Jeanne d'Arc, Maid of Orleans, Deliverer of France / Being the Story of Her Life, Her Achievements, and Her Death, as Attested on Oath and Set Forth in the Original Documents

by Unknown

That, in order to return and cross more safely, the most notable and valiant of the party of the French were ordered to remain behind, in order to keep the enemy from troubling them on their return; and for this were appointed Messires de Gaucourt, de Villars, then Seneschal of Beaucaire, and the Deponent;

That, while the French were returning from the Fort of Saint-Jean-le-Blanc to the island, the Maid and La Hire both crossed over, each with a horse, in a boat from the other side of the island; and on these horses they mounted as soon as they had crossed, each with lance in hand. As soon as they saw that the enemy was making a sally from the fort to rush upon their people, immediately the Maid and La Hire, who were always in the front to protect them, couched their lances and were the first to attack the enemy; others then followed and began to attack the English, in such wise that they forcibly constrained them to retreat and enter the Fort of the Augustins;

And, while this was going on, the Deponent, being in guard of a passage with others appointed and ordered thereto—among whom was a very valiant man-at-arms of the country of Spain, named Alphonse de Partada—saw passing before them another man-at-arms of their company, a tall man, big and well armed, to whom, because he was about to pass on, the Deponent remarked that he ought to remain there for a time, with the others, and make resistance to the enemy, should need arise; and he immediately replied that he would do nothing [of the kind]. Then Alphonse said he also would remain with the others, and that there were many as valiant men as he who would remain willingly; who answered Alphonse, that it would not be he. Upon which there were between them certain proud words, so much that they decided to go, both of them, the one and the other, against the enemy; and then it would be seen which was the more valiant, and which of the two would best do his duty. And, taking one another by the hand, at the greatest pace they could, they went towards the fort of the enemy, and so to the foot of the palisade;

That, as they reached the palisade of the fort, the Deponent saw within the palisade a tall, strong and powerful Englishman, armed at all points, who so resisted them that they could not enter. Then the Deponent shewed the Englishman to a man named Maître Jean the Cannoneer, telling him to shoot at the Englishman; for he was doing much harm and injury to those who wished to approach the fort. This Maître Jean did; for, as soon as he saw him, he aimed a shot at him, so that he fell dead to the ground; then the two men-at-arms won the passage, by which all the others of their company crossed, and entered the fort, which most fiercely and with great persistence they assailed on all sides, so that within a short time they won it and took it by assault. There were killed or taken the greater part of the enemy; and those who were able to save themselves retreated into the Fort of Tourelles, at the foot of the bridge. Thus, the Maid and those who were with her obtained victory over the enemy that day. And the great battle was won; and the Lords and their people with the Maid remained before the same [fort] all that night;

Moreover, that, the next day, in the morning, the Maid sent to fetch all the lords and captains before the captured fort, to consult as to what more should be done; by the advice of whom it was concluded and resolved to attack this day a great Boulevard, which the English had made, before the Fort of Tourelles, and that it was expedient to gain it before doing anything else. To do and put this into execution, the Maid, the captain, and their people, on this day, very early in the morning, went from one place to the other, before the Boulevard, and on this they made the assault from all sides, making every effort to take it, in such manner that they were before the Boulevard from morning till sunset without being able to take it or gain it. And the lords and captains who were with her, seeing that they could not well gain it this day, considering the hour, which was late, and that all were very tired and worn out, it was agreed amongst them to sound the retreat for the army; which was done; and, at sound of the trumpet-call, each one retreated for that day. In making this retreat, because the Deponent, who was carrying the standard of the Maid, and holding it upright before the Boulevard, became fatigued and worn-out, he gave the standard to one named La Basque, who was of the following of De Villars; and because the Deponent knew La Basque to be a valiant man, and feared that, by reason of the retreat, evil would ensue, and that the fort and Boulevard would remain in the hands of the enemy, he had an idea that, if the standard were pushed to the front,—from the great affection which he knew the soldiers had for it—they might for this reason gain the Boulevard. Then the Deponent asked La Basque, if he were to enter and go to the foot of the Boulevard, would he follow him; who said and promised that he would; then the Deponent entered the trench, and went up to the foot of the sides of the Boulevard, covering himself with his shield for fear of the stones, and left his companion on the other side, believing he would follow him step by step. But when the Maid saw her standard in the hand of La Basque, and because she believed she had lost it, as he who bore it had gone into the trench, the Maid came and took the standard by the end in such wise that he could not hold it, crying, “Ha! my standard! my standard!” and shook the standard in such wise that the Deponent thought that, in so doing, the others might imagine she was making some sign to them; then the Deponent cried: “La Basque, is this what thou didst promise me?” Then La Basque so pulled at the standard that he dragged it from the hand of the Maid; and, this being done, he went to the Deponent and brought the standard. On this account all the army of the Maid assembled together and rallied again, and, with great fierceness, assailed the Boulevard, so that, shortly after, the Boulevard and the fort were taken by them, and abandoned by the enemy, the French [on their return] entering the city of Orleans by the bridge;

And the Deponent saith that, on this very day, he had heard it spoken by the Maid: “In God’s Name, we shall enter the town this night by the bridge.” This done, the Maid and her followers returned into the town of Orleans, in which the Deponent had her [wound] dressed, for she had been wounded by an arrow in the assault;

Also that, next day, all the English still remaining before the town on the other side of the Fort of Tourelles, raised the siege and retreated, being discomfited and in confusion. Thus, by the help of God and the Maid, was the city delivered from the hands of the enemy;

Moreover, that, some time after the return from the consecration of the King, he [the King] was advised by his Council—then at Meung-sur-Yèvre—that it was most necessary to recover the town of La Charité, which was held by the enemy; but that first must be taken the town of Saint Pierre le Moustier, which likewise was held by the enemy;

That, to do this and to collect men, the Maid went to the town of Bourges, in which she assembled her forces; and from thence, with a certain number of men-at-arms, of whom Lord d’Elbret was the head, she went to besiege the town of Saint Pierre le Moustier;

That, after the Maid and her followers had made siege against the town for some time, an assault was ordered to be made against the town; and so it was done, and those who were there did their best to take it; but, on account of the great number of people in the town, the great strength thereof and also the great resistance made by those within, the French were compelled and forced to retreat, for the reasons aforesaid; and at that time, the Deponent was wounded by a shot in the heel, so that without crutches he could neither keep up nor walk: he noticed that the Maid was left accompanied by very few of her own people and others; and the Deponent, fearing that trouble would follow therefrom, mounted a horse, and went immediately to her aid, asking her what she was doing there alone and why she did not retreat like the others. She, after taking her helmet [“salade”] from her head, replied that she was not alone, and that she had yet in her company fifty thousand of her people, and that she would not leave until she had taken the town;