Andrew Lang’s biography of Joan of Arc serves as a rigorous historical defense against contemporary secularist interpretations, specifically targeting the skeptical views popularized by Anatole France. Lang reconstructs Joan’s life from childhood in Domrémy through her military campaigns at Orléans and her eventual trial and execution in Rouen. He focuses on the eyewitness testimony from the 1456 rehabilitation trial to argue for Joan’s genuine military genius and the sincerity of her mystic visions. The narrative emphasizes the medieval context of her conviction, presenting her not as a hallucinating peasant, but as a brilliant strategist and a figure of unwavering integrity.
This work appeals to historians of the Hundred Years' War and readers interested in the intersection of religious faith and military history. Those who study the standards of evidence in early 20th-century scholarship will find Lang’s cross-examination of primary sources particularly useful. Readers walk away with a detailed understanding of the political landscape of 15th-century France and a perspective that rejects the pathologizing of spiritual experiences. The book provides a factual counter-narrative to modern psychological deconstructions of historical saints.
Balanced in tone; a moderate read.
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- Published
- 1906
- Language
- EN
