Joan of Arc - Maid of Orleans. Milestones: Jeanne d'arc
Opera in four acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to the composer's libretto, based on the romantic drama of the same name by F. Schiller, translated and with the preservation of many of V. Zhukovsky's poems.
Characters:
CARL VII (tenor)
ARCHBISHOP (bass)
DUNOIS, French knight (baritone)
LIONEL, knight of Burgundy (baritone)
TIBO D "ARK, father of Joanna (bass)
Raymond, her fiancé (tenor)
BERTRAN, the peasant (bass)
WARRIOR (bass)
JOHN D "ARK (soprano)
AGNESA SOREL (soprano)
VOICE IN THE CHOIR OF ANGELS (soprano)
CAVALERS AND LADIES OF THE COURT, FRENCH WARRIORS
AND ENGLISH, KNIGHTS, MONKS, GYPS AND GYPS,
PAGES, JOKES, Dwarfs, MENSTRELI, EXECUTIONERS, PEOPLE.
Time of action: the beginning of the 15th century.
Location: France.
First performance: St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theater, 13 (25) February 1881.
"The Maid of Orleans" appeared on large stages in the same year with "Eugene Onegin": in the same year - 1881 - when Moscow saw "Eugene Onegin" on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater (earlier, that is, in 1879, it was performed by students of the Conservatory ), Petersburg met "The Maid of Orleans" on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. But if "Eugene Onegin", these "lyrical scenes", contrary to Tchaikovsky's expectations, was a great success, then "The Maid of Orleans", this grand opera, had - and also contrary to the expectations of the author - little success.
The image of Jeanne (Joan) d "Arc, the national heroine of France, has attracted the attention of many for several centuries. More than one generation of historians has sought to contribute to the study of the phenomenon of a simple peasant woman who managed to subjugate royal power and came out to save France. Even among her contemporaries, mocking voices were heard, and with the initial admiration of the popular masses in the same masses, she was considered a witch, and among the higher strata - a deceiver and deceived. Interest in this mysterious person was also shown by artists. often happens in such cases, the artistic truth is in many ways at odds with the historical truth. Voltaire, who wrote The Virgin of Orleans, distorted the image of Jeanne with his poetic, but immoral work. French works connected with the personality of Jeanne d'Arcs (Wallona, Barbier, Mermet). But the main source for the libretto, which was written by the composer himself, was the tragedy of the same name by F. Schiller. Thus, comparison (for which, unfortunately, there is no Here we note that one can only regret that Tchaikovsky abandoned the heroic apotheosis that ends Schiller's tragedy and painted the last picture in very gloomy tones. (According to the testimony of some people close to Tchaikovsky , he wanted in later years to remake the finale of the opera, bringing it closer to how the tragedy of Schiller ends, however, no own statements of the composer on this score have survived.)
INTRODUCTION
The Maid of Orleans is one of the most magnificent operatic creations by PI Tchaikovsky. It contains many monumental choral scenes and detailed ensembles and, at the same time, expressive lyric and psychological episodes. In accordance with this material, the introduction is constructed: it conveys the main traits of Joanna's character: her shepherd's appearance, passionate rapture with a dream, heroic determination.
ACTION I
The curtain rises and we see a rural landscape; in front on the right side there is a chapel and in it the image of the Mother of God; on the left side there is a tall, branched oak tree on the bank of the stream. The girls decorate the oak with wreaths. Their chorus sounds ("Until the sky has not yet extinguished the last ray of the stallion"). They sing about how good it is to gather near this cherished oak before night falls, because at midnight this shelter transforms and becomes scary: "Goblin come from the forest, mermaids sing in chorus here, and ghosts wander quietly!"
Enter Thibault, Raymond, and Joanna. Old man Thibault, Joanna's father, is absorbed in thoughts about the coming troubles of France, about the fate of his daughter. He would like her to have a protector, and thinks about Raymond, whom he would like to marry John. They play tercet. John, however, opposes this desire of her father. Raymond, in turn, asks Thibault not to force her to make a decision: "Let the young life bloom freely as before." Everyone sings about their feelings. Ioanna laments that she must deceive her father's hopes: "I am not destined to experience a vain passion." In the end, she decisively answers her father that her fate is different and she is subject to the will of heaven. Thibault sharply condemns his daughter. It is now clear to him why she comes at night to the oak, because he knows for sure that there is an unclean one there. Raymond stands up for her. He does not believe that these are the machinations of Satan; he is convinced that the miraculous face of the Most Pure Virgin brings John here. Their conversation is interrupted by the glow of a fire in the background.
General confusion. Fire. Everything perishes. Enemies are coming! A crowd of people runs in with children and belongings. Among them is the gray-haired old man Bertrand. All cry for help, offer prayer to God. Bertrand talks about the misfortunes that befell France, that the enemies are already in its center, that their troops converged at Orleans. At the same time, the rulers of France are inactive, and besides, there are traitors among them. At this moment, John comes forward and speaks to the crowd with inspiration and prophecy: she predicts a quick victory over the enemies. She calls on everyone to offer a prayer to the Creator and is the first to begin: “King of the powers above, You are our cover” (hymn). Everyone joins her, and in words: "Give peace again, give us victory over our enemy!" - the sound of the soloists, chorus and orchestra reaches fff (great sonority), and then in words expressing humility (“Oh God, look at us!”) it reaches the same degree of fading (rrr).
The hymn is over, everyone, except for John, gradually disperses. Joanna sings her aria ("Forgive you, hills, native fields"), towards the end of which complete darkness descends. This aria is one of the best numbers of the opera. Joanna sadly says goodbye to her native land, feeling that she will not return here again. The intonations of this confession gradually develop into heroic motives. They are fully affirmed in the conclusion of this act, after the chorus of angels, sung by female voices, in John's passionate monologue "You Host of Heavenly Angels."
ACTION II
The second act begins with an orchestral introduction (intermission), which develops the musical material of the anthem (No. 6 from the first act).
The curtain rises. The scene represents a hall in the Chinon Palace. The king sits on the left side of the dais. Next to him is Agnes. Both are brooding and sad. Several courtiers surround them. Dunois is next to the king. The minstrels sing, accompanying themselves on the harps ("Years and days run in succession"). The melody they sing is much more widely known from Tchaikovsky's Children's Album, where the piece in which it is used is called Old French Song. (This is an authentic old French tune "Where have you gone?"
The king thinks the song of the minstrels is too sad, and he calls on gypsies, dwarfs and buffoons to cheer him and Agnes Sorel, his beloved, with incendiary dances. Dances are performed - traditional in Russian opera (cf. starting with "Ivan Susanin" and then with "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky, "Mermaid" by Dargomyzhsky, finally with "Eugene Onegin" and "The Queen of Spades" by Tchaikovsky himself), as well as in French, insert ballet episode.
The king expresses satisfaction; he orders to endow each of the dancers with a gold chain. Dunois reasoned with him, saying that there was absolutely nothing left in the royal treasury, that even the army had nothing to pay with. The king is perplexed: "But do we really have no money left?" Even Agnes is ready to sacrifice everything she has for the honor of the throne. The brave knight of Dunois reproaches the king for his indecision in the defense of France and urges to quickly lead the troops to the defense of Orleans, otherwise, if Orleans falls, the whole of France will perish. The king admits that love passion(to Agnese Sorel) absorbed all his thoughts and hid the misfortunes of his motherland from his sight. And so he remembers that he is a knight, and is ready to reveal himself as a hero. He is determined to go into battle.
A noise is heard behind the stage: the door opens and Laura enters, accompanied by three warriors. Their clothes are in disarray, their weapons are broken. Laura is wounded, bloodied; he is holding a sword. The King and Dunois stop in amazement. Several courtiers rush into the noise. Laura reports that the king's troops are defeated. Having managed to say only this, he dies. The king does not feel the strength to resist and intends to flee. Dunois refuses to serve the king and wants to go to Orleans and, if necessary, die there. The king is left alone, amazed by everything that happened. Exhausted, he sits up, covering his face with his hands. Agnes enters; she is holding a small casket with jewels - this is all her wealth. She asks the king to order all her gold to be melted into coins. The king tells her that it is too late, they have lost the battle. Heartbroken, he cries. Agnes consoles him with gentle caresses. She is ready to share with him all the vicissitudes of fate and promises him her love. Their love duet ends in each other's arms.
