JOAN OF ARC
The Warrior Maid
By Lucy Foster Madison
author of “The Peggy Owen Books”
With Illustrations & Decorations by
Frank E Schoonover
The Penn Publishing Company
Philadelphia
1919
COPYRIGHT 1918 BY
THE PENN PUBLISHING COMPANY
Joan of Arc
THE WARRIOR MAID
INTRODUCTION
In presenting this story for the young the writer has endeavoredto give a vivid and accurate life of Jeanne D’Arc(Joan of Arc) as simply told as possible. There has been nopretence toward keeping to the speech of the Fifteenth Century,which is too archaic to be rendered literally for youngreaders, although for the most part the words of the Maidhave been given verbatim.
The name of this wonderful girl has been variously written.In the Fifteenth Century the name of the beloved disciple waspreferred for children above all others; so we find numerousJeans and Jeannes. To render these holy names more in keepingwith the helplessness of little ones the diminutive forms ofJeannot and Jeannette were given them. So this girl wasnamed Jeannette, or Jehannette in the old spelling, and so shewas called in her native village. By her own account this waschanged to Jeanne when she came into France. The Englishtranslation of Jeanne D’Arc is Joan of Arc; more properlyit should be Joanna. Because it seems more beautiful to herthan the others the writer has retained the name of Jeannein her narrative.
It is a mooted question which form of the name of Jeanne’sfather is correct: D’Arc or Darc. It is the writer’s beliefthat D’Arc was the original writing, when it would follow thatJacques D’Arc would be James of the Bow or James Bowman,as he would have been called had he been an English peasant.For this reason the Maid’s surname has been given as D’Arc;though there are many who claim that Darc is the nearest thetruth.
Acknowledgments are due to the following authorities intothe fruit of whose labours the writer has entered: M. JulesQuicherat, “Condamnation et Réhabilitation de Jeanned’Arc”; H. A. Wallon, “Jeanne d’Arc”; M. Siméon Luce,“Jeanne d’Arc à Domremy”; M. Anatole France, “Jeanned’Arc”; Jules Michelet, “Jeanne d’Arc”; Monstrelet’s“Chronicles”; Andrew Lang, “The Maid of France”; LordRonald Gower, “Joan of Arc”; F. C. Lowell, “Joan of Arc”;Mark Twain, “Joan of Arc”; Mrs. Oliphant, “Jeanne D’Arc”;Mrs. M. R. Bangs, “Jeanne D’Arc”; Janet Tuckey, “Joan ofArc, the Maid,” and many others.
The thanks of the writer are also due to the librarians of NewYork City, Albany and Glens Falls who kindly aided her inobtaining books and information. Thanks are also due to theRev. Matthew Fortier, S. J., Dean of Fordham University,New York City, for information upon a point for which searchhad been vainly made.
That this book may make a little niche for itself among otherbooks upon the most marvellous girl the world has ever known,is the wish of
The Writer.