AHPC 9: Jeanne d'Arc

As we enter the last 3 weeks of AHPC9, my latest submission is a foray into a new period for me, the Hundred Years War, and my first ever submission for Sarah's Choice.

Contemporary illustration of the Maid of Orleans

Jeanne d'Arc is an amazing historical female personality, and the ultimate glass ceiling breaker of the Medieval age.





From a humble French peasant background, Jeanne believed that she was chosen by God to free France from the Anglo-Burgundian invaders.  At 16 she persuaded a judge to nullify the arranged marriage her father had brokered for her.  At the age of 17 she petitioned and amazingly gained an audience with the Crown Prince.  Despite all advice to the contrary, he agreed to place her in Command of an Armed force to help relieve the besieged city of Orleans, which she forsaw would result in him being crowned King.


While the exact nature of her position remains unconfirmed (not well documented and the story has grown in legend through the centuries), her presence and the inferred divine inspiration definitely had an effect. The enemy was defeated and the siege lifted, though Jeanne was wounded by an arrow in the process.  The Dauphin was subsequently crowned King Charles VII in Reims, as Jeanne had promised.

Romantic period depiction

Jeanne was subsequently sent to Campiegne to attack the Allied forces there but her force was ambushed and she was captured.  The English moved her to their Headquarters in Rouen where they tried her for a range of crimes including heresy, witchcraft and dressing like a man (!) in order to discredit both her and Charles VII.  In 1421 she was found guilty of Heresy and burned at the stake in the town square, aged just 19.  A memorial and Church in her name stand there today and I had the opportunity to visit a few years back.  20 years after her death the Pope overturned the Heresy ruling and she was eventually cannonised as a Saint in 1920.  But long before that her martyrdom and reputation had been well established and she has represented French Unity and Freedom for centuries. Her annual feast is held on 30 May.

This model is a 28mm dioramic figure by Baueda Wargames and is a great tribute to this amazing Lady.  The figure herself is metal while the wood piles are two piece resin. I really enjoyed painting her and used a heavy black outlining technique so she would stand out more dramatically in her white gown. Its not something I have tried before and think it came out rather well.

I kept the pyre sections seperate so that I can also put her on the table in a less dramatic fashion

When assembled the two tiered pyre and figure stand at 75mm in height - my minion awarded 35 points for this submission.  Just 5 points until I hit my thousand point target!

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2019/03/from-paulog-jeanne-darc-35-points.html

Edit: My Jeanne received a Honourable Mention in the AHPC 9 awards!
https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2019/03/closing-awards-for-ahpcix.html