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Joan Of Arc

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc, also Jeanne d'Arc (1412 – 30 May 1431) is a national heroine of France and a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Many believed she had visions from God that told her to recover her homeland. In early 1429 she convinced the uncrowned king Charles VII to give her a suit of armor and permission to relieve the siege at Orléans. At first treated as a figurehead by veteran commanders, she gained prominence when she lifted the siege in only nine days. After several other engagements and an important victory at Patay she led a bloodless expedition to Reims for Charles VII's coronation. This settled the disputed royal succession and recovered important territory. The renewed French confidence outlasted her own brief career. Wounded during an unsuccessful attempt to recover Paris, she participated in minor actions until her capture outside Compiègne the following spring. Her Burgundian captors delivered her to the English, who selected clergymen to convict her of heresy. John, Duke of Bedford had her burnt at the stake in Rouen. She had been the heroine of her country at the age of seventeen. She died at just nineteen. Some twenty-four years later Pope Callixtus III reopened the case. The new finding overturned the original conviction. Her piety to the end impressed the retrial court. Pope Benedict XV canonized her on 16 May, 1920. Joan of Arc has remained an important figure in the collective imagination of Western culture. From Napoleon to the present, French politicians of all leanings have invoked her memory. Major writers and composers who created works about her include Shakespeare, Voltaire, Schiller, Verdi, Tchaikovski, Twain, Shaw, and Brecht. Depictions of her continue in film, television, and song.

Historical background

Brecht This was the lowest era in French history until the Nazi occupation. The French king at the time of Joan's birth, Charles VI, suffered bouts of insanity and was unable to rule. A quarrel between his cousins duke John the Fearless of Burgundy and the duke of Orléans over the regency of France and the guardianship of the royal children finally led John the Fearless to order the assassination of the duke of Orléans in 1407. The factions loyal to these two men became known as the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. English king Henry V took advantage of the turmoil. He invaded France and won a dramatic victory at Agincourt in 1415, then proceeded to capture northern French towns. The future French king Charles VII assumed the title of dauphin as heir to the throne at the age of fourteen after all four of his older brothers had died. Almost his first official act was to conclude a peace treaty with John the Fearless in 1419. This ended in disaster when Armagnac partisans murdered John the Fearless during a meeting under Charles's guarantee of protection. The new duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, blamed Charles and entered an alliance with the English. Large sections of France fell to conquest. Charles's mother Isabeau of Bavaria concluded the 1420 Treaty of Troyes granting the royal succession to Henry V and his heirs, disinheriting Charles. Henry V and Charles VI died within two months of each other in 1422, leaving an infant Henry VI of England the nominal monarch of both kingdoms. Henry V's brother John, Duke of Bedford acted as regent. John, Duke of Bedford By the beginning of 1429 nearly all of the north and some parts of the southwest were under foreign control. The English ruled Paris and the Burgundians ruled Rheims. The latter was important as the traditional site of French coronations. Neither claimant to the throne of France had been crowned. The English had laid siege to Orléans, the only remaining loyal French city north of the Loire. Its strategic location along the river made this the last obstacle to an assault on the remaining French heartland. No one was optimistic about the city's chances to resist the siege for long.

Biography

Early life

Joan of Arc was born circa 1412 in the village of Domrémy in the province of Lorraine. Her parents Jacques D'Arc and Isabelle Romee owned a modest farm. The region was part of the duchy of Burgundy during that era. Joan's own village and a few surrounding communities formed an isolated patch of territory that remained loyal to the French crown. Jacques D'Arc, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine in the background. Oil on canvas in two joined vertical panels. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, 1879.]] Joan later said she had her first vision around 1424. She reported that St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret told her to drive out the English and bring the Dauphin to Rheims for his coronation. At the age of sixteen she asked a kinsman, Durand Lassois, to bring her to nearby Vaucouleurs. She petitioned garrison commander count Robert de Baudricourt for permission to visit the royal French court at Chinon. Baudricourt's sarcastic response did not deter her. She returned the following January and found supporters in two men of standing: Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulegny. With their support she gained a second interview where she made an apparently miraculous prediction about a military reversal near Orléans.

Career

Baudricourt granted her an escort to visit Chinon after news from the front confirmed her prediction. She made the journey through hostile Burgundian territory in male disguise. Upon arriving at the royal court she won Charles's confidence in a private conference. He verified her morality with background inquiries and a theological examination at Poitiers. Charles's mother-in-law Yolande of Aragon was financing a relief expedition to Orléans. Joan of Arc received permission to travel with the army. Her armor, horse, sword, equipment, and entourage were all donations. She had no funds of her own. Yolande of Aragon She arrived at the Orléans on 29 April 1429. Jean d'Orléans, the acting head of the Orléans ducal family, excluded Joan from war councils. She appealed to the town's population and the common soldiers, often disregarding war council decisions. The extent of her military leadership is a subject of historical debate. Traditional analysis cites her condemnation trial testimony to conclude that she was a standard bearer whose primary effect was on morale. Recent scholarship that focuses on rehabilitation trial testimony asserts that her fellow officers esteemed her as a skilled tactician and a successful strategist. In either case, the army enjoyed remarkable success during her brief career. French forces began aggressive actions against siege fortifications at Joan's urging. After several skirmishes the English abandoned peripheral structures and concentrated their forces at the stone fortress controlling the bridge, les Tourelles. This fell to French assault on 7 May. Contemporaries acknowledged Joan as the hero of the engagement after she pulled an arrow from her own shoulder and returned wounded to lead the final charge. 7 May The sudden victory at Orléans led to many proposals for offensive action. Surviving documents show the English expected a direct assault on Paris. French counterintelligence may have contributed to that perception. During Joan's later trial she described a mark the French command used in letters for disinformation. Joan of Arc persuaded Charles VII to approve her plan and grant her co-command of the army with duke John II of Alençon. They would recapture nearby bridges along the Loire then advance on Rheims. This was a daring proposal because Rheims was roughly twice as distant as Paris. Rheims held political importance as the traditional site of French coronations. Detractors have pointed to shortcomings in the army's supply lines to assert that Joan was more lucky than skilled. John II of Alençon. Detail from a portrait by Jean Fouquet, tempera on wood, Louvre Museum, Paris, c. 1445.]] The army recovered Jargeau on 12 June, Meung-sur-Loire on 15 June, then Beaugency on 17 June. Alençon credited Joan with saving his life at Jargeau by warning him of an impending artillery attack. She withstood a stone cannonball blow to her helmet while climbing a scaling ladder. An expected English relief force arrived in the area on 18 June under the command of Sir John Fastolf. The battle at Patay might be compared to Agincourt in reverse. The French vanguard attacked before the English archers finished defensive preparations. A rout ensued that decimated the main body of the English army. The French had minimal losses. A disgraced Fastolf escaped with a small band of soldiers. The French army set out from Gien-sur-Loire on 29 June, accepting the conditional surrender of the Burgundian-held city of Auxerre on 3 July. Every other town in their path returned to French allegiance without resistance. Troyes, the site of the treaty that had tried to disinherit Charles VII, capitulated after a bloodless four-day siege. Rheims opened its gates on 16 July. The coronation took place the following morning. Although Joan and the Duke of Alençon urged a prompt march on Paris, the royal court pursued a negotiated truce with the duke of Burgundy. Duke Philip the Good broke the agreement, using it as a stalling tactic to reinforce the defense of Paris. The French army marched through towns near Paris during the interim, accepting peaceful surrenders. The Duke of Bedford confronted Joan with an English force in a standoff on 15 August. The French assault on Paris ensued on 8 September. Despite a crossbow bolt wound to the leg, Joan continued directing the troops until the day's fighting ended. The following morning she received a royal order to withdraw. Most historians blame French grand chamberlain Georges de la Trémoille for the political blunders following the coronation.

