Persecution of Witches: Joan of Arc, Witch and Heretic
Saturday February 23, 2008
Although accusations of witchcraft seem to have been most commonly made against older women who lived on the margins of society and who may have become socially troublesome, there is also evidence that women who were too powerful could become targets as well. Joan of Arc is one famous example of a woman who achieved a great deal but was then burned as a witch for her trouble.
Read Article: Joan of Arc, Witch and Heretic: Powerful Women Had to Fear the Accusation of Witchcraft
Comments
What do you think caused Joan of Arc’s visions?
Insanity? Wild mushrooms? Egomania? Desire to be more important than she was? These are all reasons that are much more rational than her story and anyone of them can be more reasonably accepted despite lack of concrete evidence than the idea that some mythical being spoke to her.
Hallucinations.
Maybe it was the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Invisible Pink Unicorn.
Does anyone know the truth about Joan’s prediction related to the Battle of the Herrings? Wikipedia seems to contradict itself. Its page on the battle only mentions her predicting that the French would suffer a “great reverse” and lose. But its page on Joan cites another page which says she predicted the exact time of the defeat (http://www.authorama.com/book/jeanne-d-arc.html). But both sources say she predicted it before the news arrived.
I read in two places that Joan predicted the outcome of the Battle of the Herrings before the news reached anyone else at King Charles’ court. One source only says she predicted that the French would lose. Another says she predicted the EXACT TIME they would lose. Does anyone know what the historical record actually says or have a guess at what the truth is? I’m guessing news of the battle was delivered to her before it was delivered to anyone else, but I’m curious what the rest of you (particularly Austin) think.
Joan wasn’t a prophetess at all. She couldn’t foresee her own capture by the English and eventual execution. What do you say to that, 411314?