From Chinon, Yolande writes to René at Nancy:
You cannot know how baffling it is to see the difference between the seventeen-year-old prince who had the courage to stand up to his father the King of France, the King of England and Duke Jean of Burgundy; and this indecisive, feeble twenty-five-year-old that Charles has become, unable to make any move at all. It is beyond my understanding. As you know, I will never give up – no situation is hopeless, no matter how grave it may seem, and I am resolved to find some solution.
But even René, a born optimist like his formidable mother, is not so sure. He too has good informers, and knows the strength of the enemy.
An English army of three or four thousand is marching towards Orléans – the second-largest, richest, most important and powerful city in France after Paris. The Queen of Sicily watches developments from Chinon with growing anxiety.
By 12 October 1428, the English army has arrived at Orléans and immediately occupies the two flanking fortresses defending the city and the approach to the strategic stone bridge. Aged twenty-five, Jean de Dunois is an experienced captain. He is tall, well built and possesses the famous good looks of his late father, Louis d’Orléans. Jean is known to be immensely brave, honest and most highly regarded by his superiors. As the last of the Orléans family left in France, Jean Dunois decides to enter the blockaded city together with a few hundred men, to help with its defence. Once inside, he sends the Queen of Sicily a message:
Madame, you will be interested to hear of a strange accident that has lifted the spirits of the French within Orléans. While the English commander, the Earl of Salisbury, was inspecting one of the strongholds adjoining the city, a stone bullet fired by one of the defenders hit the corner of the window out of which he was looking, rebounded, and smashed into the earl’s head. He died four hours later. The majority of the people are convinced this is a positive sign from God. Forgive me, but I think it was just good fortune for us.
The English command has been taken over by William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, but he realizes he cannot surround the city with the resources at his command. Until their reinforcements arrive, the English busy themselves building a dozen watchtowers to control the surrounding area. Our men have found a way through between them, and we are still able to use the river to resupply the city. Once the English reinforcements arrive, however, our situation will become critical and I urge you to use your influence with the king to send an army for the relief of this vitally important city. All thinking Frenchmen know what will happen should Orléans fall.
This letter from Jean moves Yolande more than she would care to admit. This boy who never gave her a single moment of worry during his childhood with her and her family, is so very dear to her. He has all the qualities of his wonderful father – a man Yolande considered, together with her own Louis, the epitome of what a prince should be. Such memories of his father flood back while she reads his words – how the two Louis would banter together and what fun they had in the early days of her marriage. She recalls the way Valentina told her about Jean’s birth to her husband’s mistress. Never did it occur to Yolande that she would be the one to bring up this bastard son of the king’s brother – and what a rewarding experience it has been. Now he has put himself in such danger with the same courage of his father – and probably just as doomed. With the English reinforcements on their way, Orléans’ citizens will surely die of starvation or be slaughtered when the city falls.
The Queen of Sicily spends her time writing hollow, optimistic letters to her children from Chinon, telling them privately of her relief that her own territories of Anjou and Maine were spared by the English and Orléans chosen instead, but for their dear friend Jean Dunois inside the walls. But the truth is, she is desperate about the overall situation.
Other good fighting men known to Yolande and loyal to the king join Dunois in Orléans – the generals La Hire and Chabannes among them – each bringing large numbers of soldiers. This reassures the citizens, but knowing they cannot defeat the English without an army to relieve them, they have sent several reliable messengers to the king, asking – begging – for his help, and Yolande endorses their pleas, but to no avail. Charles seems in some sort of trance, almost as if he does not care.
One after another of the king’s loyal representatives comes to Chinon, men to whom he has always listened in the past, and whom he trusts – the Bishop of Clermont, the Archbishop of Chartres – but all, to their consternation, find the situation at the court as bewildering as does the Queen of Sicily. Charles appears listless and incapable, unwilling to take any decision at all. Without an army, and with no ability to hire mercenaries, he cannot send help to relieve Orléans. It is as if the king sees ruin as inevitable, and is mentally absent, watching the disaster as it unfolds from a distance. Yolande realises that her momentous decision to have dispatched Giac – thereby freeing Charles from the influence of such evil – has been in vain.
Chapter Two
The punishing siege of Orléans is destroying morale throughout France. This once great city, whose inhabitants are starving and at the mercy of the Burgundians and the English, has become the symbol of the depth of the country’s despair. No one, and certainly not the king, has the means to help to save the city.
The mood in the country is desperate. Fear herds people into the churches, but also into the clutches of smooth-talking charlatans who peddle so-called ‘divine powers’ to the gullible masses. Faith in God our Saviour and the saints is strong, but when the French see their beautiful country despoiled and the English relentlessly invading, it is hard for them to believe without some sign from the Lord that he is with them. What relief is there to be found in prayer when villages are being torched by the enemy, and rape, pillage and plunder dominate people’s daily lives? ‘Where is God?’ is the cry heard uttered more and more.
The only small relief for Yolande at this time comes from letters she receives from René in Lorraine. When a courier arrives from Nancy, her spirits lift momentarily as she takes the packet to her room alone to enjoy slowly, in secret, like a child with a sweetmeat.