Capture, trial, and execution

After minor action at La-Charité-sur-Loire in November and December, Joan went to Compiègne the following March to defend against an English and Burgundian siege. A skirmish on 23 May 1430 led to her capture. When she ordered a retreat she assumed the place of honor as the last to leave the field. Burgundians surrounded the rear guard. It was customary for a war captive's family to raise a ransom. Joan's relatives lacked financial resources. Many historians condemn Charles VII for failing to intervene. She attempted several escapes, on one occasion leaping from a seventy foot tower to the soft earth of a dry moat. The English government eventually purchased her from duke Philip of Burgundy. Bishop Pierre Cauchon of Beauvais, an English partisan, assumed a prominent role in these negotiations and her later trial. Beauvais Joan's trial for heresy was political. The Duke of Bedford claimed the throne of France for his nephew Henry VI. She was responsible for the rival coronation. Condemning her was an attempt to discredit her king. Legal proceedings commenced on 9 January 1431 at Rouen, the seat of the English occupation government. The procedure was irregular on a number of points. To summarize some major problems, the jurisdiction of promoter bishop Cauchon was a legal fiction. He owed his appointment to his partisanship. The entire trial was financed by the English government. Clerical notary Nicolas Bailly, commissioned to collect testimony against her, could find no adverse evidence. Without this the court lacked grounds to initiate a trial. Opening one anyway, it denied her right to a legal advisor. Nonetheless, her testimony could be brilliant. The transcript's most famous exchange is an exercise in subtlety. "Asked if she knew she was in God's grace, she answered: 'If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.'" The question is a scholarly trap. Church doctrine held that no one could be certain of being in God's grace. If she had answered yes, then she would have convicted herself of heresy. If she had answered no, then she would have confessed her own guilt. Her response was not only perfect but poetic. Several court functionaries later testified that significant portions of the transcript were altered in her disfavor. Many clerics served under compulsion, including the inquisitor, and a few even received death threats from the English. Joan should have been confined to an ecclesiastical prison with female guards. Instead the English kept her in a secular prison guarded by their own soldiers. Bishop Cauchon denied Jeanne's appeals to the Council of Basel and the Pope, which should have stopped his proceeding. The twelve articles of accusation that summarize the court's finding contradict the already doctored court record. Illiterate Joan signed an abjuration document she did not understand under threat of immediate execution. The court substituted a different abjuration in the official record. abjuration Heresy was a capital crime only for a repeat offense. Joan agreed to wear women's clothes when she abjured. Shortly afterward she was subject to a sexual assault in prison, possibly by an English lord. This does not appear to have been rape. She resumed male attire either as a defense against molestation or, in the testimony of Jean Massieu, because her dress had been stolen and she was left with nothing else to wear. Eyewitnesses described the scene of the execution on 30 May 1431. Tied to a tall pillar, she asked two of the clergy, Martin Ladvenu and Isambart de la Pierre, to hold a crucifix before her. She repeatedly called out "...in a loud voice the holy name of Jesus, and implored and invoked without ceasing the aid of the saints of Paradise." After she expired the English raked back the coals to expose her charred body so that no one could claim she had escaped alive, then reduced the body to ashes to prevent any collection of relics. They cast her remains into the Seine. The executioner, Geoffroy Therage, confessed to having "...a great fear of being damned, [as] he had burned a saint."

Retrial

After Charles VII regained Rouen in November 1449, the investigation began with an inquest by clergyman Guillaume Bouille. Inquisitor-General Jean Brehal conducted an investigation in 1452. The formal appeal was initiated in November 1455. Pope Callixtus III authorized this appeal, known today as the "Rehabilitation Trial," at the request of Brehal and surviving members of Joan's family. The appellate process included clergy from throughout Europe and observed proper court procedure. After collecting testimony from 115 witnesses, theologians gave opinions. Brehal drew up his final summary of the case in June 1456. This describes Joan as a martyr and her judges as heretics for having convicted an innocent woman in the pursuit of a secular vendetta. The court declared her innocence on 7 July 1456.

Clothing

1456 Joan wore men's clothing between her departure from Vaucouleurs and her abjuration at Rouen. This raised theological questions in her own era and raised other speculation in the twentieth century. Her assumption of male clothing had no sexual overtones. The technical reason for her execution was a Biblical clothing law. Medieval theology recognized exceptions to the stricture. Doctrinally speaking, she was safe to disguise herself as a page during a journey through enemy territory, and she was safe to wear armor during battle. The Chronique de la Pucelle claims it deterred molestation while she was camped in the field. These defenses leave other occasions open to challenge. She referred the court to the Poitiers inquiry when questioned on the matter during her condemnation trial . That record no longer survives. Circumstances indicate the Poitiers clerics approved her practice. In other words, she had a mission to do a man's work so it was fitting that she dress the part. A number of clergy who testified at her rehabilitation trial affirmed that she continued to wear male clothing in prison to deter molestation and rape. The garments she chose would slow an assailant. In the end, as cited above, she probably had no choice at all.

Visions

Joan of Arc's religious visions have interested many people. All agree that her faith was sincere. Devout Roman Catholics regard her visions as divine revelation. She lived in a society that accepted this possibility. Secular explanations that assert hallucination and mental illness encounter an apparent incongruity: she won the support of some leading statesmen, soldiers, and clergy. Most scholars who propose psychiatric explanations such as schizophrenia consider Joan a figurehead rather than an active leader. Among other hypotheses are a handful of neurological conditions that can cause complex hallucinations in otherwise sane and healthy people such as temporal lobe epilepsy. Régine Pernoud, a prominent historian, was sometimes sarcastic about such claims: in response to one such theory alleging that Joan of Arc suffered from Bovine Tuberculosis as a result of drinking unpasteurized milk, Pernoud wrote that if drinking unpasteurized milk can produce such potential benefits for the nation, then the French government should stop mandating the pasteurization of milk. A shortage of reliable evidence is a factor in any attempt to analyse Joan of Arc's religious visions. When questioned about the subject at the Condemnation Trial, she was reluctant to give the court details about her visions, often referring them instead to the transcript of the Poitiers inquiry, which has now been lost.