The sounds of trumpets are heard behind the stage. The choir of the people (behind the stage) greeted the savior-maiden with jubilation. The king is surprised: "What does the sound of a trumpet mean?" Dunois hastily enters, and after him the courtiers and ladies enter the hall. He happily reports that in the battle that took place at Orleans, the French were victorious. Archbishop enters. He confirms Dunois's message. The archbishop tells the king wonderful details: the battle was already lost when “from the depths of a dense oak grove” a virgin appeared (“her eyes shone with unearthly light”) and called the French into battle, snatching the banner from the hands of the standard bearer and leading the army forward. The king asks who she is, this maiden? She calls herself a prophetess, a messenger from God, ”the archbishop replies. Bells ringing and noise behind the stage are heard. The choir once again praises the warrior maiden. Dunois steps forward to meet Joanna. The king mingles with the crowd of courtiers.
John enters, accompanied by many knights and a crowd of people who have entered the castle after her. She steps forward with grandeur and examines those who are coming one by one. Dunois turns to her, but Joanna, demonstrating her visionary gift, tells him that he is not in his place (that is, that he is not a king), and decisively approaches the king, recognizing him in the crowd, kneels before him, then stands up and retreats a few steps. The king is left alone in the middle of the stage. He himself is amazed that John, seeing him for the first time, learned that he was the king. John approaches the king and mysteriously tells him what prayers he offered to God that night. There were three of them: so that God poured out on him the whole cup of punishments to his people; so that He would deprive him of his parental throne. She is ready to convey the third prayer of the king, but he stops her: he recognizes her miraculous power because she understands that no one can know what she knows. Everyone recognizes that the Most High is with her. The archbishop asks John who she is, who and where are her parents? The story of Joanna sounds: "Holy Father, my name is Joanna." Everyone is shocked by her story of how visions appeared to her, forcing her to change the shepherd's staff to a military sword. All are deeply touched, many are in tears. The king gives John his sword and entrusts his army. But John declares that she knows another sword - "the one chosen before." He is in old town Fierbois, in the cemetery of St. Catherine. The king orders the delivery of this sword. Archbishop blesses John. All - the people and the court - rejoice.
ACTION III
Scene 1. The British have not yet left French soil. The short orchestral introduction to this painting depicts combat. The curtain rises. The scene depicts the area near the battlefield. A blazing English camp is visible on the heights. A knight runs in with his visor down, followed by John. They engage in battle, and it soon becomes clear that this warrior is Lionel. Joanna realizes that he is not British. Indeed, he is a Burgundian knight who betrayed his homeland along with his duke. John intends to kill him. They enter into a duel. John knocks the sword out of Lionel's hands. During the further struggle, she rips off the helmet from his head. A ray of the moon falls on his face. Struck by the beauty of the young man, John is not able to inflict the final blow on him. A sacred vow is broken - for the first time, John has spared the enemy. Lionel is captivated by the spiritual nobility and beauty of Joanna. He calls on John to follow him, to leave her deadly sword. John for the first time in confusion, she feels that she is unworthy to wear it: "Oh, why did I give my staff for a warlike sword and was fascinated by you, a mysterious oak?" she exclaims. Their love duo culminates when they suddenly see the light of torches. This is the approaching detachment led by Dunois. John urges Lionel to flee, but he remains: “I am your protector,” he decisively declares. Dunois appears with a squad. Lionel grabs the sword lying on the ground, walks up to Dunois and, kneeling down, gives him his sword. He repents that until now he was a traitor, but God put him on the right path. Dunois accepts the repentant traitor. He informs John that they have won a victory and "Reims has opened the gates!" Joanna, exhausted, falls into Dunois's arms (she is wounded). The curtain falls slowly. Joanna staggers off, supported by Dunois and Lionel.
Scene 2. This is the culmination of the drama, embodied in the sound of large choral masses. The picture is built on a striking contrast between the initial solemn march and the chorus praising the king and the warrior maiden. The scene depicts the square in front of the cathedral in Reims, the city in which all the kings of France were crowned. The author's remark gives an idea of the grandeur and luxury of the ceremony: “People are standing on the stage, waiting for the procession. And so it begins. Musicians come first. Behind them are children in white dresses, with wreaths in their hands. Behind them are two heralds. Next are: a detachment of warriors with halberds; officials in formal dresses; two marshals with wands; Dunois with a sword; Lionel with a scepter; other nobles with a crown, orb, a royal rod; behind them are knights in order's garments; singers with censers; two bishops with vessels of chrismation; archbishop with a cross; behind them John with a banner, she walks at a slow pace, bowing her head; behind John the king under a canopy carried by the barons; for the king the court ranks; then a detachment of soldiers; the procession enters the church. " During all this procession, a solemn march and choir sound.
Thibault and Raymond emerge from the crowd that remains on the stage after the procession has entered the church. Thibault is depressed by the look of Joanna, who walked timidly, "with a frustrated and pale face." Thibault is sure that the powers of hell have taken possession of John, and now he passionately desires "to forcibly return her to the rejected God." Raymond tries to stop Thibault, but he is determined to carry out his plan, and for this he arrived in Reims.
The end of this action is a huge ensemble - a septet with a choir. It begins with the sound of the choir in the church, calling out to the Creator for blessing. The king in the crown and porphyry emerges from the church, followed by John, Agnes, Dunois, Lionel, the archbishop and the rest of the procession. The king walks towards the throne prepared on the dais. John and other confidants stand beside him. On the other side, people are thronging. Fanfare sounds. At a wave from the king, the heralds give a sign, and everyone is silent. The king introduces the people to their savior John. He informs that an altar will be erected for her here. The people rejoice. The king turns to John with an appeal: "Be transformed, let us see your bright, immortal appearance." General silence. Everyone looks at John. Thibault steps forward from the crowd and stands directly in front of Joanna. Embraced by religious fanaticism, he exposes his daughter. “Do you think,” he turns to the king, “the power of heaven saved you? You, sir, have been deceived! People, you are blinded, you are saved by the art of hell! .. ”And when her father asked if she considers herself holy and pure, John is silent and stands motionless: she sinned, changed her vow, falling in love with Lionel. All eyes are fixed on her. In a huge septet of the main characters, sounding along with the chorus, each expresses his own attitude to what happened. The people cry out in confusion: "Oh, enlighten us, God, eyes." Everyone subscribes to this call. There is a strong thunderclap. All depart from John with horror. Again, demanding an answer, the father turns to John: "Answer, say that you are innocent, expose your father in slander!" A new, even stronger thunderclap is heard. With the same question whether she is innocent, the archbishop turns to John. No answer. Thunderclap again, stronger than ever. John remains motionless all the time, bowing her head on her chest. Three thunderclaps are perceived by everyone as the wrath of the Lord. “Death is destined for her soul,” exclaims the choir and soloists (hence, in this huge ensemble number, Tchaikovsky allows a bill). In the end, the king, Agnes, the archbishop, Dunois, Thibault, the whole court and people leave. John remains in the same motionless position. After a while, when she is already completely alone, Lionel approaches her. He offers her his protection. Joanna looks up, recognizes him and retreats in horror. She drives him away in despair, considering him her hated enemy - he has ruined her soul. John runs away. Lionel follows her.
ACTION IV
Scene 1. When the curtain rises after the orchestral introduction, the scene depicts a forest area. Here John sits, deep in thought. She is tormented by mental anguish: how can she dare to give the soul promised to the Creator to a mortal? But she herself has no more doubts: her soul is burned by a criminal flame. Do not run away from fatal passion. Lionel enters; he recognizes John and quickly approaches her. They embrace each other and remain motionless for a long time. Their love duet sounds ("Oh, wonderful sweet dream!"). But the moment of boundless joy is short: John hears the voices of angels. They affirm her sinfulness and foretell her punishment on earth as expiation and bliss in heaven. Joanna shudders and, breaking free from Lionel's embrace, listens to the angelic singing, fixing her gaze to the sky. She wants to flee from Lionel, but at this moment a crowd of armed British soldiers appears. They surround Lionel and Joanna. Lionel tries to protect Joanna, but is defeated. John rushes to him, but with the last words: "Forgive me ..." - he dies. Enemies take John away.
