The name Jeanne d'Arc, now glorified with an aristocratic particle, established itself only gradually, and long after Joan's death. Her father's name is spelt Darc in the trial records. In her own time, she was simply known as Jeannette, or “Jehanne la Pucelle” as she styled herself, the Old French word for
puella(“Maid”, or “Virgin”). Nor did her earliest recorders credit her with supernatural gifts, although they were sensitive to her charisma. The reports of miraculous signs about her are all posthumous. Yet within weeks of her entrance to the French court, two eminent figures, Christine de Pizan and Jean Gerson, pronounced her divinely guided. Their descriptions of her stressed the features that would ensure her lasting fame as a holy shepherdess turned warrior, and have…
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Citation: Goy-Blanquet, Dominique. "Joan of Arc". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 July 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=590, accessed 24 November 2024.]
