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The University of Southampton
Humanities

Joan of Arc remembered

Published: 24 April 2012Origin: History
Professor Anne Curry

Six hundred years since the birth of Joan of Arc, Professor Anne Curry, Dean of Humanities, will speak about English views of the French patriot and religious leader at an event in Rouen in June.

Former French Prime Minister and member of the National Assembly, Laurent Fabius, historians and writers including Marina Warner will also contribute to the discussions at the Archbishop’s Palace.

The ‘Maid of Orleans’ is a French national heroine and was canonised in 1920. She was an inspirational figure for her country’s armies and led then into battle against the English during the Hundred Years War. Joan was captured and burned at the stake as a heretic when she was 19 years old. However, her fame has lived on to the present day through popular histories, novels and plays such as Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw.

“Joan was a controversial character and a woman in a man’s world,” says Anne. “Many questions remain about her. Did she choose to become a military leader or was she placed in that role?”

Many documents survive from Joan’s time, including transcripts of her trial, letters and military records which offer rewarding opportunities for researchers interested in learning more about the fifteenth century.

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