Scene 2. A square in Rouen, a city belonging to the Duchy of Burgundy, which at the time fought on the side of the British. On both sides, there are places for clergy and secular dignitaries of the city. There is a bonfire in the back of the stage. The stage is filled with people. The executioner is ready for execution.
The funeral procession is marching along. The people are sympathetic to John. The father is walking next to Joanna; behind him are soldiers and monks. The people are crowded. The soldiers push him away. Pater puts John on the fire. The executioner ties her to a post. Soldiers and some monks are throwing logs into the fire. The fire flares up. But Joanna does not feel pain: she hears a chorus of angels - she is forgiven! In a passionate impulse with the words: "The sky has opened, the suffering is over!" - she is dying.
A. Maykapar
History of creation
The glorious feat of the heroine of the French people Joanna (Jeanne) d'Arc, as a plot for an opera, interested Tchaikovsky in 1878. This interest did not arise by chance.
Schiller's romantic drama The Maid of Orleans, first staged with great success in Leipzig in 1831, enjoyed great popularity in progressive circles in Russia thanks to the translation of Zhukovsky (1817-1821). This popularity increased even more during the years of social upsurge in the 70s-80s. But Schiller's play was banned from stage performance at the time. Nevertheless, the great Russian tragic actress MN Ermolova often read monologues from The Maid of Orleans at the evenings organized by student youth. The image of a heroine girl, selflessly imbued with the idea of liberating her homeland, inflamed the hearts of a democratic audience. However, Yermolova managed to stage Schiller's tragedy on the stage of the Moscow Maly Theater only in 1884, three years after the premiere of Tchaikovsky's opera on the same subject.
The people's patriotic content of the tragedy first of all attracted the composer's attention to it: the peasants and knights of France, inspired by the personal courage and fiery appeal of a peasant girl, defeat the British in the so-called Hundred Years War. The decisive battle was fought at Orleans; hence the name of Jeanne - the Maid of Orleans. Slandered, she was sentenced by a Catholic court to be burned at the stake (executed on May 30, 1431).
There was, however, another reason that prompted Tchaikovsky to turn to Schiller's play. After the lyrical scenes of Eugene Onegin, he wanted to create a theatrical work of a more monumental plan, where the lyrics would be combined with the stage-decorative manner of writing. Schiller's tragedy provided gratifying material in this respect. In addition, the composer could use the excellent text of Zhukovsky's translation.
At the end of 1878, Tchaikovsky began to implement his plan, while composing the libretto and composing music. In January 1879 he wrote: “I am very pleased with my musical work. As for the literary side, that is, the libretto ... it is difficult to convey how tired I am. How many feathers will I chew on before I draw out a few lines! How many times do I get up in complete despair because the rhyme is not given, or a certain number of feet does not come out, that I am perplexed that this or that person should speak at this moment. " Tchaikovsky set himself a difficult task: he not only reduced or partially supplemented the text of the Schiller-Zhukovsky drama, but also, having read some historical studies, and also using the play by J. Barbier “Jeanne d'Arc”, introduced a number of new plot and stage motivations, which mainly concerned the finale.
Despite these difficulties, the opera was completed in sketches by the end of February and the score in August 1879. All in all, the work on such a monumental composition took Tchaikovsky only nine months. The score was published in 1880. Later, the composer made some changes to it.
Despite censorship obstacles, The Maid of Orleans was staged at the Mariinsky Theater on February 13 (25), 1881. A year and a half later, its premiere took place in Prague. During Tchaikovsky's lifetime, however, it was not often staged. Only in Soviet time full recognition came to her.
Music
The Maid of Orleans is one of Tchaikovsky's most monumental operatic creations. Written in a broad decorative manner with the use of large choral masses and expanded ensembles, it is at the same time marked by the lyrical and psychological depth characteristic of the composer's work. Against the background of the choir massifs, the appearance of the main character stands out in relief, truthfully depicted in the variety of mental conflicts inherent in her. This image dominates the entire opera: its development determines the development of stage action in the musical drama of the work.
In accordance with this concept, the music of the orchestral introduction (introduction) is designed to convey the main traits of Joanna's character: her simple shepherd's appearance, passionate rapture with a dream, heroic determination.
The girls' pastoral choir opens the first act. In the terzet of Thibault, Raymond and Joanna, a psychological conflict is brewing, which is interrupted by a large choral scene of popular confusion, where Bertrand's agitated story stands out. John captivates everyone with her prayer "King of the powers above, you are our cover, our hope!" The choir picks up the hymn tune, which embodies the strength and power of the people. Left alone, having made a decision, Joanna pours out the feeling of sadness that gripped her in the aria "Forgive you, hills, dear fields." The intonations of this confession, touching with its spontaneity, are mournfully concentrated, but heroic traits are already clearly breaking through in the lyrics. They are fully confirmed in the conclusion of the act, after the chorus of angels, sung by female voices, in John's passionate monologue "You, hosts of heavenly angels."
The orchestral introduction to the second act develops the theme of the anthem. It is in contrast to the intermedia scenes that characterize the entourage of the king. The chorus of minstrels stylized in the French spirit is replaced by the incendiary dance of gypsies, and the dance of pages and dwarfs (first in the character of a minuet, then - lively) is replaced by a grotesque dance of jesters and buffoons. The duet of Karl and Dunois ends with a courageous vow, while the duet of Agnes with Karl is marked by pampered features. The dramatic center of the act is the mass stage, which expresses the pinnacle of the Maiden of Orleans' triumph. Joanna's departure is preceded by a marching theme. Her story "Holy Father, my name is John" is lyrically penetrating and at the same time heroic; here the theme of the choir of angels from the preceding act is subjected to musical treatment. The finale is an expanded ensemble with a choir: the people glorify their chosen one - John will lead the troops to victory.
The short orchestral introduction to the first scene of the third act depicts the fight. It is against this tense background that the initial episodes of John's meeting with Lionel take place. The whole picture is full of dramatic conflict, marking a turning point in the fate of Joanna. The music with the words “Oh, why did I give my staff for a warlike sword” reaches the utmost expressiveness.
The next scene of the third act is built on the dynamic opposition of the initial triumphant march and the chorus of praising the warrior maiden with Thibault's denunciations. This is the culmination of the drama, embodied in the sound of large choral masses. Particularly impressive is the final septet with the chorus, which opens with Thibaut's words "Answer me." In the wave-like, all the time upward directed movement of the melody, the content of this stunning scene, huge in size, is revealed: its participants, amazed by Joanna's silence, turn their eyes to heaven.
In the first scene of the fourth act, other aspects of the image of the Maid of Orleans are more fully revealed. Here, in a duet with Lionel, she appears hot loving woman... Lyrically enthusiastic music sounds to the words "Oh wonderful, sweet dream." The rapture of passion is conveyed in the orchestral episode that precedes the duet.
The final scene of the last act (second scene) is imbued with the unity of the gloomy funeral mood. An ominous funeral march is held, steadily growing, in the orchestra. Against this background - the cries of the soldiers, the mournful exclamations of the people. As if tongues of flame are captured in the orchestral sound, when a fire flares up on stage. At the same time, the singing of angels, and the funeral service of monks, and the curses of the soldiers, and the passionate calls to heaven of John are heard.
M. Druskin
Soon after the end of Onegin, Tchaikovsky again begins to search for a plot for the opera, rereading a number of literary works and asking for help from your friends and acquaintances. As a result, he dwells on Schiller's tragedy "The Maid of Orleans" in Zhukovsky's Russian translation. The historical plot from the era of the so-called Hundred Years War between France and England in the XIV-XV centuries required broad operatic forms and a bright decorative manner of musical writing for its embodiment. In this respect, The Maid of Orleans, replete with large spectacular crowd scenes, deployed ensembles, pictures of magnificent processions, battles and duels, is a stark contrast to the modest intimate "lyrical scenes" based on Pushkin's novel in verse.
