before feminine nouns beginning with a vowel. For example, instead of mon amie, we find mamie (i. e. m'amie), which finally became ma mie.
la mi-careme. Carême is masculine. Compare la Saint-Jean, etc. where fête is understood.
devers le roi, today par devers.
dussé-jE; even though I should have to.
j'aimasse. Today in conversational French the imperfect subjunctive, except the third person singular, is to be avoided. The present subjunctive may follow a past tense, thus violating the rules of the sequence of tense. -
Le revers de la journée des harengeS. On February 12, 1429 the French were repulsed while endeavoring to prevent a consignment of herrings from reaching the English, who were laying siege to the city of Orleans. This engagement was called the battle of the herrings.
le parti de la reine et de sa mère-, etc. See Historical note (Notes p. 83).
Notes 95
Chinon. A town in the department of Indre-et-Loire. The French court was now located here.
d'Alençon. The name borne by a well known and powerful family. The town of Alençon is in the department of Orne (Normandy).
Orléans. The former capital of Orléanais, situated on the river Loire. The city was besieged by the English in 1428 and 1429.
Dunois. Surnamed the bastard of Orléans. He was the natural son of Louis of Orléans, brother of Charles VI, and one of the chief leaders of the French in their attempt to drive the English out of France.
promettait, had been promising.
en la ville. In Modern French the preposition dans has generally superseded en except in certain locutions which do not require the article, as en colère, en hâte, etc.
Reims. Rheims, chief city of the department of Marne. Since Clovis was baptised here in 496, the privilege of crowning the kings of France was granted this city. In 1429 Charles VII was here crowned King of France by the aid of Joan of Arc.
poitiers. Former capital of the old province of Poitou, and now the chief city of the department of Vienne. It is the seat of an old university.
université, parlement. Used here adjectïvely.
la cronique. The contemporary Old French chronicle.
damoiselles. A word used formerly for unmarried women of the nobility. Later it was extended to even married women of the middle class.
Y croire,, to believe in her.
Suffolk. The Duke of Suffolk was the commander of the English forces at Orléans. He was compelled by Joan to raise the siege.
Classidas. A name given by the French to the English officer, Sir William Glasdale.
La Poule. Probably William de la Poule, Duke of Suffolk. The French must have thought they were two different persons.
de par le roi. This expression and form has remained to the present day. Par stands for the noun part, and the following substantive is a survival of the Latin genitive. Compare de la part de Dieu.
même réponse. In Old French the definite article is frequently omitted before a substantive. Many similar examples are found in the literature of the seventeenth century.
Notes 97
Saint-Augustin. The order of Saint Augustine was prominent in the twelfth century. Members were known as white friars.
P. 20-13 sainte-Catherine, see note p. 10-6.
Salisbury. A famous English soldier. He was mortally wounded at the siege of Orleans.
le duc de Bourgogne. Burgundy was a powerful independent duchy in the fifteenth century, and a bitter enemy of the French kings. It was not until the reign of Louis XI in the year 1477 that it was united to France. The Burgundians, therefore, allied themselves with the English, and it was into their hands that Joan of Arc fell.
Talbot. John Talbot was in command of the English army opposed to the forces of Joan of Arc.
Bretons. The inhabitants of Brittany, north-western France, are for the most part of Celtic origin. Like Burgundy, Brittany was formerly an independent duchy. It was not annexed to France until 1532.
Gascons. The inhabitants of Gascony, a former French province, in south-western France. It was united to France in 1453,
Barbe bleue. It is said that the crimes of the French marshall, Gilles de Retz, suggested to Perrault the story of Bluebeard, the monster in the fairy story of this name.
Touraine. A former French province, the garden spot of France, united to France in 1203, though not finally united until 1584.
Saint Louis. Louis IX, who reigned from 1226 to
le corps du duc. The Duke of Orleans had been captured at the battle of Agincourt; he remained a prisoner in England until 1440.
Saint Charlemagne. Joan of Arc had in mind Charlemagne, King of the Franks. He began to reign in 768. He is one of the greatest figures of the Middle Ages.
C'était À qui toucherait, they vied in touching.
veissent. Old spelling of vissent.
Blois. City situated on the Loire in the department of Loire-et-Çhei\
Notes 99
pour l' aller chercher. Note the position of the pronoun. Today, with the exception of a few verbs, the object of an infinitive stands immediately before it.
Sainte- Croix. A name given to the cathedral of Orleans.