Legacy

epilepsy.]] Surviving historical evidence about Joan of Arc is abundant. Nineteenth century scholars discovered five separate copies of her condemnation trial transcript in archives across France. Over 100 witnesses submitted depositions to her rehabilitation trial. Numerous original documents still exist including several of her dictated letters. This exceptionally rich historical record has contributed to intense academic interest in her. Several impostors arose in the years following Joan of Arc's death. The most successful of these, Jeanne de Armoises, won the support of two of Joan's brothers and carried on the charade for four years until she met the king. The Hundred Years' War continued for 22 years after Joan's death. Most modern historians consider the Treaty of Arras in 1435 and the weak rulership of England's Henry VI to be greater factors in ending the conflict. Kelly deVries argues that Joan's aggressive use of artillery and frontal assaults influenced French tactics for the remainder of the war. All agree that Joan of Arc had a profound effect on French patriotism. She is among the earliest successful proponents of nationalism to emerge from the feudal era. The Church declared that a religious play in her honor at Orléans was a pilgrimage meriting an indulgence. Joan of Arc became a symbol of the Catholic League during the 16th century. Félix Dupanloup, bishop of Orléans from 1849 to 1878, led the effort for Joan's eventual beatification in 1909. Her canonization followed on 16 May 1920. Her feast day is 30 May. 30 May. The French Resistance used the cross of Lorraine as a symbolic reference to Joan of Arc.]] Joan of Arc was not a feminist. She operated within a religious tradition that believed an exceptional person from any level of society might receive a divine calling. Joan expelled women from the French army and may have struck one stubborn camp follower with the flat of her sword. Nonetheless, some of her most significant aid came from women. Charles VII's mother-in-law Yolande of Aragon confirmed Joan's virginity and financed her departure to Orléans. Joan of Luxembourg, aunt to the count of Luxembourg who held Joan of Arc after Compiegne, alleviated Joan of Arc's conditions of captivity and may have delayed her sale to the English. Finally, Anne of Burgundy the duchess of Bedford declared Joan a virgin during pretrial inquiries. For technical reasons this prevented the court from charging Joan with witchcraft. Ultimately this provided part of the basis for Joan's vindication and sainthood. From Christine de Pizan to the present, women have looked to Joan of Arc as a positive example of a brave and active female. Christine de Pizan.]] Joan of Arc has been a political symbol in France since the time of Napoleon. Liberals emphasized her humble origins. Early conservatives stressed her support of the monarchy. Later conservatives recalled her nationalism. During World War II, both the Vichy Regime and the French resistance used her image: Vichy propaganda remembered her campaign against the English with posters that showed British warplanes bombing Rouen with the ominous caption: "They Always Return to the Scene of Their Crimes". The resistance emphasized her fight against foreign occupation and her origins in the province of Lorraine, which had fallen under Nazi control. Three separate vessels of the French Navy have been named after Joan of Arc, including a helicopter carrier currently in active service. At present the controversial French political party Front National holds rallies at her statues, reproduces her likeness in party publications, and uses a tricolor flame partly symbolic of her martyrdom as its emblem. This party's opponents sometimes satirize its appropriation of her image. Traditional Catholics, especially in France, also use her as a symbol or inspiration, often comparing Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's excommunication in 1988 to Joan of Arc's excommunication.

Notes

For bibliographical sources and further reading see Joan of Arc bibliography. : A tribunal led by Inquisitor-General Brehal retried her case after the French won the war. The new verdict overturned the original conviction and Brehal described Joan of Arc as a martyr. : See Joan of Arc in art for literary, artistic, and popular culture references. : See Joan of Arc: A Military Leader by Kelly DeVries and Joan of Arc: The Warrior Saint by Stephen W. Richey. : Devout Catholics regard this remarkable act as proof of her divine mission. At Chinon and Poitiers she had declared that she would give a sign at Orléans. The lifting of the siege gained her the support of prominent clergy such as the Archbishop of Embrun and theologian Jean Gerson, who both wrote supportive treatises immediately following this event. : Judges' investigations January 9 - March 26, ordinary trial March 26 - May 24, recantation May 24, relapse trial May 28-29. : The retrial verdict later affirmed that Cauchon had no right to try the case. Also see Joan of Arc: Her Story by Regine Pernoud and Marie-Veronique Clin, p. 108. The vice-inquisitor of France objected to the trial on jurisdictional grounds at its outset. : Quoted from his testimony at her retrial. [http://www.stjoan-center.com/Trials/null03.html] : Condemnation trial, p. 52 [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/joanofarc-trial.html] : George Bernard Shaw made his own translation of the exchange and inserted it into the script for his play Saint Joan. Penguin Classics; Reissue edition (May 1, 2001), p. 138. ISBN 0140437916 : [http://www.stjoan-center.com/Trials/#nullification] See especially the testimony of court clerk Guillaume de Manchon. : See note 8. : See note 9. : Ibid. : Ibid. : Deuteronomy 22:5. [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/bib0510.txt] : Most notably Thomas Aquinas, Outward apparel should be consistent with the state of the person according to general custom. Hence it is in itself sinful for a woman to wear man’s clothes, or vice-versa; especially since this may be the cause of sensuous pleasure; and it is expressly forbidden in the Law (Deut 22) …. Nevertheless this may be done at times on account of some necessity, either in order to hide oneself from enemies, or through lack of other clothes, or for some other such reason. (Summa Theologiae II, II, question 169, article 2, reply to objection 3). : See note 8. : See note 9. : According to medieval clothing expert Adrien Harmand, she wore two layers of pants attached securely to the doublet with twenty fastenings, the outer pants being made of a boot-like leather. See "Jeanne d'Arc, son costume, son armure", p. 123, for the passage from the transcript and explanation; and pp. 177-185 for an examination of the outer pants. : Pernoud, Joan of Arc By Herself and Her Witnesses p. 275. : DeVries, pp. 179-180.

See also


- Joan of Arc in art for artistic and popular culture depictions
- Joan of Arc bibliography for nonfiction biographies and background reading
- History of France
- English claims to the French throne
- 15th century
- Saints
- Inquisition
- St. Joan of Arc Chapel
- Sainte Jeanne d'Arc Church (Nice, France)
- Salic Law
- Hundred Years War
- The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World
- Timeline of women's participation in warfare
- Crossdressing During Wartime

External links


- The [http://www.smu.edu/ijas/International Joan of Arc Society], supervised by Bonnie Wheeler. Repository information about Joan of Arc, containing [http://www.smu.edu/ijas/1431trial.html The trial of Joan of Arc].
- [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/joanofarc-trial.html The text of the condemnation trial] at Medieval Sourcebook.
- [http://www.brynmawr.edu/library/exhibits/jehanne/contemporary.html Bryn Mawr] college library site about Joan of Arc.
- The [http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/ Joan of Arc Archive], by Allen Williamson. An archive concerning Saint Joan of Arc, including a biography, translations and other original research.
- The [http://perso.wanadoo.fr/musee.jeannedarc/indexanglais.htm Joan of Arc Museum] in Rouen, France.
- [http://www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/joanarc.html Joan of Arc in the First World War] by B.J. Omanson, covering the interest in Joan of Arc during the First World War.
- The [http://www.marquette.edu/chapel/ Joan of Arc Chapel], Marquette University campus, France.
- A reconstructed [http://www.reportret.info/gallery/joanofarc1.html portrait of Joan of Arc] based on historical sources and in a contemporary style.
- The [http://www.stjoan-center.com/ Saint Joan of Arc Center] compiled by Virginia Frohlick. A center of devotion to Saint Joan of Arc in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA: stories, topics, texts, films and images.
- [http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintj05.htm Facts on Joan of Arc from Catholic Online Saints].
- [http://maidjoan.tripod.com/ JoanNet] by Patrick Price. An online Joan of Arc resource.
- The [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08409c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia] about St. Joan of Arc.
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/jeanne_d-arc.htm GlobalSecurity.org] page about the Jeanne d'Arc helicopter carrier. Category:1412 births Category:1431 deaths Category:Catholic martyrs Category:History of Catholicism in France Category:History of France Category:Hundred Years' War Category:French_military_leaders Category:French people Category:Middle Ages Category:Nine Worthies Category:People burned for alleged heresy Category:Women in war Category:Saints ja:ジャンヌ・ダルク simple:Joan of Arc th:โยนออฟอาร์ค

1412

Events


- End of the reign of Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan.
- Emperor Shoko ascends to the throne of Japan.
- John II of Castile, declared Valladolid laws that restricted the social rights of Jews. Among many other resrictions the laws forced Jews to wear distinctive clothes and denied from them any administrative positions.

