Tales of The Maid's Relics Trivia Quiz

Answer: None exist

As far as the hair is concerned, there is a story that Joan put a piece of her hair in the wax seal of a letter she sent to the people of Riom. This piece of hair has been lost since the mid-1800s. In the museum at Chinon, which was used as a base by the Dauphin and visited by Joan during the Hundred Years War, there was a container that held bones and other materials. Attached to it was a note dating back to the 1600s that said, "Remains found beneath the scaffold site of Jeanne d' Arc, Maid of Orleans".

Historians have debated for centuries the possibility that these remains belong to Joan; she wasn't, however, the only victim of death by fire in Rouen, and the accumulated ashes could have belonged to several people.

Answer: They were thrown in the river.

There was quite a bit of concern regarding the disposal of Joan's remains. Anything that the people might be able to keep and revere could have been potentially dangerous, as many had already begun to venerate Joan. Apparently her body did not entirely burn, even after three attempts.

While the fact that some of her organs did not burn was viewed as a miracle, modern scientists say that the high content of water in organs like the heart and intestines make it very difficult to completely burn a body.

When, after three attempts, it appeared that it would not be possible to turn the remains completely to ash, the executioner was told to gather up everything and throw it into the Seine. Contemporary accounts say that he followed the directive.

Answer: Gray Hat

As can be imagined, when Joan of Arc entered Orleans on April 29, 1429, it caused a great stir. The city had been under siege since October of 1428, and many, including the English, thought it was just a matter of time before the city would fall and the English could claim a victory. One eyewitness wrote that Joan "was received with such great joy by all the inhabitants of both sexes, great and small, that it seemed she was an angel of God. By means of the Maid, they said, we are going at last to escape our enemies". Once in Orleans, Joan was taken to the home of Jacques Boucher, who was treasurer to the Duke of Orleans. Charlotte, Boucher's nine year old daughter, was said to have been enthralled with Joan, who treated her as a little sister, even sharing Charlotte's room while she stayed in the Boucher home. Joan gave Charlotte her gray hat, which was said to have been treasured by Charlotte's descendants for two hundred years until it was given to the Oratorian Order of Priests in Orleans.

Answer: It no longer exists.

During the French Revolution, which was anti-government and anti-religion, many symbols of the Ancien Regime - even sacred ones - were destroyed. Joan's gray hat was burned in a bonfire in Orleans in 1792; her standard, which she said at her trial was her favorite possession, was also burned during the Revolution.

While some would say that the banner that was burned really wasn't Joan's due to the fact that it had apparently been extensively damaged by moths and mended and repaired several times, it had been painstakingly restored.

The revolutionary government even banned the annual celebration at Orleans that had been held to honor Joan and melted down a statue of The Maid in order to construct a cannon.

Answer: Her Family

Joan had apparently sent some of her belongings to her family for safekeeping. She testified at her trial, "My brothers have all my goods - my horses, my sword, so far as I know, and the rest, which are worth more than twelve thousand crowns". They also had possession of three letters. The sword, however, was not the holy sword that Joan had retrieved at the church of Saint Catherine de Fierbois. At her trial she testified that she had no idea what had happened to that sword and refused to comment past that. While the sword is considered a second class relic, the letters would be classified as a third class relic.

Joan's family remained strong advocates and desperately tried to exonerate her name. In 1455 her mother and brothers petitioned Pope Callixtus III to review her case, and a Trial of Rehabilitation was held. In the end, the hearing found that Joan was innocent of heresy and died as a martyr. Her sentence was annulled; the findings "....We proclaim that Joan did not contract any taint of infamy and that she shall be and is washed clean of such". This is what made it possible for Joan to be proclaimed a "servant of God", one of the steps toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer: True

When Joan was questioned about the ring at her trial, she said, "'It had three crosses on it with the names of Jesus and Mary". A gift from her parents, the ring was confiscated when Joan was captured. It was originally given to Bishop Pierre Cauchon, who presided over Joan's trial.

He, in turn, gave it to Henry Beaufort, the Bishop of Wincester, who attended some of the trial sessions and was present when Joan was burned at the stake. His family has said that the ring was kept and handed down for generations; now it is owned by a private collector. What makes authentication of the ring difficult is that fact that it does not match Joan's description.

It is engraved with the initials IHS and MAR and only has one cross.

Answer: Stone

Third class relics are items that were touched by the saint. Three of the nine letters that were dictated by Joan to be sent to various people have her signature. While much has been documented about the fact that Joan was illiterate; apparently she was able to progress from making a simple "X" to signing her name, Jehanne.

During the time Joan was staying at Vaucouleurs, waiting for a meeting with the Dauphin at Chinon, she often prayed in the church at a statue that is called "Our Lady of the Vaults". There is also a crucifix at the town's museum from the Church of Saint Nicolas-de-Septfonds, where she prayed as well. There is a statue of Saint Catherine in the chapel of Saint Catherine-de-Fierbois (where Joan's sword was found) where she prayed, and in the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier's church, there is an ancient stone statue of Saint Michael before which Joan also prayed. There is even a stepping stone still in existence where Joan mounted her horse at Poitiers.

Answer: Domremy

The Church of Saint Remy in Domremy has three third class relics; the holy water and Baptismal fountains were both touched by Joan of Arc, as was the statue of Saint Margaret. St. Margaret was one of the "voices" who directed Joan from the age of thirteen.

As a child, Joan lived within sight of the church and visited it frequently. In the countryside close to Domremy there is a small chapel, Notre Dame de Bermont, where Joan is said to have visited every Saturday. Inside is the Statue of Our Lady of Bermont, before which Joan is said to have prayed.

Answer: False

At her trial, when asked about her sword, Joan replied that she had worn it "until I had withdrawn from Saint-Denis after the assault against Paris". There is a story that she left her white battle armor at Saint-Denis as well; it was to serve as an offering after the failed siege of Paris.

Not only that, but the story continues to say that after she left the English entered the church and stole the armor. Historians believe that it is more likely that Joan was wearing the armor when she was captured. Perhaps it is in the possession of a family from Burgundy today? While some have come forward with armor that they claimed belonged to Joan, it has never been authenticated.

Answer: Mummy

The supposed relics were first found in 1867 in the attic of a Paris pharmacy. They were recognized by the Vatican as being authentic, taken to Charles VII's palace at Chinon, and housed in the museum there. The conclusion made during the 2007 study, which used carbon-14 dating analysis, was that the remains were human; they were dated to sometime between the 6th-3rd centuries BC. Chemical scans placed Egypt as the origin of the remains, which still smelled of pine and vanilla used during mummification rituals in ancient Egypt.

Although this was totally a surprise, it must be remembered that it was possible to find mummy powder in pharmacies for centuries, as it was believed to have the power to cure all ills.