What prompted the composer, who, just a few months before the start of work on The Maid of Orleans, wrote that he needed a plot where “there are no kings, no marches, there is nothing that makes up the routine of a great opera”, to turn to this kind of problem? There were several reasons. One of them is the natural desire to expand and enrich the means of his operatic writing, to try his hand at a new, previously untouched figurative-thematic sphere. Tchaikovsky also had a certain amount of conscious calculation, caused by the desire to "take revenge" for the cold reception of "Blacksmith Vakula" and the lack of hope for the stage vitality of "Eugene Onegin". It seemed to him that just such an opera as The Maid of Orleans could be successful with a wide theatrical audience. “I don’t think,” he confessed, “that the Maid of Orleans was the best and most emotional of all my writings, but it seems to me that this is exactly the thing that can make me popular.”
But there were other, deeper motives for choosing this particular plot. The given author's assessment refers to the time when "The Maid of Orleans" was mainly written and the composer could calmly and objectively judge the result of his work; he approached it with ardent interest and enthusiasm. Tchaikovsky was especially worried about the tragic image of the main character - a simple peasant girl Zhanna d'Arc, who at a difficult moment for the homeland stood at the head of the French army, leading him to victory, but then unjustly condemned and committed to a cruel execution.
When composing the libretto, written by the composer independently, without outside help, in addition to Schiller's tragedy, he relied on a number of other sources, both literary and historical. Trying to preserve as much as possible the original Schiller-Zhukovsky text where it corresponded to his intention, Tchaikovsky at the same time made quite significant changes in the interpretation of some events and in the characteristics of the main characters. The most important of them is the rejection of the heroic apotheosis, which ends with Schiller's "The Maid of Orleans": contrary to the historical truth of John (Zhukovsky gives a Russian transcription of the French name Jeanne. Tchaikovsky adheres to the same transcription.) does not die at the stake, but is captured by the British, but breaks the chains in which they are chained, and, rushing into battle again, finds death on the battlefield. Such an end introduces an element of the miraculous, supernatural into the characterization of Joan and, to a certain extent, reconciles with her death. For Tchaikovsky, such an ending was unacceptable, for all the greatness of her feat, the heroine of his opera remains a living "human woman" and her painful death causes him anger and horror. When reading a book by the French historian Wallon about Jeanne d'Arc, he was especially shocked by the descriptions of the trial and execution. “I started reading your book,” he wrote to von Meck, who had sent him this work, “and when I reached the last days of Joanna, her torment, execution and the abjuration (renunciation) that preceded her, where her strength was betrayed and she recognized herself as a sorceress, - I felt so painful and sorry for humanity in her face that I felt completely annihilated. " (According to the testimony of some people close to Tchaikovsky, in later years he wanted to remake the finale of the opera, bringing it closer to Schiller’s. But no own statements of the composer on this score have survived.).
In addition to a radical change in the finale, Tchaikovsky significantly developed only an episodic passage in Schiller's motif of Joanna's sudden outburst of love for the Burgundian knight Lionel, which gives her image warmer lyrical features. In the soul of John, who broke her sacred vow not to know earthly love, a tragic inner discord arises, which becomes the cause of her death.
Unlike the rest of the characters in the opera, who receive a more or less one-sided characterization (the weak and pampered King Charles VII, his loyal friend Agnes, the valiant knight of Dunois, the fanatical old peasant Thibault, Joanna's father), her image is given in development, enriching in the course of action and acquiring new features. Its exposition is a large aria from the first act "Forgive you, fields, dear hills", in which the sadness of parting with the peaceful rural life and shyness before what awaits it sounds. The elegiac melody of the aria with an emphasis on the fourth higher degree and the subsequent chromatically descending movement of the hidden voice bears some resemblance to "Tatiana's sequences" from "Eugene Onegin".
Only in the middle section of the aria do decisive melody moves along the steps of the ascending major hexachord appear, expressing Joanna's determination to feat. The finale is directly adjacent to the aria - John and the choir of angels, calling her to fulfill her military duty and to save her homeland. The theme of the chorus, based on the persistent repetition of one short melodic turn in the minor third range, later acquires a leitmotiv meaning as an inner voice reminding John of her high vocation.
In the second act, she appears at the royal court already as a victorious warrior-maiden fanned with glory. Remarkable in its expressiveness is her story about herself ("Holy Father, my name is John"), in which the declamatory vocal part is supported by a strict color orchestral accompaniment with elements of modal harmony and colorful tonal shifts that set off individual moments of the narrative (AA Alshvang draws attention to the similarities in this monologue with Shuisky's story about the murdered Tsarevich Dimitri in Boris Godunov. Note that Cui also saw in some pages of The Maid of Orleans “an imitation of Mussorgsky.)... The light transparent sound of woodwind, strings and harp seems to surround Joanna with flickering light. The dramatic intonations in two scenes with Lionel in the third and fourth acts express her inner struggle between the consciousness of her highest duty and the new feeling of love that is being born. But the beautiful lyrical duet in the first scene of the fourth act nevertheless violates the integrity of the image, the graceful romance melody seems too refined in the lips of a brave warrior maiden.
In general, "The Maid of Orleans", despite a number of successful dramatically expressive moments associated mainly with the image of the main character, turned out to be a work of uneven, artistically contradictory. Large ensembles with a choir in the first act (the scene of the invasion and a hymn with a prayer for salvation), in the finals of the second and third acts, and finally, the ending of the opera picture of the public execution of the slandered Johanna are masterfully written, broadly and effectively, but do not produce the impression that they expected Tchaikovsky. The premiere of the opera, which took place on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater on February 13, 1881, was successful, but, as the composer's biographer notes, "the resounding success of the Maiden of Orleans at the first performance was not repeated at the next." Some successful productions that took place in the future did not bring her wide popularity either.
Yu Keldysh
Discography: CD - Teldec. Conductor Lazarev, Ioanna (Rautio), Karl VII (Kulko), Agnes Sorel (Gavrilova), Dunois (Krutikov), Lionel (Redkin).
Jeanne d'Arc, as she appears from the pages of textbooks (and it does not matter, French, Russian or Brazilian - they, alas, are the same everywhere), was born between 1831 and 1843 under the pen of Jules Michelet, who then held the post of director of the National Archives.
On the pages of his six-volume History of France, he painted an image that seemed to him, a democrat, a romantic and a patriot, as ideal. It was this black-and-white ideal (and not at all the real Virgin of France!) By the decision of the Roman Curia, which was subsequently, on May 9, 1920, canonized. But how did everything really happen?
CREATING A MYTH
First, the official version. When the defeat of the French in the course of the Hundred Years War seemed inevitable, Jeanne appeared, intending to expel the British, the "daughter of the people" carried the French along.
She was born in the hamlet of Domrémy, near the border of Lorraine and Champagne. Local residents supported at that time the Armagnacs (one of the two feudal groups formed during the reign of Charles the Mad; it was headed by Count d "Armagnac), who fought the Burgundian party - the Bourguignons, who held the British side in the Hundred Years War. predatory raids by the Germans, which is why Jeanne often had to see her brothers and fellow villagers bloody.
Jeanne, daughter of the plowman Jacques d "Ark and his wife Isabella d" Ark (nee de Vouton), for olive color the person who received the nickname Rome, that is, the Roman woman, was tall, strong. and a hardy girl, distinguished by her piety, hard work and simple-heartedness. From childhood, she saw around the disasters of the people and, as she later said, "a snake stung her heart with grief about the misfortunes of dear France." At the age of thirteen, she heard "voices" commanding her to save the fatherland.
At first, these visions frightened her, for such an appointment seemed to far exceed her strength. Gradually, however, she got used to this thought. Jeanne was not even eighteen when she left her native place to take part in the struggle for the liberation of her homeland. With great difficulty, she reached Chenon, the castle on the Loire, where the heir to the throne, the Dauphin Charles, was staying at that time. Just before that, a rumor spread among the troops about a prophecy according to which God would send France a savior-maiden. And therefore the courtiers considered that the girl's deep faith in victory could raise the morale of the troops.