Births


- January 6 - Joan of Arc, French soldier and saint (died 1431)
- John Cantius, Polish scholar and theologian
- Ludovico II of Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (died 1478)

Deaths


- October 28 - Margaret I of Denmark, queen of Haakon VI of Norway (born 1353)
- King Albert of Sweden (born 1336)
- Gian Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan
- Jalal ad-Din khan, khan of the Golden Horde Category:1412 ko:1412년

30 May

May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). There are 215 days remaining.

Events


- 1416 - The Roman Catholic Church burns Jerome of Prague as a heretic.
- 1431 - In Rouen, France, 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake.
- 1434 - Taborite forces led by Prokop the Great were defeated and almost annihilated in the Battle of Lipany, effectively ending the Hussite Wars.
- 1536 - King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.
- 1539 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
- 1574 - Henry III becomes King of France.
- 1588 - The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
- 1635 - Peace of Prague (30 Years War)
- 1806 - Andrew Jackson kills a man in a duel after the man had accused Jackson's wife of bigamy.
- 1814 - The First Treaty of Paris is signed returning French borders to their 1792 extent. Napoleon I of France is exiled to Elba on the same day.
- 1854 - The Kansas-Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the US territories of Nebraska and Kansas.
- 1871 - The Paris Commune falls.
- 1868 - Memorial Day (then known as "Decoration Day") is observed in the United States for the first time (it was proclaimed on May 5 by General John Logan).
- 1876 - Ottoman sultan Abd-ul-Aziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murat V.
- 1879 - New York City's Gilmores Garden is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.
- 1879 - An F4 tornado struck Irving, Kansas, killing 18 and injuring 60.
- 1883 - In New York City, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse causes a stampede which crushes twelve people.
- 1911 - At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race in his Marmon Wasp.
- 1913 - First Balkan War: A peace treaty is signed in London ending the war. Albania becomes an independent nation.
- 1922 - In Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated.
- 1935 - Babe Ruth plays in his last baseball game, in the uniform of the Boston Braves.
- 1941 - World War II: Germany captures Crete.
- 1942 - World War II: 1000 British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.
- 1948 - A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
- 1958 - The bodies of several unidentified soldiers killed in action during World War II and the Korean War are buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.
- 1967 - At the Ascot Speedway in Gardena, California, daredevil Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined-up in a row.
- 1967 - The Nigerian state of Biafra secedes, sparking a civil war.
- 1969 - Riots on the Caribbean island of Curaçao
- 1971 - Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched toward Mars.
- 1972 - The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout Britain.
- 1972 - In Tel Aviv, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport Massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.
- 1976 - Johnny Rutherford wins a rain-shortened 60th Indianapolis 500 at the 102 lap (255 mile) mark, the shortest race in event history.
- 1982 - Baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr plays the first of 2,632 consecutive games. His streak will end on September 20, 1998.
- 1982 - Spain becomes the 16th member of NATO and the first nation to enter the alliance since West Germany's admission in 1955.
- 1989 - Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 33-foot high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
- 1998 - A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits northern Afghanistan, killing up to 5,000.
- 2003 - The final flight of an Air France Concorde takes place.

Births


- 1010 - Emperor Renzong of China (d. 1063)
- 1423 - Georg Purbach, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1461)
- 1623 - John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician (d. 1686)
- 1672 (O.S.) - Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia (d. 1725)
- 1718 - Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, English politician (d. 1793)
- 1719 - Roger Newdigate, English politician (d. 1806)
- 1814 - Michael Bakunin, Russian anarchist (d. 1876)
- 1858 - Siegfried Alkan, German composer (d. 1941)
- 1879 - Colin Blythe, English cricketer (d. 1917)
- 1882 - Wyndham Halswelle, Scottish runner (b. 1915)
- 1895 - Maurice Tate, English cricketer (d. 1956)
- 1896 - Howard Hawks, American film director (d. 1977)
- 1899 - Irving Thalberg, American film producer (d. 1936)
- 1901 - Cornelia Otis Skinner, American writer and actress (d. 1979)
- 1902 - Stepin Fetchit, American dancer and actor (d. 1985)
- 1908 - Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1908 - Mel Blanc, American voice actor (d. 1989)
- 1909 - Benny Goodman, American clarinetist and bandleader (d. 1986)
- 1910 - Inge Meysel, German actress (b. 2004)
- 1912 - Julius Axelrod, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 2004)
- 1912 - Erich Bagge, German physicist
- 1912 - Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (d. 1980)
- 1918 - Guadalupe "Pita" Amor, Mexican poet (d. 2000)
- 1920 - Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete (d. 1978)
- 1920 - Franklin Schaffner, American film director (d. 1989)
- 1922 - Hal Clement, American writer (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Christine Jorgensen, activist (d. 1989)
- 1927 - Clint Walker, American actor
- 1934 - Aleksei Leonov, cosmonaut
- 1936 - Keir Dullea, American actor
- 1939 - Michael J. Pollard, American actor
- 1943 - James Chaney, American civil rights activist [d. 1964]
- 1943 - Gale Sayers, American football player
- 1951 - Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor
- 1953 - Colm Meaney, Irish actor
- 1955 - Topper Headon, British musician (The Clash)
- 1964 - Wynonna Judd, American singer
- 1964 - Tom Morello, American musician (Audioslave, Rage Against The Machine)
- 1966 - Stephen Malkmus, American musician (Pavement)
- 1972 - Manny Ramirez, Dominican-born Major League Baseball player
- 1973 - Leigh Francis, British comedian
- 1980 - Steven Gerrard English footballer
- 1981 - Devendra Banhart, American singer and songwriter
- 1986 - Craig, Scott, Ed Sutton The Noise Next Door