Falstaff. Sir John Falstaff was a famous English soldier and favorite of Henry V. He is the original of Shakespere's famous character.
Bastard. Old spelling for bâtard.
P. 27-8 feust rependu. Old spelling of fût répandu.
P. 27-10 veu .... Francois. Old spelling of vu . . . français.
P. 27-16 il sortit, there came out.
Saint-Jean-le-Blanc. One of the forts surrounding the city at the time of the siege (1428-29).
Godden. A general name for Englishmen during the Hundred Years War. The word is of course a corruption of the English oath. Compare dago from the Spanish Diego, and the Mexican gringo.
Que, whether.
charmer. A common method to "cure" wounds, diseases, etc. in that age of superstition was to "charm" them by mumbling1 certain words or phrases, and by means of gestures. Indeed the practice has not entirely died out today in certain rural districts of this country.
Basque. The Basques are descendents of an ancient race that dwell in both the French and Spanish Pyrenees (Western). Their language has nothing in common with the other European languages. Years ago the Basques, or Iberians, as they are sometimes called, coallesced with the Celts of ancient Gaul, whose descendents now inhabit Northern Spain.
Le vertige les prit, they became panic stricken.
saint Aignan. A bishop of Orleans who defended the city against Atilla in 451.
archange Michel. The chief of the celestial armies.
Gerson. One time chancellor of the University of Paris, and a famous theologian,
Notes 101
Christine de Pisane. A well known French author born in Venice (1363). She wrote a collection of Ballades, etc.
P. 32-21 Henri VI. See Historical note (Notes, p. 83).
Normandie. Normandy, the ancient province in northern France which was conquered and settled by the Normans in the ninth century, hence the name.
Jargeau. Village in the department of Loiret, scene of a battle between the English and the French under Joan of Arc.
Beaugency. Town in the department of Loiret.
Richemont. The count of Richmond was 'Connétable', that is High Constable (formerly the highest military office in France) under Charles VII (1393-1458).
Beauce. A former district or province of France, now lying in the department of Eure-et-Loir. See the map of France.
la bataille des Harengs, see note p. 14-17.
se racheter,. According to the rules of war at this period every soldier, if captured, had the privilege of purchasing his liberty, if he had the money.
Patay. A village in the department of Loiret. A decisive battle of the war was fought here. The English were routed.
Cosne. A town on the Loire in the department of Nièvre.
P. 34-25 la Charte. A small town not far from Cosne.
jacques. Originally a peasant's jacket, then applied to peasants in general.
TOUT GENTILSHOMMES QU'ILS POUVAIENT ETRE, gentlemen though they might be.
Gien. A town on the Loire in the department of Loiret.
Auxerre. A town in the department of Yonne.
Troyes. The chief city of the ancient province of Champagne. It is situated on the Seine in the department of Aube.
Notes 103
P. 35-28 fût .... comprît. Why the subjunctive1?
P. 37-20 Charles YII fut oint. See Introductory note.
la sainte-ampoule. The ampulla was the vessel in which was contained the unguent that annointed Clovis, King of the Franks, at Rheims in 496. Every succeeding King of France, down to Louis XVI, was annointed at his coronation with the same unguent from the same vessel. It was believed to have been brought miraculously from heaven by a dove.
Saint-Remy. An old church in Rheims which dates from the ninth century, and named for Saint Remigius, the bishop of Rheims who baptized Clovis on Christmas day 496. Charles VII was crowned, however, in the cathedral of Rheims. This magnificent cathedral was severely damaged by German shell fire during the late war.
Saint-Marcou. The French name for Saint Marculphus who died in 558. It is said he discovered a remedy for the cure of scrofula, and had revealed this remedy to the French kings. There is today no church of this name in Rheims, though the name is given to two hospitals of the poor.
toucher les écrouelles. On the day of their coronation the kings of France used to lay their hand on the diseased part of one or more persons suffering from
scrofula. The old English name for scrofula, "the king's evil/' was derived from the belief that the disease could be cured by the royal touch. It is believed that this rite originated with Edward the Confessor.
vouloit. Old spelling of voulait.
que, when. In temporal, and in other clauses also, the conjunctions lorsque, quand, si, etc. are not repeated, but are replaced by que.
estoit. Old spelling of était. Michelet, however, is not consistent in his retention of the old forms of the verbs; compare the forms serais, voudrais, seraient, etc. above.
