Life at the Seminary

Joan was born on January 6, 1412 in Domremy, a small town in the Loire valley in the northeast of France. If you’re in Luxembourg city, it’s about a two hour drive southwards. The town is, after all these centuries, nothing more than a hamlet, and the house she lived and grew up in can still be seen and visited. In the surrounding area, one can find several other small villages and, above all, outstretched fields as far as the eye can see. A few yards from Joan’s house on one side the Meuse river flows, on the other side one can visit the small church of St. Rémy where she was baptized.

Parents
Joan’s parents, Jacques and Isabella, were hard working farmers, who had to survive in a difficult time. St. Joan was born during the Hundred Years’ War between England and French. I recommend everyone to seriously consider what her life must have been like. She only lived to be 19-years-old, but during that time, she had never known peace.

Joan’s tasks
Joan’s main tasks were in and around the house. She was adept at spinning and, what I reckon to be a joke, she challenged her judges to find anyone in Rouen that would be better at spinning than her. Because of her skill in this handicraft, in images she is often depicted with yarn. Apart from her work in housekeeping, she occasionally looked after the animals her family owned. This is why she is also often depicted as a herdress. Until the 19th century, we don’t find too many images of young Joan, as one tended to look down on farmers.

Joan’s saints
In the images of her childhood, we often see Joan with her saints. When she was around 13-years-old, St. Michael the Archangel appeared to her. She described a light coming from her right, from the church, and she heard the church bells as she was in her father’s yard. If you actually have the chance to visit Domremy, you will be able to picture it clearly. Joan’s house is right next to the church, and walking from the church to her house, you do have the church to your right. It is anyone’s guess where the exact location is where she heard and saw St. Michael, but when you’re there, you won’t be more than a few yards away in any case!

Now, St. Michael was just chosen as patron saint of France after the previous one, St. Dénis, whose sanctuary was captured by the British, seemed to have abandoned France, and the survival of the Dauphin after a floor collapse was contributed to the Archangel. It may seem superstitious to us, modern men, but against all odds, St. Michael’s sanctuary (Mont-Saint-Michel) was never captured, and this is where the French won their first victory in decades!

St. Michael told Joan that she had to be a good girl and continue to go to church, and that St. Catherine (of Alexandria) and St. Margaret would come to guide her. Both of them were virgin martyrs and to this day, the statue of St. Margaret is still in the small church of Domremy. We can still pray in front of the same statue as St. Joan! These female saints became more and more insistent that she had to leave her house and go to the Dauphin in Chinon.

Joan on her way to the Dauphin
Eventually she managed to convince a relative to take her to the local representative of the Dauphin in Vaucouleurs. It took a while for Joan to convince him, but an accurate prediction of a battle half the country away, as well as the dire situation of the French kingdom, seemed to have warranted the nobleman’s blessing and off she went to Chinon, where the Dauphin Charles VII resided, with a small escort. We do well to keep in mind that in order to reach Chinon, she had to cross hundreds of miles of enemy territory in bitter cold, always sleeping in her armour and travelling by night. What’s worse, for St. Joan, is that she was unable to go to H. Mass…

Other episodes during her childhood
There are still more images for her youth that are rarer than others, but based on actual facts. There are images of Joan hanging guirlandes in a tree. From her trial records, we know that it was custom for the children to do this on Laetare Sunday (the 4th Sunday of Lent). They used to dance and play, while their parents had a pick nick in the field. There are also images of Joan receiving her first Holy Communion from the village priest.

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