Deaths


- 1159 - Wladislaus II the Exile of Poland (b. 1105)
- 1252 - King Ferdinand III of Castile
- 1416 - Jerome of Prague, Czech theologian (executed) (b. 1379)
- 1431 - Joan of Arc, French peasant girl that joined the French royal army, heroine and saint (burned at the stake) (b. 1412)
- 1434 - Prokop the Great, Czech general
- 1574 - King Charles IX of France (b. 1550)
- 1576 - Harada Naomasa, Japanese retainer and samurai
- 1593 - Christopher Marlowe, English playwright (b. 1564)
- 1640 - Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish painter (b. 1577)
- 1696 - Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell, First Lord of the British Admiralty (b. 1638)
- 1718 - Arnold Joost van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, Dutch favorite of William III of England (b. 1670)
- 1730 - Arabella Churchill, English mistress of James II of England (b. 1648)
- 1744 - Alexander Pope, English writer (b. 1688)
- 1770 - François Boucher, French painter (b. 1703)
- 1778 - Voltaire, French philosopher and author (b. 1694)
- 1865 - John Catron, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- 1925 - Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian (b. 1876)
- 1934 - Togo Heihachiro, Japanese admiral (b. 1848)
- 1951 - Hermann Broch, Austrian author (b. 1886)
- 1953 - Dooley Wilson, American musician and actor (b. 1886)
- 1960 - Boris Pasternak, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (declined) (b. 1890)
- 1961 - Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
- 1964 - Leó Szilárd, Hungarian-born nuclear physicist (b. 1898)
- 1967 - Claude Rains, English actor (b. 1889)
- 1971 - Marcel Dupré, French composer (b. 1886)
- 1975 - Steve Prefontaine, American runner (b. 1951)
- 1980 - Carl Radle, American bass guitarist (b. 1942)
- 1986 - Perry Ellis, fashion designer (b. 1940)
- 1993 - Sun Ra, American musician (b. 1914)
- 2000 - Tex Beneke, American bandleader, singer, and saxophone player (b. 1914)
- 2003 - Mickie Most, English musician (b. 1938)
- 2005 - Tomasz Pacyński, Polish writer (b. 1958)

Holidays and observances


- Peru – National Potato Day [http://www.cipotato.org/news_more.asp?cod=11&lang=eng]
- United States – Memorial Day (originally – currently last Monday in May)
- Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day in Fiji (last Monday in May)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/30 BBC: On This Day] ---- May 29 - May 31 - April 30 - June 30 - listing of all days ko:5월 30일 ms:30 Mei ja:5月30日 simple:May 30 th:30 พฤษภาคม

Hero

:This article is about the type of character. For other meanings, see Hero (disambiguation). :Distinguish heroine, "female hero," from heroin, the drug. heroin ]] ---- In mythology and folklore, a hero (male) or heroine (female) is an eminent character who quintessentially embodies key traits valued by its originating culture. The hero commonly possesses superhuman capabilities or idealized character traits which enable him or her to perform extraordinary, beneficial deeds (i.e., a "heroic deed") for which he or she is famous (compare villain).

Overview

A person normally becomes a hero by performing an extraordinary and praiseworthy deed. Traditional deeds are slaying of monsters and saving people from certain death. A hero normally fulfills the definitions of what is considered good and noble in the originating culture. However, in literature, particularly in tragedy, the hero may also have serious flaws which lead to a downfall, e.g. Hamlet. Sometimes a real person might achieve enough status to become a hero in people's minds. This is usually complemented by a rapid growth of myths around the person in question, often attributing to him or her powers beyond those of ordinary people. Some social commentators prescribe the need for heroes in times of social upheaval or national self-doubt, seeing a requirement for virtuous role models, especially for the young. Such myth-making may have worked better in the past: current trends may confuse heroes and their hero-worship with the cult of mere celebrity. Well-known heroes approach the gods in status in some cultures. The word hero comes from ancient Greek, where it describes a culture hero who figures in mythology. The Greek heroes were often the mythological characters who were the eponymous founders of Greek cities, states, and territories. These mythological heroes were not always role models or possessed of heroic virtue; many were demigods, the offspring of mortals and the gods. The age when heroes of this sort were active, and where the stories of Greek mythology were set, is frequently known as the "heroic age"; the heroic age ends shortly after the Trojan War is over and the legendary combatants have returned to home or exile. The classic hero often came with what Lord Raglan (a descendant of the FitzRoy Somerset, Lord Raglan) termed a "potted biography" made up of some two dozen common traditions that ignored the line between historical fact and mythology. For example, the circumstances of the hero's conception are unusual; an attempt is made by a powerful male at his birth to kill him; he is spirited away; reared by foster-parents in a far country. Routinely the hero meets with a mysterious death, often at the top of a hill; his body is not buried; he leaves no successors; he has one or more holy sepulchres. Most European indigenous religions feature heroes in some form. Germanic, Hellene and Roman heroes, along with their attributes and forms of worship have been largely absorbed by the Orthodox and Catholic denominations of Christianity, forming the basis of modern day Saint reverring. In opera and musical theatre, the hero/heroine is often played by a tenor/soprano (more vulnerable characters are played by lyric voices while stronger characters are portrayed by spinto or dramatic voices.) In modern movies, the hero is often simply an ordinary person treated unfairly by society who prevails in the end. A book of recent fame, dealing with the telling of heroic stories, is called The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.

See also


- List of fictional heroes
- Anti-hero
- Culture hero
- Hero City
- Hero-Fortress
- Superhero
- Xia (philosophy)

External links


- [http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-1/heroes.htm Exploring the Function of Heroes and Heroines in Children's Literature from around the World]
- [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tours/heroes/tour1.html The British Hero] - online exhibition from screenonline, a website of the British Film Institute, looking at British heroes of film and television.

Further reading


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1429

Events


- January 10 - Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, founds the European Order of the Golden Fleece
- February 12 - Battle of Rouvray (or "of the Herrings"). English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the Earl of Suffolk's army at Orleans from attack by the Comte de Clermont and John Stuart.
- April 27 - Battle of Orléans. A French relief army under Joan of Arc and the Duc d'Alençon enters Orleans
- May 4 - A French attack led by Joan of Arc breaks the English bridgehead on the South side of the Loire.
- May 8 - Suffolk withdraws from Orleans, ending the siege.
- June 19 - Battle of Patay. French forces under Joan smash the English forces under Lord Talbot and Sir John Fastolf, forcing the withdrawal of the English from the Loire Valley.
- July 16 - Charles VII of France crowned in Rheims
- September 8 - Joan leads an unsuccessful attack on Paris, and is wounded.
- Fire destroys Turku

Births


- January 30 - Humphrey FitzAlan, 15th Earl of Arundel (died 1438)
- March 23 - Margaret of Anjou, queen of Henry VI of England (died 1482)
- Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Italian painter, sculptor and jeweller (died 1498)

Deaths


- June 22 - Ghiyath al-Kashi, Persian mathematician and astronomer (born 1380)
- September 28 - Cymburgis of Masovia, wife of Duke Ernest the Iron of Inner Austria (born 1394)
- December 30 - Margaret Holland, English noblewoman (born 1385)
- Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, founder of the Medici dynasty of Florence (born 1360) Category:1429 ko:1429년

Battle of Orleans

The Siege of Orléans was the first French victory of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War and a turning point in that war between France and England. Following the death of Henry V of England, who had claimed the throne of France, Henry's infant son, later Henry VI of England, was named King of France. Charles the Dauphin, son of the previous French king Charles VI was weak and remained on the defensive until Jeanne d'Arc, a 17-year-old peasant who claimed to hear the voice of God, persuaded him to take action. The Dauphin's army, accompanied by Jeanne d'Arc, marched to Orléans, aiming to defend it against the English forces commanded by the Earl of Salisbury. On October 12 1428, the siege began, with the Earl's forces attempting to surround the city, and to claim the fortified bridge across the Loire. They seized the bridge on the 24th, but the Earl was killed in the process. The Duke of Suffolk replaced him as commander temporarily, and was later replaced himself by the Earl of Shrewsbury. The English numbers were insufficient to truly invest and surround the city, and their cannon were incapable of breaking the thick stone city walls. Nevertheless, by spring of 1429, despite several supply runs by the French, the city's situation was growing desperate. The Dauphin allowed Jeanne d'Arc to accompany a relief expedition. Jean Dunois led the city's defense. Shortly after she entered the city, Jeanne demanded an English withdrawal. They taunted her and refused. The voices she claimed to hear told her to attack the English from the north, and she persuaded her Dunois and other officers to take this course of action. On May 1, Jeanne rode out of the city, and lent aid to the French assault on the English-held fort of St. Loup, killing all the English defenders and suffering only two French casualties. Over the course of the next week, in a number of sorties, Jeanne led the French to victory, seizing several forts the English had taken, as well as the bridge over the Loire. The bridge was burned, and by May 9, the English were in retreat.

