Footnote 638
Modern authors have had a tendency to blur and combine all of
the various prophecies and their alleged sources, but these were
actually quite varied and distinct from each other [click here for a list].
The one
about a virgin from the "oak forest" (which Inquisitor
Bréhal later attributed to "Merlyn") was rejected by
Jehanne herself when she mentioned it during her trial.
The transcript reads as follows: "she additionally says that when she came before her King, some
people asked her whether there was a forest in her region which is
called "le Bois-Chesnu" ["the Oak Forest"] in French, because there
were prophecies
saying that from near this forest would come a certain virgin who would
work wonders. But Jehanne said that she didn't put any faith in this."
In MS 1119, the relevant passage occurs on folio 17v, lines 7 - 11. (see "Procès de Condamnation...", folio 17v).
For a transcription, see: Quicherat's "Procès...", Vol I, p. 68.
For translations, see:
Barrett's "The Trial of
Jeanne d'Arc", p. 55.
For a translation of the same passage in the Orleans Manuscript,
see: Scot's "The Trial of Joan of Arc",
p. 76.
Copyright © 2003, Allen Williamson. All rights reserved.