Preliminary inquiry

With the words “Here begin the proceedings in matters of faith against a deceased woman, Jeanne, commonly known as the Maid”, the trial records announce the start, on January 9, 1431, of the judicial inquiry into the case of Jeanne d’Arc.

The first order of business was a preliminary inquiry into Jeanne’s character and habits. An examination as to Jeanne’s virginity was conducted some time prior to January 13, overseen by the Duchess of Bedford Insæt kode: . The Duchess announced that Jeanne had been found to be a virgin. At the same time, representatives of the judge were sent to Jeanne’s home village of Domremy and vicinity to inquire further into Jeanne’s life, her habits, and virtue, with several witnesses being interviewed.

The result of these inquiries was that nothing could be found against Jeanne to support any charges against her. The man who was commissioned to collect testimony, Nicolas Bailly, said that he “had found nothing concerning Jeanne that he would not have liked to find about his own sister”. This angered Cauchon, who was hoping for something he could use against her. He accused Bailly of being “a traitor and a bad man” and refused to pay him his promised salary.

Interrogation

In a letter dated 20 February 1431 and sent to the assessors and others summoning them to appear the morning of the following day for the first public interrogation session of Jeanne, Pierre Cauchon cited the grant of jurisdiction within the city of Rouen by the chapter of the cathedral of Rouen for the purpose of conducting the trial against Jeanne. Without such a grant, he would have been unable to conduct the hearings as he was not in his native diocese. He also stated that Jeanne was “vehemently suspected of heresy” and that “rumors of her acts and sayings wounding our faith had notoriously spread”. This was the basis for the diffamatio, a necessary ingredient in the bringing of charges against a suspect. He also alluded to the expected absence of the Vice-Inquisitor for Rouen, Jean Le Maistre, whose presence was required by canon law in order to validate the proceedings. Lemaitre’s absence was later explained during the appellate trial by four eyewitnesses, who said Le Maistre had objections to the trial and refused to cooperate until the English threatened his life. The postwar appellate court would later declare these points to be violations of the Church’s rules.

In response to the summons of Bishop Cauchon on this same date, priest and bailiff Jean Massieu reported that Jeanne had agreed to appear in court, but she requested that ecclesiastics of the French side be summoned equal in number to those of the English party (as required by the Church’s rules), and she asked that she should be allowed to hear Mass. In response, promoter (prosecutor) Jean d’Estivet forbade Jeanne to attend the divine offices, citing “especially the impropriety of the garments to which she clung” according to the Trial transcript (Barrett translation). Her soldier’s clothing would increasingly become an issue as the trial progressed and the tribunal failed to find other grounds for a conviction. Several eyewitnesses later said she had been wearing a soldier’s outfit which had a tunic, hosen, and long boots that went up to the waist, all of which were tied together with cords, which she said she needed to protect herself from being raped by her guards (i.e., fastening the three items of clothing together made it difficult for the guards to pull her clothing off, but a woman’s dress would leave her more vulnerable since it was open at the bottom).

Ordinary trial

The ordinary, or regular, trial of Jeanne began on March 26, the day after Palm Sunday, with the drawing up of the 70 articles (later summarized in a 12 article indictment). If Jeanne refused to answer them, she would be said to have admitted them. On the following day, the articles were read aloud and Jeanne was questioned in French. The next two days, the extensive list of charges were then read to her in French. The Ordinary Trial concluded on May 24 with the abjuration.