Earliest sketch of Jehanne

Earliest sketch of Jehanne. Done by a court clerk who never actually saw her . . . . She looks like trouble.  And reading the text written in french: how quickly we forget . .

from http://catreims.free.fr/his007.html:

Registre de Clément de Fauquembergue (1429)
Le greffier du Parlement de Paris s'ennuie. L'audience se prolonge. Clément de Fauquembergue a entendu parler de cette Pucelle qui mène à la guerre les hommes d'armes qu'il appelle encore les brigands armagnacs. Alors dans la marge de son registre, il dessine à la plume cette Jeanne d'Arc qu'il n'a naturellement jamais vue. Quelques années plus tard, les Parisiens auront oublié qu'ils ont délibérément fermé leur porte à Jeanne, et ils parleront de l'armée du roi de France, non plus des brigands.

source: FAVIER (Jean et Lucie), Archives Nationales : Quinze siècles d'histoire, Editions Nathan, Paris, 1988, 235 p. ISBN : 2.09.290540.6

see the web page for more information: http://catreims.free.fr/his007.html

On creating the myth: the relics came from Egypt

from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2007-04-04-fake-joan-relics_N.htm#

Definitely not Joan: 'Relics' turn out to be fake
By John Leicester, Associated Press
PARIS — Supposed remains of 15th century French heroine Joan of Arc are, in fact, those of an Egyptian mummy, says an international team of researchers, who used high-tech science to expose the fake.

The rib bone, along with a piece of cloth and a cat femur, were said to have been recovered after Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431 in the Normandy town of Rouen. Scientists in 1909 — the year Joan of Arc was beatified — had declared it "highly probable" that the remains were hers.

 A portrait of Joan of Arc. Researchers found that supposed remains of
15th century French heroine are, in fact, those of an Egyptian mummy.

But starting last year, the 20 researchers from France, Switzerland and Benin took another look. Their finding — that the bone came from an Egyptian mummy — surprised even them. Their best guess is that the fake was cooked up in the 19th century, perhaps to boost the process of Joan of Arc's beatification. She went on to be canonized as a saint in 1920. . . . . [article continues]

an interesting layman's blog

found at http://www.emersonkent.com/history_notes/joan_of_arc.htm

a Greenwich xmas movie

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) 

 trailer at https://vimeo.com/19737854