# Credulity, Modern and Medieval explained — Saint Joan

> Chapter companion for Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw.

## What happens

Shaw contrasts medieval and modern credulity, arguing that modern faith in doctors and science is more gullible than medieval faith in the Church, because the Church had spiritual checks and believed in damnation, while modern professionals are soulless trade unions. He frames Joan's burning as a still-relevant question about institutional coercion.

## Themes in this chapter

### Faith and Reason

Shaw contrasts medieval faith in the Church with modern blind faith in doctors, arguing the latter is less critical.

### Individual vs. Institution

The chapter examines how institutions (Church, medical profession) coerce individuals, using Joan's case as a touchstone.

### Historical Interpretation

Shaw insists Joan's burning is not merely a historical curiosity but a living question about credulity and power.

## Character check-ins

### Joan of Arc

Her burning is the central historical event used to probe modern and medieval credulity.

### Abernethy

Cited as an example of a doctor who points the way but does not follow it himself.

## Key lines

> When Abernethy, the famous doctor, was asked why he indulged himself with all the habits he warned his patients against as unhealthy, he replied that his business was that of a direction post, which points out the way to a place, but does not go thither itself.

Abernethy justified his hypocrisy by saying his role was to show others the healthy path, not to walk it himself.

_Shaw uses this anecdote to introduce the theme of authority figures who do not practice what they preach._

> Our credulity is grosser than that of the Middle Ages, because the priest had no such direct pecuniary interest in our sins as the doctor has in our diseases.

We are more gullible today because doctors profit from our illnesses, whereas medieval priests did not profit from our sins.

_Shaw argues modern faith in medicine is less rational than medieval faith in the Church._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saint_joan_se/chapters/credulity-modern-and-medieval
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saint_joan_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saint_joan_se/chapters