Joan of Arc and Spirituality (The New Middle Ages)

Joan of Arc is an unusual saint. Canonized in 1920 as a virgin, she died in 1431 as a condemned heretic. Uneducated, militant, and youthful, she obeyed 'Voices' that counselled her to pursue an unprecedented vocation. The various trial records provide a wealth of evidence about how Joan and others understood her spiritual life. This collection explores multiple facets of Joan's prayerful life. Two-thirds of the essays focus on Joan in her own time; the later chapters study Joan's formative influence upon modern women. Taken together, these essays offer new perspectives on the heroism of Joan's original way of sanctity. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Joan of Arc and Spirituality....Pages 1-5 Front Matter....Pages 7-7 The Mortal Body as Divine Proof: A Spiritual-Physical Blazon of Joan of Arc....Pages 9-36 The Virgin Mary and the “Voices” of Joan of Arc....Pages 37-60 Saint Joan and Confession: Internal and External Forum....Pages 61-84 Joan of Arc and Lex Privata: A Spirit of Freedom in the Law....Pages 85-109 Joan of Arc’s Call to Crusade....Pages 111-126 Front Matter....Pages 127-127 Jeanne and the Clergy....Pages 129-146 Gerson Judging Women of Spirit: From Female Mystics to Joan of Arc....Pages 147-165 A Reconsideration of Jean Gerson’s Attitude Toward Joan of Arc in Light of His Views on Popular Devotion....Pages 167-182 Jean Gerson, the Shulammite, and the Maid....Pages 183-192 Front Matter....Pages 193-193 Christine de Pizan’s Ditié de Jehanne d’Arc: History, Feminism, and God’s Grace....Pages 195-208 En L’Honneur De La Pucelle: Ritualizing Joan the Maid in Fifteenth-Century Orléans....Pages 209-226 Front Matter....Pages 227-227 The Princess and the Maid of Orléans: Sculpting Spirituality During the July Monarchy....Pages 229-247 Le Triomphe De L’Humilité: Thérèse of Lisieux and “La Nouvelle Jeanne”....Pages 249-265 Force or Fragility? Simone Weil and Two Faces of Joan of Arc....Pages 267-281 She Gets Inside Your Head: Joan of Arc and Contemporary Women’s Spirituality....Pages 283-293 Back Matter....Pages 295-298 Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Table of Illustrations 8 Joan of Arc and Spirituality 9 Part 1 Joan's Own Spirituality 14 1. The Mortal Body as Divine Proof: A Spiritual-Physical Blazon of Joan of Arc 15 2. The Virgin Mary and the "Voices" of Joan of Arc 43 3. Saint Joan and Confession: Internal and External Forum 67 4. Joan of Arc and Lex Privata: A Spirit of Freedom in the Law 91 5. Joan of Arc's Call to Crusade 116 Part 2 Clerical Perceptions of Joan's Spirituality in Her Own Time 132 6. Jeanne and the Clergy 133 7. Gerson Judging Women of Spirit: From Female Mystics to Joan of Arc 151 8. A Reconsideration of Jean Gerson's Attitude toward Joan of Arc in Light of His Views on Popular Devotion 170 9. Jean Gerson, the Shulammite, and the Maid 186 Part 3 Joan's Secular Contemporaries 196 10. Christine de Pizan's Ditie de]ehanne d'Arc: History, Feminism, and God's Grace 197 11. En l'honneur de Ia Pucelle: Ritualizing Joan the Maid in Fifteenth-Century Orlèans 211 Part 4 Joan as Model 229 12. The Princess and the Maid of Orleans: Sculpting Spirituality during the July Monarchy 230 13. Le Triomphe de l'humilité: Therésè of Lisieux and "la nouvelle Jeanne" 249 14. Force or Fragility? Simone Weiland Two Faces of Joan of Arc 266 15. She Gets Inside your Head: Joan of Arc and Contemporary Women's Spirituality 281 Contributors 292