When a special ladies' commission attested Jeanne's purity (finding out along the way that she is a hermaphrodite (as it was elegantly formulated, “... is not capable of normal intercourse” - but this circumstance, however, does not appear in popular legend for obvious reasons), her The command was entrusted with a detachment of knights, who joined the seven thousandth army, assembled to help the besieged Orleans. Experienced military leaders recognized her supremacy. All the way, ordinary people enthusiastically greeted their Maiden. Artisans forged Jeanne's armor and sewed a marching uniform.
Inspired by the Virgin, the Orleans left the city walls and stormed the English fortifications. As a result, nine days after her arrival in the city, the siege was lifted. The year 1429, marked by this event, turned out to be a turning point in the course of the war, and since then Joan has been called the Maiden of Orleans. However, until the Dauphin was crowned, he was not considered a legitimate sovereign. Jeanne persuaded Charles to undertake a campaign against Reims, where French monarchs had long been crowned. The army made a triumphant march of three hundred kilometers in two weeks, and the heir to the throne was solemnly crowned king in Reims Cathedral, henceforth becoming Charles VII.
Meanwhile, the war continued. Once at Compiegne, Jeanne's detachment was surrounded by the Burgundians. They captured the Maid of Orleans and handed them over to their English allies for 10,000 livres. Those, in order to justify their own defeat, accused Joan of having ties with the devil. A tribunal of learned theologians tricked her into signing a false confession, as a result of which the heroine was declared a witch, and on May 31, 1431 (or, according to the English chroniclers, in February 1432) she was burned at the stake in Rouen.
Such a presentation of facts, quite worthy of a romantic story in the style of Walter Scopa, Alexandre Dumas the father, or Théophile Gaultier, perfectly explains why the French historian, philosopher and sociologist of art Hippolyte Taine considered Michelet not so much a scientist as one of greatest poets modernity, and his work was called "the lyrical epic of France."
But be that as it may, this is where the legend and paragraph in the textbook ends and begins ...
COUNTLESS QUESTIONS
I will give just a few examples, although almost all of the above, alas, is out of tune with either many historical facts or just common sense.
Let's start with the origin. The very names of the so-called "parents" of the Maiden of Orleans testify to their belonging to the noble, and not at all, the peasant class (although, as the documents indicate, the Arches were temporarily deprived of the rights of state, which, however, did not deprive them of the privilege of wearing the family coat of arms So we should categorically say goodbye to the “daughter of a plowman.” Moreover, none of her contemporaries at all called her Jeanne d “Arc. At the trial, she herself stated that she did not know her last name: “My name is Jeanne the Virgin, and as a child, my name was Jeannette.” In all documents of that era, she is referred to exclusively as Dame Jeanne, Jeanne Virgin, Virgin of France or Maid of Orleans, and this last name, mind you, appears before the liberation of Orleans. Finally, the coat of arms given to Jeanne by the Dauphin has not the slightest relation to the coat of arms of the Arkov, indicating a completely different, much higher origin ...
Now about the appearance. Not a single genuine image of Jeanne has survived to this day. The only known lifetime portrait is a pen drawing made by the Secretary of the Paris Parliament on the margins of his TO register in May 1429, when Paris learned of the lifting of the siege from Orleans. However, this drawing has nothing to do with the original. It depicts a woman with long curls, dressed in a dress with a pleated skirt; she holds a banner and is armed with a sword. Jeanne really did have a sword and a banner. However, she invariably wore a man's suit, and her hair was cut short to wear a helmet.
Many contemporaries called Jeanne a beauty and were hopelessly in love with her. A woman who participated in battles and knightly tournaments really had to be distinguished by strength and endurance. However, the tall Virgo was not - in one of the French museums her armor is kept, indicating that the owner of them ... just fell short of one and a half meters.
Let's talk about innocence and hard work. The minutes show that during the trial that condemned her, the “daughter of the people” rejected with arrogant contempt the claim that she was herding cattle or doing the housework. And at the acquittal process, Alain Chartier, secretary of two kings - Charles VI and Charles VII, said:
"The impression was that this girl was brought up not in the fields, but in schools, in close contact with the sciences." And in Chenon, she astonished the Dauphin and his cousin, the young Duke of Alencon, with unsurpassed horsemanship, perfect use of weapons and a brilliant knowledge of the games that were then common among the nobility (quentin, playing with the rings, etc.).
By the way, about the way to Chenon. To begin with, in January 1429, shortly before Jeanne's departure there, the royal messenger Jean Colle de Vienne, accompanied by the Scottish archer Richard, arrived in the village of Domremy, where she lived in the d'Arc family, accompanied by the Scottish archer Richard. Jean de Novelonpont and Bertrand de Poulangy, their squires and several servants. knightly tournament with a spear.
If we consider that the tournaments were the exclusive privilege of the nobility, that shields with the coats of arms of the participants were exhibited around the lists, it seems absolutely incredible that Karl of Lorraine and other lords would have come to terms with the fact that a peasant woman was perched on a purebred war horse, moreover, armed with a spear, which they had to use eligible exclusively dedicated knights. And another question: where did the armor come from? It would be very, very difficult to pick up strangers for her height ... Finally, under what coat of arms did she perform? Deprived (even temporarily) of the rights of the nobility d "Arks? That's really who it was, as they say, out of order!"
Finally, upon arrival in Chenon, Jeanne was immediately received by both queens - Yolanda of Anjou, mother-in-law of Charles Dauphine, and her daughter, Maria of Anjou, Charles’s wife. As you can see, the Virgin was brought to Chenon with honor, and there is no need to talk about overcoming obstacles. But according to the logic of things, Jeanne, being a clairvoyant humble peasant woman, should not have penetrated the castle further than the doorkeeper's. Of course, her appearance was reported to the officer on duty, he to the governor, the last, perhaps, to the Dauphin ... But how would it all end? Clairvoyants in those days roamed the French roads in great numbers.
And the last thing. Yes, “artisans forged Jeanne's armor” (and who else could have done this?), But the king paid for them, and as much as one hundred Tournaisian livres, a huge sum for those times; the armor of the Duke of Apanson, a cousin of the Dauphin, for example, cost only eighty. And in general, Virgo was not shy about the means: “When my box is empty, the king replenishes it,” she used to say. And the most striking fact: Jeanne demanded a sword that once belonged not to anyone, but to the legend of France, the famous military leader - Bertrand du Gueclin, constable of Charles V; demanded it - and received it. And one more detail: she already possessed du Gueclin's ring when she came to Chenon. How did he get into the hands of a peasant woman?
These questions can be multiplied endlessly - more and more new ones arise literally at every step. And so it will be until the place of the legend takes ...
HISTORICAL TRUTH
With interruptions, the Hundred Years War, which lasted from 1337 to 1453, was a family affair - the right to the French throne was disputed by the closest relatives (not without reason in the history of England this period is called the time of the French kings). For our heroine, this is of decisive importance: in any other situation, her own story would be completely different.
Isabella of Bavaria, the august wife of the French crown bearer Charles VI of the Mad, was distinguished by a temperament so ardent that of her twelve children, only the first four, apparently, were due to the birth of her husband. The fathers of others were the king's younger brother, Duke Louis of Orleans, and also a certain Chevalier Louis de Bois-Bourdon. The last child of Queen Isabeau was Jeanne, who was born on November 10, 1407, an illegitimate daughter who was brought up into a family of impoverished nobles d "Arcs."
Born in marriage or adultery, however, she remained a princess of the blood — the daughter of the queen and the king's brother; this circumstance explains all the strangeness of her further history... And even the nickname of the Maid of Orleans does not testify to the heroic command of the troops near Orleans (by the way, the military leaders were others, truly outstanding - the Count of Dunois, Jeanne's half-brother, as well as the hopelessly in love with her Gilles de Rais, who went down in history under the name of Bluebeard) , but about belonging to the House of Orleans of the Valois dynasty.
