Footnote 488
Jean Chartier: "And the king sent for the Duke of Alençon,
the Duke of Bourbon [Clermont], the Count of Vendôme, and a number
of other lords and commanders with other men of his council in
great number, to be advised as to what he should do. And there
it was put up for the council's discussion by the Archbishop of Rheims,
Chancellor of France, that the aforesaid army could frankly no
longer remain before the aforesaid city of Troyes for several
reasons: firstly, due to the great shortage of food in the army, and since
no provisions were arriving from any quarter; and also because
there were no longer any men with money [to buy food]; and additionally because
it would be a marvel to take the city of Troyes, which was strong,
well stocked with provisions, men-at-arms and people; and as far as
they could see, those inside had absolutely no intention of surrendering
and placing the town in obedience to the King; and also that there
weren't enough bombardes, nor artillery, nor sufficient number of men
to take this town; and besides, there wasn't a single loyal town or
fortress from which they could receive help or assistance closer
than Gien-sur-Loire, more than thirty leagues from the army. And
he thus cited and gave several other reasons and unfortunate matters
which it was quite apparent could befall the army. And the King ordered
the chancellor to ask the opinion of those present in the council
as to the best course to take. And the chancellor began asking
several of them, charging each one to faithfully fulfill their duty to
the King by advising him as to what should be done concerning the
matter under discussion. And nearly all those of the council,
taking into consideration the matters enumerated above, and that the
King had been rejected at the town of Auxerre, which didn't have nearly
the number of troops or strength as Troyes, and several other things
which each cited based on his understanding of the matter: they
were of the opinion that the King and his army should go back.
And the aforesaid chancellor came to ask an elderly
counselor named my lord Robert le Maçon, Lord of Treves, who
replied that it was necessary in his opinion to summon the
aforesaid Jehanne the Maiden, who was in the army rather than the council,
that it could well be the case that
she would have something to say which would be advantageous for
the King and his company. And he said moreover that when the King
left and undertook this journey, he hadn't done so for the
great strength of the men-at-arms that he had, nor for the great
supply of money available for paying his army, nor because
this campaign had seemed feasible to him; but instead he had
undertaken this campaign solely at the urging of Jehanne the Maiden,
who gave the view that he should focus on going to his
coronation at Rheims, and that he would encounter very little resistance,
and that such a course was the will of God;
and that if this Jehanne didn't advise anything that hadn't been said
in the council, then he [Maçon] took the majority opinion: that is to say,
that the aforesaid King and his army should return from whence they
came; but that the aforesaid Jehanne might say something upon which the
King could come to another conclusion." (For the original language, see: Quicherat's "Procès...", Vol IV, pp. 73 - 75);
"Journal of the Siege...": "And because of the food shortage as well as the fact that the citizens of Troyes weren't willing to render obedience, the King was advised by some that he should return rather than moving onward, considering that the city of Châlons and even Rheims were also in enemy hands. But as this matter was being dealt with in the council before the king ... master Robert le Maçon, who was a man of the Great Council, and had been Chancellor at one time, said in effect... that they should speak expressly to the Maiden, by whose advice this journey had been undertaken..." (For the original language, see: Quicherat's "Procès...", Vol IV, p. 182);
Lord Dunois gives a slightly different version, stating that the
debate was whether to besiege Troyes or bypass it and push onward
to Rheims: "... holding
council with the lords of his family and the other
commanders, to consider whether he
should remain in front of the aforesaid city and
begin a siege to take it, or whether it would be advisable
to push onward, going directly to Rheims and bypass the city of Troyes;
the aforesaid Royal Council was divided by diverse
opinions, and uncertain as to what would be more
advantageous..." (For the original language, see: DuParc's "Procès en Nullité...",
Vol I, pp. 323 - 324; and Quicherat's "Procès...", Vol III, p. 13).
For translations, see:
Oursel's "Les Procès de Jeanne d'Arc",
p. 248; Pernoud's "Vie et Mort de Jeanne d'Arc; Les Témoignages du Procès de Réhabilitation 1450 - 1456",
p. 136);
Pernoud's "The Retrial of Joan of Arc",
p. 126).
Copyright © 2003, Allen Williamson. All rights reserved.