22 MARCH, 1429 + Jesus, Mary + King of England and you, Duke of Bedford, who call yourself Regent of the Kingdom of France; you, William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk; John, Lord of Talbot; and you, Thomas, Lord Scales, who call yourselves Bedford’s lieutenants, do right by the King of Heaven. Hand over to the Maiden, who is sent here by God the King of Heaven, the keys to all the towns which you have taken and violated in France. She has come here in the name of God to support the Royal family. She is quite prepared to make peace, if you are willing to do right, so long as you give up France and make amends for occupying it. And you, archers, soldiers both noble and otherwise, who are around the town of Orléans, in God’s name go back to your own lands. And if you will not do so, await word of the Maiden, who will go to see you soon to your very great misfortune. King of England, if you do not do so, I am a commander, and wherever I come across your troops in France, I shall make them go, whether willingly or unwillingly; and if they will not obey, I will have them wiped out. I am sent here by God the King of Heaven - an eye for an eye - to drive you entirely out of France. And if they are willing to obey, I shall have mercy on them. And do not think otherwise, for you will never hold the Kingdom of France from God the King of Heaven, the Son of Saint Mary; King Charles, the true heir, will hold it, for God the King of Heaven wills it; and this has been revealed by the Maiden to him [i.e., Charles], who shall enter Paris with a fine contingent of troops. If you do not believe the tidings sent by God and the Maiden, wherever we find you we will strike against you, and will cause such a great clash of arms there that not for a thousand years has France seen one as great, if you do not do right. And firmly believe that the King of Heaven will send greater force to the Maiden than you would be able to bring against her and her good men-at-arms in all of your assaults. And in the fighting we shall see who has the better right, whether God of Heaven or you. Duke of Bedford, the Maiden asks and requests that you will not cause your own downfall. If you will do right, you could yet come in her company to where the French will do the noblest deed which has ever been done for Christianity. And reply if you wish to make peace in the city of Orléans; and if you do not do so, you will shortly contemplate your great misfortunes. Written this Tuesday in Holy Week. 5 MAY, 1429 You, men of England, who have no right to this Kingdom of France, the King of Heaven orders and notifies you through me, Joan the Maiden, to leave your fortresses and go back to your own country; or I will produce a clash of arms to be eternally remembered. And this is the third and last time I have written to you; I shall not write anything further. Jesus, Mary, Joan the Maiden I would have sent you my letter more properly, but you detain my heralds, for you have detained my herald called “Guyenne.” Please send him back to me, and I will send some of your men captured in the fortress of Saint Loup, for they are not all dead. 4 JULY, 1429 + Jesus, Mary + Very dear and good friends - if you don’t mind - lords, bourgeois, and inhabitants of the town of Troyes, Joan the Maiden sends word and makes known to you, in the name of the King of Heaven, her rightful and sovereign Lord, in whose royal service she remains each day, that you should render true obedience and recognition to the noble King of France, who will be at Rheims and Paris quite soon, regardless of whomever may come against us; and [will be] in his towns of the Holy Kingdom with the help of King Jesus. Loyal Frenchmen, come before King Charles, and let there be no failing; and do not worry about your lives nor your property if you do so; and if you do not do so I promise and guarantee upon your lives that we will enter, with the help of God, into all the towns which should be part of the Holy Kingdom, and make there a good durable peace, regardless of whomever may come against us. I commend you to God; may God protect you, if it pleases Him. Reply soon. Before the city of Troyes, written at St. Phal, Tuesday July 4th. 9 NOVEMBER, 1429 Dear and good friends, You well know how the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier was taken by assault, and with God’s help, I intend to clear out the other places which are against the King. But because so much gunpowder, projectiles, and other war materials had been expended before this town, and because myself and the Lords who are at this town are so poorly supplied for laying siege to La Charité,where we will be going shortly, I pray you, upon whatever love you have for the well-being and honor of the King and also all the others here, that you will immediately send and donate for the siege gunpowder, saltpeter, sulfur, projectiles, arbalests and other materials of war. And do well enough in this matter that the siege will not be prolonged for lack of gunpowder and other war materials, and that no one can say you were negligent or unwilling. Dear and good friends, may Our Lord protect you. Written at Moulins the 9th day of November. Jehanne 23 MARCH, 1430 + Jesus, Mary + For a long time now, common knowledge has made it clear to me, Joan the Maiden, that from true Christians you have become heretics and practically on a level with the Saracens [i.e., Muslims]. You have eliminated the valid faith and worship, and have taken up a disgraceful and unlawful superstition; and while sustaining and promoting it there is not a single disgrace nor act of barbarism which you would not dare. You corrupt the sacraments of the Church, you mutilate the articles of the Faith, you destroy churches, you break and burn statues [of the saints] which were created as memorials, you massacre Christians unless they adopt your beliefs. What is this fury of yours, or what folly and madness is driving you? You persecute and plan to overthrow and destroy this Faith which God Almighty, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have raised, founded, exalted, and enlightened a thousand ways through a thousand miracles. You yourselves are blind, but not because you’re among those who lack eyes or the ability to see. Do you really believe that you will escape unpunished, or are you unaware that the reason God does not hinder your unlawful efforts and permits you to remain in darkness and error is so that the more you indulge yourselves in sin and sacrileges, the more He is preparing greater suffering and punishments for you. For my part, to tell you frankly, if I wasn’t busy with the English wars I would have come to see you long before now; but if I don’t find out that you have reformed yourselves, I might leave the English behind and go against you, so that by the sword—if I can’t do it any other way—I will eliminate your false and vile superstition and relieve you of either your heresy or your life. But if you would prefer to return to the Catholic faith and the original light, then send me your ambassadors, and I will tell them what you need to do; if not however, and if you stubbornly wish to resist the spur, keep in mind what damages and crimes you have committed and await me, who will mete out suitable repayment with the strongest of forces both human and Divine. Given at Sully [i.e., Sully-sur-Loire] on the 23rd of March, to the heretics of Bohemia. 28 MARCH, 1430 Very dear and good friends, may it please you to know that I have received your letters, which mention how word had been brought to the king that there were a multitude of traitors in the city of Rheims. Please know that it was certainly true that he had been told there were many who belonged to a conspiracy and who would have betrayed the city and brought in the Burgundians. But thereafter, the King learned otherwise because you had sent him assurances, for which he is well pleased with you. And know that you are in his favor, and if you will have to fight, he will aid you in the event of a siege. And he well knows that you have much suffering to endure from the hardships which these treasonous Burgundian enemies inflict on you; so he will deliver you, if it pleases God, very soon - that is to say, as soon as is feasible. So I beg and request, very dear friends, that you defend the city for the King and that you keep good watch. You will soon hear my good news in greater detail. I will not write any more for the present except that all of Brittany is now French, and the Duke must send three thousand soldiers to the king, paid for two months. I commend you to God, may He watch over you. Written at Sully on the 28th of March. Jehanne