The very next day after the official presentation at the Chenon court, Jeanne talked with the Dauphin Charles, and - and this is noted by all witnesses - she was sitting next to him, which only the princess of the blood could afford. When the Duke of Alençon appeared, she unceremoniously asked:
And who is this?
My cousin Alencon.
Welcome! - Joan said sympathetically. - The more of us, in whom the blood of France flows, the better ...
Recognition, you see, is completely direct. By the way, in battles Jeanne used not only the sword of the great constable, but also a battle ax specially forged for her, on which the first letter of her name was engraved - J, crowned with a crown. The evidence is, frankly, eloquent. It was simply unthinkable in the 15th century to appropriate for oneself a heraldic attribute that did not belong by right, and even of such a rank.
A few days after Jeanne was wounded in the vicinity of Paris on September 8, 1429, she donated this weapon of hers to the Abbey of Saint-Denis as a votive offering. To this day, a tombstone-like stone slab has survived there, on which Jeanne is depicted in armor - in her left hand she grips a battle ax with a clearly distinguishable J under the crown. There is no doubt that it is the Maid of Orleans who is depicted, for the inscription on the slab reads: “Such was the outfit of Jeanne, which she gave as a gift to St. Denis ".
Moreover, historians have known all this for a long time. Including - that Jeanne was not at all burned at the stake: after all, royal blood is sacred (the account of the executed august persons was subsequently opened by the unfortunate English Stuarts - first Mary, and then Charles I); a monarch or prince of blood can be deposed, captured, imprisoned, finally killed - but in no way executed.
Until February 1432, the Maid of Orleans was in honorary captivity at the castle of Bouvray in Rouen, then she was released, on November 7, 1436 she married Robert des Armoise and in 1436 she re-emerged from oblivion in Paris, where she was recognized by former companions and was treated kindly by Charles VII (tenderly embracing her, the king exclaimed: "Virgin, darling, welcome again, in the name of the Lord ..."). So the legend of her arrest as an impostor was created by the works of the followers of the myth. Jeanne d'Arc (now Dame des Armoise) died in the summer of 1449. Everyone knows about it - except those who do not want to know.
BUT WHY?
To understand this, it is necessary to understand the historical role of the Maid of Orleans. She was not a military leader - military historians are very skeptical about her military leadership talents. Yes, this was not required: such as Bastard Dunois or Gilles de Rais were successfully engaged in strategy and tactics. And Jeanne's task was to assert the rights of the Dauphin to the French throne.
Two years before his death, in 1420, Charles VI, knowing that the Dauphin Charles was not his son, named the successor of his great-uncle - the young English king Henry VI. The French, who disagreed with his decision, believed that, according to the law, the right to the throne should go to the king's nephew Charles of Orleans, but he languished in English captivity, where he was destined to spend another eighteen years.
Consequently, the Dauphin Karl remained in the slightest degree a suitable candidate for the throne; but whose son was he - Louis of Orleans or the rootless nobleman de Bois-Bourdon? In the first case, its legitimacy could still be recognized, in the second - in no way. It was here that Jeanne, the undoubted princess of the blood, had to appear on the stage, according to the authors of the elaborate intrigue; appear and confirm that the Dauphin is her brother and not her half-brother, and then have him coronated. She coped with this role brilliantly.
The British had only one thing to do - to discredit Joan by invalidating her testimony, which was done at the Rouen trial. A natural response was the acquittal of Joan in the counter-process carried out in 1451: during the life of the lady des Armoise, this could not be done, because the sentence of the Inquisition still weighed over the rescued Virgin, and in no case was it possible to announce the details of the falsification of the execution. Since the close end of the war was already obvious, the British, who had abandoned their claims to the French throne, agreed with Jeanne's acquittal. The next step was the canonization of the Maid of Orleans, which took place more than four centuries later - the French monarchy no longer existed, but the public conscience required that the legitimacy of the more than dubious Charles VII be attested by the highest authority ... And in this sense, Jeanne d "Arc truly won the Hundred Years War and saved France.
So why does the legend still prevail today? It is very simple: after all, the nature of a myth consists in the fact that it draws strength from itself, not needing to be substantiated and not afraid of any evidence, no facts, no matter how weighty they are.
Too many do not benefit from his debunking. The Catholic Church - for it is involved in both processes, accusatory and acquittal, as well as in the canonization of a princess of dubious origin. To the democrats - for in the place of the daughter of a plowman, flesh of the flesh of the people, a princess of blood, conceived in sin, stands in the light of truth. Finally, for the average Frenchman - for many generations he has already become so accustomed to the legend that its destruction becomes a very painful process. But the use of myth for today's purposes is extremely convenient.
Remember, for example, a little noticeable detail about the Germans who plundered the vicinity of Domremi? It becomes completely understandable if we remember that it was first recorded not in Michelet, but later in The Complete Course on the History of France by Desiree Blanchet and Jules Pinard, written shortly after the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. And how actively this motive was used by members of the Resistance during World War II ...
Many generations will continue to read the brilliant historical books of Robert Ambelain, Etienne Veill-Reynal, Jean Grimaud, Gerard Pesme and those, now unknown, who will continue their research, devoted to the life of Jeanne d "Arc, as exciting detectives. And nevertheless, through the pages of textbooks, An invincible myth will march solemnly as before.
In 1337, a war broke out between England and France, which lasted until 1453 and was named the Hundred Years. The reason for the war was the desire of the British to return the lands of Normandy and Anjou, which were on the continent under the patronage of France. In the end, England was defeated. And not the last role in the outcome of the Hundred Years War was played by a young girl named Jeanne D "Ark, who went down in history as a symbol rather than a real figure.
Medieval miniature depicting the burning of Jeanne D "Arc (15th century, author unknown)
V last years war all northern France was occupied by the enemy. The decisive moment was the British siege of Orleans in 1428. This position opened them up unhindered southward advance. At this moment, when the desperate French have lost all hope, a young peasant woman appears, assuring everyone that she hears the voices of the saints who command her to free Orleans. Whether she was insane or really the chosen one, in any case, she manages to inspire the people and convince the military leaders to side with her, which ultimately leads to the defeat of the British and the lifting of the siege of Orleans.
However, this does not end the deeds of Jeanne D "Arc. Her fame continues to grow. Seeing in her influence on the minds of the primary threat, the British take her prisoner and bring her to the church court, which charges her with witchcraft. Considering that the events took place in the late period. In the Middle Ages, it should be noted that Joan's chances of acquittal were few.
According to the traditional materialist interpretation of the story, Jeanne D "Arc is a typical religious fanatic, whose enthusiasm came in handy against the background of mass popular depression. However, judging by the testimony of Jeanne herself, she was sincerely convinced of her divine inspiration. Here is what she herself said about this. about: "At first I was very scared. I heard a voice in the afternoon, it was in the summer in my father's garden. The day before that I fasted. The voice came to me from the right side, from where the church was, and from this side there was great holiness This voice always guided me. It was the voice of the Archangel Michael. Soon the voices of Saint Margaret and Saint Catharine joined him. They called me Jeanne de Pucell, daughter of God. "
Testimonies of contemporaries
Painting by Jan Matejko "The Virgin of Orleans" (1886)
Englishman Lawrence Trent in his reports gives Jeanne D "Ark the following characteristic:" The girl has an attractive appearance and a man's posture, she speaks little and shows a wonderful mind; she speaks pleasantly in a high voice as befits a woman. It is moderate in food, and even more moderate in wine drinking. She takes pleasure in beautiful horses and weapons. Many meetings and conversations are unpleasant to Virgo. Often her eyes are filled with tears, she also loves fun. He undergoes unheard-of hard work, and when he carries a weapon, he shows such perseverance that day and night for six days he can continuously remain fully armed. She says that the British have no right to own France, and for this, she says, the Lord sent her to drive them out and defeat them. "
An associate of Jeanne D'Arc, Gilles de Rais, a man who became the real prototype of Bluebeard, spoke of her like this: “She is a child. every battle she mourns the fallen, before every battle she partakes of the Body of God - most of the soldiers do this with her - and at the same time she does not say anything. Not a single rash word comes from her lips - in this she is as mature as many men. Around her, no one ever swears, and people like it, although all their wives stayed at home. Needless to say that she never takes off her armor if she sleeps next to us, and then, despite all her cuteness, no man has a fleshly desire for her. "
When Jeanne D "Arc was executed she was only 19 years old. This happened on May 30, 1431. Almost all her life she was unknown to anyone Jeannette from Domrime. Neighbors said about her:" the same as everyone else. "In just a year she became famous Jeanne-Virgo, the savior of France. Companions said about her: "She behaved as if she were a captain who spent twenty or thirty years in the war." A year later she became a defendant in the Inquisition Tribunal. Her judges said about her: " a great scientist - and he would hardly answer the questions that were asked of her. "
The official life story of the Virgin of Orleans has existed since the time of the French Revolution and is detailed in school textbooks.
