This is a wonderful study in the tradition of J. Huizinga's _The Waning of
the Middle Ages_ with its scrupulous attention to historical sources and
finely expressive prose. It is uncontaminated by pop-psych feminism and
unconcerned with matters not directly relating to its subject. In view of
the various projections that historians and societies have placed upon
Joan over the centuries, this does not prevent the author from reflecting
at engaging length and depth upon all manner of topic, from the political
sociology of medieval France to the nature of the visionary experience
(and why Joan is atypical) to many, many symbolisms (sample chapter titles
include "Ideal Androgyne," "Amazon," "Personification of Virtue" and
"Saint or Patriot?"); but, most admirably, none of the discussions
descends to plebeian pandering or loses sight of Joan. The book may be
read as, but it is more than, a series of essays on the various personae
thrust upon Joan by her contemporaries, hagiographers, enemies and also
posterity, not excluding all the artistic expressions that have drawn upon
her as a theme or centerpiece. This book is, then, a sort of
historiography of ideas that seeks to understand Joan by examining all the
layers that centuries of polemic and interpretation have placed upon her
life and acts, and which ends up telling us (though never lecturing or
didactic) at least as much about ourselves as about herself, who remains
one of the most fascinating and sympathetic figures of her time, which is
also our own.