Saint-Pierre-le-Moustier. Today Saint-Pierre-le- Moûtier, a village in the department of Nièvre.
.la Charte. A town on the Loire in the same department.
Picardie. Picardy, former French province, united to France in 1447, the chief city of which is Amiens.
P. 39-14 Louviers. A town in the department of Eure.
Notes 105
Soissons. A town in the department of Aisne, the scene of many important battles in French history.
Compiègne. A town in the department of Oise. It was here that the Burgundians captured Joan of Arc and put her in prison.
Jean de Luxembourg. Many illustrious soldiers have descended from this house. The name is derived from the chateau of Luxembourg, Lorraine.
P. 40-20 sacre de Reims, i. e. the coronation of Charles VII.
inquisiteur. The inquisition was "a tribunal in the Roman Catholic church for the discovery, repression, and punishment of heresy, unbelief, and other offenses against religion" (New International Encyclopedia). In France such matters were attended to by the Bishop's Inquisition.
Pour être prisonière. How must pour be translated here?
Noyon. A town in the department of Oise.
P. 42-9 Peronne. A village in the department of Somme.
P. 42-10 Xaintrailles. See note p; 2-11.
tout chevalier qu'il se croyait, true knight that he believed himself to be.
La Hire, A famous captain of Joan of Arc's army.
Barbazan. Surnamed the chevalier sans reproche, an illustrious general of the army of Charles VII.
Melun. A city on the Seine, in the department of Seine-et-Marne, South-east of Paris.
Cauchon (Pierre). Bishop of Beauvais, the principal judge who directed the trial of Joan of Arc. He belonged to the Burgundian party.
docteurs licenciés. A licenciâtes degree is one degree higher than the bachelor's, but lower than the doctor's.
maîtres Es arts. The form es is Old French contracted from en les.
procès de magie . . . procès d' hérésie. In the Middle Ages the Church refused to recognize magic, or witchcraft. From the eighth century down to the eighteenth thousands of innocent women were tortured and put to death in the name of the Church. The difference, according to the Church, between a witch and a heretic was
Notes 107
not great. The latter was one who stood in communion with the devil, and whose mind was thus poisoned by opinions at variance with the teachings of the Holy Church. Heretics were persecuted and often put to death.
vous me voulez interroger. Note the position of the objective personal pronoun. As far down as tho eighteenth century the pronoun object of an infinitive is placed before the verb governing that infinitive. Compare: Chimène vous vient voir (Corneille, Le Cid) .
P. 44-2 sauroit, old spelling of saurait.
Jehannette. . . Jehanne. Old spelling of Jeannette and Jeanne.
l'arbre des fées. See text page 7, line 21, and note p. 7-19.
aurait apparu. The conditional tense here expresses conjecture, or possibility, a common meaning in French.
Il avait été à la peine, & était, etc. "It had borne the burden, it had earned the honor." Mark Twain says of this passage: "There is a haunting pathos about the original which eludes all efforts to convey it into our tongue. It is as subtle as an odor, and escapes in the transmission/'
Rouen. The chief city of the former province of Normandy, situated on the Seine. Joan of Arc was condemned to death here by burning in 1431.
l'est, i. e. is questioned.
la Saint-Jean. Supply fête after the article. The fête of Saint John is observed June 24.
vos père et mère. Better, votre père et votre mère.
LE JOUR DE LA NATIVITE NOTRE-DAME. This church
festival is celebrated on March 25, known in English as Lady-day.
sainte Marguerite. See note p. 9-5.
Franquet d' Arras. A prisoner captured by the French from the English. He was put to death with the consent of Joan of Arc.
P. 50-18 Senlis. A town in the department of Oise.
monseigneur de Bourgogne. The Duke of Burgundy (see Historical note, Notes, p. 83).
Notes 109
que je sois. Why the subjunctive mood?
le Dieu intérieur. The Inner Light.
P. 52-6 la voudrais soutenir. See note p. 43-19.
P. 52-20 de part Dieu. See note p. 19-14.
ce que j'ai fait ou à faire. Supply ce que j'ai before à faire.
devait se perdre, was (destined) to die.
au jour du grand silence. Being a church holiday all business would cease on Good Friday. Hence the great silence throughout the city.
ils siégeaient, i. e. thirty-five judges presided.
notre Sire servi. An absolute construction. See line 7.
Lord Warwick. One of the leaders of the English army in France at the time of Joan of Arc's trial, in which he took a leading part.