However, for a long time, the official version has been systematically disputed by some historians, pointing to certain incomprehensible moments in Jeanne's biography. Why do the chroniclers hesitate in the name of the date of the execution of the virgin? President Hainaut, superintendent in the state of Queen Maria Leshchinskaya, who had access to the French chronicles, names the date of execution on June 14, 1431. The English chroniclers William Caxton and Polydorus Virgil claim that the execution took place in February 1432. 
Jeanne's strange and dizzying career itself raises a lot of doubts. Medieval society was strictly estate and hierarchical. For each in it was determined its place among
Oratores - those who pray;
Bellatores - those who fight, or
Aratores - those who plow.
Jeanne in Chinon was received by the mother-in-law of the king, Yolanda of Anjou, the wife of Charles VII, Maria of Anjou, and the king himself. She was brought to the court at the expense of the treasury, accompanied by an armed escort, which consisted of knights, squires, and a royal messenger. Many nobles had to wait more than one day for an audience with the king, and the "peasant woman" was allowed to see him almost immediately.
Now we are talking about something else, about Jeanne's life after ... her official execution. To understand how Jeanne was able to avoid execution, it is worth referring to the description of this sad action: “On the square of the Old Market (in Rouen), 800 English soldiers forced the people to make room ... finally, a detachment of 120 people appeared ... They surrounded the woman, covered with a ... chin ... ". According to historiographers, Jeanne's height was about 160 cm. Considering the double ring of soldiers around her, the cap on her face, it is not possible to say with certainty what kind of woman she was.
The opinion that another woman was burned instead of Jeanne was shared by many chroniclers and famous persons, both Jeanne's contemporaries and those who lived later. One of the chronicles kept in the British Museum literally says the following: “In the end, they ordered to burn it in front of all the people. Or some other woman who looks like her. " And the rector of the Cathedral of St. Thibault in Metz writes five years after the execution: “In the city of Rouen ... she was burned to the stake and burned. So they say, but since then the opposite has been proven. " 
Even more convinced that the Maid of Orleans was not burned, the materials of the trial. Back in the 16th century, Advocate General Charles du Lee drew attention to the fact that in the documents and protocols of the interrogation of the virgin there is no death sentence and an official act certifying the execution of the sentence.
But if the Virgin of Orleans was not burned at the stake, then what is her future fate?
In 1436, five years after the fire in Rouen, a record appears in the documents of the noble family of des Armoise: "The noble Robert des Armoise was married to Jeanne du Lys, a virgin of France ... November 7, 1436". The surname du Lys was borne by the sons of Jeanne's official father.
And in the summer of 1439 the Maid of Orleans herself came to the city she had liberated. She now bore her husband's surname - des Armoise. She was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of townspeople, in which there were many people who had seen her earlier. Another noteworthy entry appeared in the city's account book about the payment of a large sum of money to Jeanne des Armoise - 210 livres "for the good service rendered to the city during the siege." The heroine was recognized by those who knew her well four years ago - her sister and brothers, Marshal of France Gilles de Rais, Jean Dunois and many others.
Jeanne died in late summer - early autumn 1449 - it was this period that documents testifying to her death date from. Only after that her "brothers" (meaning the sons of Jacques d'Arc) and her official mother (Isabella de Vouton) began to be called "brothers of the late Jeanne the Virgin" and "Isabella, the mother of the deceased Virgin."
This is what one of the most common alternative versions of the origin of the heroine of the Hundred Years War looks like today.
Another version says that Joan of Arc is Marguerite de Chandiver, the illegitimate daughter of King Charles VI and his last mistress, Odette de Chandiver. The king raised his daughter as a warrior for self-defense, since his two sons in the struggle for the throne were destroyed by the supporters of the Duke Louis of Orleans. And since Charles VII was an illegitimate son and could not lay claim to the throne, a performance about "the intervention of God's forces" was needed.
This is how the myth of the virgin who will save the country is born. This role was played by Marguerite de Chandiver. Later, the image of Jeanne d'Arc and Margaret, and Charles VII began to interfere - the constant supremacy of a woman over the army was unnecessary. Therefore, a plan was developed for the disappearance of Jeanne. Instead of Marguerite de Chandiver, a completely different woman was burned at the stake. And Margarita - Jeanne lived long life and was buried in the basilica of the Temple of Notre Dame de Cléry near Orleans.
But both versions we mentioned are similar in one thing: Jeanne's life is much more complicated and interesting than they are trying to inspire us from school. 
P.S. then I will write why version 1 turned out to be erroneous. and why the relics of Jeanne found in the 19th century turned out to be an Egyptian mummy.
Maiden of orleans
ORLEANSKAYA TWO (La Pucelle d'Orléans), so the pier was called. a girl named Zhanna d'Ark (or Dark), who became the head of the French. troops and delivered France from the English. dominion (see. Anglo-French.wars , Stoltnaya War 1). Daughter of the village. Domrémy, near Vaucouleurs, a small town located on the border of Lorraine and Champagne, Jeanne is born. 6 jan. 1412 and grew in the usual. rural conditions life, doing work together with his brothers and sister in the floor and at home. Her mother is extremely religious. woman, taught her lies and prayers, and Jeanne, nervous and impressed, loved to pray as a little girl and felt deeply. excitement when the bells ring. The village where Jeanne's family lived stood on the path connecting France with Belgium, Burgundy, Rhine. provinces and Italy. Therefore, at an early age, she heard talk about war and about the vigils that befell France. Living in the era when the average ended. vѣka, the former was breaking. life and created new. ideas, in the era of passions for the most part, general superstition, religious studies. ecstasy and mysticism, will exclude. human manifestation. spirit, naive, pure and believing Jeanne turned out to be true. the daughter of his son. When she was 13 years old, she began to hear some mysteries. voices that soon took into her imagination the image of angels and saints. These voices urged her to go to the king and free Orleans. Jeanne hesitated for a long time, not daring to believe that she was capable of the perfection of such a feat. But after the summer of 1428 the village of Domremi was attacked by the Anglo-Burgundians, Jeanne decided to send the instructions to the voices. K-dant mountains. Vaucoulera, Baudrikur, seeing her is adamant. rshimosti and exclude some. convincing, gave her a letter to the king, sword, top. horse and slightly. convoy. In accompanying relatives. brother and 4 armed. people, on horseback, in a man's suit, Jeanne went to Chinon, where Charles VII was then, he went to 11 days. transition to 600 ver. in the country, occupied by non-lem, vagabonds and robbers. Arriving at the place at the beginning of the MRT. 1429, Jeanne nѣsk. days vainly sought a meeting with the king. Only new alarming. the news from Orleans forced the king to accept it. In the presence of the entire court, she announced to Charles VII that she was sent by the King of Heaven to free Orleans, crown the king and expel the English from France, for which she asked to give her a detachment of soldiers. Before fulfilling this request, the king, on the advice of his entourage, appointed to-siyu from the spiritual. persons and legalists, who, "having tested her touch on her life, morals and minds," found that nothing was found in Zhanna, "who calls herself the Virgin, except for everything good, blamelessness, simplicity and humility, why she cannot be rejected, but must lead the way to Orleans, may reveal the divine. sign, as promised. "After such a resolution, Jeanne went to Blois and began to prepare the army for military action. Like everything that Jeanne did, it was wearing a peculiar character. She began to eat what, having expelled from the camp of all women, forbade the soldiers not only robberies, but also foul language, forcing them to often come to confession and communion. profits, unquestioningly obeyed Jeanne, in action to-swarm they saw the