# Was Joan Innocent or Guilty? explained — Saint Joan

> Chapter companion for Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw.

## What happens

This chapter examines the historical and moral ambiguity surrounding Joan of Arc's trial and execution, arguing that her contemporaries judged her fairly by the standards of their time, while later rehabilitations and canonizations reflect shifting political and cultural biases. Shaw critiques both the libel of Joan by Jingo patriotism and the whitewashing of her judges by Protestant polemics, insisting that Joan was a genius and a saint, not a melodramatic heroine, and that understanding her requires transcending modern prejudices.

## Themes in this chapter

### Justice and Injustice

The chapter explores the fairness of Joan's trial, the reversal of its verdict, and the subsequent unfair trial of her judges by posterity.

### Historical Interpretation

Shaw critiques how Joan's story has been distorted by Jingo patriotism, Protestant polemics, and modern biases, calling for a historian free from such prejudices.

### Heresy and Sanctity

Joan is presented as a saint whose 'superbity' led to her condemnation, while her canonization redefined her as a holy figure.

## Character check-ins

### Joan of Arc

Discussed as a genius and saint, whose trial was fair by medieval standards, and whose character was vindicated by posterity.

### King Charles VII

His coronation's validity was confirmed by Joan's rehabilitation trial, which was politically motivated.

### Peter Cauchon

One of Joan's judges, whose actions are often unfairly maligned by later sectarian narratives.

### The Inquisitor

The Inquisition is defended as having given Joan a fairer trial than modern secular courts would provide.

## Key lines

> It was decided against her by her contemporaries after a very careful and conscientious trial; and the reversal of the verdict twenty-five years later, in form a rehabilitation of Joan, was really only a confirmation of the validity of the coronation of Charles VII.

Joan was found guilty by a thorough and fair trial; the later reversal was politically motivated to legitimize Charles VII's coronation.

_Shaw argues that the rehabilitation was a political act, not a true vindication of Joan's innocence._

> Joan got a far fairer trial from the Church and the Inquisition than any prisoner of her type and in her situation gets nowadays in any official secular court; and the decision was strictly according to law.

Joan received a more just trial from the Church and Inquisition than a similar prisoner would today in a secular court, and the verdict followed the law.

_Shaw defends the integrity of Joan's trial, countering modern criticisms of the Church and Inquisition._

> A genius is a person who, seeing farther and probing deeper than other people, has a different set of ethical valuations from theirs, and has energy enough to give effect to this extra vision and its valuations in whatever manner best suits his or her specific talents.

A genius sees beyond ordinary understanding, holds different values, and has the drive to act on that vision.

_Shaw defines genius to frame Joan as a figure of extraordinary insight and action, not a conventional heroine._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saint_joan_se/chapters/was-joan-innocent-or-guilty
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saint_joan_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/saint_joan_se/chapters