fandomhigh | Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History [Session 3, Period 4]

When the students arrived today, they would find images of the same woman in different scenes around the room. Including, unfortunately, one that was sadder than the others.

"We're starting with someone incredibly close to my heart, Joan of Arc," Annja said after everyone had taken their seats. "Jeanne d'Arc, the Maid of Orleans. She's thought to be a national heroine in France, and she was made a saint long after her death. Her friends and allies thought she was spectacular and her enemies thought she was crazy. What did she do that was so against the norm of her time?" Annja looked around her class. "She was a soldier. She led battles against the English in order to put the rightful ruler of France, Charles the Seventh, on the throne. Not only was she a woman, but she claimed divine guidance. She had her first visions at the age of twelve when she saw angels who told her to drive the English out of France. As you can imagine, this cause quite a stir at the time. She was dismissed and called foolish, and yet she continued to petition to be allowed to sit in a council and to lead an army."

Annja walked to one of the images that showed Joan in armor. "The French army was losing battle after battle and Joan kept persisting that she needed to be allowed to lead an army and do what the Lord wanted her to do. With no other options and thinking that they had nothing left to lose, the Royal Court allowed Joan to lead a charge. Of course, they couldn't provide her with armor, sword or even a horse, because outfitting women for battle just wasn't done. However, the men that had started to follow her believed in her so much that they provided her with what she needed." Her eyes stayed on the sword for several moments before she turned back to her class. "Where other army leaders had failed to push back the English, Joan's charges did not. She convinced Charles VII to make her the co-commander of the army of France. She also stood up with him as he was coronated as the King of France."

Annja sighed and moved to the image of Joan at the Coronation. "Of course, if the story ended there, then she would only be a passing mention in history books and she wouldn't be the continuing legend that she remains today. In the year 1430, she and her army attempted to engage a force of more than 6,000 Burgundians, when more forces for the enemy arrived, Joan ordered the retreat of her men. As commander, she was the last to leave the field of battle and when she was unhorsed by an archer, she was taken prisoner. This was where it began to get even messier. It was customary in those times for a captive's family to ransom a prisoner of war. Joan had no family wealth, and her King did not stand up for her. To this day, many still condemn King Charles VII for not doing right by Joan in that moment. If he had, what happened next would have been avoided."

She shifted to an image of Joan on trial.

"Joan tried several times to escape the Burgundians and they had to keep moving her around to discourage her men from coming to her aid. Finally, the English government purchased Joan from Duke Philip of Burgundy and prompty put her on trial. The trial for heresy was politically motivated. The Duke of Bedford claimed the throne of France on behalf of his nephew Henry VI. Joan had been responsible for the rival coronation, hence condemning her was an attempt to undermine her king's legitimacy. Legal proceedings commenced on 9 January 1431 at Rouen, the seat of the English occupation government." Annja sighed and looked at the class. "There was no way that Joan could have won this time. The trial was patently illegal in so many ways -- not for one being that they denied Joan any legal council. As she was illeterate, the read to her a document and was told she had to sign it or face immediate execution. Not being ready to die, Joan made her mark on the form and a different document was entered as evidence against her, She was found guilty of heresy, among other things -- including wearing men's clothing,"

Annja turned to one final image. "Joan never had a chance. She held onto her beliefs that she was doing God's work and no matter how she was treated or insulted, she did not renounce her faith, her King or her actions. Joan was found guilty and sentenced to be burned at the stake in May of 1431. They burned her body three times so that no one could claim she had somehow escaped and once she was reduced to only ash, her ashes were spread in the river Seine. She was nineteen."

She was silent for a moment, letting her class digest all of that. "However, there were people who demanded justice for Joan after her death. In 1456, her trial was declared unlawful and she was declared innocent of all charges. Victory for her followers, but too late to spare Joan's life. Joan wasn't a feminist, but a great deal of her aid at the time came from powerful women. Even now, women use her a symbol of why doing the right thing doesn't always mean acting within the norms of society." She grinned. "In her death, though, she has gotten her greatest revenge. The names of most of her accusers have been forgotten, but Joan's name and deeds have prevailed through the centuries to present day."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Was Joan divine or was she crazy?"

Shira frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know if I'd say divine, exactly, but she was special. She clearly had some kind of special ability."

It made her wonder if people would call her crazy for her Craft.

Annja tilted her head. "How do you differentiate between divine and special? She claimed to see and hear angels telling her what to do."

"Does that necessarily mean she was divine, though?" Shira pointed out. "Just because she was touched doesn't necessarily mean she was flat-out divine herself."

She wasn't trying to be insulting, really she wasn't. She just wasn't quite sure she understood it.

"That's the question that people have been debating through the centuries since she was executed."

"This makes my brain hurt," Shira muttered under her breath... possibly loud enough to be heard.

"I believe her visions were legitimate," Wesley said matter-of-factly. "In my home dimension, such things aren't unusual" -- well, they were, but they happened -- "and it's apparent that something particularly strong was motivating her."

Annja nodded. "It would seem that something strong was indeed motivating her since she went against all norms of her time."

"I don't see that there's any real cause to call her crazy," Elphaba said. "At least, from what was presented in class. She seemed passionate, and dared to do something men would not do and that they would not allow women to do. That is bold, and admirable."

Annja smiled. "Which would be one of the reasons that she and her story has lasted down through many centuries. The problem is that her accusers tried to use both her sanity and their doubt of her faith to condemn her."

"I'm religious," Quinn said simply. "I don't see any reason to say she wasn't divine."

Annja nodded. "The men that condemned her also claimed to be religious." She smiled. "Just one more example of why women can be better at figuring things out than men."

"The church changed its mind," Quinn answered. "Maybe God took longer to make it through to the Pope than he did to make it through to St. Joan."

"That they did, but it didn't change that the opinions of men were what killed her," Annja said with a small sigh. "I'm glad that the Church changed it's mine, though."

"I don't know if she was divine," Hanna admitted. "But I don't think she was crazy. At least she used it as motivation to do what was right."

"Exactly. Whatever she was doing, she was obviously strongly motivated and felt that what she was doing was right."

"I don't know about divine," Gabrielle finally said, her expression a bit more tense than usual; religious zeal was a touchy subject for her these days. "I've seen enough people use the name of their god to commit atrocities, and I've seen people commit atrocities in the name of a god who isn't anything like the benevolent being they claim he is, and . . ."

She had to stop there for a moment; what she'd gone through in the temple of Dahak wasn't nearly as behind her as she thought it had been, and she hadn't meant for the anger to creep into her voice. A moment, and a couple of breaths, and she'd calmed enough to go on.

"I can't judge that. I won't. But what I do know is that she defied what was expected of her. Of course they'd call her crazy -- which means I really, really doubt that she was."

The tension in Gabrielle's voice caused Annja concern, but she wasn't one to pry. If her students wanted to talk to her about non-class things, then they would.

She hoped they would.

"She wasn't crazy," Annja said quietly and with fierce assurance in her voice.

Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History [Session 3, Period 4]

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