Night had fallen. Lights gleamed throughout the Castle; the men-at-arms received the little company at the gates. They marched through the courtyard to the wide open doors, when Saint Joan dismounted. A cheerful fire burned in the broad chimney, a hundred torches in their iron sconces leaned from the scarred walls of somber gray. Today that chamber is a roofless ruin, though the wall with the huge fireplace has not yet crumbled to decay.
Into that assembly came Saint Joan, modest but embarrassed by the presence of the King and his knights, clad in such gorgeous garments as she had never seen. There were priests and prelates scattered among them - counselors, men of law, scribes. It is said that the King was not present when she entered, but came in later, after the stir made by her entrance had subsided.
Her cool gray eyes swept the assembly, then were lowered to the ground. Evidently Saint Joan realized that the monarch was not among them. She made no attempt to speak until he entered, "When," says de Gaucourt, who was present, "she came forward with great humility and simplicity, and I heard those words which she spoke to the King, thus, 'Most noble Dauphin, I come from God to help you and your realm.'" The Dauphin drew her apart, and spoke with her long. It has also been said that Saint Joan revealed to Charles her knowledge of a secret known only to himself and Almighty God, and thus gave proof to him of her exalted mission. This fact was brought forward at her trial, and she did not deny it.
Charles, however, was not entirely carried away by her declaration. He appointed her to no task or office. She was sent to the Tower of Coudray, where she was placed under the care of Guillaume Bellier and his pious wife. A boy of fourteen or fifteen, Louis de Goutes, of poor but noble family, was given her for a page, which shows that she was treated with great respect. She was frequently summoned to the King, but spent, it is said, when alone, much of her time in prayer.
Meanwhile the city of Orleans was being besieged by the English. They were not making progress but were ordered from England not to desist, though the Duke of Bedford, in command, thought their case hopeless. The French were making a gallant fight, increasing their forces from day to day.
The young Duke d'Alencon, hearing of Saint Joan's mission and her eagerness to participate in the stirring events which were taking place, went to Coudray to see her, immediately gave his adherence to her cause and always, thereafter, remained her faithful friend.
At last Saint Joan was sent to Poitiers, where learned doctors asked her many questions, to all of which she replied with her usual simple directness, sincere and unabashed. Her character was investigated; for six weeks she was under the watchful questioning of churchmen, counselors and men-at-arms, who found nothing in it but records of purity, piety, humility, and devotion to the cause to which she believed herself to have been called by God.
After much deliberation it was decided that she should be sent to Tours, then under the direction of the Queen of Sicily, who was, also, the King's mother-in-law. Feeling that this was another step on the way, Saint Joan rejoiced at the change. It was at Tours that she received her suit of armor in which her warlike assaults were wrought, while she was leading attacks on fortified places, standard in hand.
Andrew Lang thus describes this armor: "The armor included a helmet which covered the head to its junction with the neck, while a shallow cup of steel protected the chin, moving on the same hinge as the salade - a screen of steel, which in battle was drawn down over the face to meet the chin-plate, and when no danger was apprehended, was turned back, leaving the face visible. A neck-piece, or gorget of five over-lapping steel plates, covered the chest as far as the breast-bone, where it ended in a point above the steel corselet, which itself apparently was clasped in front, down the center, ending at the waist. The hip joints were guarded by a band, consisting of three over-lapping plates of steel; below this, over each thigh, was a kind of skirt of steel, open for the freedom of riding. There were strong, thick shoulder-plates, yet one of these was pierced through and through by an arrow or cross-bow bolt, at close quarters, when Saint Joan was mounting a scaling-ladder in an attack upon the English fort at the bridge-head of Orleans.
"The steel sleeves had plates with covered hinges, to guard the elbows; there were steel gauntlets, thigh pieces, knee-joints, greaves, and steel shoes. The horse, a heavy-weight carrier, had his armor of steel, and the saddle rose high at the pummel and behind the back. A hucque, or cloak, of cloth of gold, velvet, or other rich material, was worn over the armor."
A few words as to the famous mystic sword of the Maid. We only know what she related to the judges in 1431. "While I was at Tours, or Chinon, I sent for a sword in the church of Saint Catherine of Fierbois where my Voices told me one could be found behind the altar. It was quickly unearthed, all covered with rust. It was marked with five crosses; and was not deep in the earth, as well as I can remember. When it was found the clergy rubbed it and the rust readily fell off. The man who wrought it was a merchant of Tours who sold armor. The clergy of Fierbois gave me a sheath, the people of Tours gave me two, one of red velvet, one of gold, but I had a strong leather sheath made for it."
By the command of the Dauphin Saint Joan was given a house and attendants, while Jean de Metz remained her faithful squire and was appointed custodian of her purse. This man was once fined a few sous for swearing, Saint Joan was shocked at such a practice; hers was a holy war, religion at the root of everything she did, therefore she bade Jean invoke God to banish profane words from his lips, for only thus, she said, not by fines or threats of punishment, could he succeed in preserving them pure from blasphemy. At this time she announced that she had been told by Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine to take a standard. She was now become an important personage, she was to be placed in command of a company, and it behooved her, said the Voices, to bear the standard of her cause.
The standard, which Saint Joan had ordered made according to her instructions, was of white linen embroidered with silk and embellished with fleur-de-lys, and bearing the names JESUS, MARIA. Immediately under this inscription was depicted an image of God, seated amongst the clouds and holding in His hand the globe, while two angels were represented, kneeling, offering Him a fleur-de-lys. On the other side were the arms of France, supported by two angels. In addition to the standard Saint Joan had a small pennant, upon which was portrayed the Annunciation. Saint Joan bore the standard with her in every battle. Strange that its white brilliancy did not attract her enemies to compass her death, but it did not. It was her safeguard and her shield. No man was to slay her in battle - neither did she ever slay. Her hands, free of human blood, were to remain always white.
- taken from A Child's Life of Saint Joan of Arc, by Mary Ellen Mannix