The Trial of Jeanne d'Arc

by W.P. Barrett (Translator), Pierre Champion (Contributor), Coley Taylor (Translator)

THE TRIAL OF JEANNE D'ARC
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH FROM THE ORIGINAL LATIN AND FRENCH DOCUMENTS BY W. P. BARRETT

WITH AN ESSAY On the Trial of Jeanne d'Arc AND Dramatis Personae, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE TRIAL JUDGES AND OTHER PERSONS INVOLVED IN THE MAID'S CAREER, TRIAL AND DEATH By PIERRE CHAMPION, TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY COLEY TAYLOR AND RUTH H. KERR

Genres: History, Nonfiction

544 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1932

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no better way to understand Jehanne than by encountering her in person -- by reading her own words in the testimony she gave at her trial. No biography or novel can even come close -- and any one that fails to take her divine mission and her Counsel into account is really not about the actual Jehanne. The people who knew her best, who testified at the Trial of Rehabilitation, certainly understood this, as did the English who murdered her.

[Roth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but a little dry. While this is a fascinating (if heartbreaking) look at how Jehanne (that's how she spelled her name) was condemned, it also has to be taken with a pinch of salt. This trial was, after all, later declared not to be in keeping with ecclesiastical law, and it's pretty clear both from the letters prefacing the trial transcripts and sworn statements that she said the voices she heard were evil spirits who deceived her, honest she did, that the people running the trial had a vested interest in finding her guilty. If you have more of a passing interest in the Maid, there are probably other books that are more accessible.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was crucial for my final paper on Joan of Arc. Pierre Champion's translation is excellent.