Aftermath

Volunteers of men and supplies swelled the French army in the weeks that followed this victory. First clearing the Loire valley, then marching on Rheims to the north for the coronation of Charles VII, and finally attacking foreign held Paris, the 1429 offensive made this one of the most important years of the Hundred Years' War. The French Loire campaign of 1429 consisted of five actions: :1. The Siege of Orléans. :2. The Battle of Jargeau. :3. The Battle of Meung-sur-Loire. :4. The Battle of Beaugency. :5. The Battle of Patay.

See also


- Medieval warfare
- The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World
- Battle of the Herrings
- La Hire
- Poton de Xaintrailles
- Gilles de Rais
- Joan of Arc bibliography

References


- Davis, Paul K. (2001). "Besieged: 100 Great Sieges from Jericho to Sarajevo." Oxford: Oxford University Press. Category:1428 Orléans 1428 Orléans 1428 Category:Orléans

Battle of Patay

The Battle of Patay 18 June, 1429 was a major battle in the Hundred Years' War between the French and English in north-central France. It was a decisive victory for the French and turned the tide of the war. Although credited to Joan of Arc, most of the fighting took place at the vanguard and the battle was over before the main French forces arrived.

Background

After the relief of the Siege of Orléans, the French recaptured several English strongholds in the Loire valley. This regained bridges for the subsequent French assault on English and Burgundian territory to the north. Nearly all of France north of the Loire river was under foreign control. The French victory at Orléans had destroyed the only French-controlled bridge. Three smaller battles had recovered bridges along the Loire. The French Loire campaign of 1429 consisted of five actions: :1. The Siege of Orléans. :2. The Battle of Jargeau. :3. The Battle of Meung-sur-Loire. :4. The Battle of Beaugency. :5. The Battle of Patay. The Battle of Patay took place the day after the English surrender at Beaugency. This final battle was the only one of the five where both armies fought on open country. Patay bears comparison to the famous English victory at Agincourt. The English attempted the same tactics here, which had been enormously successful for fourteen years. This time the French victory would be as lopsided as their defeat had been at Agincourt and the effect of the battle would be similarly far reaching. Orléans had demonstrated that the French could win against the English in siege warfare. Jargeau, Meung-sur-Loire, and Beaugency had been minor battles. Patay decimated the numbers of the highly skilled English longbow corps with the main English army on the field. No other country in Europe used the longbow as extensively as England. Although the weapon was relatively inexpensive to produce the cost of keeping longbowmen was prohibitive. The constant training needed to operate the weapon required the maintaintenance of a standing army. During the late middle ages most soldiers warred seasonally. Campaigns often ended in time for the fall harvest. Longbowmen and nobles were the only truly career soldiers. There was some resentment from the latter as infringement on class prerogative. The longbow corps had two weaknesses: its lightly armored men were poor defenders in close combat and extensive training slowed the production of new longbowmen. The French army exploited both of these weaknesses in 1429.

Tactics

An English reinforcement army under Sir John Fastolf departed from Paris following the defeat at Orléans. The French had moved swiftly, capturing three bridges and accepting the English surrender at Beaugency the day before Fastolf's army arrived. The French knew that they could not win against a readied English army on open land. So they scoured the area in hopes of finding the English before battle preparations were complete. The English reconnoitered with remaining defenders at Meung-sur-Loire. The French had taken only the bridge at this location, not the neighboring castle or the town. Retreating defenders from Beaugency joined them. The English excelled at open battles. They took up a position whose exact location is unknown but traditionally believed to be near the tiny village of Patay. Fastolf, John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Sir Thomas Scales commanded the English. The standard defensive tactic of the English longbowmen was to drive pointed stakes into the ground near their positions. This prevented cavalry charges and slowed infantry long enough to eliminate assailants. The English bowmen disclosed their position before preparations were complete. A stag wandered onto the field near the English army. The archers raised a hunting cry and attacked it as sport. This alerted nearby French scouts. About 1,500 men under captains La Hire and Poton de Xaintrailles, composing of the vanguard of the French army, attacked the unprepared English. This soon turned into a rout. Every Englishmen with a horse fled under the mounted assault while the infantry, mostly composed of the famed English longbowmen, were cut down. For once the French tactic of a large frontal cavalry assault succeeded, with startling results.

Aftermath

Both Talbot and Shrewsbury became French prisoners along with many other notable English. Fastolf escaped with a small band of men to disgrace. John, Duke of Bedford blamed Fastolf for the defeat and stripped his knighthood. This was the beginning of his somewhat undeserved reputation as the legendary Falstaff. As the concluding action of the French offensive along the Loire, Patay left the English army in short supply of two of its most important elements: commanders and longbowmen. This victory permitted the French army to march northward to Rheims without further bloodshed and hold the coronation of Charles VII of France, which settled the disputed succession to the French throne.

Bibliography


- Devries, Kelly. Joan of Arc: A Military Leader (Glaucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 1999). ISBN 0750918055
- Richey, Stephen W. Joan of Arc: The Warrior Saint. (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003). ISBN 0275981037
- Allmand, C. The Hundred Years War: England and France at War c. 1300 – 1450. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988). ISBN 0521319234

See also


- Medieval warfare
- Patay
- Joan of Arc bibliography

External links


- http://www.xenophongroup.com/montjoie/patay.htm
- [http://www.smu.edu/ijas/travel.html dynamic maps] of Joan of Arc's campaigns from Southern Methodist University
- [http://www.authorama.com/book/jeanne-d-arc.html Jeanne d'Arc: Her Life and Death] by Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
- [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11953/11953.txt A Popular History of France from the Earliest Times] by François Pierre Guillaume Guizot, vol. 3 Category:1429 Patay 1429 Category:Loiret

Reims

Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. Its history can be traced back to the Roman Empire. Reims played a very important role in French history, as it was the place where the kings of France were crowned. Thus, the Cathedral of Reims, destroyed by the Germans during the First World War but restored since, played the same role in France as Westminster Abbey did in England. It was there that was kept the Holy Ampulla containing the Saint Chrême (chrism), which allegedly was brought by a white dove (the Holy Spirit) at the baptism of Clovis in 496, and was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings. Reims is often considered the capital of Champagne, an old province of France made world-famous by its Champagne sparkling wine, although in reality it is only the largest city of Champagne, but not its capital, being only a sous-préfecture of the Marne département. At the 1999 census, there were 187,206 inhabitants (Rémois) in the city proper (commune) of Reims, while there were 291,735 inhabitants in the whole metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine).

