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Why was St. Joan of Arc tried in a church court?
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St. Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII in Reims Cathedral, by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 1854; in the Louvre, Paris.
St. Joan of Arc was brought before a church court because theologians at the University of Parisâacting as arbiters in matters of faithâinsisted she be tried as a heretic.1
The decision to utilize a church court was driven by several factors:
- Religious Orthodoxy: Her beliefs were considered non-orthodox by the standards of the time. She was viewed as a threat to the church hierarchy because she claimed to communicate directly with God through visions and voices, rather than submitting to the church's authority.1
- Political Strategy: By prosecuting her as a heretic, her enemies sought to discredit Charles VII by suggesting he had been crowned by a witch or a heretic.1
- Legal Procedure: As a condemned heretic, she could eventually be turned over to secular authorities for execution, as the church itself could not carry out a death sentence.2
Her trial was presided over by Pierre Cauchon, the bishop of Beauvais, and Jean LemaĂźtre, the vice-inquisitor of France.1