The Maid of Orleans: details?

January 1, 2009 12:00 PM

What are the best sources of material about Joan of Arc's life and work?

I'm about to (ideally) commence an independent study on Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) for this semester as a university undergrad. I plan on starting with basic biographical information and then moving into scholarship about her personage and deeds. The focus may be on contemporary (or 20th-21st century) views of Joan; it may be "Joan's body as public symbol"; it may be something else entirely.

What are the best biographies of Joan? Are there any particularly good film adaptations that I ought to check out? I know about the Joan of Arc Archive but are there other good websites to explore?

Also, I'm currently in France. What sites should I visit as a sort of pilgrimage, besides the obvious ones like Domremy, Orleans, and Reims?

posted by fantine to education (5 comments total)

Sorry; meant to mention that I am happy to read books or websites or watch films in either French or English.
posted by fantine at 12:03 PM on January 1

GB Shaw's Saint Joan was written in 1923 and is classically reflective of the ways, I think, we still consider Joan of Arc. Shaw's considered among the great pantheon of playwrights, but his portrayal of Joan is striking to me for how masculine and almost one-sided it is. When I read it, I was as fascinated by the myth as the character development.

For 21st Century, consider James Martin, SJ's My Life with the Saints, which includes a chapter on Joan. I haven't read this yet (on my reading pile), but Martin writes a memoir about growing up and becoming a Jesuit with various saints on his mind. One huge (unresolved) tension for pacifist Catholics like me and social justice loving Jesuits like Martin with Joan is how violent the story is and its presumption that God chose Joan as the tool of His violent wrath.

Keep us up to date, on MeTa or here!
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 12:17 PM on January 1

I've read a fair bit on the subject and IMO the best book by some distance is Joan of Arc - Her Story by Regine Pernoud and Marie-Veronique Clin. Joan of Arc In Her Own Words is a very useful companion, it uses only text compiled from her condemnation trials.

The films are incredibly hit and miss. Of the modern productions the tv movie with Leelee Sobieski is probably best, it's a decent length and is both faithful and detailed, although it is a tv movie and the acting and production values reflect that. Avoid the Luc Besson shambles unless you need to see everything. If I were to recommend any then The Passion of Joan of Arc by Carl Theodor Dreyer and The Trial of Joan of Arc by the untouchable Robert Bresson would be top of the list.

There are many sites in France pertaining to her, the Pernoud/Clin book mentioned above covers most of them. This site covers many. There are even a good few in Paris - a handful of statues as well as a couple of contemporary sites that correspond to scenes in her life. The fountain at Place Andre Malreaux is roughly where Joan was shot in the leg by an archer during the siege of Paris.
posted by fire&wings at 1:03 PM on January 1

I don't know much about biographies, but Francoise Meltzer's For Fear of the Fire is an excellent book that might be of use later on in your project.
posted by dizziest at 3:14 PM on January 1

Mark Twain's Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.
posted by whiskeyspider at 3:51 PM on January 1