Administration

Reims is a sous-préfecture of the Marne département, in the Champagne-Ardenne administrative région.

Geography

Reims is situated in a plain on the right bank of the Vesle River, a tributary of the Aisne River, and on the canal which connects the Aisne with the Marne River. South and west rise the "Montagne de Reims" and vine-clad hills.

Sights

Streets and squares

Of its squares the principal are the Place Royale, with a statue of Louis XV, and the Place du Parvis, with an equestrian statue of Joan of Arc. The Rue de Vesle, the chief street, continued under other names, traverses the town from southwest to northwest, passing through the Place Royale. Place Drouet d'Erlon in the city centre is packed with lively restaurants and bars, and several attractive statues and fountains. During the summer it is filled with people sat outside the many cafés enjoying the summer sun, and in December it has a lively and charming christmas market.

Roman remains

The oldest monument in Reims is the Porte de Mars ("Mars Gate", so called from a temple to Mars in the neighbourhood), a triumphal arch 108 ft. in length by 43 in height, consisting of three archways flanked by columns. It is popularly supposed to have been erected by the Remi in honour of Augustus when Agrippa made the great roads terminating at the town, but probably belongs to the 3rd or 4th century. The Mars Gate was one of 4 Roman gates to the city walls, which were restored at the time of the Norman Invasion of northern France in the 9th century. In its vicinity a curious mosaic, measuring 36 ft. by 26, with thirty-five medallions representing animals and gladiators, was discovered in 1860. To these remains must be added a Gallo Roman sarcophagus, said to be that of the consul Jovinus (see below) and preserved in the archaeological museum in the cloister of the abbey of Saint-Remi. abbey of Saint-Remi

Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims

Main article: Notre-Dame de Reims Reims is well known for its cathedral, where the kings of France used to be crowned. Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral, the Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and the Palace of Tau were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1991.

Palace of Tau

The archiepiscopal palace, built between 1498 and 1509, and in part rebuilt in 1675, was occupied by the kings on the occasion of their coronation. The saloon (salle du Tau), where the royal banquet was held, has an immense stone chimney of the 15th century, medallions of the archbishops of Reims, and portraits of fourteen kings crowned in the city. Among the other rooms of the royal suite, all of which are of great beauty and richness, is that (1911) now used for the meetings of the Reims Academy; the building also contains a library. The chapel of the archiepiscopal palace consists of two storeys, of which the upper still serves as a place of worship. Both the chapel and the salle du Tau are decorated with tapestries of the 17th century, known as the Perpersack tapestries, after the Flemish weaver who executed them. The palace is now open to the public as a museum containing such exhibits as statues formerly displayed by the cathedral, treasures of the cathedral from past centuries, and royal attire from coronations of French kings.

Saint Remi of Reims Basilica

Flemish Saint Remi Basilica, an easy one-mile walk from the Cathedral of Notre Dame of Reims, is named for the 5th century saint Rémi who has been the patron saint of the inhabitants of Reims for more than 15 centuries. The basilica is almost equal in size to the cathedral. Adjacent to the basilica is an important abbey, formerly known as the Royal Abbey of St. Remi. The abbey sought to trace its heritage back to St. Remi, while the present abbey building dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The St Remi Basilica dates from the 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th centuries. Most of the church was constructed by the 11th century, with additions made in later centuries. The nave and transepts, Romanesque in style, date mainly from the earliest, the façade of the south transept from the latest of those periods, the choir and apse chapels from the 12th and 13th centuries. More additions were made in the 17th and 19th centuries. The building was greatly damaged in World War I, and was rebuilt from the ruins in the following 40 years through the meticulous restoration work of architect Henri Deneux. It is still the seat of an active Catholic parish holding regular worship services and welcoming pilgrims. It has been classified as an historical monument since 1841 and is one of the pinnacles of the history of art and of the history of France. The abbey building is now open to the public as the Saint-Remi Museum. The abbey was closed in the wake of the French Revolution, as all French monasteries were ordered dissolved in February 1790. The museum exhibits at St. Remi include tapestries from the 16th century given by Robert de Lenoncourt, marble capitals from the 4th century AD, furniture, jewellery, pottery, weapons and glasswork from the 6th to 8th century AD, medieval sculpture, the facade of the 13th century Musicians' House, remnants from an earlier abbey building, and also exhibits of Gallo-Roman arts and crafts and a room of pottery, jewelry, and weapons from Gallic civilization, as well as an exhibit of items from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic period. Buried in the monastery are the archbishops of Reims, several kings and princes.
- Carloman King (751-771), Charlemagne's brother
- Queen Frederonne d. 917, wife of Charles III (879-929)
- Queen Gerberge of Saxony (910-984), wife of King Louis IV
- Henri d'Orléans (d. about 1653)
- Lothair I, (941-986)
- King Louis IV (921-954)

Forts

In 1874 the construction of a chain of detached forts was begun in the vicinity, Reims being selected as one of the chief defences of the northern approaches of Paris. The ridge of St Thierry is crowned with a fort of the same name, which with the neighbouring work of Chenay closes the west side of the place. To the north the hill of Brimont has three works guarding the Laon railway and the Aisne canal. Farther east, on the old Roman road, lies the fort de Fresnes. Due east the hills of Arnay are crowned with five large and important works which cover the approaches from the upper Aisne. Forts Pompelle and Montbré close the south-east side, and the Falaise hills on the Paris side are open and unguarded. The perimeter of the defences is not quite 22 miles, and the forts are a mean distance of 6 miles from the centre of the city.

Other buildings

Montbré The Church of St Jacques was built from the 13th to the 16th centuries. A few blocks from the cathedral, it is now surrounded by a vibrant neighborhood of shopping and restaurants. What remains of the Abbey of St. Denis is now a Fine Art Museum. The old College of the Jesuits is also now a museum. St Maurice (partly rebuilt in 1867), St André, and St Thomas (erected from 1847 to 1853, under the patronage of Cardinal Gotisset, now buried within its walls), are of minor interest. Of the fine church of St Nicaise only insignificant remains are to be seen. The town hall, erected in the 17th and enlarged in the 19th century, has a pediment with an equestrian statue ot Louis XIII, and a tall and elegant campanile. It contains a picture gallery, ethnographical, archaeological and other collections, and the public library. There are many old houses, the House of the Musicians (13th century) being so called from the seated figures of musicians which decorate the front. The Surrender Museum is the location where on May 7, 1945, General Eisenhower and the Allies received the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht in Reims. (see below)

Wine

Reims, along with Épernay and Ay, is one of the centers of Champagne production. Many of the largest Champagne producing houses, known as les grandes marques, have their headquarters in Reims, and most are open for tasting and tours by appointment. Champagne is aged in the many caves and tunnels under Reims. Carved from chalk, some of these passages were dug by the Romans.

