[Ads-l] Fwd: Re: [MEDTEXTL] Request for help on Joan of Arc quote (from ADS-L)

[Amy West]

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: 	Re: [MEDTEXTL] Request for help on Joan of Arc quote (from ADS-L)
Date: 	Sat, 23 Dec 2017 18:21:07 +0000
From: 	Edward Mills <edwardmills2 at gmail.com>
Reply-To: 	medtextl at lists.illinois.edu
To: 	medtextl at lists.illinois.edu
CC: 	Medieval Texts - Philology Codicology and Technology 
<MEDTEXTL at LISTSERV.ILLINOIS.EDU>



Not sure how useful this would be, but I have managed to track down, via 
Indiana’s <http://www.indiana.edu/%7Edmdhist/joantrials.html> website 
and a little bit of digging on my part, a reference to it in the Latin 
trial records. This reference has the quote attributed to Joan by one 
Henricus Rotarius during her /procès de réhabilitation:/
/
/

    quae (Joan) respondebat quad *non timebat* armatos, quia habebat
    viam suam expeditam ; quia, si armati essent per viam, habebat
    (/i.e. Joan had/) Deum, dominum suum, qui sibi faceret viam ad
    lundum justa dominam Dalphinum, *et quod erat nata ad hoc
    faciendum*. [Quicherat, ed., vol. 2 (1841], p. 449
    <https://archive.org/stream/ProcesDeCondamnationV2#page/n459>]

    "I fear them not," she answered, "I have a sure road: if the enemy
    are on my road, I have God with me, Who knows how to prepare the way
    to the Lord Dauphin. I was born to do this." [Murray, ed. (1902), p.
    228 <https://archive.org/stream/jeannedarcmaidof028754mbp#page/n273>]

Sadly, I wasn’t able to locate the corresponding section of the d’Urfé 
manuscript <http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8458433p>, which seems 
to have been refoliated since it (among others, I believe …) was edited 
by Quicherat for his volume, nor can I guarantee that this is the first 
reference to it; it is, though, some sort of lead, and does offer the 
intriguing detail that Joan’s fear (or rather, lack thereof) was more 
specific than the commonly-attributed quote would otherwise imply.

Apologies for any inaccuracies: this research was all done in about half 
an hour by someone who knows very little about Joan or about Latin! I 
hope this can at the very least be useful somehow.

Edward.

*Edward Mills*
PhD Student // Modern Languages PGR Representative
Department of Modern Languages (French), University of Exeter

university profile <http://eprofile.exeter.ac.uk/edwardmills> // 
personal blog <http://anglonormantics.wordpress.com/> // twitter 
<https://twitter.com/edward_mills>

> Le 23 déc. 2017 à 15:37, Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com 
> <mailto:medievalist at w-sts.com>> a écrit :
>
> This seems like a "job" for Medtextl-ers . . .
>
> A request via the American Dialect Society List (there are a couple of 
> people on the list, Fred Shapiro and Garson O'Toole, who work on 
> tracking down first instances of quotes) . . .
>
> (If you reply to this list, I'll send it along to ADS-L . . .)
>
> ---Amy West
>
> Date:    Fri, 22 Dec 2017 22:07:28 +0000
> From:    "Shapiro, Fred"<fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject: Joan of Arc Quote
>
> Joan of Arc's most famous quotation appears to be "I am not afraid, for God is with me.  I was born for this [sometimes worded 'I was born to do this']."  These of course are English translations.  The quote is said to have been uttered when she left the town of Vancouleurs in February or March of 1429.
>
>
> I would welcome any help in determining the earliest findable source for this.  The earliest findable source for the French original would be best, but the earliest findable source for the English translation would also be very helpful.
>
>
> Fred Shapiro


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