Jean d'Arc and ghostly apparitions

I love, love, love the rich and dramatic history of France. I am a real history buff with a penchant for ghosts. Given France's long and illustrious history, you start scratching at the surface and the stories just keep coming. Jean d'Arc, we all know her story, but after reading up on it, I discovered much I had not known. 

Think the Hundred Years' War from 1337 to 1453. This war, which lasted a little over one hundred years, was a dispute to the succession to the French throne. Mind boggling! The royal and noble families of Europe were all intermingled, intermarried, and so forth and so on. Basically, the English were trying to get their hands on the French throne and rule both countries.

The English invaded France in 1337 and used scorched earth tactics, thereby taking away crops and leaving the French to starve. France was also recuperating from the horrific Black Death Plague in 1348 that killed half of Europe's population. The French were squabbling amongst themselves. The kingdom was weak. The English kept beating the French back and gobbling up territory. 

When Jean d'Arc was thirteen, she began hearing voices or divine guidance. She also saw visions of whom she claimed were Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret. They told her to drive out the English and install the Dauphin (which means child king who has not yet been coronated), Charles VII upon the throne.

Jean was pretty clever and insistent for a thirteen-year-old peasant girl. After much effort over three years' time, she managed to gain an audience with the Dauphin. 

The problems were: Charles VII Dauphin's father had been insane (and known as Charles the Mad) so he was reluctant to listen to a girl who had "hallucinations"; what was left of France was broken into three rivaling factions, the Dauphin (whose father had been mad), his brother the Duke of Orléans and his cousin the Duke of Burgundy; the church had to give the green light for Jean, make sure she wasn't on a missive from the devil to mess things up; and convince fifteenth century generals to listen to a girl.

She did it, she did it all: she won battles, fought alongside the men, was wounded, achieved everyone's respect, and got the Dauphin upon the throne. 

Charles VII, now coronated King of France, didn't give her the protection she merited. Jean was kidnapped by the Burgundians (his cousin the Duke of Burgundy's faction) at the end of a battle. Charles VII still didn't help and Jean was sold to the English. 

She was put on trial in Rouen, where the English still held territory. She was so intelligent in her responses and discourse that the trial had to be closed so as not to be an embarrassment to the church and the English as they had every intention of finding her guilty of heresy and burning her at the stake. Her body was burned three times and her ashes thrown into the River Seine. The executioner Geoffrey Therage stated that he "...greatly feared to be damned."

Twenty-five years after her death, there was a retrial in which she was found innocent and declared a martyr. She was canonized as a saint in 1920.

Records from the trial remain intact. Jean dictated letters which are also intact. Here is her real signature.

The Basilica of Bois-Chenu was built in 1881 near the place where Jean first heard the voices of the Saints. The consecration of the building took place in 1925. 

In June, 1925, Miss Townsend (British) visited the Basilica with her friend Lady Palmer. She took a photograph of Lady Palmer and, when she had it developed, two very clear apparitions were seen next to Lady Palmer, staring straight at her. 

Some suggest that the apparitions resemble priests at the time of Jean d'Arc.

The apparition of a young adult woman has also been seen praying at the Basilica alter.

Voila! Gros bisous des anciens fantômes et a demain.

Love, Charley