manifestation of God's will. According to General Dragomirov, who was the only correct one and answered all the strategic requirements, it was, however, recognized that it remained too risky by the com-rams, and now it was decided to conclude the meeting on April 27, 1429, by the church . hymns, in the head yym went on horseback, knightly. Dospѣkhakh Jeanne herself, French. the army set out on the hike. It soon became clear that, for example, the one chosen by the big one was big. a mistake. The crossing of the Loire near Orleans turned out to be impossible both locally. conditions, as well as due to the lack of ships, all the while, having loaded onto ships only food for the besieged and small. the detachment, with which Jeanne remained, all remained. army b. returned back to Blois, from where d. b. go to Orleans is right. coast, that is, by the way indicated on the advice of Jeanne. T. arr., B. lost 5 days English. troops, meaning that they exceeded fr-zv in number, b. located in ukr-niyakh, to-rya tѣsn. they surrounded the besieged in a ring on all sides. Orleans. May 5, mornings. fr-zy started the attack. fortov. Passionate about personal note of Jeanne, edges with selflessness. the husband-vom led them into battle, the inspired soldiers went to the assault as if they were immortal. Last 3 days stubborn. resistance, having lost nѣsk. most strong. ukr-niy on v. and y. from Orleans, English-not b. forced to retreat, having cleansed the remainder. forts, where they threw not only supplies, but also the sick. May 8 siege of Orleans b. removed, and French. army with triumph entered the liberated city. Jeanne herself b. wounds. arrow in the last day of the battle. Tѣm not less, on the next. the same day she went to the king to beg him to immediately go to Reims for the coronation. However, the king only after a month decided to give his consent to the continuation of the war. action. With a detachment of the Duke of Alencon, Jeanne set out on a new campaign and in the course of the nѣsk. days inflicted a number of angl-nam cruel. defeats at Jargeau, Beaugency and Pathe. English-not b. attacked with such urgency and rage that they panic. horror was on the battlefield. The commander of the reserve J. Falstaff put down the weapon without engaging in battle. The best gen-ly, including the number of signs. Talbot, hit the plѣn. On July 16, the king arrived at Reims, where, in the presence of Jeanne, b. celebrations done. crowned. With the release of Orleans and the crowning of Karl's mission Jeanne b. over, and she wanted to return to her homeland, but for some reason remained at the court. In the course of almost 2 months. she insisted in vain for immediate. a hike to Paris, which was in the hands of a non-pr. Under the influence of the party that entered the secrets. negotiations with hertz. Burgundy about the surrender of Paris and the conclusion of peace with England, the king could not decry anything. Forced to inaction, Jeanne felt superfluous among the courtiers. Her position at the court deteriorated with every. in the afternoon. His restless and persistent. her character, her straightforwardness and sternness, her reminders that "there is nothing to argue when you have to act", she was always confused. At the same time, she created enemies around herself that she was not shy about expressing herself when she spoke of the higher. nach-kah and about the king's entourage. It's huge. popularity among soldiers and loud fame, which penetrated all corners of France, caused the envy of the king's retinue. Wise and resourceful in war and in battle, Jeanne was often lost in the circle of svetsk. people, to-rye almost openly published on her male. dress, over her manners and rude. language. At the end of Aug. Jeanne managed to persuade hertz. Alansonsky to begin a campaign to Paris without the permission of the king. But this campaign did not have success: in the first battle, Jeanne b. wounded, and the detachment, by order of the king, retreated beyond the Loire. More than six months after that, Jeanne spent with the king, not daring to disobey him. Between the dark, while the secrets went. peace negotiationsѣ, eng. army received support, b. brought in order and laid siege to the county of Compiegne. Jeanne understood the importance of keeping to herself this beauty, which served as a link between Paris and Burgundy, and on April 15. 1430, at the head of the detachment from 32 armed. people, voluntarily went to the rescue of Compiegne, but was ambushed, b. surrounded by enemies and, knocked down from a horse, captured in plѣn. The Burgundians took her to the Beaurevoir district, which belonged to Jean Luxemburg, who sold it to the English for 10 t. ECU (400,000 rubles for our money). Come up with a strong escort Jeanne b. sent to Ruan, where, shackled and planted in iron. klѣtku, approx. years awaited judicial. sentence. Compiled exclusively from fr-zv, representatives of the highest. spirit and paris. University, the court over Zhanna found her guilty of witchcraft, heresy, blasphemy and rebellion and sentenced her to burning, as b. Done on May 30, 1431 at Rouen Square. The news that Jeanne was taken to the plun, made a stunning impression throughout France: in the cities, nationwide began. prayer for her release, complaints, lamentations and lamentations were heard everywhere. The people openly accused the government of changing the "holy god, who supported the poor and pursued the strong of the world." How strong was the grief of the French. of the people, so great was the joy of the English, to-rye all their defeats explained to the fact that at the head of the fr-call was the messenger of God or the devil. After 1/4 of a century, when, finally, b. the rulers of the English were broken in France, cor. Charles VII, with the consent of the Pope, established a revision. commission for checking Ruan. process. This K-sia came to the conclusion that he would accuse. the verdict on Jeanne, as "deceitful and biased", is deprived of the law. strength, and that the mission of Jeanne d. b. recognized as divine. Family of Jeanne b. erected in nobility. dignity, but Catholic. the church ranked Jeanne among its saints. Regardless of the multitude of legends and legends about Zhanna d'Ark, on the basis of only indisputably established historians. facts, it is impossible to deny that huge. the role that she played in the history of France, nor that which will surprise her in life and dyat-sti. There were many strange and extraordinary things for the girl. "The liberation of Orleans, the campaign against Rheims and the struggle to death for Compiegne," says the famous historian Gabr. Ganoto, "were those ideas that the king's companions did not understand, but the fate of the entire monarchy depended on their implementation. These three goals were directly and definitely indicated by Jeanne d'Arc and were fulfilled only thanks to her energy and perseverance. With the firmness of a soldier hardened in battle. Indecisive and shy at ordinary times, she was completely transformed in moments of danger, showing amazing resourcefulness, foresight and judgment. " "In everything, except war," she writes about her sovrem-k, Hertz. , in order to concentrate the troops, to dispose of the battle, to arrange the art-ryu. It was surprising to see art in it and provide for experienced. regiment. Especially striking was all her wisdom in using art. "According to General Dragomirov, Zhanna" deeply understood the military. truths: that one must go straight to the target, that, having started to beat, one must beat to the end, not letting the enemy come to his senses, that nothing has been done yet, if at least something remains to be done, that the loss of time sometimes leads to the loss of ". she showed miracles of courage: always rushing into the attack first, she was able to inspire the troops with her primordium and success in success so that she achieved victory even when the battle seemed to be lost. However, it was not these battles. of the French people and all-common surprise. The name of O. Dova will always be inextricably linked to the memory of that bright, pure and selfless love of her for her homeland, to the service to which she gave all her strength and life itself. No other interests, Apart from the salvation and blessings of her people and the king, Joan of Arc did not know. ( M.I.Dragomirov, Jeanne d'Arc, 1898; Gabriel hanotaux, Jeanne d'Arc, 1911; Anatole france, L'histoire de Jeanne d'Arc; J. Gincherat, Procès de condamnation et de rehabilitation de Jeanne d'Arc, dite la Pucelle, 1846-49).
Dictionary material containing the information referred to by this link has not been published
Head of Jeanne d'Ark, carved out of stone and painted (face and profile). Found during the construction of Jeanne d'Ark street in Orleans. (Orleansky Archaeological Museum).
Military encyclopedia. - SPb .: T-in I.D. Sytin. Ed. V.F. Novitsky and others.. 1911-1915 .
