The Witchlike Saint

As our course concludes, I became curious as to which notable historical figures have been tried for or suspected of witchcraft. In my research, I found one woman who I hadn’t realized was accused of witchcraft: Joan of Arc. As a child, I was fascinated with Joan as I found her to be an extremely empowering and inspiring woman. I knew that she had died, but the charges against her I was unaware of. In this blog post, I will provide extensive details on her life and death, as well as identify concurrencies in her trial with the Salem Witch Trials. 

Joan of Arc was born to a peasant family in 1412 in Northeastern France. She developed a deep love for the Catholic church, fostered by her mother, that carried through her life. At 13, Joan started hearing the voices of saints, telling her that she was the one destined to save France and restore Charles VII to his throne (Joan of Arc: Facts, Passion, Death & Sainthood). Interestingly enough, there was a variation of prophecies that foretold a woman (sometimes indicated to be a virgin) to be the one to save France (Joan of Arc). Joan met Charles and gained his support by disclosing information that only one of God’s messengers could know (what this information was remains unknown). She requested an army to take to a city besieged by the English—Orléans. He approved her request, and Joan successfully regained French control over the city. Charles VII was later crowned King in July 1429 in Reims, just as Joan had promised. In 1430, Joan was sent to handle an attack on Compiège. While attempting to defend the people of the town, she was unfortunately captured and imprisoned by the English (Joan of Arc: Facts, Passion, Death & Sainthood).

Joan was charged with nearly seventy different crimes, most of which revolved around her tendency to dress in male clothing, witchcraft, and heresy. Her primary grievances were that she wore men’s clothing and that she heard divine voices telling her to attack the English, thereby indicating that God favored the French. As discussed in class, many women who didn’t fit with the status quo of their community were accused of witchcraft, and that is mirrored in Joan’s case. I find it interesting (but not surprising) that they focused heavily on the ‘monstrosity’ of her clothing choices rather than her position or actions as a battle leader for the French. She wasn’t believed to be a heretic because she heard voices, but more so because those voices were assumed to be ‘evil spirits,’ making her revelations false. This detail feels similar to the prominent, alluring presence of the Devil in Salem (i.e., the afflicted girls seeing a shadowy figure, the confessed witches claiming to be manipulated by him and other witches) (Why Was Joan of Arc Burned at the Stake?).

In addition, there were many people present at the trial as it became a large, community-driven spectacle, similar to the witch trials in 1692. It is said that Salem officials looked to Joan’s trial to guide them during the witch craze (Joan of Arc: Feminist Leader, Prophet, Influence to all). Moreover, I find the following quote from the trial to largely reflect the motives present during the Salem Witch Trials: 

“Whenever the deadly poison of heresy infects a member of the Church, who is then transformed into a member of Satan, utmost care must be taken to keep the contagion of the disease from spreading to other parts of the mystical body of Christ” (Why Was Joan of Arc Burned at the Stake?).

In the end, Joan signed a confession that she didn’t receive guidance from the divine and agreed to spend her life in prison. However, the voices spoke to her four days later, and she began dressing masculinely once more. She was burned at the stake for heresy on May 30th, 1431. It wasn’t until 1920 that Joan of Arc was declared a saint (Joan of Arc: Facts, Passion, Death & Sainthood).

I find it extremely interesting that someone who was burned for supposedly being a ‘heretic’ can then be declared a Saint hundreds of years later. But as seen in the Salem Witch Trials, an objective judicial system was not a key component of these cases. Overall, in many instances, it seems that anytime a woman acts in a way that can’t be explained by popular patriarchal nonsense, it must be accredited to the Devil.