P. 58-24 saignée. A common practice in those days.
Winchester. Known also as the Cardinal Beaufort. He was one of the judges that presided over the court which condemned Joan of Arc.
Bale. Also written Basel (the German name), a Swiss city on the Rhine.
Monseigneur l Archevêque. Cauchon aspired to become archbishop of Rouen.
NE . . . QU'lLNE . . . without.
ne l'eut jamais, such as she had never had. The object of the verb is pleonastic in English.
P. 61-17 Quand (vous me feriez,), even though. . .
Notes 111
sembloit . . .devoit. Further examples of the old imperfect tense.
Quand je verrais. See note p. 61-17.
Loyseleur, Châtillon, et Morice. Priests who served as judges at the trial of Joan of Arc.
Saint-Ouen. The beautiful and celebrated church in Rouen. It is of Gothic architecture, and dates from the first quarter of the fourteenth century.
Faites-la taire. Note that the object pronoun of a reflexive verb is not retained after faire.
manche. The wide sleeve of the secretary's gown served as a pocket.
au pain de douleur et à i/eau angoisse, bread of affliction and water of anguish (i. e. on bread and water) . This is a legal term used particularly in ecclesiastical phraseology.
quand, etc. See note p. 61-17.
Ne vous inquiétez. The omission of pas is archaic. nous la trouverons bien, we'll get lier.
l'Église établie. The Established church of England at whose head was Henry V, King of England.
le faiseur de rois. It was Warwick (see note p. 58-17) who in the War of the Roses, had his nephew proclaimed King as Edward IV, and who later, having re-established Henry VI on the throne, caused himself to be appointed governor of the kingdom.
de prêtres, priestly, or ecclesiastical. Note the omission of the article.
chez eux, with them.
disappointment et mortification. In Old French désappointement meant destitution ; so the French word mortification first meant decay, or the ascetic mortification of the flesh.
l'Imitation de Jésus. A religious treatise written in Latin (De imitatione Christi), commonly ascribed to Thomas à Kempis, a German writer who died in 1471. Some authorities, however, name Jean Gerson (1363- 1429), one time chancellor of the University of Paris, as the author.
Notes 113
P. 68-16 Jargeau. Village in the department of Loiret.
le corps du Christ. The Host, or consecrated' wafer used in the service of the mass in the Roman Church, On Corpus Christi day (Thursday, or Sunday after Trinity Sunday) there is a procession and exposition of the Host for the adoration of the faithful.
P. 72-4 Saint-Pierre. Village in the department of Nièvre.
P. 72-5 que. See note p. 38-17.
expédier, i. e. to give the coup de grâce.
Allez en paix . . .te défendre. This strange mixture of the plural form of the verb with the singular form of the pronoun evidently means that the judge wished to soften the sentence by using te.
le juge d' Église, the ecclesiastical judge. Note the omission of the article.
Serait-ce, could it be possible ? See note p. 47-14.
F. 75-7 comme le chien, etc. See 2 Peter, 11,22.
firent tant, were so insistent.
la nature pâtit, i. e., she suffered in trying to repress lier feelings.
ne pécha pas par ses lèvres, uttered not a syllable, did not complain.
Que . . . que, whether . . . or whether.
Que toute incertitude, etc. In this subordinate clause there is a feeling of uncertainty until the principal clause is expressed, hence the subjunctive mood.
I/avenir N'Y contredira pas. This prophec}r of Michelet has been fulfilled. The sentence passed on Joan of Arc by her judges was revoked by the pope in 1456. Catholic writers today insist upon the reality of her divine inspiration. In 1894 she was declared venerable; in 1909 she was beatified, and in 1919. there was a formal proposal before the pope to have her canonized, the three steps necessary before the savoir of France, the "Genius of Patriotism," could be declared a Roman Catholic saint; finally, she was canonized in May, 1920 in St. Peter's (Rome), five hundred years after her
Notes 115
martyrdom. All Christendom joined in honoring the memory of the French heroine. One hundred and forty descendants of the shepherd girl's family, and Church dignitaries from all parts of the world, witnessed the rites.
QUE saurait-elle AJOUTER f What would it be able to add?
n'ont rien à voir ici, do not belong here.
n'est point des leurs, is not of their kind.
devait, was to be, was destined to be.
puisse, may. . .
P. 82-9 sachent. Why the subjunctive?