And it is from this source, when all appears lost, that it seems an answer comes.
‘Maman, please give me your advice,’ René writes in 1429. ‘I have heard from the captain of the border territory between our duchies of Bar and Lorraine about a simple yet impressive girl from Domrémy. For the past three years, no one has paid her much heed, until finally her uncle, exasperated by her constant beseeching, brought her to the attention of her feudal lord, our excellent captain Robert de Baudricourt at Vaucouleurs. The captain has written to us several times saying that this girl is determined to save France and I admit we have ignored her requests to meet us. What can a young girl do to save France? It seems she has convinced many of the local people, and Baudricourt admits that even he has been forced to change his mind once he met her. I know you have often found a use for persuasive young women in the interests of France. What would you like me to do?’
Yolande’s advice is simple – René must meet the girl and judge for himself. She trusts him to make the right decision.
At once Baudricourt agrees to bring the girl to Nancy to meet René d’Anjou. After the meeting, René writes to his mother at Chinon.
‘I was present with Isabelle and my father-in-law when the girl, Jeanne d’Arc, arrived. She is shy and looks quite ordinary. It is her eyes that held my attention; I could see the strength of her mission in them – and her determination impresses me greatly. She must have heard of my closeness to our young king, and that is surely the reason she asked to meet me. While listening to her, I realized how misguided we had been not to see her when Baudricourt initially contacted me. She told us that she had been at home in Domrémy when the Anglo-Burgundian army invaded and all the inhabitants were forced to flee. It was then, she says, that she first heard her ‘voices’.
‘Maman dearest, I feel strongly that she could be of use to you. But not in the same com
pliant way as other girls you have employed in the country’s interests. I am convinced she is a maid and intends to remain one. Her mission is for God alone, but her sincere, almost passionate desire to help France has moved me sufficiently to alert you. She has impressed us all here at our court – and in our desperate situation I believe any help may be welcome. Please advise me what to do.’
When the Queen of Sicily receives this letter from René, she writes by return telling him to send Jeanne d’Arc, at her expense, from Nancy to join her at Chinon. It is a long way and through enemy territory, but Yolande must decide for herself if there is any merit in her.
To get the girl to Chinon safely, Yolande instructs René to have her hair cut chin-length like a boy’s, dress her in a black jerkin and short black tunic, black leggings and trunk-hose, spurs and a black hat with a black feather. In this way she will pass for a young man, and the numerous cords with which the long boots and trousers are tied to the tunic will offer an added measure of security in the company of soldiers if captured. In this way she will pass for a young man. Jeanne should also wear a sword – God only knows if she can use it – and she should have a sound, strong black horse. As a country girl, Yolande is reliably informed, she can ride. Dressed in her man’s clothing and accompanied by just six mounted men-at-arms, all in black and on black horses – she will pass for one of their number and not draw attention. It is forbidden by the Church for a woman to dress as a man, but for Jeanne d’Arc’s survival, it is a necessary precaution.
Yolande has made her own enquiries about this extraordinary girl. It seems that Jeanne d’Arc was born on 6 January 1412 in Domrémy in Lorraine, the daughter of a fairly substantial tenant farmer; a sensible, plain-speaking, strong country girl. It would not have been hard for her to recognize the pitiless state of the country, or the indifference of her king to the plight of his people. With soothsayers and fortune-tellers in every village, it is not unusual for a maid to claim she hears voices, as Jeanne does. It was in 1425, when her own town of Domrémy – on the frontier between the France of the Anglo-Burgundians and that of the king – was under attack from the Burgundians, that Jeanne claims she first heard the voices of Saints Michael, Margaret and Catherine, all urging her to save France.
Yolande is informed when the little band sets out from Nancy by night to ride south-west to her at Chinon. She stays quiet as she waits for Jeanne d’Arc to reach her. Secretly she nurtures a tiny, flickering hope in the person of an unknown girl she has yet to meet. This young girl with her small band of guards must reach Chinon, unscathed, from Lorraine, riding hard through enemy territory, in the dark, for at least ten nights! It is too bizarre an aspiration to share with anyone else at the court.
Chapter Three
When – indeed, if – Jeanne d’Arc arrives at Chinon, Yolande intends to keep her hidden for at least two days in order to interview her thoroughly. Should the girl have convinced the Queen of Sicily by then that she has been sent by God, Yolande will set Jeanne d’Arc an almost impossible task: to lift the siege of Orléans.
And there is no doubt the situation there has reached the point of desperation. Jean Dunois, who is inside the city, sends Yolande a message that the siege is reaching a critical stage. Food can no longer get through their tunnels and fresh water is running out. The older citizens are dying of starvation, the very young also. The extra soldiers who came to help did not bring much food and are depleting the stores. They are counting on help from the outside so that they can fight from the battlements, squeezing the enemy in between. If Orléans falls to the enemy, it will totally demoralize the king and the country, and England will have no further obstacle to prevent their conquest of France – no one is in any doubt about that. The atmosphere at Chinon is leaden, along with everyone’s spirits.