History

Before the Roman conquest Reims, as Durocortorum, was capital of the Remi, from whose name that of the town was subsequently derived. The Remi made voluntary submission to the Romans, and by their fidelity throughout the various Gallic insurrections secured the special favour of their conquerors. Christianity was established in the town by the middle of the 3rd century, at which period the bishopric was founded. The consul Jovinus, an influential supporter of the new faith, repulsed the barbarians who invaded Champagne in 336; but the Vandals captured the town in 406 and slew St Nicasus, and Attila the Hun afterwards put it to fire and sword. Attila the Hun Clovis, after his victory at Soissons (486), was baptized by Rémi, the bishop of Reims, in a ceremony with the oil of the sacred phial which was believed to have been brought from heaven by a dove for the baptism of Clovis and was preserved in the abbey of St. Remi. For centuries the events at the crowning of Clovis I became a symbol used by the monarchy to claim the divine right to rule. Meetings of Pope Stephen III with Pippin the Short, and of Pope Leo III with Charlemagne, took place at Reims; and here Louis the Debonnaire was crowned by Pope Stephen IV. Louis IV gave the town and countship of Reims to the archbishop Artaldus in 940. Louis VII gave the title of duke and peer to William of Champagne, archbishop from 1176 to 1202, and the archbishops of Reims took precedence of the other ecclesiastical peers of the realm. In the 10th century Reims had become a centre of intellectual culture, Archbishop Adalberon, seconded by the monk Gerbert (afterwards Pope Silvester II), having founded schools where the "liberal arts" were taught. Adalberon was also one of the prime authors of the revolution which put the Capet house in the place of the Carolingians. The most important prerogative of the archbishops was the consecration of the kings of France - a privilege which was exercised, except in a few cases, from the time of Philippe II, Auguste to that of Charles X. Louis XII granted the town a communal charter in 1139. The Treaty of Troyes (1420) ceded it to the English, who had made a futile attempt to take it by siege in 1360; but they were expelled on the approach of Joan of Arc, who in 1429 caused Charles VII to be consecrated in the cathedral. A revolt at Reims, caused by the salt tax in 1461, was cruelly repressed by Louis XI. The town sided with the Catholic League (1585), but submitted to Henri IV after the battle of Ivry (1590). In the foreign invasions of 1814 it was captured and recaptured; in 1870-1871, during the Franco-Prussian War, it was made by the Germans the seat of a governor-general and impoverished by heavy requisitions. In 1909, Reims hosted the first international Aviation meet. Major aviation personages such as Glenn Curtiss and Louis Bleriot participated. In World War I, the city was greatly damaged. The cathedral was severely damaged and was restored. The basilica was rebuilt from the ruins in the course of the next 40 years. The Palace of Tau, St. Jacques Church, and the Abbey of St. Remi also were protected and restored. The collection of preserved buildings and Roman ruins remains monumentally impressive. During World War II, the town endured some additional damage. It was in Reims, at 2:41 on the morning of May 7, 1945, General Eisenhower and the Allies received the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht. The surrender was signed by at the SHAEF headquarters by German Chief-of-Staff General Alfred Jodl, as the representative for Karl Dönitz.

Grand Prix

Between 1925 and 1969, Reims hosted the Grand Prix de la Marne automobile race at a circuit called Reims-Gueux. The French Grand Prix was held here 14 times, between 1938 and 1966.

Miscellaneous

Births

Reims was the birthplace of:
- Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683), who served as the French minister of finance, for 22 years, under King Louis XIV
- Jean-Baptiste de la Salle (1651-1719), Catholic saint, teacher and educational reformer
- Nicolas de Grigny (1672-1703), organist and composer
- Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Count d'Erlon (1765-1844), marshal of France and a soldier in Napoleon's army
- Nicolas Eugène Géruzez (1799-1865), critic
- Adolphe d'Archiac (1802-1868), geologist and paleontologist
- Paul Fort (1872-1960), poet
- Henri Marteau (1874-1934), violinist and composer
- Maurice Halbwachs (1877-1945), philosopher and sociologist
- Roger Caillois (1913-1978), intellectual
- Jean Baudrillard (born 1929), is a cultural theorist and philosopher
- Patrick Poivre d'Arvor (born 1947), TV journalist and writer

Twin towns

Reims is twinned with:
- Salzburg, Austria (1964)
- Aachen, Germany (1967)
- Canterbury, United Kingdom (1962)
- Florence, Italy (1954)
- Arlington County, Virginia, United States (2005)

See also


- Notre-Dame de Reims Reims' Cathedral
- Champagne Airlines, an airline based in Reims
- Reims Aviation

External links


- [http://www.ville-reims.com/ City council website] - Official site for the city's municipal government.
- [http://www.reims-tourisme.com/ Tourist office website] - Official site for L'Office de Tourisme de Reims (in English and French).
- [http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/cir-062.html Grand Prix circuit] - Page covering the Reims track.
- [http://www.racingcircuits.net/archives/Reims1994/Pits.html Pictures of the Grand Prix circuit] - Collection of images from Racingcircuits.net.
- [http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_letter_aug_5_1429.html Joan of Arc's first letter to Rheims] - Translation by Allen Williamson of the letter dictated by Joan of Arc to the city of Rheims on August 5, 1429.
- [http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_letter_march_16_1430.html Joan of Arc's second letter to Rheims] - Letter dictated by Joan of Arc to the city of Rheims on March 16, 1430, translated by Allen Williamson.
- [http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_letter_Mar1430.html Joan of Arc's last letter to Rheims] - Letter dictated by Joan of Arc to the city of Rheims on March 28, 1430, translated by Allen Williamson.
- [http://sabin.ro/gallery/album56 Reims Photo Gallery] - Collection of images of the city.

References


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- ja:ランス nb:Reims

Compiegne

Compiègne is a commune in the Oise département of France, of which it is a sous-préfecture. The city is located along the Oise River. Population (1999): 41,254. It is the traditional start of the bicycle race Paris-Roubaix.

Historical population


- 1882: 13,393
- 1990: 41,663 (municipal), 44,703 (total)
- 1999: 41,076 (municipal), 44,703 (total), 69,903 (agglomeration), urban (108,234)

Administration


- Canton of Compiègne-Nord (with 5 communes)
- Canton of Compiègne-Sud-Est (southeast) (with 4 communes)
- Canton of Compiègne-Sud-Ouest (southwest) (with 5 communes)

History

: 665 - Saint Wilfrid consecrated Bishop of York. : February 888 - Odo, Count of Paris and king of the Franks was crowned in Compiègne. : May 23, 1430 - During the Hundred Years' War, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians while attempting to free Compiègne. They then sold her to the English. : 1630 - Marie de' Medici's attempts to displace Richelieu ultimately led to her exile to Compiègne, from where she escaped to Brussels in 1631. : November 11, 1918 - The fighting of WWI ended with an armistice agreed at Rethondes, near Compiègne. : June 22, 1940 - Armistice between Nazi Germany and the defeated France in Rethondes, near Compiègne. It was signed in the same place as in 1918, in the same railroad carriage but with the seats swapped. : 1968 - The starting location of the Paris-Roubaix bicycle race was changed from Paris to Compiègne. : 2004 - The Communauté de Communes de la Région de Compiègne becomes a partner in a European Union INTERREG IIIb project called SAND (see link below)

Memorials at the site of the 1918 Armistice


- Alsace-Lorraine Memorial: a depiction of a sword (representing the allies) stabbing a fallen eagle (representing Germany).
- Mars