After eleven nights’ hard riding, Jeanne d’Arc and her party arrive at Chinon. Yolande’s own servant immediately takes Jeanne into seclusion, with instructions from the Queen of Sicily that the girl should wash, be given dinner and rest a while.
Two hours later, Jeanne is brought to the queen’s quarters through a secret passage, and stands waiting. When Yolande enters, she sees before her a very slim girl, not tall, boyish with her short brown hair – neither plain nor pretty. The queen has come from dinner at court and is still in full regalia, although she has just had time to remove her crown. A tall woman in a dress and train of deep blue velvet, sapphires covering her chest, her long blonde hair in an elaborate plaited chignon entwined with pearls, she must appear quite ethereal to a country girl. She sits and asks Jeanne to do the same, to lessen the difference in their height, but the girl seems neither timid nor nervous of the imposing royal personage before her. She is still wearing her black leather jerkin and hose, although her boots were cleaned before she was brought into the suite. Her face and hands are also clean and she has a fresh country smell about her – like a meadow after rain. Yolande studies her for some moments. Can this simple girl have the spirit to save France?
The large, beautiful room is lit by a fire blazing in a huge stone chimney piece, and candelabra with many branches stand on every surface. The smell of smoke is masked by the frankincense the servants have thrown on the blaze, the lavender on the floor and the cloves stuck into oranges on tables. Everywhere the glow of firelight or candlelight is reflected in silver bowls, drinking vessels and objects, and bright tapestries cover the walls. Jeanne is offered a beaker of mulled wine, which she declines.
Yolande begins gently. ‘Jeanne, my dear, tell me about yourself?’ and the girl tells her how she has tried for several years to reach someone who would believe in her mission to save France; how she has asked again and again to meet René, knowing he could influence the king (if only that were true), and finally, how her town of Domrémy was sacked in 1425 with great brutality by the Anglo-Burgundian army.
‘Is it not then that you began to hear your voices?’ the queen prompts her.
‘Madame, yes, it was at that time.’
‘And what did they tell you, my dear,’ she asks softly, trying not to show even a hint of scepticism. Certainly Jeanne’s fervour is beyond doubt. When she begins talking about her voices, her own takes on a different timbre, and there is great confidence in her when she says: ‘I must find a way of saving France. That is my mission from God, and He has asked my saints to help me convince the dauphin to let me do it.’
‘And how do you propose to save France, my dear?’ Yolande almost whispers.
‘Why, with the help of my saints, madame.’ There is no argument.
At another time and in another place, Yolande would have dismissed Jeanne d’Arc as a young madwoman making ridiculous claims. But these are desperate days, and she is experiencing the same growing conviction about Jeanne d’Arc that René wrote he felt when he met her.
Unbeknown to the court, the Queen of Sicily spends the next two days and nights with her young guest, never leaving her rooms. They pray together and they eat together, but most of the time they talk. Jeanne tells Yolande about her home life, her family, her belief in God, the Virgin Mary and the saints, but using language so simple, so pure and with a conviction Yolande has never encountered in anyone – that God has given her this mission and it must be done. She tells Yolande of the years she has spent trying to find a way to the dauphin, convinced that if she can speak with him, he will believe her. She says she has a message for him that she will not divulge to Yolande or to anyone else but him.
Finally, and without knowing why, Yolande does believe that Jeanne d’Arc has indeed been sent by God. The strength of her zeal and the utter certainty of her faith, her overwhelming desire to serve God and her country has convinced the Queen of Sicily to let her meet her son-in-law the king. But what can Charles do, even if he does believe in her? No, only the Queen of Sicily has the power to take action. Only she has an army of seasoned soldiers, but at this time they are marching to Marseilles to sail for Naples to fight for Louis. Her son’s needs – or her king’s?
That is the dilemma she is facing.
She promised her beloved husband on his deathbed that the answer to that question would always be her king – but Charles is so unworthy, and Louis is the best of sons. She cannot break her promise to her dead husband, but nor can she abandon her beloved eldest. Yolande lies awake reasoning with herself for the two nights Jeanne d’Arc is covertly with her in Chinon, unable to resolve her conscience.
On the third morning, the Queen of Sicily has reached her decision. Her army must fight in both wars – the king’s and her son’s. After they have relieved the siege and brought the king through the enemy lines to Rheims to be crowned, then they can march to Marseilles and sail for Naples; and she prays they will have few casualties.
She summons René, and sends word to her army – which has left Anjou and is well on its way to her port – to turn and march north to Bourges instead of south to Marseilles. Changing the direction of an army is no simple matter – and costly. Once again, Yolande is taking an enormous chance on the king’s agreement. It is hard to enthuse him about anything – it seems he sees naught but Armageddon.
When they arrive in Bourges, Yolande will meet her captains – who she knows respect her – explain her plan, and then present Jeanne d’Arc to them. René, Pierre de Brézé and the Maid’s carefully chosen guards will surround her and ride with the army further north to Orléans.
Queen Of Four Kingdoms, The Page 27
